Christmas 2018

We had a wonderful trip back to the states and a great Christmas surrounded by family and friends. We also made it to Michael's cousin's wedding in Cincinnati, and walked to the Kentucky state line (which was about a 15 minute walk from where we were staying). So, Penelope made it to four US states (VA, MD, OH, and KY) and the District of Columbia in one trip. She really took to a lot of our family and friends, and just beamed the whole time (when she wasn't teething). She now has four teeth, by the way. She is now an expert crawler, and has graduated to working on steps (always with a spotter, of course), and standing up with the help of people or furniture. She loves to wave all the time at everyone, and now loves clapping (a milestone she seemed to hit a little late). She learned to say, "Lala", the nickname for one of her grandmas, and is working on the other extended family nicknames. 

As I type, Mike and Penelope are taking a long, jet-lagged afternoon nap. At some point I will crash, probably when they are just waking up. 

The Packing Has Begun

I am packing in stages. I have completed stage 1 - Penelope's things and Christmas gifts. Travelling for 24 hours with a teething baby, my carry-on is almost entirely full with baby clothes, diapers, wipes, several plastic bags, toys, documents, and various foods and medicines. She has been really picky and messy when eating lately, and has had a tough time at night too, so I am hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Hopefully everyone sitting around us across the Pacific won't hate us, but if they do, we will likely never see them again. 


I'm looking forward to three weeks of winter. I hope Penelope will get to see her first snow, but that it doesn't affect any of our travel plans! Going home is always a whirlwind of social events, and this time will be even busier because of the holidays and a wedding we will be attending. All I want for Christmas is for things to run relatively smoothly. I hope that's not too much to ask for.

Happy Hanukkah!

Snaggletooth

Penelope has started teething. She has one tooth on the bottom and one on top. They are not directly on top of each other. So all the great sleeping and eating has gone out the window again. Such is the nature of having a baby. She has never been one to suck on a pacifier/"dummy", but we let her do it today - more like chew on one - and she kind of loved it. Maybe that will help in the next few days.

She has developed the ability to shake her head "no". At first, she did it to say she did not want a particular food. Now she will do it even before she tries a food, and sometimes we have to convince her to just taste something (this probably has more to do with teething, since she is in pain). She has also shaken her head "no" it when I've poured water on her head at swimming (we do it to warm up before putting them under), and when I said she was going to take a nap. Anyway, it's interesting to see what situations she uses it in now, because it's a clue into what other words and concepts she understands.

It's a pretty quiet weekend. Our sleep and meals have been out of whack because of our late-night teething parties. Michael has been working on some side projects, we had our regular Saturday morning breakfast sandwiches, and I took Penelope to the farmers market. Peaches and cherries are in season - yum! And I bought some local raw lavender honey - double yum! 

I am mentally preparing for our trip to back to the US for the holidays. I am keeping my expectations low for the long flight, which kind of sucks anyway, with the added bonus of a teething baby. Hopefully those teeth will pop out in the next few days and not be an issue. It's unrealistic to expect a baby to be blissfully happy or sleep for an entire 15 hours, though (plus a layover, then other shorter flight). 

Share Our Calm

Today, I taught in a school where this was on the wall in the teachers' lounge. It's a nice reminder to anyone who works with or spends time with little kids, and it's also a nice sentiment to hear on a day where I am saddened to hear that the US military was firing teargas at children. Children. Children who are fleeing violence already. 

Something is not right. 

The US had weeks to prepare for a large surge of people arriving at the border. They could have adequately prepared the checkpoint to appropriately process the people who are seeking asylum legally. Instead, they shut down the checkpoint and freaked out and shot teargas at a crowd on Mexican soil that was not acting violently (from my understanding of what happened). 

Something is not right.

Sort-of-Thanksgiving and Buster Scruggs

This time last year, we were in the states, celebrating with family. 

I last minute decided to try to make a sort-of-Thanksgiving meal. I cooked a few pieces of turkey breast, Easy Mac, and sweet potato, with a side of fresh green grapes and leftover fried rice with green beans. It was just the three of us when Michael got home from work. Even though just about everything was non-traditional about our Thanksgiving, down to us being in the wrong country, it was Penelope's first. I'm not sure she even knows, since she couldn't eat most of the food. 

I try to remind myself daily of how much I am thankful for. That being said, I am particularly thankful this year for Penelope joining our family.

We finished off the evening, after P went to bed, by starting The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. We are four vignettes into it; we are kind of watching it like episodes of a TV show, rather than a movie. Anyway, I'm really enjoying it, despite the fact that it's really messed up, and also that (so far, anyway) there have been no female characters. You kind of go into a Coen Bros. movie expecting it to be violent and for there to be characters with dark intentions. Anyway, I am also thankful I'm not alive during their version of the Wild West. 

Expat Non-Thanksgiving

Most of the people would probably spend Thanksgiving with have moved away from Sydney in the last year or two. We will just have a normal family dinner of Turkey (but not a whole one) and some sides. We can be quietly thankful and that is enough.

Penelope has reached the milestone of being able to pull herself up to standing. She's not great at it yet; if she gets distracted, she completely loses balance. I'm trying to teach her to kind of sit quickly if that happens, as opposed to just falling down onto her face or back. I'm also trying to teach her that to get down off the couch, she should turn around and put her feet down on the ground first. It's all a work in progress. 

