We have really found ourselves digging deep for extra patience when it has come to securing the lease for our home. We first viewed the home on Monday, January 9th, put in a verbal offer on Tuesday, January 10th. And today, Friday, January 20th, we have finally come to an agreement! It has been a long wait, but in the end it will be worth it. It is a great family home for us - we love the neighborhood, the area, and the floor plan of the home. Of course this being said, we have come to a verbal agreement and emails have been exchanged back and forth in this agreement. The agent is still writing up the lease. How hard can it be? Hopefully by tomorrow we will have it all in writing, or by Monday at the latest. They are replacing every last stitch of the peacock blue carpet, thankfully. That should be completed next week and we hope to move in around the 27th of January, if all goes as planned. It will be so nice to get into a home, although we will have to find more patience, as our furniture and other things will not arrive until the end of February/beginning of March. We did receive confirmation that our container set sail from LA this week and will arrive in the port of Melbourne on February 21st, then it takes about 1 week for everything to clear customs. So I am hoping by the 1st of March we will have a delivery! (Great timing because I will be about 37 weeks along at that time - ha!). Hopefully our little girl will stay put until 40 weeks, following in the footsteps of her older sister and brother. I am crossing my fingers on this one, as I need the extra time to get the house set up and in order before she arrives.
I had my first OB appointment on Wednesday with my new doctor here. I was very impressed with him and felt very comfortable during the appointment. All went well - he was very thorough and went over all of my records I brought with me. He asked alot of questions of how we handle prenatal care in the US vs. Australia. He spent close to an hour with me, in consultation and also then examining me. I am very pleased to have found him and I think he will give me great care in the weeks ahead and with the delivery. My only concern is the distance of the hospital located downtown from our home in the suburbs (about 30 minutes) and we'll need to really know how to drive and get there. Guess we should start practicing that in the coming weeks, just in case. We had it pretty easy back home, with the hospital only being about 7-8 minutes from our house, and an easy drive with no traffic.
The kids and I went to Target yesterday! The highlight of my week....only kidding. But really I couldn't wait to get to Target and see what it was really like for myself. Was it the same as back home? Will they have the same loved brands that I buy regularly? It is a great store all in all, and we enjoyed shopping there. Alot alike and alot different about it. I am thrilled to have a comfort from home! First of all it is located inside a mall. That seems to be a trend here. The Big W we went to last week was in the mall, as well as the Target, an Aldi grocery store, a liquor store, a meat market and a pharmacy all inside the mall. I guess they really want to make sure it is one stop shopping! People wheel around their shopping carts throughout the mall. Now that takes some getting used to seeing. The kids had a big highlight when we were at the mall, very unexpectedly. As we entered the mall to find Target, Claire spotted the CHIPMUNKS! Alvin, Simon and Theodore were in full costume dancing on the stage. We had just arrived at the end of the performance, but they would be coming back onstage at 1:00. So we quickly did our shopping at Target and came back to enjoy the show. Both kids were really excited about this, mainly because we had just seen the movie at the theater in The Woodlands in December.
Bryan is enjoying a Friday night out at the Australian Open with his boss. I can't wait to hear about it! The kids and I have had a good week. They are perfectly content around here, amazingly. That is a huge relief to me. They think this apartment living is pretty swell ~ they ride the elevators a couple of times a day, have an indoor swimming pool that we frequent, a 7th floor balcony to eat and play on, and an ice cream shop within walking distance! What more could a kid ask for? :) It's Bryan and I that are more antsy to move out to the suburbs. It will be nice to have more space, our own home, and get to know the town of Brighton a little more. Going to the grocery store will be easier there, as well as using our car, going to the park, and the beach nearby. It will be a really great day when we get to move in!
One thing I should note, Bryan thinks I paint a pretty "rosey" picture on our blog of our time here so far. I will agree to disagree because I personally think everything has been realistically portrayed. He said he may come on as a guest writer from time to time to add some things of his own. Wouldn't that be a treat? :) No really, he wanted to be sure you all knew how much smoke was coming out of his ears when it took him 6 attempts to get the cell phone deal worked out. And he also wants everyone to know how many french fries ("chips" as they call them here), pizza, and ice cream we have all eaten during our time here. Every restaurant seems to serve things "with chips" and pizza also seems to be a staple on most menus. When in doubt, I guess that is what we have turned to....true comfort food on our adventure down under! We have been eating out A TON. I thought I would never get tired of it, I thought I would enjoy not having to cook for a couple of weeks.... but at about day 10, I had truly had enough. We have managed to make a few meals in our apartment, but with limited access to a grocery store and limited cooking supplies in our mini-kitchen here, it's truly for the birds.
We are looking forward to the weekend and enjoying 2 days together as a family. We are going to one of Bryan's co-workers homes for a picnic lunch tomorrow. They have 2 young girls, ages 5 and 2, so I know the kids will enjoy playing. We also hope to get to the uniform shop to get the kids' outfits all ready for school. And we'll probably try to squeeze in some fun, touristy activities as well.
Next week I am looking forward to doing some fun things with the kids - our last full week together until they begin school. We really are so very lucky that the timing of our move worked out as it did. I am so thankful we have had time to get settled and acquainted with Melbourne and Australia before I have to start dropping the kids off at school everyday. It has been good for them to have this time to enjoy just being kids and learning about this new place we'll be living. I am enjoying my special time with them, as I know things will change quite a bit when our baby arrives in March. I love that they are both starting school here at the beginning of the school year. Sure they will still both be the "new kids", but at least they aren't coming in mid-year, they will have a fresh start with a new class at the beginning of the school year. Claire will start Grade 2 on Wednesday, February 1st and Will begins Pre-K 4 on Thursday, February 2nd. It will be a new adventure for all of us with both of them in school.
Oh, and one more thing, once we get settled in our home, I can't wait to go to Costco here! And I found out they opened their first Gap store in December. So great to have a few things I recognize!
Hope you all have a great weekend! Off to grab some dinner at a restaurant of course and then to get some ice cream!
Cheers from down under,
Chrissy :)
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