Barely Made it to Byron...

What a crazy day! Well, I made it to Byron Bay...BARELY. So last night I was up all night packing, booking a flight to go to BALI, and trying to get everything all ready for my week long trp to Byron Bay. I ended up getting one hour of sleep and then the shuttle picked me up to go to the airport. I hopped on the shuttle bus, made it to the Sydney airport, checked in within 5 minutes for my flight, and had over two hours to wait for my flight to board. Sounds good right? Wrong. Haha, so I went to the bathroom and came out and thought that my flight was boarding because it was supposed to take off in 10 minutes and they still hadn't boarded....so I follow everyone and the lady even announced that the "Ballina flight was now boarding"...so I hop on the little shuttle bus that drove us to our plane, get on the plane, find my seat...then a woman with a baby said I was in her seat, and we discovered that we both had the same seat number...anyways, when the flight attendent walked down the aisle before we were about to take off the woman told her that we both were given the same seat number...the flight attendant looks at my ticket and told me I got on the wrong flight!!!!! Apparently though two other people were on the wrong flight, so they said not to worry because the ticket people weren't doing their job...even though I'm sure it was my fault haha. I am just so thankful that the lady told the flight attendent (the plane was only 1/3 full, so I'm thankful that I was in someones seat!). Anyways, then a taxi had to come pick me up on the runway and drive me to my plane! I get on the plane and it is completely full and everyone is staring at me haha...I am just cracking up and saying "sorry!" Then the rest of the flight I couldn't stop laughing and felt like a complete dork. Oh well..whats new!
So I made it to my hostel but haven't met anyone yet...It was so hot out I went straight to the beach and laid out and went for a swim. Tomorrow morning I'm going on a kayak tour, so I'm pretty excited about that! I'll keep you all posted...pray that I meet friends and don't screw anything else up :)

byron bay here I come!!

So it's about 1 am and I am getting picked up by a shuttle at 5 am to go to the airport and fly to Byron Bay!! haha, I am definitely the procrastinator and am still packing sadly. Anyways, I am so stoked about this trip...I will be there from the 22nd to the 29th! I plan on surfing, enjoying the beach, kayaking, and hopefully meeting people to spend Christmas with :) It will be weird being away from home, but this is a once in a lifetime thing and I know I will be home soon...

     This past week has been really really great!! On my day off on Tuesday I decided to be spontaneous. The night before (on monday), I was really anxious to go out surfing, but since I hate going alone, I searched for "surf day trips" in the area and found one that was a decent price! So I texted the phone number that I found (since it was 11 pm at night) and the next morning I got woken up to a phone call at 8:15 am saying that they had space for me to go that day! I was so excited, but also flustered and worried because I had to be at the wharf by 9 am! I somehow made it there, and had the best time ever...we surfed for about 4 hours total and had an awesome time...I caught more waves than I've caught in my whole life and really enjoyed the trip! We just went to a couple local beaches, which was cool because I was already familiar with the area and everything. Oh and fun fact about freshwater "freshie" beach that I live by...it was the first beach where surfing was brought to in australia-the famouse "Duke" from Hawaii surfed there. Cool eh? 

Another fun fact...Stan Walker, who is the winner of the "Australian Idol" goes to my church and I also saw him perform randomly when I was at the mall the other day. I also saw the live taping of the "Australian Idol Finale" where he won, at the opera house. 

       Anyways, it really hasn't felt like Christmas yet at all. The weather has been nice and hot, and since the family doesn't have a Christmas tree, it hasn't really hit me yet that it's the holiday season. Although on Saturday evening the family had a big Christmas dinner (since they are going out of town in a couple days) and had relatives over and Shayli (my friend) came over as well. It was an amazing meal and I definitely appreciated wearing a loose fitting dress that day haha...no waist band for me thank you!! 

So let's see...today was an amazing day! I spent it all day with Molly (my friend from home) and Katie. We went to the famous Blue Mountains and on the way we stopped at an animal park where we fed kangaroos and petted koalas..then we learned how to throw a boomerang which was pretty sweet! I had dinner at the Murray's house, which is who Molly and Katie are staying with. It was so nice being able to spend all day with them, as I'm leaving tomorrow for Byron Bay and they are leaving on Wednesday to fly back home to the states. It was pretty sad saying goodbye to Molly....I am SO glad she was able to come out here though :)

       Anyways, I should probably get going, as I'm getting picked up to go to the airport in less than 5 hours and I still need to finish packing and get a bit of shut-eye hah, whoops! I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and I can't wait to update you all on my little Christmas trip to Byron Bay...oh and by the way, here is a link to a little video I made for everyone at home. Love you all!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STu5lIXTudY

caught up in the life of "motherhood"