In other news, I think I may have broken my first bone ever: my right pinky toe. I stubbed it really hard yesterday, and it is now swollen and bruised worse than I have ever seen it. It obviously hurts if I put weight one it. It's hard to tell if it's broken or just very badly bruised; but it's not bad enough that I feel the need to seek medical attention. I don't need to play frisbee for a few weeks anyway, so I imagine it will just heal on its own. It would help if I could stop banging it on things, though. Now that we have a baby, and all the stuff that goes along with a baby, like the high chair and bouncer and pack-n-play, there are so many more things around to stub my toes on. A lot of them happen to be things that are wider on the bottom than on top, so that they don't easily fall, which is part of why I'm poorly estimating where my feet should go (in the already small and crowded space). Anyway, I guess I need to evolve better navigation skills, or all my tiny digits will pay for it.

We are starting to get ready for our first trip overseas with Penelope. The flight will be about 15 hours, and then after a layover, another approx. 4.5 hour flight after that. It will be a log haul, but I suppose if we can survive that, the rest of the trip should be a piece of cake. We hope. 

Carnivorous Plants

We went to see the carnivorous plants exhibit at the Botanic Gardens this past weekend. Mike had gone the previous weekend, but since it was so beautiful out and we our friends were also interested, he and Penny got to see the exhibit again. If there is any exhibit you probably shouldn't bring a baby to, it's probably one that has live carnivorous plants. Penelope came home with all 10 fingers and toes, though... both times.

It was a fun, and we also walked around the gardens and along the water some, and had brunch at the cafe.

Baby Biker

Today, we got Penelope a bike seat installed on the back of my bike, so we can go for bike rides together. Her head is still too small to comfortably wear the smallest helmet, so she's not jazzed about it, but we think once her head grows a little bigger she'll be alright. It was quite a investment. So, once she is comfortable, we are going to have to use it enough to get our money's worth. We didn't realize Omafiets was so close to where we live - it was definitely a great find only a few minutes' walk from our place.

Tiny Escape Artist and Comebacks

It's just an ordinary week with the usual work, frisbee, trivia, etc. Penelope has become quite the escape artist, and we are constantly needing to find new ways to contain her in her play area. We have a pack-n-play/port-o-cot, and she still fits in the bouncer, if we really need her to be completely contained for a few minutes, but she she likes to roam around in the larger play area/"living room" under our supervision. Living room is in quotes, because it's really all just the same room, we just have it sectioned off with furniture.

On Monday, my frisbee league team started a game down 2:8, and we had a huge comeback to win the game 11:9. It was pretty fabulous. It's the second week in a row we started down and had a huge come back. Also, my trivia team got 3rd this week, after coming in 2nd the previous trivia night. So I guess it's been a pretty good week so far.

Time to run PJ to swimming lessons! 

PJ's First Sculpture by the Sea

We decided to brave the crowds, public transport, and heat to take Penelope to Sculpture by the Sea on the last day this year. The thing I love about this annual art festival is that the natural beauty of the area is the gallery. The art, weather, time of day, surroundings, and people all interact to create a unique experience. I could have gone to see the sculptures during a quiet weekday sunset or sunrise, and it would have been a totally different experience. The photos would be completely different. Sometimes the context can really make the work of art. For example, there was one sculpture that was just a giant metal whisk that was titled something to the effect of "wave-maker" (I forget the actual title). If it hadn't been near the ocean, it would have been kind of meaningless. Also, there were some sculptures that had solar panels on them, so they would light up in the dark (I assume, since we were there during the day), which makes a statement about renewable energy. Those wouldn't have been as impactful sitting in a gallery.

It was a family Sunday well-spent. Below is just a sampling of my photos. 

PAX AUS 2018

The second weekend in a row, we skipped town to attend PAX AUS. It was Pen's first convention, and she enjoyed most of it. It was just tricky to get her to nap during the day. We were also able to have a short visit with some cousins, and Pen enjoyed meeting everyone and eating a little bit of Philippino food. 

Not surprisingly, Michael and I had to have realistic expectations about how much we would get to do at the convention this year, while juggling a baby. Somehow, he still managed to earn a medal in a Pandemic tournament, I made it to the finals of a Carcassone tournament, and we also made it to a few panels, and I stole a few minutes to myself to try briefly check out some indy and classic games. We also completed PAX XP (a QR code hunt) in our last hour and earn some mugs. 

View from our Airbnb

Michael and Thang (this photo appeared on the PAX AUS Tabletop Twitter feed, I think)

We caught a snorlax!

 Nostalgia

Checkout the 3rd high score :)

You guys see the clown too, right?

Photosynthesis

Good times! And now we are all exhausted.

Voting Day - Nov 6

Election Day is Nov 6! Early voting has already started in some states; we have already mailed in our ballots. I hope all my readers are registered and have a plan. Here is some info about the specifics for different states. Lyft and Uber have offered free rides to the polls as well. 

In Australia, voting is mandatory (there is some small fine if you don't), and they make it very easy for citizens - I believe it's always on the weekend, and your polling place is flexible. Not to mention, there's the tradition of voting and then eating a "Democracy sausage". 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the election, and I'm a little nervous about what the outcome will be. After the last big election, it seems like nothing is certain when it comes to US politics. I think record numbers of young people will come out to vote, but I really have no idea if that will actually happen. I believe there are record numbers of younger people running for office, as well as record numbers of candidates who come from diverse backgrounds. No matter what you think is going to happen, make sure you vote. Make yourself aware of what you need to do in your state, and bring an official ID just in case. If there is any confusion, remember, you can always fill out a provisional ballot.

Yay, Democracy!

AMUC - Div 2 - 2018

Over the weekend, our little family drove up to Nelson Bay to play in division 2 nationals for frisbee. Penelope was a trooper - she was fabulous for the whole car ride there and back. She had to have almost all her naps in the pram and had to eat on-the-go for 2 1/2 days. She also did great when being entertained by our teammates on the sidelines while Mike and I were on the field. As a team, we stayed in little cabins at a "holiday park" (essentially a trailer park/campground). Even though the cabins were small, it was a luxury to have a tiny separate room for Penelope to sleep in. 

