The BIG Move ~ Part Two

'We made it!!'

Continued from 'The BIG Move ~ Part One'

Well for those that are following me on Facebook you will know that yes, we made it!! We are now officially residents of Southern California, USA! Or 'SoCal' as the cool kids say it!

I think it's only just starting to sink in....

Although we had a fantastic time going between Brisbane, & the Gold Coast (where our families live) over the Christmas break, the time eventually came to say our 'See you soons' to all of our family at the airport.  It's a little bit different when it comes to my family however...because even after almost 12years that I have been away from 'home', it is still hard to put on a brave face & do our usual 'See you soon' farewells with them. They are my family after all, & it has always been hard being so far away from them. They probably think I'm fairly 'cold' sometimes in these situations, but it is easier for me that way. This time though, we have moved further than the usual 4.5hr flight. But! We had some fantastic times together over Christmas & made some great memories that we will all have to laugh about for years to come. I'm counting down to the 'Christmas 2013 Gingerbread House Bake Off' with them already!!! It's on little Sis! Haha!

My beautiful sister & I with our awesome Gingerbread House!
Thanks to our Nana for help with the decoration prep & to our wonderful Mum who
'helped' by snacking on the lollies...you're lucky we had just enough to finish it off!!

Once we said our sad farewell to our family we made our way down the walkway to board the plan...& we were greeted with THE BEST seats in the house!  Ok, plane...but you know what I mean :) Business class tickets alllll the wayyyy to the U. S. of A baby!!! Whooop whoop!

We made ourselves at home aboard the plane & prepared for a 14hr flight with a 1yr old...JOY! Although, I am sure that what I'm about to say next will cause some people to throw 'hate daggers' in our direction :) Our little Kayla slept for approximately 10hrs of the trip!! Yep! That's right. We officially have the most easy going, calm & well travelled baby in the whole entire world.  How you 'get' a baby to be like this....? I have no idea. And to tell you the truth it makes me nervous about having a second child. Surely this little one is a fluke & we wouldn't be 'entitled' to two amazingly calm munchkins. That just wouldn't be fair to other parents :)

So during the flight Kayla had two BIG sleeps & woke to be fed & entertained for a while in between. I guess we were very lucky to be travelling first class with Kayla also having her own 'Sky bed' between hubby & I.  This meant that myself & hubby were able to watch a few flicks & catch some Z's before we landed, meaning all of us were well rested & ready for the early morning start in Los Angeles. For hubby, this also meant dealing with our gigantic pile of luggage again & manoeuvring it through customs (while getting shitty) & sorting out a way to get out of LAX & across the taxi ranks & road to the Hire Car Shuttle Service.  But we did it....with a few falling bags in the middle of the exits automatic doors & people stepping around him instead of offering to help. But it's ok, the 'lady with the baby attached to her' (that's me!) can help pick it all up! Not the most kind strangers at the airport here compared to back in OZ. Ohhh this makes me smile just thinking of it, sorry Jase. Next time, we pack lighter!

So we pick up our hire car...ahem...correction...MINI VAN & make the drive south to Oakwood Apartments in Carlsbad, CA. Our new home for the next month. My goodness, was that a month I wish I could have fast forwarded!! It was a nice enough hotel, but the drama that followed with trying to arrange Social Security No's, ID Cards, Bank Accounts, new phone contracts, & buying new cars was a lot of work.  A big thanks to hubby for getting it all sorted too. There wasn't much that I could do seen as I pretty much don't exist here in America because I don't have a Social or a 'paying job' :) Oh & did I mention we arrived to one of the coldest winters that California has ever had!? That's pretty damn cold considering we just came from 3yrs of hot weather in Darwin, NT!

BUGGER! Damn computers.... I had a big paragraph that was meant to be right here about our time at our hotel...but it got 'stolen' by the computer somehow while I was dealing with Kayla whinging for more food (I swear, all she does is eat these days).  Let's just say the paragraph boiled down to me being happy that we were moving out of a place where it felt like elephants lived above us & a snoring bear beside us.  Moving on....

Our beautiful California Beach House :)

After a few weeks of searching for a home, we locked in our move-in date & our furniture delivery date.  It's amazing how long you can live without items you thought you realllly needed :)  There were a few hiccups with the rental furniture, so we had some replacement items sent which we then had to wait for our original order items to be delivered.  The final delivery only happened a couple of weeks ago. But it was worth the wait! I am in love with some of the pieces & will be trying to convince the rental company (& my hubby) to let me take them home to Australia with us :)

The Leather Chair that I want to keep!
So much for my nice reading chair...
it has become Kayla's 'snack time' chair as it's so easy to wipe clean :)

We are now all settled in & live in a nice little community, one block from the beautiful Carlsbad State Beach, with our 'local' being the brand new Hilton Hotel & Spa 2mins walk down the street. If I ever feel like an Apple Martini or Cosmo we can just drop down there for a drink...that is, before Kayla has to go to bed. I think it's almost time to arrange a sitter for a Mummy n Daddy night out :) I know I am in need a 'timeout' even if Jason isn't!