            So I feel like I've been lagging at this whole blogging thing. I honestly feel like I'm actually a mom here sometimes and don't have time to keep up with the blog hah, so sorry if you have been waiting impatiently for my next update...because I'm SURE you all are so interested in my life haha totally kidding! Anyways, I have been experiencing the low points of taking care of children..the big one being tantrums. Let me tell you about my Friday...Harvey (3 yr old's) swim day. Harvey is a sweet soul, but is also very stubborn and definitely a little pistol who knows how to make a scene. So every swim class he splashes other children, hits them, calls them "stupid" and will not share the shower with other children. It is utter chaos and instead of having a 30 minute break while he is swimming, I am constantly going to the edge of the pool telling Harvey to stop splashing and to listen to the swim instructor...I usually end up getting splashed by Harvey and by the end of the swim class I'm soaked. It is quite stressful, but before every swim class as I walk Harvey in the pram (stroller) to swimming, I think positive and pray that it will be a great swim class and that God will give Harvey self control...Unfortunately this past friday was a bit intense. Not only did Harvey do his usual misbehaviors, but he had a HUGE tantrum...it resulted in me carrying Harvey out of swimming, both of us completely soaked, Harvey naked (he wouldn't get dressed) and he was kicking and yelling at me and calling me "stupid." I was SO embarrassed and felt like crying, but I remained as calm as I could and eventually I just sat  Harvey on my lap as he was screaming and crying and told him to take deep breaths (usually I say, "blow out the candles" or "blow up your balloon" or "blow on my face") and it has actually been a good method to get him to calm down. It took awhile, but eventually he stopped his tantrum and I struggled to get him in the pram, but eventually, by the Grace of God we made it home in one piece...we came home and had lunch and I remember looking at his cute little face wondering how such a sweet soul could behave like that. During that crazy tantrum I remember thinking, "why am I here again? I want to go home now!" 

             Another crazy time I had was last night when I babysat...Harvey wouldn't go to bed and I struggled for an hour with him to get his tired little body to fall asleep. I've definitely been feeling exhausted lately, although going to church tonight made me realize that all those little crazy moments are really not something to get caught up in. It's actually funny because there's a mildly mentally challenged girl (she is pretty high functioning) at church and she is so sweet and always comes up to me and gives me hugs...tonight she came up to me and told me how beautiful I looked and then she said that God told her to tell me that when I go home flocks of children will be running to me and that she had a vision of this and could actually see it. Crazy huh?? The weird part is she knows nothing about me...I haven't told her anything about me and haven't told her about my love for children or even that I'm here working as a nanny...

              Anyways, the sunset picture that I posted is from a potluck I went to at the beach with girls from church-beautiful eh? The other picture is of Shayli and I in front of the Manly Christmas tree...we went out in Manly that night and had so much fun together :) Hope everyone is getting all hyped up for Christmas...remember to not focus and stress over buying gifts for people, but simply spend time with the ones you love and remember what Christmas is all about! Love you all...

Molly's Here!!

One of my closest friends from home, Molly, has made it down undaaaa!! She travelled here with one of her good friends Katie-It has been so sweet having them here and we've already had a blast! On Monday we went to Taronga Zoo and saw some crazy animals...there were even peacocks roaming around and I of course freaked out when one popped out of a bush at me. We had a pretty good time, although it ended up being a rainy day...on the ferry ride back to Manly there was a crazy old guy who was yelling at these poor girls sitting next to us threatening to kill them! Thankfully someone got security--yikes! 

          On Tuesday we went wine tasting in the famous Hunter Valley. It was gorgeous!!! The day started off bright and early (we had to catch the 7 am ferry to the city)-so we decided to make a starbucks pit stop. I made up the drink "gingerbread chai latte"-it is SO amazing! Anyways, we had the time of our lives and we even bought some bottles of wine while wine tasting (lots of the places we went to don't sell their wines to stores, so the only place you can buy them is at the vineyard). I of course bought only the sweet wines :) Too bad they don't have a tim tam flavored one! We were lucky enough to see some wild kangaroos while wine tasting--I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but they were pretty small and moved very quickly! We stopped and had sandwiches in the middle of the day at a nice cafe and I discovered a chocolate shop next door, so of course I indulged myself there! It was such an awesome day, although we were so pooped by the time we got back to Sydney (the Hunter Valley is a couple hours away). We arrived in the city, bought some chips (french fries) and chicken salt (it's very popular here-it's pretty much just a spicy seasoning) and hopped on the ferry back to Manly. 

              My week has been great so far, and I'm so thankful that Molly came to visit me- she is staying with a family friend right down the road, so it has been such a blessing having her so close to me. I can't wait to hang out with her and Katie this weekend when I'm done nannying! Nannying has been going well, although I have been fighting a cold so I have been pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Today and yesterday I helped out in Mia's and Oscar's classrooms at school and have really enjoyed it (especially Mias-the kindergarten class). Hope everyone is doing well at home with the Holidays and everything coming up! (Speaking of which, the family made me a thanksgiving meal here even though Australia doesn't celebrate it...we had turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread, potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin pie of course!) I was so excited about that :) Now I'm getting hungry again....