Our team didn't place as high as we would have liked, but it was still a fun tournament, and we saw lots of familiar faces on rival teams. 

Time to Parent

Michael and I both started reading Time to Parent by Julie Morgenstern. It's a good, practical guide at how to balance your time so that you can make the most of the time you have with your kids, whether you work full-time or you're a full-time caregiver. It's good so far.

Same Message, Different Decade

Like many Americans, I'm nervous about election day. The system of checks and balances hasn't been working properly because the government hasn't actually been balanced for the last two years, and the US government currently resembles more of a kleptocracy. It will be interesting to see what happens to the GOP after the current president is no longer in office, whether that ens up being sooner or later. 

It's also unsettling (and unsurprising) to hear about the dire climate change report, and the fact that massive numbers of insects are dying off. This, in turn, affects further up the food chain, obviously. What bothers me more now, when I hear news about the current state of the planet, is that Penelope and her generation will be inheriting a planet that is a mess. The previous generations could and should have done more. It will be her generation's great challenge to adapt to a rapidly-changing planet. 

Anyway... I've been reminded lately of this old video (I tried to embed it, but had problems with it for some reason). It is harder to watch than I remember it being. I feel like someone could very easily make a modern version with footage of everything that has happened in the last few years. From heartbreaking events, to people pulling together to enact positive change. 


I was going to end with this video, but then I realized Robin Williams is in it, which makes it ironically depressing...

So instead, I think I have to end with this...

Ducklings 2 and Michael's Birthday

Penelope just started the "Ducklings 2" swim class this week. Now when she goes underwater at class, something they do about three times in a class, she comes up and says, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" in a pleading/worried tone. After a few seconds, she chills out. and happily starts splashing and smiling again. It's hard not to feel really bad, smiling and dunking your kid, only to have them plead with you with the one word they know. It's so much more personal. Like, "Mama, why are you doing this to me?!". None of the other kids can talk, so they usually frown or cry.

They say it's still pretty normal for the kids to still be getting used to going under and holding their breath. The kids are fine, they just kind of end up holding their breath too long after they've come out, and look panicked because they're holding their breath. Then they start breathing again a second later and remember, " Oh yeah, it's okay". 

Anyway, Penelope still does enjoy all the other parts of swimming. The splashing. The songs. Interacting with the other kids. And even afterwards when she's cold, when I'm changing her, she doesn't get grumpy. 

It's been pretty on-and-off rainy in the last few days. Magically, whenever I'm leaving wherever I am, that's when the rain starts to pick up. Between that and Penelope having a cold, we've just been taking it easy this weekend. 

Michael's birthday was this week. We just had a game night with a few friends, and tomorrow we are doing dinner and an escape room in his honor. It will be Penelope's first - we will see how well she does. I don't think too many other people bring babies to escape rooms, since they can only take away from your attention on a timed task, but we figure, why not. 

Since I got an Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake for Mike, and a friend brought one over, we have had a delicious surplus and have eaten some the last three days. Too much cheesecake is a good way to start a new year, I think.

Gift Ideas

I just want to give a little plug for two great literary gifts for any little children you might know this holiday season: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and the Little People, Big Dreams series. They give great biographical info about women from so many backgrounds, and are great for boys and girls. 

If there is any hope to be had, it's in the young people who are going to change this world for the better. I know every generation says that, but I still believe it.

Nope

As I have previously mentioned, I am against Kavanaugh's nomination for several reasons. One of many reasons it's quite bothersome is that he was voted for by states that represent less than half of the country, and the majority of Americans do not want him there, including thousands of judges and law experts. The whole point of the Supreme Court is that it's supposed to be less partisan than the other branches of government, and this appointment makes a mockery of that. Not only has Kavanaugh shown himself to be incredibly partisan, he has said vengeful things about the opposing side. I think this quote sums it up best (I don't know who said it, since it's been going around the internet from different sources):

"I never get hired at the job interviews where I cry and tell the how much I love drinking beer".

That hearing was a job interview, and nobody else would have gotten a job acting like that. The GOP has shown over and over in the last two years that they don't care about the views and rights of women, and this was just one more big obvious way of doing that.

Anyway, I could talk endlessly about my problems with the whole hearing and sham FBI investigation, but I won't bother. All I will do now is remind people to vote. And if you claim to care about the women in your life, but you continue to vote for the GOP candidates who continuously and consistently ignore and debase women, then your actions speak louder than your words. 

Maniac

We just watched Maniac on Netflix (spoiler alert - skip to the next paragraph if you don't want spoilers). I really loved it at the beginning; it's different and strange, and it has an unreliable main character. It also has some really great actors in it, including Sally Field and Justin Theroux. It doesn't have as strong of an end, unless you take the stance that it's possible that the end doesn't really happen (and it's either all in Owen's head, or they're both still stuck in the computer). 

Anyway, it's worth checking out. Netflix and other platforms have put out some great content lately.

Creepy, Creeping, Sleeping In, and Vegging Out

Like many Americans, I have been watching this whole Kavanaugh ordeal on the news, curious how it will play out. John Oliver's breakdown of the hearing was my favorite of what I've heard and read (the link it just an excerpt, but the whole episode was great). Like many, it seems obvious to me that no matter what happened between Kavanaugh and any women in the 1980's, his recent behavior should disqualify him from sitting on the highest court in the land. That's all I'll say about that for now.

In more fun and interesting news, Penelope is now creeping around. I hesitate to say crawling, just because she kind of can only commando crawl short distances. She has also said her first word, "Mom" or "Mum", depending on which country you're from. I know she's saying my name as opposed to just babbling, because she specifically uses it in instances where either someone is holding her or she has been put down, and she is reaching out for me. Mike still insists that she is babbling, and that her first word is going to be Dad. Sometimes he lives in an alternate universe.

