Monday marked 2 weeks until we fly out. I feel alternately completely on top of this time line, and completely swamped by it. Sometimes these changes are marked by minutes.
This last week has been really, really busy in terms of getting us into the air.
On Thursday we went to the US Consulate to get our Visas. This was an extremely nerve wracking experience for me. We had heard numerous reports that it was a really stressful, drawn out event and Avalara had sent us close to a ream of paper (maybe slightly exaggerated, but not by much!) that carefully detailed all the information we would need, including instructions on what not to say. Mostly they were "Don't say you plan to stay longer than two years, or that you want citizenship." Out the door went my carefully crafted jokes about anchor babies (no, I would never, even before the mountain of paper was FedExed to us). I'm actually not sure why this is important, as the E3 is basically infinitely renewable, and you can opt for a green card after 2 years. It didn't matter as neither of these things is true for us anyway, so there was no chance of us saying them, but it seemed to be the most important aspect of the teetering pile of information.
To minimise the stress, we elected to leave the children with Grandma and Mum for the day, as they, by happy coincidence, were staying a few nights. Armed with every identifying document we've ever owned, the ream of paper and sweaty palms, we boarded a train at 6:30am. Our interview wasn't until 10:00am, but we wanted to have the option of having breakfast in a cafe as it was our 4 year wedding anniversary. This was literally the only way we marked it. We chose the Guylian Cafe on the harbour and it was fabulous! So glad we took the extra time to do this.
We arrived at the Consulate at 9:05am, nervous and having been told the wait could be hours. It turns out the consulate doesn't open until 9:15 and that you can't line up more than 15 minutes before your designated interview time.
So we sat back down and lined up dutifully at 9:45. After passing the two police men wearing bullet proof vests, of course. There were lots of rules, including that we had to leave our bags, and any objects, like pens, behind. We also went through airport like security. Despite the fact people around us were being told off about "smuggled" pens, and hands glued to phones, and the one guy who brought his computer because he had no printer and thought this was the best way to present his paperwork, no one raised an eyebrow at us. Probably because the only thing in my bag was 12 forgotten lollipop sticks and 9 slightly damp Coles receipts. And the only thing in Bob's was our ream of paper.
After a group of girls that looked like they belonged in a classroom and not a consulate checked over our paperwork, we were ushered into an elevator and zoomed up forty floors.
Here was a room that was cross between the RTA and a bank, with much, much thicker glass in front of the employees. We took a number and had barely sat down when we were called. A lovely, grandmotherly Islander lady checked over our paperwork, fingerprinted us with a crazy scanner machine and told us we were ready for our interview.
Heart pounding, telling myself over and over that we were excellent Visa candidates, we waited not very long at all before we were called. The guy was a handsome and young, but never-the-less serious, American man and after we were fingerprinted, he started asking questions.
Bob was asked first his reasons for traveling, where he would work and what his qualifications were. For reasons that remain mystical to me, he couldn't just say his university degrees. After a minute of waffling/ mumbling, he final spat out the name of a degree similar to his, but not exactly the same. Mr Serious, I'm pretty sure, was struggling not to laughing at him, as he was obviously looking at the correct information on his magical screen, and Bob's struggle was apparently extremely amusing. Much to my surprise, he did not ask to see Bob's degrees at this point. Instead he looked over our passports and asked for the wedding certificate and children's birth certificates. At this point, nerves swallowed me whole, and desperate to prove we did, in fact, know the content of our paperwork I shrilled "It's our wedding anniversary today!" Mr Serious smiled and said "Congratulations! One year?" "No, four!" We replied in unison. Mr Serious did a cursory glance over our paperwork, smiled and said "Your Visas are approved!" I'm fairly certain that most other people would have been asked more questions, but our friend was keen to get rid of the inexplicably nervous, sweaty people who had no idea of proper conversation volumes.
We walked out at 10:24am on Cloud 9!
The remainder of the week was spent selling items on Gumtree. We started on Monday, at around 11:00pm and as of 4:00pm today have sold everything but our Queens sized bed and a handful of baby items. The place is magical. I priced items fairly, but also, so that if we sold everything we wanted to sell, we'd make our removal costs. So far I've only taken a $25.00 hit. I'm pretty thrilled! People are super weird though. I've had lots of ridiculous offers, and people making out they're doing me a favour. Dude, I'm selling stuff, not raising money for charity. You're not being benevolent, you're buying a lounge.