Sydney's Wildlife World

So yesterday was cold and rainy, so Shayli and I decided to head to the Taronga Zoo. Our day started out a bit rocky...we caught the ferry into the city and the boat literally felt like it was going to tip over and waves were crashing over the boat...then when we finally made it to the city we tried to catch the next ferry to the zoo, but the lady who I was trying to buy a ticket from said that we need at least 4 hours at the zoo and since it was already 1 o'clock & the zoo closed at 5, we we wouldn't have enough time (however, I talked with several people before I left and they said 2 hours is plenty at the zoo). Oh well! Luckily I knew that Sydney's wildlife world was another option to go to...so we walked there and they had a deal where you could buy two park passes for a cheaper price, so we bought a ticket to the wildlife world & to the aquarium! Wildlife world was SO much fun, and we had the best time taking pictures of the crazy animals and we even got to take pictures with Koalas!! They were the CUTEST Things...definitely my favorite animal now. They sleep with their head tucked in their arms because when it rains, the rain won't get in their face...they were so stinkin cute! Anyways, I also saw kangaroos and we even saw two kangaroos fight or box or whatever they do haha. After that we got a little lost on our way back to the ferry, but we eventually made it and got some dinner and gelato :)

      Oh man, but Sunday was the best day/night I've had. Shayli and I went to the live taping of the "Australian Idol Finale" show (like our "american idol") and it was taped at the Opera House! So we caught the ferry, had dinner at the opera house cafe, and watched the show from the outside and it was sooo amazing!! Michael Buble and Mika even performed! Anyways, there were several fireworks shows on the water and it felt like it was new years!! After the show, we caught the ferry back and decided to chill out at the Wharf Bar in Manly and talk...it was pretty funny because a guy dropped his glass and it shattered right under me and of course I screamed and yelled really loud. When one of the guys that worked there came to clean it up he tapped me asking, "Did you squeal?" I confidently responded, "Yep that was me!'' haha wow. Anyways, it was such a funny night and after we were sitting by ourselves for awhile, a group of guys came over to our table one by one and started talking to us...they were all pretty funny and were being ridiculous, so it was an entertaining night! Anyways, today was rainy again so I just ran some errands and went to the mall....tonight Shayli and I are gonna go to the movies...it's cheap night tuesday (movies are usually $17 but tonight it's "only" $10)...Then tomorrow I start nannying again! Haha I just went to the kitchen & Harvey (the 3 yr old)  told me "My love you Caitlyn!" (he says "my" whenever he refers to himself haha). Gotta love those little ones!

feeling hot hot hot!

So the weather here has finally been super hot...I just got back from a run and it's 100 degrees out..ouch. It was over 100 degrees the other day and today was super hot too! It's really humid too, so the heat hits you pretty fast...I still love it here though! Anyways, this past week has been so busy but really great! Saturday was a super busy day at the hardware store, so the time flew...then Saturday night was the work christmas party at an "RSL" in Dee why...they have RSL's in each town and they are pretty much big community centers...they have casinos, restaurants, bars, and people of all ages go out there at night. The work party was pretty fun...started out with bowling, then dinner, then a night out! While we were bowling the song "California girls" by the Beach Boys came on and I got super excited :) 

              On Monday I had a beach day and then went to a church connect group (kinda like a bible study) at night...here's the best part though..they had tim tams & I didn't eat any of them!! I know I know...I can't believe it either! Oh yeah, another exciting thing that I did this past week was book a little christmas trip for myself! The family is going on vacation for a week over christmas, so I have some time off and decided that I should take advantage of it. So I got on the internet and booked a flight to Byron Bay within 20 minutes! You could say I'm a bit spontaneous haha. Byron Bay is a sweet little beach town about 400 miles north from here. It's supposed to be pretty funky and looks like it's straight from the 70's...lots of hippies live there..so I guess I'd better whip out my tie-dye! Anyways, I'm pretty excited about that trip..I'll be there for a week over christmas...hopefully I meet some good people to spend Christmas day with! It will definitely be weird being away from home over the holidays, but don't worry, I'll be home for next years holidays! 

            Nannying has been going well, although it makes it more tiring when it's so hot out! I thought I would take Harvey down to Manly Beach and play at the park down there on Thursday...I was dying trying to push the pram (stroller) up the hills, but I kept thinking...okay, I'm going to have GREAT legs after this...I hope! We had fun though...played at the park, then I bought him an ice block (popsicle) as a special treat and we sat and watched the surfers for awhile (more for my enjoyment, but I made him excited about it too and we would cheer them on when they were trying to catch the waves). 