I was sick for part of the long weekend, so Mike took Penelope to brunch at our friends' while I slept in and puttered around at home. Somehow, they were gone for seven hours. Since Penelope has been born, that has happened exactly one other time, another time when I was sick and exhausted several months ago. When you're used to taking care of a baby nearly 24/7, with occasional time away here or there for a workout/grocery shopping/appointments, it's weird to spend a large chunk of time at home without her. It's too quiet. You're able to do too much of anything you choose, uninterrupted. You have privacy. It's strange. 

Now is the time of year that a ton of TV shows start up again. It always surprises me because it doesn't correspond to any particular thing that is happening here in Australia, whereas in the states it kind of corresponds to the start of the school year. So far, I'm getting back into The Good Place, This Is Us, Drunk History, and just watched the first episode of Maniac, which intrigues me and I can't wait to watch more. I'm also looking forward to The Walking Dead coming back, knowing what is theoretically coming up (from reading the comics). I don't care if the show already jumped the shark, I've invested enough time and emotion that I'm going to see it through. 

That's the latest. I'm just finishing at the same second Penelope is waking from her nap.

The News is Just Embarrassing Now

It's really incredible how many different ways the US has hit rock bottom in the last two years. I started listing several of the events, and then I just got too bummed out and deleted it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I am concerned for the future of the US. Thank goodness an election is right around the corner. 

I am so grateful to be living in Australia right now. I am grateful to hear different international perspectives on what's going on in the US, and to be looking in from the outside. No country is perfect, but most other countries are not having the same issues with the sheer abundance of violence, civil unrest, and growing inequality. 

It is still so beyond me, living in a country that guarantees healthcare for all, why anyone in the US is still fighting it. It's proven to cut costs and allow for a higher quality of care and quality of life. Period. 

It's beyond me why so many people are still fighting common sense gun laws. Again, every other developed nation in the world has come up with solutions to reduce the number of guns owned by private citizens with great success at reducing violence. Period. 

I'm tired of hearing the same arguments against common sense. I'm tired of hearing about the president's tweets that fall lower and lower below the dignity of the office he holds. 

It's really sad that the people in charge simply don't want to plan for the future of the country (IT'S THEIR JOB). If they don't want their job, I'd be happy to vote in people that are willing to do the work. Taking care of and improving things - to try to make the world a better place for the next generation - didn't used to be a radical idea. I know I definitely want to world to be a better place for Penelope when she grows up, but I can't think of too many ways that it will be. 

Sharp Objects and The Half Parathon

It was a mostly quiet week, with Penelope getting over her cold/cough, and Michael working long hours on a big project for work. The only thing worth noting is that a friend who moved to Perth is visiting town this weekend with her three-month-old daughter. We got to hangout with them a little bit, which was nice.

I finished watching Sharp Objects. It was slow to start, but once it got rolling I got into it. It wins for new show with the most psychologically messed-up characters. I hadn't also read the book, but those that I know who read it said that it was a pretty solid portrayal of the story. 

This weekend was "The Half Parathon", which our friends host and run annually. It's a half marathon, but it's broken up over several stops (running in approx. 5k chunks) throughout the afternoon. Mike ran it for the first time, and Penelope and I met up with him and our friends at two of the stops. Conveniently, the route ran right down our street, so I put a sign up on our balcony that said "KEEP RUNNING!". Both Mike and PJ fell asleep by 7:30PM and I'm the only one still awake - very unusual. I'm used to being the only one awake at 2AM after I feed Penelope and she falls back asleep, but not this early.

For some reason it feels like Sunday night, even though it's Saturday. That pleasantly surprised feeling of having one more day to the weekend is much preferred to when the weekend doesn't feel long enough. 

Warm Weekend, Cold Week

Over the weekend we got to do some fun family stuff in the neighborhood. Saturday, it was warm enough to go to the pool. Sunday, we went for a walk and ended up at a local art gallery. Then, we had a game night with some friends. 

Penelope has her first cold. Half the time, she is her normal self, happy to sit in the bouncer, roll around in her playpen a little bit, be social, go for walks, etc. The other half of the time, she's a little more grumpy than usual because she can't breath properly through her nose, and thus, sleep as well as she usually does. She also isn't happy with us when we try to clear her nose out with nasal spray, since babies don't know how to blow their own noses. She didn't notice we missed swimming for the week, but she probably wouldn't have been happy to find that out. Hopefully, she will get over it soon... for comfort, and for the sake of us getting enough sleep by association.

I've started playing in a weekly frisbee league again with some friends, something I haven't been able to do in over a year... maybe a year and a half? Anyway, it was fun to run around in the cool night air with some friends and change the plastic. Even though we lost our game at universe point, and had only one male sub and no female subs, everyone was still in high spirits and had a good time. 

Hurricane Florence

I'm seeing lots of social media posts and hearing lots of news from afar about the impending hurricane along the East Coast of the US. I think everyone is a little on edge after last year's exceptionally bad hurricane season, and there are already numerous active tropical storms around the globe at the moment. I sincerely hope that the US government and individuals are prepared, and even over-prepared this time. If you are in one of the areas affected, stay safe and make good decisions! Hopefully, these semi-regular natural disasters will cue lawmakers to allocate emergency relief funding appropriately, and make good infrastructure decisions for the future of major US cities.