We also had a dent in our car mended, in the hopes we can sell it soon for a good price. We'll see. Scammers, scammers everywhere.We have a nice young lady coming to see it Saturday, right in the thick of our proposed garage sale, so hopefully she'll be too overwhelmed by the great unwashed of Woy Woy to barter and will just cough up the money.
Other than that, we are prepared. We have our Vias, tickets (round 2, first round was in Maidens, not Barnett, which conflicted with my Visa), the removalists come tomorrow and we seem to be making head way with finding a home. It's extremely tricky financially as while some only ask for a nominal application fee, others demand first month's rent down before even considering your application, which means we can essentially only apply for one of these properties at once, being cautious in case we are approved for another home in the mean time, and need to pay the security deposit. With a possible week turn around on getting the money back, this could really set us back in our goal of finding a home before arrival. But our little family is so used to flying by the seat of its pants, and usually landing on our feet, I'm sure we'll be okay in the end!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Photo a Day - Eighth to Fourteenth January
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| Lunch Time! |
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| Dressing Up |
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| Dressing Up (Yes, the handbag is the extent of it) |
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| First Taste of Jelly - Lily thought it was gross, Archer was impressed |
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| Bath Time! |
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| Bomb! |
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| Baking Blueberry and Banana Bread |
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| "Cars and Bananas" or "What Little Brothers do while Big Sisters Bake" |
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| Bucky and Missy are Visiting |
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Photo a Day - First to Seventh January
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| Gumboots - Lily |
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| Gumboots - Archer |
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| Sleepover at Grandmas |
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| Out to Dinner - Archer |
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| Out to Dinner - Lily |
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| Coffee |
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| Sweet Dreams - Lily |
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| Sweet Dreams - Archer |
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| Upside Down - Archer |
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| Upside Down - Lily |
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| Bedtime Stories |
Ramping Up - 3 weeks and counting!
This week we have picked up the pace considerably when it comes to getting ready for our enormous journey. Most notably, we arranged our visas, paid for them and booked the all important interview. The interview is to be held on Thursday, 16 January. We're extremely excited.
Additionally, we booked the removalists for Friday, 24 January. We hope to hold a garage sale to sell our smaller items, such as disused baby goods, for the Saturday immediately following and will be putting larger items, such as white goods and furniture on Gumtree/ eBay.
Right now, all the cupboards in the house are either empty or housing items that are still in daily use, such as clothing.
The children's suitcase is packed!
We have booked for the first 2 of our allotted 6 free council pick ups of 2 cubic metres of rubbish.
Our exit clean is booked for Thursday, 30 January and we're planning to get the carpets cleaned the following day.
We have ordered 3 quotes for the animals to travel.
Which brings us to our main stress.
Right now, we have not secured housing and we need to give two weeks notice for the animals to fly at the same time as us, making Monday, 20 January the cut off. Most companies pick up the animal wherever it is, and offer short term boarding (although they'd probably "board" with their grandma) and, if needed, complete the 48 hour health check, but this is not our only problem.
We have discovered that if the plane is grounded at an unscheduled airport, or for an extended period, the animals are stuck on the plane, or worse, the tarmac, regardless of conditions. This poses an enormous risk to our furbabies as America is currently experiencing a particularly harsh winter. We have actually, in our research, heard numerous stories of animals dying, or being returned in need of urgent medical care when scheduling mishaps of this kind have happened. It is making us very nervous and upset.
We are currently seeking alternatives. At the moment, and my heart is breaking just thinking of it, we are considering shipping them in spring or autumn, to avoid harsh weather conditions. We are in an extremely fortunate position in that they have lots of people who love them, and will care for them as their own, but we will miss them, and no decision on their welfare will be taken lightly. But right now, the idea of them pining for us for a few months is strongly favourable to them stuck on a freezing tarmac for hours.
This is a sad and distressing hurdle we had not expected to meet, but we are so happy and excited for everything else that is going on, and the tremendous pace with which we are moving forward.
Lily asks daily when we are going to "Merry-ka" and it's so exciting to be able to answer her in weeks!
Additionally, we booked the removalists for Friday, 24 January. We hope to hold a garage sale to sell our smaller items, such as disused baby goods, for the Saturday immediately following and will be putting larger items, such as white goods and furniture on Gumtree/ eBay.
Right now, all the cupboards in the house are either empty or housing items that are still in daily use, such as clothing.