          Yesterday I had work all day long and it went by pretty fast because it was super busy! Oh and I saved a little girls life! No big deal :) Seriously though, I was at the cash register at work and a tiny little girl, probably 2 years old max goes running out the front into the parking lot by herself....the parking lot was super crazy too and there were cars driving all over the place so I immediately booked it out the door and scooped her up in my arms just as a car was backing up almost running her over....I held her close to me, but she didn't seem phased at all that she almost got hit. Her older sister (probably 3 or 4 years old) came running out too screaming at her sister "don't go outside!!" So I grabbed the older sister's hand and the three of us walked back into the store....the best part was the dad yelled at the "older" (3 or 4 year old) sister for not watching her little sister...oooh MEN. haha just kidding dad (I know you're reading this and I know you would've never done that!) 

       Anyways, today I'll probably head to the beach and go for a swim, then tonight another local nanny (Shayli) and I are going to try to go to the "Australian Idol Finale" at the Opera House, so that should be fun! Hope everyone is doing well at home...if anyone feels the need to send me their thanksgiving leftovers (PUMPKIN PIE) I would mind it ;-) Love you all!

Spit to Manly Walk

It's friday!! I'm so thankful for that-I've had an amazing week but I'm definitely ready for some r&r. Anyways, let me update you on what's been exciting in my life this week...so Monday was a laid back day--I did the usual walk down to Manly and walked around, laid on the beach, did some reading, and of course, some people watching. Right when I was getting ready to head back home, Lee called me...let me remind you that Lee was my surf instructor, who I thought I totally embarrassed myself in front of, but apparently I didn't! Anyways, he invited me to go out with him and his friends last weekend but since I babysat all weekend pretty much I couldn't go...so we ended up just meeting up during the day on monday and sat and talked and he bought me a beer! It was such a gorgeous day and it was nice to talk to a local...he was giving me tips on what to do here so now I have a better idea of where to go on my days off and such. Even though he is a very good looking aussie surf instructor, no one should be worried because I don't see anything special, so No-I will not be moving here for good and marrying an aussie (if any of you know me well enough, you should know that I have been dating an amazing guy at home before I left for australia :) Hah anyways, enough boy talk. Let's get down to business.

           On Tuesday, I got invited to do the "spit to manly" walk with Ashley (the au pair that lived with my family before me). It was seriously the most beautiful walk I've ever done! It's about 6 miles of gorgeousness all along the coast, so the sights are absolutely breathtaking! Seriously...if you go on this little hike or "bushwalk" as they call it here, you will see some sweet sights and get stunning shots on your camera...all along the walk Ashley and I would just stop and stare in awe and were so thankful that God has created such an amazing place for us here. We ran into two local girls that were about our age and they actually just got home from nannying in Europe--it's such a small world I swear! Anyways, once we made it to Manly we decided to relax on the beach for a bit and eat some lunch...we were starving! Then, we got some ben and jerrys ice cream (okay, only I got ice cream haha go figure)...it was funny though because I was so excited about all the flavors and couldn't decide what to get...so the worker let me try pretty much every flavor and was cracking up at my indecisiveness & excitement over ice cream...he obviously doesn't know me very well haha. 

              Last night I had volleyball and we had a new player on our team...an Italian guy. I don't have anything against Italians, but this guy was SO rude! It was pretty funny though...he was nice enough, but kept bossing everyone around on our team and he really didn't know what he was even talking about. He could hit the ball super hard and had an awesome serve, but he would run all over the court and literally step in front of you in order to hit the ball...then he would tell you where to stand and what to do..finally I had enough of that nonsense. He told me "hey girl, move up closer to the middle" I firmly responded "no this is where I'm supposed to be." haha I think I totally shocked him because I think I was the first girl who stood up for herself...I even shocked myself..I would normally never talk back like that to someone I didn't know..but enough was enough! He was being rude to the other teams too...he would shout out "we are going to beat you" randomly during the game...oh man & he had a really thick Italian accent so the whole situation was just plain funny. What a night! Speaking of nights, I haven't been sleeping! I keep waking up at 3 am and can't go back to bed...but I've kind of been fighting a cold, so I think it may be from that (...or from the tim tams I eat right before bed..whoops!) Anyways, I work tomorrow at the hardware store...then tomorrow night we have a work Christmas party--it will be my first night out! Woohoo!! 

....Oh and by the way, the picture that I posted is of my two boys, Oscar (7 years) and Harvey (3 years)...I'm trying to take pictures of all the kids and framing them for the parents to give to them for Christmas. They are such cuties!