Crazy Rich Asians

(Mild spoiler alert)

Penelope and I went to see Crazy Rich Asians yesterday. It was a pretty tame rom-com, and it was pretty entertaining enough. There were some really pretty scenes, like the wedding scene with the water flowing down the aisle. It was great to see an entirely Asian cast take center stage. I think my favorite line by Ken Jeong went something like, "There are starving children in America who would love to have your food" - a play on the old line all of us Asians heard as children about how there are starving children in [insert Asian country your family is from], so you should be happy for the food you have. On the one hand, it's funny because the roles are reversed; on the other hand, it's a little sad because it is true these days. One thing I thought was odd, for a movie where they make a big deal about how important family is in Asian cultures, was that there were no older male characters. All the male characters in the film were young and fit; all the family members from the older generation were female. I think this was partially because the main male characters looks half-caucasian, and they didn't want to have to cast a dad for him, maybe? Another thing I thought was strange was the ending. It ended how you'd mostly expect a rom-com to end, but I feel like the main conflict in the story (with the family completely accepting the son's love interest) was never actually fully resolved. 

Anyway, It's always good when we can get out for a "prams at the pix" session.

Wild Flour, Powerful Owls, and Sleep Style

Our little experiment of me going back to work for a day was a success! Work went well for me, and Michael and Penelope had a great day together. 

We had a quiet first half of the weekend, since Michael had a lot of work to do and the weather wasn't great. The only thing worth mentioning was that the new cafe nearby, Wild Flour, opened (where the Town Bike Pitstop used to be). I got to try some of their goodies for free - cinnamon soft pretzels, nutella scrolls, and sandwiches, yum! 

Sunday, when the weather was gorgeous, we had a picnic at Centennial Park and went for a long walk. The highlight was finding the powerful owls. Some time ago, maybe a year or two, one of the two resident powerful owls was, sadly, hit by a car. Since then, the surviving one has found a new mate and they've had a baby. We were lucky enough to see all three hanging out up high in a tree together. The baby is gigantic, but has different plumage to tell it apart. 

We finished off the weekend with a game night with some friends and Indian food. Penelope loves when we have friends over, and likes to try to stay up socializing until she just can't anymore. 

Since Penelope hit the six month mark, she has been going to sleep much easier. She still takes a few minutes to settle, and she still wakes up some at night, but her naps and wake up times are a lot more consistent. It saves a lot of my energy and time and it's also really nice to see that she has already grown enough emotionally to trust her surroundings and us. There's this big question in parenting these days as to whether or not you should let your baby "cry it out" to get to sleep more soundly through the night. Lots of professionals warn against it, and yet it is very common practice and there are different common methods. I'm very happy that we never had to do it for Penelope to get to where she is. It's not to say she doesn't fuss some when going down to sleep; she does mildly protest, rolling around or whinging a little. We just roll her back over, pat her on the back a little bit, and usually gets sleepy. Sometimes we have to do that three times, but it eventually works. I honestly don't know how some parents can listen to their kid cry and scream for a half hour or an hour. I have no judgment for the parents who teach their children to self-settle in whatever ways they need to in order to function as a family, since every kid and every parent have different needs. I just couldn't listen to my kid cry that long. Literally, our apartment is so small, I'd have a splitting headache and my nerves would be frayed in no time and it wouldn't be worth it. Maybe those parents just have bigger homes. 

Having said all that and making it sound like we are so great, for the first six months I did what a lot of people said not to do also - getting Penelope to sleep by feeding, rocking, or holding her. They say not to do all that stuff because you'll regret it that they won't self-settle. And you know what? I don't regret it, and most of the time I really loved it. The trade off is that there are nights that she is suddenly wide awake at 3AM, and you just have to take those moments in shifts, and then they pass. You find a way to make up the sleep later, or have a tea and do without it. Luckily, it seems like those nights will be less from now on (but time will tell). I'm sure someone will read what I said and judge us for our parenting decisions, but I don't care. People are going to do that anyway, so at least I'm happy about mine, and my kid seems pretty happy too. 

It's a warm and sunny start to the new week, and we already have a swim lesson under our belts. 

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose. 

Muppets and Babies and Muppet Babies

Part of having a young baby is trying to get them onto at least a rough schedule. It's good for them to have predictability a lot of the time, so they can build trust in the people and in the world around them, and it helps them nap and sleep better because their drowsiness will get cued by the regular activities that come before it. I am pretty good at keeping things consistent for Penelope. I usually plan our little outings around when she naps, or try to time it so that she falls asleep in the pram.  It's one of the most gratifying, boring things you can do as a new parent, and it allows you to maximise my time when baby is asleep to do other things. When Penelope has three good naps in a day, and goes to sleep at a reasonable time, I give myself a pat on the back. 

When Michael has a few hours with her, he wants to take her on adventures. He is not concerned about getting her to nap, since he figures she will sleep when she needs to. He trusts that in the end, no matter the smaller day-to-day details, Penelope will end up okay. He finds nothing more boring and tedious than staying home just for the sake of following a schedule.

When it comes to parenting, I am an order Muppet, Michael is a chaos Muppet. In other situations, or around different groups of people, I am a chaos Muppet and Michael is an order Muppet. For example, I am a chaos Muppet when it comes to producing creative art, following inspiration and a more organic process, while Michael will plan and even strategise or write up spreadsheets before putting pen to paper. Then afterwards, he will categorise the work he has done and display it flawlessly. I am the Jackson Pollock, and he is the Da Vinci. In any case, there are benefits to both points of view in different circumstances. 

But, back to us parenting Muppets. Tomorrow is the first day Michael will be with Penelope all day while I substitute teach. This will not be a regular affair, but something I might occasionally do when we are able to pull it off. I have not taught in about seven months, so it will be interesting be get back into it. It's weird now, to spend a day with a bunch of other people's kids and not my own. Will Penelope eat and nap well when I'm out? I hope so, but I expect that their day will follow a different course. 

The question is, what kind of Muppet will Penelope become?