The children's suitcase is packed!
We have booked for the first 2 of our allotted 6 free council pick ups of 2 cubic metres of rubbish.
Our exit clean is booked for Thursday, 30 January and we're planning to get the carpets cleaned the following day.
We have ordered 3 quotes for the animals to travel.
Which brings us to our main stress.
Right now, we have not secured housing and we need to give two weeks notice for the animals to fly at the same time as us, making Monday, 20 January the cut off. Most companies pick up the animal wherever it is, and offer short term boarding (although they'd probably "board" with their grandma) and, if needed, complete the 48 hour health check, but this is not our only problem.
We have discovered that if the plane is grounded at an unscheduled airport, or for an extended period, the animals are stuck on the plane, or worse, the tarmac, regardless of conditions. This poses an enormous risk to our furbabies as America is currently experiencing a particularly harsh winter. We have actually, in our research, heard numerous stories of animals dying, or being returned in need of urgent medical care when scheduling mishaps of this kind have happened. It is making us very nervous and upset.
We are currently seeking alternatives. At the moment, and my heart is breaking just thinking of it, we are considering shipping them in spring or autumn, to avoid harsh weather conditions. We are in an extremely fortunate position in that they have lots of people who love them, and will care for them as their own, but we will miss them, and no decision on their welfare will be taken lightly. But right now, the idea of them pining for us for a few months is strongly favourable to them stuck on a freezing tarmac for hours.
This is a sad and distressing hurdle we had not expected to meet, but we are so happy and excited for everything else that is going on, and the tremendous pace with which we are moving forward.
Lily asks daily when we are going to "Merry-ka" and it's so exciting to be able to answer her in weeks!
Friday, January 3, 2014
Dusted Off
At New Year's 2011/12 I made the resolution to write in my blog weekly. Throughout the year, my posts dwindled until the final one was made in August 2012.
This was really sad, especially as I haven't written in it since. I love to write, but variously I was too busy, too boring, and putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much pressure on myself to write amazing things. On occasion I was also too miserable.
But this year is different. This year marks a huge change in our lives, for the very first time, not only will we be living in a different city from all our family, but on a whole other continent.
On 3 February 2014, our family will be boarding a one way flight to Raleigh, North Carolina, with our dog and cat in tow, where my husband will be working for a company called Avalara. I will be recommencing my life as a stay at home mum after working part time in 2013 for the YMCA Children's Services Central Coast and the rest are just going along for the ride.
I have, since I can remember, wanted to spend some time living overseas, and before the bottom fell out of world in 2009, we were planning a grand adventure. Anywhere would do, but I think England had been the top of our list. But then life happened. Repeatedly and relentlessly.
Sometime in 2013, we realised life had stopped happening. We were bumbling long at a normal pace, and doing normal things everyday. And we looked at each other and thought, "It's time."
So, after significant hard work, and quite a few disappointments and general mistakes, my husband secured himself a job with Avalara, as a senior software engineer which granted him eligibility for an E3 Visa. So we're going.
Why not, after all?
My plan is to pick up writing in my blog again to keep everyone up to date on our adventures, and as we plan to have quite a lot, record them for myself and my children.
We are also, for pretty much the sole benefit of the grandmothers, commencing a photo a day project, which we'll upload weekly to the blog rather than Facebook.
Happy 2014, and hope you enjoy coming along for the ride.
This was really sad, especially as I haven't written in it since. I love to write, but variously I was too busy, too boring, and putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much pressure on myself to write amazing things. On occasion I was also too miserable.
But this year is different. This year marks a huge change in our lives, for the very first time, not only will we be living in a different city from all our family, but on a whole other continent.
On 3 February 2014, our family will be boarding a one way flight to Raleigh, North Carolina, with our dog and cat in tow, where my husband will be working for a company called Avalara. I will be recommencing my life as a stay at home mum after working part time in 2013 for the YMCA Children's Services Central Coast and the rest are just going along for the ride.
I have, since I can remember, wanted to spend some time living overseas, and before the bottom fell out of world in 2009, we were planning a grand adventure. Anywhere would do, but I think England had been the top of our list. But then life happened. Repeatedly and relentlessly.
Sometime in 2013, we realised life had stopped happening. We were bumbling long at a normal pace, and doing normal things everyday. And we looked at each other and thought, "It's time."