Spiders & Surfing

So this past week has been great! I managed to do one of my favorite things: SURF and see one of my least favorite things: SPIDER....ok I can handle regular spiders and I don't mind catching and killing them...but this spider isn't just any old spider, it's bigger than your hand, so let's call it a rodent...the Huntsman spider...look it up online. I don't think my heart has ever beated faster in my life, I couldn't even scream I was simply in shock. The thing is HUGE. Anyways, I was giving the kids a bath and all the sudden they look up at the wall and start screaming bloody murder, jump out of the bath and run out of the bathroom yelling spider...then they were running around the house naked and looking like they were going to pass out..it's pretty funny now that I think of it, but at the time it was anything but funny. Tim (the dad), said that they come out a lot when it's wet outside and that they climb on walls and ceilings and drop on people's heads. fabulous! Anyways, on a lighter note, I went surfing finally! I decided to do a private lesson, so I could really feel comfortable out in the water. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach...101 degrees! The lesson went really really well and Lee (my instructor) told me I was the best person he'd ever given a lesson to...but then again he said that most people that take lessons are foreigners that know nothing about surfing. I was kind of embarrassed though because my instructor was incredibly good looking and of course the first thing I do is get a really bad leg cramp in my calf when I'm in the water (from that stupid long run I did up all those stairs the day before)...so I start yelling ouch ouch ouch!! ..while holding my leg underwater...I think he thought I was drowning or something haha. Anyways, it was nice to not only go surfing, but talk to a local young aussie about australia and things to do here in Manly. After the lesson I walked around and saw a 7-11 so I got a coke slurpee...I used to love those things when I was going to school at cal poly! 

          ...Not only did I embarrass myself in front of the surf instructor, but also while at volleyball. I always get so excited when playing any sport and will randomly yell out crazy things. So at volleyball no one is very talkative while playing so I've been yelling a lot and calling the ball to get people into the game. Some of the things I yell though cause everyone to start busting up laughing...so last game I was serving and when I tossed the ball up it was a little off, so I yelled "Crap!!!!!" really really loud before I hit the ball. My whole team and the other team were hysterical. By the end of the night I lost my voice...hah I guess I need to shut my mouth next game.

Another really funny thing happened yesterday...I went to church in the morning with Jess, then we went out to lunch with Ruthie and Jessica, then I went to a birthday with Jess and when I was getting introduced to a girl there, Jess said "this is my friend Caitlyn" and the girl responded "Oh!!! So you're the Tim Tam girl!!" haha another embarrassing but hilarious moment. I almost spit out my drink at her and we were all laughing which turned into laughing so hard we were crying...so I'm known here to people as the Tim Tam girl....let me remind you that Tim Tams are the amazing cookies that they sell here...you drink them with tea and they melt in your mouth! Let's just say I have been going a little overboard with those things...which explains that the people here know me as the "tim tam girl" haha. 

Anyways, the family has been off and on getting sick and poor Julie (the mum) was really sick on Wednesday, so when the kids and I were walking home from school I decided to give them money so they could pick out flowers and buy them for her. They picked out Orange (her favorite color) daisies and she was SO thrilled when she got them--her and Tim have been pretty stressed out with work and everything lately, so I think it really meant a lot to her to see that the kids and I did something meaningful for her. 

     Oh wait before I forget, one more funny thing that happened this week...I worked on Saturday at the hardware store and right when I get there the owner (who is an older man, probably in his late 60's or early 70's) comes up to me and goes "good morning caitlyn! Was that really you in those pictures I saw??" I just blankly stared back at him in complete confusion, then he busts up laughing. Apparently he cracks jokes all day long! Once one of my coworkers explained to me how he is a hilarious old man his joke finally hit me and I began laughing really hard. 

     ...it was a really funny week/weekend and I still have today (monday) and tomorrow off! The sun is finally coming out again...it's been rainy the past few days. Hopefully I make it down to the beach again! 

One month!

Can you believe I've already been here one month?? I seriously can't...time has flown by!!! I've been having the best time! Although this past weekend was kind of a bummer because I was sick :( I totally missed Halloween (I fell asleep at 5 pm!) I got invited to go out in the city with Roxy and her friends, but unfortunately I didn't make it since I was feeling horrible...oh well! On Sunday I went down to the beach with Roxy and her friend met us there. It was such a gorgeous day and it was perfect because I was able to rest a lot on the beach and get better. Then, Sunday night I went to church with Jess and after church we went over to Ruthie's house (a girl that goes to church from Fiji) and we had tim-tams (the best cookies ever) and tea! They are the nicest girls and I am so thankful I've met them at church! Today was a good day...I worked all day at the hardware store! I attempted to go on a run this morning, and felt like I was going to die!! I ran for about 30 minutes out and was starting to get tired...then I realized that I would have to run back home hah whoops!! And of course I chose to go the way that had 100+ stairs...maybe I'll have buns of steel now?! Anyways, work was good today and I'm feeling pretty confident on the cash register now. It was so funny though because an aussie customer thought I was Scottish!! I was laughing so hard! Another funny thing that happened today was at dinner...I was at home eating with the kids and Mia (the 5 year old) told me, "I love you so much Caitlyn, that my heart stops! I think it just stopped again!" I couldn't help but laugh hysterically....and Harvey (the 3 year old) just started yelling "Ya, me love Caitlyn too!" They are the funniest little kids! Anyways, tomorrow I have completely off--wooohoo! I think it's supposed to be a gorgeous day tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to have a nice relaxing beach day...tomorrow is also the Melbourne cup here which is a huge deal apparently. It's the horse races they have here, and tons of people go out to lunch and drink all day and leave work early. I don't think I'll do anything special for it, but who knows! Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween (moreso than I did)! Love you all...I think my heart just stopped :)

tool girl??