6 Months

As of today, Penelope is officially six months old. Most of the time she is smiling and has so much energy she can't stop kicking. She loves jumping in her bouncer and swimming with Mom or Dad. She can roll over like a champ, and she her eye-hand coordination is getting better everyday. She is starting to eat solid foods and guzzles water from her sippy cups. Her hair remains fabulous, but less spikey than it was in the first few months. She gets FOMO and can't sleep if she knows there is fun to be had. Sometimes she naps, haha. Penelope gets really excited when our cats come close, but she is still learning how to pet them gently. She has already taken her first flight (to the Gold Coast), and been to a few different beaches. She has been to the Sydney Harbour area, her first Vivid Festival, and taken a ferry to Cockatoo Island. She has mingled with native wildlife at Centennial Parklands and The Basin. She has a few different baby friends around town, as well as few grown up fans (like the people at the local coffee shop that literally dance because she is always smiling at them). The weekly farmers market and Facetiming grandparents are regular affairs. She is already an ultimate frisbee groupie. I could keep rambling about her all day, but she's just woken up from her nap, and it's time to be active. Life with Penny has been far from boring, and we are enjoying life with the little firecracker.

The Enemy of My Enemy

In my last post I talked about John McCain, his death being the big news of the moment. I'm still struck by the fact that he asked Barack Obama to speak at his funeral. As of this writing, I haven't seen/heard the speech. I'm fascinated with this because, even though it seems like decades ago, it wasn't long ago that the twos were political adversaries. And yet, as people have been sharing recently on social media, there were several times throughout the campaign where John McCain encouraged his supporters to show respect for Barack, despite any differences in opinion. It sends such a positive, mature, and much-needed message to the Republican party, and Americans in general, that you can still admire and respect someone with whom you disagree so much that you can give them the great honor of sending you off into the next life, so to speak. It's really beautiful, actually. Perhaps more than anything else, I think it's a sign that he probably left this world at peace with all that he had done in his life.

Juxtapose this with a White House that didn't even want to fly the flag at half-mast for more than a day to honor him, in keeping with custom. The same president pretends to care about veterans and lets loose a barrage of insults on people who insists are disrespecting the flag and all it stands for*, refuses to fly the flag at half-mast for a much-revered veteran who served his country in more ways than one. Something does not add up there (as a side, thanks to Pod Save America for pointing this out). This is the same president that tries to discredit anyone that says anything alternative to what he says, and even incite violence on those people. 

But anyway, back to this idea of former foes making peace with each other. While the president constantly acts in ways that damage the American democracy, these two oppositional leaders give me a little bit of hope that some of it is still in tact. In the long run, this is the kind of story that will be written about and intelligently discussed, and not the strings of incoherent, 2AM tweets we have come so used to reading. Perhaps it took the current president's tenure for these two to realize the meaning of the ancient proverb, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".





* Although, I and many people do not believe the athletes that kneel for the anthem are being disrespectful. Rather, they are respectfully exercising free speech in order to call attention to great social injustice. Beto O'Rourke recently answered a question having to do with this topic, very poignantly. 

The Maverick

I'm a little sad to hear of the death of John McCain. While I often didn't agree with him, he was a respectable and honorable man, and I would have greatly preferred him to the person sitting in the White House at the moment. It makes me sad for the Rebublican Party because he does leave a great void now that he is gone. It is nice to hear people from both sides of the aisle paying their respects to him, though, instead of the usual political bickering.  

RIP "Maverick".

Coles Little Shop

Coles, one of the big supermarket chains here, has started doing this silly thing called Little Shop. For every $30 you spend on groceries, they give you a little collectible item (one of a set of 30). I didn't think anything of it at first, when I didn't know about the promotion and a cashier handed me a few little trinkets after I checked out. I put them on the bookshelf thinking at some point, Penelope might have a dollhouse and she might want them. Weeks later, we are almost halfway to a full set. We kind of accidentally became collectors.

People are actually going to great lengths to trade for these little tiny items. They are going onto message boards, classifieds, social media, and even live trading events to try to complete their sets. It's kind of insane. Anyway, sometimes there are these little cultural fads that arise, and this is definitely the consumerist craze of the moment. 

Our mini nutella jar is my prized possession. 

Penny grows, Ninja in recovery, Sydney Tea Festival, and Flights home

This is a quick catch up because I don't have a lot of time today...

Penelope has been trying lots of new foods (purees, since she has no teeth). She is enjoying our weekly swim lessons She has upgraded to a crib from the bassinet, and we have already sold the bassinet. 

We found out last night that Ninja has a UTI, so we are treating him with some meds and hopefully it will clear up soon. Poor guy.

I went to my third Sydney Tea Festival. I tried all the teas and sweets, and it was more enjoyable than last year because I didn't have to be as careful about what I was trying (I was pregnant at the time last year). I bought one kind of tea that is hard to find here, some local honey from the folks with whom I took my beekeeping class, and even mixed my own floral rooibos blend that I named "Penny Lane".

I bought our plane tickets for a visit home in December. it's exciting to start planning, even though it's not for several months. Annoyingly, we actually had enough airline miles for a free ticket, but because most airlines are jerks who do whatever they want and don't care about being fair to their customers, it costs the same to get a one way ticket with United as it does to get a roundtrip flight around the holidays. So, we are saving the miles, but what good are miles we can't use the way we want and should be able to? We will be able to use them in a different month, hopefully, but still. We will probably switch our main airline from United to Qantas, since Qantas is so much better, but we have to use these miles we've saved up first. And, you know, they don't beat up their passengers when they overbook their own flights. 

...and that's the quick update.