The view of our local beach at sunset! Beautiful!!

A pic on one of our afternoon walks :)

Kayla & I get to spend our days enjoying long walks along the coastline.  She loves watching the pelicans fly past & I love trying to spot a celebrity, sea lions, whales or dolphins.  As a side note, I have only seen one celebrity so far...that's Dean Geyer from Australian Idol...also now on GLEE!! It's the 'celebrity spotting moments' when I want my girlfriends or sister around to share it with them...Hubby just doesn't get excited enough :)

We are also enjoying having the family time while hubby isn't so busy at work at the moment like he has been for the past couple of years whilst in Darwin. Spending time together going to the beach, the pool, or going to the Farmers Markets on Sundays, or trying new restaurants & finding new 'favourites' is so much fun. Of course, I can't forget to mention how much fun it has been to enjoy weekends away or even just day trips! We have so much available to us now that we won't have to worry about not having anything to do for a long time :)

Just another day in paradise... :)

A quick snapshot so far of where we have been & what we have been up to:
1. Visited the Aquarium at Legoland & scared the crap out of Kayla with the giant crabs & huge fish.
2. Driven out to Mt.Laguna near the Rocky Mountains to show Kayla snow for the first time.
3. Went to Seaworld in San Diego to see Shamu & the new baby whale. Oh & scared Kayla with a pic with the 'Cookie Monster' from Sesame Street...a big furry blue character scary? I guess so!
4. Spent a weekend in Anaheim to visit Disneyland...where we also scared Kayla with all of the characters. Although she did blow a kiss to Minnie! Very cute.
5. Drove up to Santa Barbara County for the Easter long weekend & went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, Vineyards, Ostrich & Emu Feeding (random...I know) & Santa Monica Pier. A great weekend away!

A few fave snapshots from our trips:

Along with the new sights to see comes the new food to try!  I have never paid so much attention to the adverts on TV in regards to brands & types of food to try.  But, apart from that we have eaten a crap load of bagels with cream cheese, 10 too many cupcakes, a tonne of Mexican meals & I have taste tested plenty of Margaritas (haha! Mum, you'd be proud...& jealous I'm sure).

We have also had a few weekends around the house, making it feel homely & spent A LOT of time at Bed, Bath & Beyond! Loving my new coffee machine too!!!!

A coffee for Mummy, a hot choc for Daddy & a babychino for baby Kayla :)

So what comes next now that we're settled in...?

Hmmm....possibly a trip to Viva Las Vegas!!!!!!
Stay tuned.


xoxo T

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The BIG Move ~ Part One

'See You Soon'

I finally have a spare moment to sit down & update you all on my hubby's posting & our families big move to the U.S of A!!

It's been a very hectic past few months...or possibly a very hectic past 12mths really. Since having our baby girl last November, we have done just over 25 flights now!! It feels like we've just been 'stopping over' in Darwin. We have a tally of one return flight to Bali, one to Singapore, one to Newcastle, one to Sydney, & the rest to Brisbane!!! Oh...and of course the BIG flight recently to Los Angeles, USA!!!! Lucky Kayla...I didn't even experience my first flight overseas until I was in my early 20s.  Spoilt much? :)

In mid-December we completed the first part of our move which entailed packing up in Darwin & saying farewell to our great friends (aka defence family). With this being our 6th move, we have learnt that with our Defence friends (& most of my GHD friends) it's no longer a sobbing sad goodbye... We now shed a few small tears & say 'See you soon' until our posting paths cross again. We had some fantastic times in Darwin & have so many memorable moments to take with us...a big one being the birth of our own little Darwinite & all of the great Mums I have met since then. Kayla has some instant best-friends to come back to... & potential boyfriends down the track too!! If hubby's reading this...yes yes, we all know that they'll have to get through you first ;)

Kayla's last play-date with her friends 

MJ & Timothy down at the Darwin Waterfront.

My close friends (& fellow fb follwers) will know the pain I went through with completing the inventory for our international move.  This entailed detailing every item we wanted to take with us on our 3yr journey, down to the brand/style/description/cost etc.  Meanwhile I had a 10.5mth old daughter who needed constant entertaining & also had begun to crawl, open drawers/cupboards & pretty much get into everything! It was a challenge...which I completed thankfully! However all could not have been accomplished without a few phone calls to my girlfriends asking them to come keep me sane after a week or so of hibernation. They helped me out with the worst of it! The worst of it being the kitchen & my wardrobe!!! Tough job culling clothing & tupperware :) A great time for Hubby to be away for a 2mth stint with work... Who says being a stay-at-home-mum & housewife isn't a full-time job?! I don't even want to imagine how hard it would have been with me having to go to work on-top of all of this! 