Today was my first day working at the hardware store! I was so nervous this morning when I was walking to Mitre 10-the hardware store that I would be working at. But the people there are so nice and friendly, I felt very comfortable! An older lady, Liz, worked at the cash register with me and trained me all day...she has such a cute accent-I think she's originally Irish or Scottish. Anyways, I think I got the cash register pretty much figured out and I'm definitely excited to make some extra cash! I go in again on Monday to do a bit more training--hah it still cracks me up that I know nothing about hardware and here I am in Australia working at a hardware store. Oh well! I'll definitely be learning lots of new things :) 

         Yesterday was my day off, but it was super rainy which was a bummer. I took the bus down to manly and had a white chocolate chai from a place on the wharf called "Max Brenner" which specializes in chocolate everything. It was the most amazing thing ever!! Then I walked around for a bit, went into the grocery store and bought "tim tams"....tim tams are the BEST cookies ever!! They are really popular here, and I can't believe they don't have them in the states...they are deadly though...I ate two boxes yesterday haha whoops! Anyways, I learned the special "aussie" way to eat them...you eat them with a cup of tea by biting off the corners and sucking through the cookie like a straw...then you eat it and it melts in your mouth. Yum yum yum!!! I will definitely be bringing boxes of these home with me when I fly back to the states. After it started raining pretty hard I took the bus to the mall and went to the "big w" to get an umbrella and some running shorts. I then had lunch at the mall and read a little bit...I was planning on maybe seeing a movie too, but I missed the times...so I just walked home and hung out. 

        Tomorrow the nannying begins again-lets just hope the rain stops so I don't have to keep the kids cooped up inside all day! 

7 Bridges Walk!!

So today was such a funny/crazy day! I woke up this morning and got ready to conquer the "7 Bridges Walk," which is a 15.5 mile walk around Sydney, where you go over the famous 7 different bridges of Sydney. I put on my running shoes (for the first time since I've been here, hah) then got my workout clothes on, and walked up to Roxy's house. The weather forecast predicted rain, but it was a gorgeous, sunny morning! Roxy and I walked down to Manly where we would catch the Ferry into Sydney--we were complaining that we wish we'd worn shorts because we were so hot! By the time we got to Sydney and got registered for the big walk, we decided to start at the famous Harbour Bridge (you could start at any of the bridges)...rain clouds began to form, then the wind picked up...and about 30 minutes later it started to rain..but we were determined to do the whole thing so we kept on walking and having a great time just chatting and getting stamps at each bridge on our walk booklet that they gave us when we registered. Then, it started DOWNPOURING--Roxy said she'd never seen it rain this hard in Australia (and she's been here almost a year!) It literally poured nonstop...we had no umbrellas or raincoats, so we were completely drenched...after 3 hours of walking in the pouring rain, we decided we were miserable...we finally saw a bus stop and began to run with excitement and were laughing so hard because we were so happy!! Finally when we got back to Circular Quay in Sydney, which is where we catch the ferry back to Manly, we were shivering and wet....we bought some nice warm "chips" and caught the ferry home. I got home and immediately took a much needed hot shower! Then, I met up with Jess (the girl who took me to church), and we grabbed a coffee and chatted for a bit before church. I just got home from church and absolutely loved it!! I met a girl from Fiji, which I think is so cool! So far I have friends from England (that's where Roxy is from), Canada (that's where Jess is from), and now Fiji! I don't have any true Australian friends....Yet! Anyways, tomorrow I might start training at the hardware store :) we'll see what happens! 

I can't wait! (to be a mom)

Okay so I know this is going to sound a little weird, but I love these kids. Today was such a hectic, crazy day, and the kids were rude at times, but I somehow survived the day and still was able to joke around and have some fun with them! We are able to laugh off most of the craziness together which is just what I need! Anyways, this morning the mom had to go to a conference all day, so I was officially on my own all day. I walked the kids to school, then took Harvey to the park and the beach, then home for nap, then picked up kids from school, then took them home and got them ready for their swim class, then took them to swim class (although Harvey didn't have swimming today so I just held on to him for dear life as he attempted to squirm out of my arms and jump in the pool with his clothes on). Then we came home, I attempted to make dinner but definitely spilled the pasta all in the sink, while burning my hand, and spilling the pasta sauce :) whoops! Then of course, when I felt like I had screwed dinner up and couldn't do anything right, Harvey pooped in his underwear.... haha that was surprisingly my saving grace because I just started laughing really hard and it was contagious to the other kids and we were all laughing at Harvey's disgusting watery poop...haha I'm actually laughing right now just thinking that poop saved my day! Who would've thought? Somehow I cleaned it all up, then got the kids showered and into jammies, teeth brushed, cleaned the house, and snuggled up with them on the couch and read them a book. I did it (I can't believe it!!) Oh and when I was giving Harvey a bath, I walk into Oscar's room to find both Oscar and Mia dancing intensely with the lights off, disco ball and disco light on, and disco music blasted on the radio...I have it on video and it was probably the funniest thing I've seen in a long time(then of course, Harvey wanted to join in so he was dancing around naked since he just had a bath) These kids are definitely meant to be with me...I joined right in with the dancing :) Oh and last night I went to a church night and met some really nice girls and one of them lives right down the street from me so she gave me a ride home! I'm so excited I have more than one friend now here! haha. Okay I just made some tea and I'm gonna curl up in bed and watch a movie. Oh and it's not even 8 pm yet....I definitely feel like a mom haha. 