So, after significant hard work, and quite a few disappointments and general mistakes, my husband secured himself a job with Avalara, as a senior software engineer which granted him eligibility for an E3 Visa. So we're going.
Why not, after all?
My plan is to pick up writing in my blog again to keep everyone up to date on our adventures, and as we plan to have quite a lot, record them for myself and my children.
We are also, for pretty much the sole benefit of the grandmothers, commencing a photo a day project, which we'll upload weekly to the blog rather than Facebook.
Happy 2014, and hope you enjoy coming along for the ride.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Walk for Prems
On 28 October 2012 Bob, the kids and I will be walking to raise money for Life's Little Treasures Foundation.
Life's Little Treasures raises awareness of premature birth, and provides support to families affected by the birth of a premature or sick baby.
We are hoping to raise $500, but exceeding this would be fantastic. Additionally, while our team currently only consists of us, we would be delighted to welcome anybody who wants to particpate for this very good cause.
So please sponsor us, or join us or both!
Life's Little Treasures raises awareness of premature birth, and provides support to families affected by the birth of a premature or sick baby.
We are hoping to raise $500, but exceeding this would be fantastic. Additionally, while our team currently only consists of us, we would be delighted to welcome anybody who wants to particpate for this very good cause.
So please sponsor us, or join us or both!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
10 Things we Love About Kindy!
Way back in January, after Bob had to nearly twist my arm off to do so, we
enrolled Lily in kindy. After a few hiccups, that had me telling Bob he was an
arse for thinking this was a good idea, it has been smooth sailing.
After a parent teacher interview with the fabulous Miss Mandy and reading Lily's monthly report cards, we decided to enrol her for a second day. We are now in the second week of this new two day week, and everyone is loving it.
The whole point of kindy for us was school readiness, as there is a bit of research out there that indicates first year of formal schooling outcomes are more positive for children who've participated in pre-school programmes, it also didn't hurt that I got to miss Lily for a short time during the week, something that has been really wonderful as she enters the "terrible twos".
But there's a lot more to love about kindy, and here is the top ten things.
10. I'm only one person. I can't know every activity, song and game that benefits a toddler's development, despite my best efforts on Pinterest, and it is so nice to be able to leave her with someone whose job it is to know this stuff.
9. Every single week, for the entire 6 months she has been attending, she has come home with a new skill. I 100% feel that her numeracy and literacy are much stronger than they would have been had I not sent her to kindy.
8. It takes some of the pressure off me to come up with a nutritious meal, fun activities and engaging play every day.
7. Ever heard that cleaning with a toddler in the house is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos? I totally use kindy days to do some cleaning.
6. They teach life skills. Lily is much better with hand washing and packing up than I can be given credit for teaching her. I would even go as far to say that she likes to help pack up.
5. Archie gets some genuine one on one time. One of the things I struggled with as a mother of two is not being able to devote the one on one time to Archer that Lily had been so spoiled with. Kindy days allows me to do this. At first we just had delicious hours long baby cuddles, but now we play games and sing songs that he likes, and play with toys that he is developmentally ready for. Without any bossy interference from a toddler. I've also noticed that he naps better on kindy days. I highly doubt it's because he's bothered by her noise, she's not a hugely noisy kid, but rather that he doesn't feel like he's missing out on something fun.
4. She is better with other kids. Lily was painfully shy and seemed to always be a bit of a victim. Always the kid that got shoved, or missed her turn. Not anymore, she's not exactly assertive, but she's getting there. We did have a short and rough bumpy road where she did get a bit pushy and would screech "No!" if she was required to share, but that's over now and she has even started to initiate play at the playground with other kids. "C'mon Girl." "Hello Boy."
3. Her confidence in a wide variety of areas is blossoming, especially gross motor. Because I wrote on her enrolment form we struggle with this, they have worked on it with her. They've taught her to use a balance beam and how to climb a ladder, which despite going to the playground frequently, Bob and I have been unable to do.
2. The ladies at kindy seem to genuinely love Lily. They are excited to see her and know all about the things that make her her. One day I was 45 minutes late because I had a much longer to do list than usual, and I was feeling a little frantic when I arrived. I usually try and arrive by four, before they go back inside from afternoon outside play and before the "floaters" take over from the usual teachers, this day I arrived at 4:45. She was snuggled up with one of the girls, sound asleep, getting her hair stroked. When I do arrive on time, someone greets me and tells me all the wonderful things she has done that day. It's so nice for her to be developing such positive relationships with people other than her parents.