While I'm on the work topic, a BIG thank-you to my employer GHD in Darwin who has enabled me to extend my maternity leave for an extra 12mths, as well as offer for me to keep my job while in America.  I couldn't have ask for a better suited company for a travelling Army Wife like me! Now I just have to get approval to work there....

Kayla with one of my friends & work colleague Jana-Banana :)

This was on our 'goodbye' drop in...

Please disregard the fact that Jana is wearing no shoes! It's Darwin! Haha!

All tuckered out after my work goodbyes :)

Back to the move... Once the inventory was complete, we had medicals & dental checks to do. Kayla experienced her first dental appointment at the teeny tiny age of 11mths :) Then came the time to sell up our possessions.  First being the old Subaru followed shortly after by our trailer....we threw ourselves a Lawn Sale to clear out the odd bits & bieces we didn't want to unpack in 3yrs time (fellow QLD'ers call them a Garage Sale), & now we are still needing to sell our Kia Cerato Coupe!! If anyone is interested you can get yourself a great BARGAIN!!!!!!! Check out our ad here!! Or contact our dear friends back in Darwin for a viewing! Thanks Matty & Sam!! Apologies...just making the most of a bit of free advertising.

So the sale of our possessions were done (minus the Kia), now it was time for packing... Like we hadn't done enough of that throughout the past year with all of our trips :) We had 3days of packing with Day 1 being the packing & uplift of everything I had inventoried for our move to the States. Day 2 entailed the rest of our belongings being packed up into boxes ready for Day 3 which was the uplift.  It all didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. That being that the packing that was meant to be complete on Day 2 rolled over into Day 3 & we didn't get out of the house until around 7.30pm.  It was a bit of a nightmare seeing the packers rushing in the last hour & having our things not packed so gently...but we won't have to worry about it for another 3yrs...already dreading the unpack :)

Kayla was great during all of this. As good as a 12mth old can be when her house is in upheaval anyhow. There were quite a few moments of her not wanting to let us out of her sight, & a lot of leg hugging & pants pulling, but all in all, she did great. 

Learning to climb the ladder with Daddy & changing light globes. 

Following in Daddies footsteps maybe?? A Sparky in the making??

Enjoying a snack amongst all of the boxes :)

Our other little baby. 

Midori snoozing away while all of the chaos takes place.

One of Kayla & Midori's last plays in our Darwin home. 

Anyhow...the household packing wasn't really the hardest part... The hardest part of the move was trying to pack for our 2.5weeks of summer Christmas Holidays in Bris Vegas/Gold Coast, aswell as a month of winter once we arrived in the USA. Our belongings were going by air but still had to go through the customs process before they met up with us again.  Oh & packing for a growing girl is SUPER hard too. She grew two sizes since leaving Darwin!! But, we did it! And oh my goodness there were a million bags!!! But once it was all complete, we were free to relax with friends.  I was able to get some pamper time with a manicure for all of my hard work & Jase's reward was a designated driver for our last dinner in Darwin :)

My manicure :) 

Ready for the Christmas & New Year Festivities!!

Here's Hubby with our total of 11 bags...There were meant to be 12... 

But in the rush from the hotel we left one behind...Whoops! Thank goodness for taxis! 

It arrived with seconds to spare before boarding time :) 

Thanks to the gentleman for helping us push our 3rd trolley too! 

Love the kindness of strangers!

It was off to Brisbane we flew! Time to unwind & enjoy our time with family & friends before the next flight to America. One of our first perks was the business class seats from Darwin to Brisbane. I don't think I want to go back to economy now :)

Taking off! 

Thank goodness for snacks & dummies.

Saying goodbye to Darwin :'( sniff sniff.

...oh I mean saying "See you Soon"!!!

Landing in Brisbane! 

I love this part of flying even though Kayla hates it.  

The loud noises means Mummy gets lots of cuddles.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of The BIG Move!

xoxo T

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Kayla's Owl Themed 1st Birthday Party - Part 2

Continued from Kayla's Owl Themed 1st Birthday Party - Part 1:

Kayla greeting more of her guests at the front door :)

TIME TO GET DECORATING!!!

A quick demonstration from 'The Cake Lady' aka Me :)

I showed the kids how to do a swirl of icing, add some sprinkles 

& a cupcake topper before I let them loose on making their own cupcake creations!

A big thank you to the parents for overseeing your well-behaved kidlets!! 

I was certain I would be wiping up icing off our rugs afterwards, 

but they were all so keen to do such a good job on their cupcakes 

that most of the toppings stayed on the table :)

VOILA!!!!

Some of the kids with their cupcake masterpieces along with 

the two 'big kids' having a cupcake-decorating-challenge. 

Nice work boys & girls!