last day of freedom :)

Today was my last day off this week! I officially start the school run and everything tomorrow morning bright and early! I take the kids to school, then take Harvey to his playgroup until 11:30, then home for a nap, then pick the kids up from school, home, get dinner ready, get them all bathed, and put to bed! I have been enjoying my days off...Sunday I went to manly and to church, yesterday I went to the world famous Bondi Beach and I must say I was disappointed. It's really nothing special...the beach was nice, but the town around it was kind of funky and not that nice. I was hoping to maybe meet some nice people on the beach, but to my surprise, and older creepy man came and sat right next to me and kept trying to talk to me and ask me questions, but I had my head down and was reading...pretending not to hear him. Finally he stood up and crouched down right by me and continued talking to me...I finally looked up, answered his question, then quickly put my head down haha I was so frustrated!!! He went in the water, then when he came back he continued to bother me, so I put my headphones right in! I also got a little lost on my way home...between catching the train to taking the buses back...I couldn't find my bus stop in Sydney, and I walked around Sydney for about an hour looking for it! It was starting to get late and I was freezing in my sundress and bathing suit haha. Finally I made it home and was so happy to be back in good old Manly. Today I met up with Roxy, a girl who I met through Ashley (the previous au pair) and we went to Freshwater beach which is about a 10 min walk from here. She was nannying so she had her 3 yr old with her, so she could only stay for a couple hours. So when she had to go I decided to walk down to Manly Beach! It was such a gorgeous day!! I got some reading done and relaxed...it was so so nice!! I was going to go surfing, but the surf wasn't great at all, so I think I'm gonna take a lesson on Saturday morning. I also met up with Charlie, a Canadian that works at a hostel here that I met through Ashley. We grabbed sandwiches and hung out on the beach for a bit! It was nice to finally talk with people my age and socialize a bit haha. Hopefully I'll meet some more friends--I'm going to a church thing tomorrow night and I start volleyball next week! Can't wait!! Wish me luck on my first real day of work tomorrow!! Hope it goes well...It's supposed to be in the low 90's tomorrow...yikes!

TGIF!

I finished my full first week of work! Well, I'm going to help the mom out a few hours tomorrow morning, but I am done with my usual schedule for the first week! I had such a great few days with the kids, and Harvey (the 3 yr old) and I have really been getting close. Last night at dinner he made me hold his hand during the whole meal & as the parents were putting him to bed he came running down the stairs yelling my name and wanting me to put him to sleep...yikes! He is so cute though. Today I drove the kids by MYSELF to their vacation care! I drove them around town 3 times today, and the first time I was a little nervous, but by the third time I felt very comfortable on the road. Wooohoo! I'm finally feeling pretty familiar with the neighborhood and can easily walk the kids to the local parks and not get lost :) I still have yet to meet some friends, but I'm going to try to go to church on Sunday and also join a volleyball league, so that should help! The weather is supposed to warm up in the next few days, which is perfect because then I can finally enjoy the beach on my days off! Can't wait!! 

First official day of work!

I just finished my first official full day of nannying! I must say I'm pretty pooped-but had a really fun day with all the kids. I couldn't sleep last night because I was paranoid I would oversleep, so I got up around 5 or so and officially had to be nannying by 6:30. After breakfast I drove the two older kids to their vacation care, then came back and took Harvey (the littlest one) to "Jacka Park." Then we went on a long walk and walked by the beach for a bit, then came home, had lunch, and thankfully he took a nap! While Harvey was sleeping I managed to have some lunch & did some folding and laundry for the mom. Once he woke up we played games, had snack, jumped on the trampoline, and I would pitch to him and he would practice his hitting...he loved it and we both kept cracking up the whole time! After we played for awhile the mom went to pick-up Oscar and Mia from vacation care and so we all played outside for a long time (they have a swing set, trampoline, sandbox, and a little bar area they can play on). Then it was dinner time then got them all in the bath and off to bed! It was a very long day and I definitely had a few cups of tea to keep me going! I had the best time though and really can feel myself bonding well with these kids--I will post pictures on my next posting...I'm too tired to upload them now hah. I should get to bed soon...I have to get up in a few hours and do it all over again :) this type of life definitely gives me a good idea of what it will be like to be a mom...very exhausting but definitely worth it!! Hope I have another fun filled day tomorrow!