P's First Hike

This weekend, we took Penelope on her first (short) hike. We did the Hermitage Foreshore Track and then looped around back to the car; the whole thing took about two hours, including a stop for a geocache and a little snack picnic. It was an unseasonably warm afternoon, and the views were beautiful around sunset. In the distance we could see the bridge and opera house over the water. Penelope enjoyed being in her backpack carrier; particularly, looking at the sky, trees, and water. She didn't fuss once, and she crashed on the car ride home. I guess that means she's good to go on more hikes in the future. 

I'd definitely recommend the Hermitage Foreshore Track for those who enjoy going for a walk/hike, but can't handle anything too long, or too much elevation (although there is a little bit). It's also very easy to get to; it's basically a hike within the city - the inner suburbs, at least. Going in the evening guaranteed easy parking. It's definitely doable with kids. And, if it's warm enough, you can swim at several points along the way, or have a picnic at one of many nice spots. It's amazing to me we've lived in Sydney this long and only now done this walk.

Michael Returns and Ronny Goes to the Dentist

Michael is home again! Hurray! 

He and Penny are both currently in the middle of a long nap. I wanted to nap too, but sometimes you try and just can't fall asleep. Instead, I've been listening to podcasts and doing chores, and I'm actually out of chores to do for once.

Because Mike is back, I was able to go to the dentist and get one of my old silver fillings replaced. While this is not particularly exciting, it is a good thing that had to happen. While I was gone, I think Michael played Penny ragged, which is why they're both passed out.

My dentist's office is at the train stop we used to live near over a year and a half ago. Going there is like a little trip down memory lane, since I otherwise have no reason to end up there most of the time. 

We are weekend bound, and the possibilities are endless. 

Only Two More Sleeps

There are only two more sleeps until Michael comes home. After a very quiet first week, several friends came through to help out this week, and were just generally around for fun times. Penelope had her first babysitter for a few hours (that wasn't a grandparent) - a friend of mine - and had a great time with her. Also, we also finally received Penelope's passport, so we can start planning a visit home. 

We are definitely ready for Michael to come back so Mommy can get more sleep and more time to workout, run errands, and/or relax again! Penelope is ready to have him back to play, watch anime, and do more walking practice. 

More Sesame Street Love

Sometimes I show Penelope Sesame Street on Hulu, and she LOVES it, for a few minutes at a time, anyway. It's nice to see that some things about it are exactly the same. Even some of the old people are still on it, like the actor who plays Gordon. He was on the first episode in 1969, and he's still on it, which is crazy. The show still has lots of great cameos. In the most recent season, you can see Ricky Gervais, Matthew Fox, Jason Mraz, Adam Sandler, etc. It's kind of fun as a parent watching to recognize random folks, since the kids obviously don't know who they are. Despite the fact that I can only remember white male special guests at the moment, they have very diverse casting of adults, kids, and even muppets. They show all different ages, cultures, and abilities in every episode. The diversity extends to the little shorts they have too; from real people, to puppets, to computer animation, to classic animation and claymation, they mix it up a lot to keep kids' interest. I love that it's still entirely educational - they work on phonics, math, science, social studies concepts, music, and just general kindness and manners.

It's amazing how well this classic kids' show has stood the test of time, but also evolved with time. 

Taro Latte = Purple Teeth

A couple of times a week, Penelope and I walk to our local cafe and I usually get a chai. I think more of the staff there may recognize her than recognize me; they just fawn all over her and she nonchalantly enjoys it. I recently decided to switch it up and try the new taro latte. It was good, but it turned my whole mouth very purple. Now I know what to drink if I ever need to wear a witch or zombie costume for something. 

Today we went to Penelope's second swim lesson. It was my first time in the water with her, and she did really well again. 

Meanwhile, across the biggest pond... today was the opening ceremony for the WMUCC tournament where Michael is playing, and the games start tomorrow. We talk to him everyday, whether that's through messages, phone, or video chat. 

For some reason, with him away, I find myself forgetting more what day of the week it is. Happy Monday, everyone!

Temporary Single-Parenting, Boobies in Public, and the Home Kombucha Factory

Michael has been gone about three days so far, and the help I was hoping to have has been non-existent so far. he made it to Vancouver and then to Winnipeg, and he is spending time with his team before the tournament begins. Hopefully my language skills won't devolve from 95% of my speech talking to the cats and a baby while he is gone. Luckily, Penelope is pretty stinkin' cute, and makes for good company. She also gives me a break here and there, while she's sleeping or sometimes busying herself in her bouncer. We have plans to meet up with a friend tomorrow, so that should be fun and a change of pace. 

So far we've gone for lots of short walks around the neighborhood, visiting the local playgrounds and cafe, our mums group, and the farmers' market. Penelope is getting better at napping regularly, so I guess that's one of the positives of less going on to interrupt her "schedule". She's also started tasting solid foods, although the only thing she's really indicated that she likes is banana. 

Speaking of babies eating, I just found out that women are finally legally protected to breastfeed in public in all 50 states in the US. On the one hand, this is a win. On the other hand, that took a really long time. Women have been breastfeeding their babies for thousands of years, and only recently in our modern times is it more acceptable to do so in public. It's sad that so many people have a problem about it that it even needs to be legally protected. Here in Australia, it is legal everywhere as well. I saw a comment a woman left on social media telling other women that even though it's now legal, to be "respectful and classy" and try not to expose their whole breasts in public while they are feeding (adding that she was a mom who breastfed her kids, as if that made her an authority or something). I thought this was a kind of un-classy comment. I know quite a few women who are breastfeeding these days, and none of them are trying to expose themselves. They're trying to nourish their babies and probably also stop them from crying, as efficiently as possible. There is absolutely nothing sexual about it, and it has nothing to do with how "respectful" or "classy" they are as people. God forbid that for a moment, during a transition, their nipple is visible. I personally think that if anyone has a problem with that, it's just that - their problem. If they're so offended by someone trying to feed their child, maybe they shouldn't leave their houses then. Something tells me that most of these people that are so offended by breastfeeding woman's nipple are not also offended by seeing a man's exposed nipple at the beach or the pool, which would be just as absurd. New parents are judged enough on everything they do to/for their babies, so I'm glad that this is at least a step towards allowing them to do what they need to do without judgment.