THE CAKE CUTTING

How I love my family of three! 

Thanks for your help on the day too Jase...all of your 'jobs' got done in the end

...aswell as the xbox playing :)

Her first taste of sweet cakey goodness.....

I'm sure I don't need to mention just how much she loved it!!

A tip for Mummies: If you're worried about your child eating uneccessary sugar, sneakily take bits of the cake away leaving a tiny bite as they're busy stuffing their face with the first taste :) I also made the cake from scratch to ensure there were no additives/preservative nasties in it, & made sure there were no added colourings in the icing by using Raspberry Frosting (recipe found here)! It's so damn delicious that you will want to start using real fruit in your icings once you try it too!!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY

Kayla Grace!

You are more than we could have ever asked for 

& we look forward to seeing you grow from our precious baby girl,

 into a gorgeous little lady. 

We love you more than words can say, 

Love always, 

Mummy & Daddy xoxo

PRESENT TIME!

The birthday girl was due a nap so we had her friends who gave her the gifts

 to help her open them & read the card to her. 

It was so lovely to see them so excited to be helping her.

HAPPY SNAP TIME BEFORE NAP-TIME

L to R: Kayla's Great Aunty Nette & her Mimi

Thanks again for your help. We loved having you be a part of Kayla's special day xoxo

Kayla & I with our fellow 'Early Birds' Mums n Bubs!

L to R: Yvette & Piper, Myself & Kayla, Jacqui & Layla

THE MAN CAVE!

While all of the Mums n Bubs were partying inside, 

the Bigger Boys were hiding out in the man cave aka our garage :)

SAYING OUR GOOD-BYES

We had cupcakes galore so I sent the kids home with more treats!

A cupcake box full of their decorated cupcakes. 

It was a big hit!!!

Our friends daughters, Sarah & Lilly, were such a big help at the party entertaining

 the little babies.  Sarah was so excited with her cupcake creations :) 

 NAP TIME

All tuckered out after her big day of celebrations!

Kayla's Owl Themed 1st Birthday Party - Part 1

This post is a little delayed, but those who know me will understand the few months of craziness we have just experienced since our daughters birthday.

Our little girl turned the big single digit "1" on the 23rd November 2012, & we couldn't be happier with how her celebrations played out!! Thank you to all of those who travelled to celebrate it with us; my Mum & Aunty (Kayla's Mimi & Great Aunty Nette) - I love you both & thank you SO much for helping me prep for the party.  I really could not have done it all without you! Thank you to all of our friends close by who brought their little ones to share her special day, I have met so many great new Mummies since having Kayla & I am so thankful for having you by my side while we venture on this new journey of Motherhood together.  A big thank you to our family & friends far away who could not make her special day but sent many gifts & beautiful cards with lovely words for our gorgeous girl. Also a big thank you to all of our childless friends... You spoilt Kayla rotten & endured a house full of loud children on a Saturday afternoon when you could have been at the pub :) We appreciate all of the generosity & loved having each & every one of you in our lives for these special moments.

That's enough words for now :)

Here are a few images from Kayla's Owl Themed 1st Birthday Party

PRESENTS!

The birthday girl's presents from her Mummy & Daddy xo

Kayla got pretty good at tearing open the wrapping paper towards the end.

THE CAKE!!

In my opinion, one of the most important parts of a birthday party

(apart from the people to share it with) is the cake!

Handmade by me :) 

No.1 Chocolate Birthday Cake covered in Raspberry Frosting,

with fondant cherry blossom decorations & a large fondant owl cake topper

I am so happy with how it turned out!!

THE SWEETS TABLE!

NO.1 BIRTHDAY CAKE POPS! 

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but these were delicious!!

Red Velvet Cake Pops decorated with white chocolate 

& sugar sprinkles for a bit of bling :)

THE CUPCAKE DECORATING TABLE!

This was a BIG hit with the kids...both big & small :)

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS :)

L to R: Cake pops in my homemade stand.  

Party favour bags for kids to fill as they pleased with bubblegum flavoured swizzle sticks, musk sticks, marshmallows, jelly lollies biscuits & so on. Treat jars full of fairy floss for the older kids, & jars of half/half fairy floss & yoghurt buttons for the littlies.  A close up of the Cupcake Decorating Table topped with vanilla cupcakes, sprinkles & glitter in every colour of the rainbow, & buttercream icing ready to twirl.  The centrepiece for the party...The Owl Cake Topper, overseeing all of the kids picking out their treats atop a platter of homemade pink mini meringues!

IT'S TIME TO FILL THE BAGS!

GROUP PHOTO!

Kayla & all of her Darwin buddies attempting to pose for a group photo! 

This was the best of the bunch :)

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

Our sweet little birthday girl had all of her friends to play with, 

however instead was found hanging out at the toy box amusing herself...or hiding? 

To be continued....

xoxo T