1. Lily loves it. Nothing motivates her in the mornings like telling her it's a kindy day (except maybe swimming days). Every Thursday (and now Monday), we have the same conversation, "Hey Lily. Want to go to kindy today?" Which triggers her running around saying "Yeah! Kinny! Yeah! Mandy! Yeah! Jenna!" and demanding shoes, brushed hair, her hat and to get in the pram. One morning I was really disorganised, and unsatisfied, she climbed into he pram by herself, clipped herself in and proceeded to yell at me until we left. She does always cry when I leave, but when I arrive in the afternoons, she's always playing happily, and usually with toys we don't have at home.
And that is why the Maidens family loves kindy!
After a parent teacher interview with the fabulous Miss Mandy and reading Lily's monthly report cards, we decided to enrol her for a second day. We are now in the second week of this new two day week, and everyone is loving it.
The whole point of kindy for us was school readiness, as there is a bit of research out there that indicates first year of formal schooling outcomes are more positive for children who've participated in pre-school programmes, it also didn't hurt that I got to miss Lily for a short time during the week, something that has been really wonderful as she enters the "terrible twos".
But there's a lot more to love about kindy, and here is the top ten things.
10. I'm only one person. I can't know every activity, song and game that benefits a toddler's development, despite my best efforts on Pinterest, and it is so nice to be able to leave her with someone whose job it is to know this stuff.
9. Every single week, for the entire 6 months she has been attending, she has come home with a new skill. I 100% feel that her numeracy and literacy are much stronger than they would have been had I not sent her to kindy.
8. It takes some of the pressure off me to come up with a nutritious meal, fun activities and engaging play every day.
7. Ever heard that cleaning with a toddler in the house is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos? I totally use kindy days to do some cleaning.
6. They teach life skills. Lily is much better with hand washing and packing up than I can be given credit for teaching her. I would even go as far to say that she likes to help pack up.
5. Archie gets some genuine one on one time. One of the things I struggled with as a mother of two is not being able to devote the one on one time to Archer that Lily had been so spoiled with. Kindy days allows me to do this. At first we just had delicious hours long baby cuddles, but now we play games and sing songs that he likes, and play with toys that he is developmentally ready for. Without any bossy interference from a toddler. I've also noticed that he naps better on kindy days. I highly doubt it's because he's bothered by her noise, she's not a hugely noisy kid, but rather that he doesn't feel like he's missing out on something fun.
4. She is better with other kids. Lily was painfully shy and seemed to always be a bit of a victim. Always the kid that got shoved, or missed her turn. Not anymore, she's not exactly assertive, but she's getting there. We did have a short and rough bumpy road where she did get a bit pushy and would screech "No!" if she was required to share, but that's over now and she has even started to initiate play at the playground with other kids. "C'mon Girl." "Hello Boy."
3. Her confidence in a wide variety of areas is blossoming, especially gross motor. Because I wrote on her enrolment form we struggle with this, they have worked on it with her. They've taught her to use a balance beam and how to climb a ladder, which despite going to the playground frequently, Bob and I have been unable to do.
2. The ladies at kindy seem to genuinely love Lily. They are excited to see her and know all about the things that make her her. One day I was 45 minutes late because I had a much longer to do list than usual, and I was feeling a little frantic when I arrived. I usually try and arrive by four, before they go back inside from afternoon outside play and before the "floaters" take over from the usual teachers, this day I arrived at 4:45. She was snuggled up with one of the girls, sound asleep, getting her hair stroked. When I do arrive on time, someone greets me and tells me all the wonderful things she has done that day. It's so nice for her to be developing such positive relationships with people other than her parents.
1. Lily loves it. Nothing motivates her in the mornings like telling her it's a kindy day (except maybe swimming days). Every Thursday (and now Monday), we have the same conversation, "Hey Lily. Want to go to kindy today?" Which triggers her running around saying "Yeah! Kinny! Yeah! Mandy! Yeah! Jenna!" and demanding shoes, brushed hair, her hat and to get in the pram. One morning I was really disorganised, and unsatisfied, she climbed into he pram by herself, clipped herself in and proceeded to yell at me until we left. She does always cry when I leave, but when I arrive in the afternoons, she's always playing happily, and usually with toys we don't have at home.
And that is why the Maidens family loves kindy!
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