And now for something completely different... My little home kombucha factory is running nicely so far. Earlier on, one of my bottles exploded due to over-carbonation/use-of-a-cheap-bottle, and we are very lucky that neither I, nor Penelope, were near it when it happened. It is actually good that it did happen while I was home, though, so I would know what happened and could look it up and solve the problem in the future (as opposed to thinking the cats knocked it over or something), and clean it up immediately. Now we know how to avoid it, and I even keep the bottles away in a cardboard box, so that in the unlikely event that one does explode again, it would be contained and not send random shards around the apartment.

Michael goes to Canada

Michael is flying out tomorrow to represent Australia with his club frisbee team (DUFF Stout) at AMUCC in Winnipeg, Canada. He will be gone for two weeks. I would have joined him, along with Penelope, but after looking into flights I decided it was too costly and also too inconvenient, since I was also trying to find a way to visit family in the states during the same trip. I would have had to fly at least part of the way with just myself and Penelope. I decided that flying with a baby is enough of a challenge when you have help, and it would be majorly anxiety-inducing and unpleasant to do it by myself. It wouldn't be enjoyable, which would negate the purpose of such a trip anyway. 

So, we will cheer him on from afar this time. I will need to operate like a single parent for two weeks. Penelope is a happy and good kid most of the time, thank goodness. That being said, it's still going to be a challenge to take care of her by myself and have time to keep the apartment nice and clean, and buy groceries, and those sorts of things. So, if they don't get done, but Penelope is doing fine and I don't workout much and just eat takeout half the time, so be it. We will have our regular activities, like swim lessons, a music/movement class, and a few social gatherings, to keep us busy. I have a few friends who've said they can help out with her here and there too, and another friend who will let me borrow their car if I need it. 

I have already pampered myself a little bit in preparation - I got a massage and had my nails done. I'll probably do something similar upon Mike's return to celebrate. 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Apparently we have a little mermaid on our hands. Penelope had her first swim lessons at Duck and Dive, and she was glowing. I was surprised at how well she did the whole time, considering she hadn't had a morning nap before, and because I had heard a lot of kids cry the first time. She was smiling and chattering the whole time. Even when she went underwater, she handled it quite well.

Five months sounds very young to start swimming lessons, but it's really common in Australia for people to start their young babies doing swim lessons, since it's considered such an important life skill and people spend so much time at the beach. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this weekly activity with her for the next 10 weeks.

Humming Puppy

I did yoga again for the first time recently, since having Penelope. On the one hand, some things were a lot easier because I didn't have a big belly in the way and I didn't feel like a cow. On the other hand, some things were harder because my back was so tight from not having done any big twists in about a year. 

I finally went to Humming Puppy with my friend, Holly. She gets around to a lot of yoga studios around the city because she gets a discount for working at a well-known yoga apparel company. She had been telling me about how this was the fanciest place around, and it happens to be the closest one to me. Literally, I can walk there in a minute. They have a cheaper rate for people new to the studio, so that always helps get me in the door. 

What makes it the fanciest one around? All the decor is pretty posh, and everything's clean and doesn't smell, like most yoga studios. Also, you get to help yourselves to really fancy teas and cool coconut water. The mats and props are all laid out for you at each spot already, and you don't have to put anything away when you're done. There's also literally a constant hum in the background. According to their website, this is what it's about (scroll down to "The Hum in Humming Puppy"). I'm not sure if it actually makes a difference, but I suppose it adds to the ambiance. 

I don't know how often I'll go after the intro period, just because it is definitely more expensive than other places. But, the convenience factor is huge since I have limited time that I can be away from Penelope most days. 

It's good to be back at the mat, even if only occasionally. 

His Name is Reek

It's taken me a few days to think about what we witnessed from the US president in Helsinki. The fact that they had a closed door meeting with no other people other than translators, and no cameras was weird to begin with. Then, I've never seen a world leader, from anywhere, so weakly and cowardly betray his own government and people while concurrently praising a foreign country and authoritarian dictator. It was like something out of the twilight zone. What happened to "America First"? I can think of few plausible reasons other than that Putin really does have something he's holding over the president, and that something must be pretty bad. 

And then a day later, #45 issued the bizarre statement where he pretended to walk-back what he said, but it didn't really make sense, and then he added on a sentence that just pretty much negated his walk-back anyway. An even if it had been convincing, it didn't make sense that he or his office would wait a whole day to correct a mistake.

On the one hand, it's hard to say I'm surprised because we have gotten used to this "leader" acting like a buffoon over and over again. On the other hand, it was so nuts that even some of his beloved Fox News cronies admitted how bizarre and inappropriate it was. 

We've already known for some time now that this is who he is. If those that can act continue to do nothing, they are complicit in the dismantling and degradation of the US democracy. It should go without, saying at this point, that I am disgusted with a large portion of the US government.

World Cup 2018

I had hoped to watch more of this year's World Cup, considering that the games air at odd hours, and I am up at odd hours feeding Penelope. We ended up watching Australia's first game, and cheering for them, but their lackluster performance kind of made our excitement fizzle out. We watched some highlights here and there, and at 1AM I watched the middle portion of the finals. Well done to Croatia for making it as far as they did for the first time ever, even though they didn't bring home the trophy. Congrats, Frenchies.