Watch out Australian drivers...

So I just got back from my first drive in Australia!! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it definitely required lots of thinking and paying attention. Julie (the mom) took me out for my first drive...I think she was more nervous than I was haha. I did really well and stayed on the right side of the road...phew! I even parallel parked perfectly! Everything went smoothly...but when I drove back home and was parking in front of the house, I definitely hit the curb pretty hard. whoops! I immediately began apologizing and told Julie, "well at least I ended with a bang!" hah I don't think she thought that was a very funny joke. Anyways, today was another great day off! I woke up early and had some breakfast and tea, then called wells fargo and spent a long time trying to get my atm cards working again...thankfully I got that all figured out and decided I should test my cards out and head to the mall! I walked down to Warringah mall (it's about a 10 min walk!) I went straight to an atm and tested out my debit card...I was so relieved and excited when cash popped out of the machine! Then, I walked around the mall and bought a beach bag and some earrings and decided I should stop spending my money haha. Then I got a smoothie and walked back home. The weather was really sunny today, but SUPER windy. I seriously thought I was going to blow over a few times while walking. When I got home I called the hardware store that I might work at and talked to the manager...he said to come on in and we could talk about me working there. Good news folks...I'm going to work there every other weekend, which should be perfect! Now I just need to start studying up on tools haha oh gosh, this should be interesting...anyways, it was a great day today! I was hoping to go to the beach but it is just so darn windy I think it would just be miserable, so I think I'm going to just hang out and lay low before I officially start working tomorrow bright and early! g'day!

First Official Day Off! YIPEE!!

Today was my first official day off...I woke up around 6 to screaming kids haha but was thrilled when I realized it was Monday so I could go back to sleep...I ended up sleeping till right before 9...that was the latest I've slept since I've been here! I had a leisurely morning & was able to check e-mails and skype with parents and friends :) It was sunny when I woke up so I thought I'd head to the beach for the day, but by the time I got ready, it was all gloomy out. dang it! So I made some lunch and tried to call wells fargo to get my cards activated (they put a hold on all my cards so I have zero money right now haha). Then I was feeling a bit cooped up & was eager to get outside and explore, so I did! I walked down to Manly Beach and walked around for a bit...I checked out the Billabong, rip curl, and quicksilver stores and the prices on everything were ridiculous! Way more expensive than at home. Then I sat and watched the surfers for awhile and just relaxed and did one of my favorite things : People watched! I must say that Australia feels a lot like home...there are still weird people to watch here too haha. I love it. After watching surfers and people watching I decided to head back home (the sky looked like it was about to rain)...so I trekked back to my new home in North Manly. The walk was about 45 minutes each way, so it was a good little walk! I must say though that I have to be very careful when crossing the streets...I kept on looking "left, right, left" instead of "right, left, right," so cars would catch me off guard when they were going the opposite direction than I expected. Whoops! I definitely hold to my blonde hair color sometimes :) The best part is the mom was going to maybe take me driving tomorrow so I can practice driving on the other side of the road...haha I hope she knows what she's in for! If I can't even cross the streets the right way while walking how the heck am I supposed to drive a car...should be very interesting! Oh and speaking of the word "heck"...for those of you that know me pretty well know that I always say "what the heck?!" Well I need to stop saying that right now...because the 7 year old boy Oscar says it sometimes and he gets in big trouble because it's rude to say that...better watch my mouth! So tomorrow is tuesday and thankfully is my day off again! I'll let you know how it goes....

Avoca Beach!

So for the past five days, I've been on "holiday" with the mum and 3 kids, along with the mum's friend Stef and her 2 kids. We drove an hour and a half north to the "central coast" (it made me feel like I was back at home!) to a town called Avoca Beach. Very cute little beach town! We even had a fabulous condo a block from the beach. Sounds great right? Unfortunately it rained every fricken day. Can you believe it?? We couldn't either. Julie (the mum) said it felt like winter to her and that rainy weather is so rare at this time of year (it's the end of spring here).  I was so bummed I wasn't able to head to the beach and enjoy some australia sunshine, but we made do with what he could...we ended up taking the kids to the mall one day to bounce on a bounce house (I was too big to go on, shucks!) The moms and I had some scones and tea/coffee and talked for a bit, which was nice. Then we bought some art stuff for the kids to do back at the condo. I sucked it up and went swimming with the kids 3 of the 5 days (the kids went swimming 4 days). The pool was heated, but I was still shivering and didn't last too long. We tried to do lots of indoor things (we took the kids to a play zone one day, and to another beach town another day), and we did have a pretty decent time. My favorite part of the trip though I must say was one morning when I woke up, all the kids ran straight to me and gave me a big group hug and were yelling "yay Caitlyn! Caitlyn! Caitlyn!!" It definitely made me feel loved :) (as opposed to when I was nannying in Italy and the kids would bite me & yell at me "Bruta!" which means "ugly!") Also, one day when I was watching Dora with Harvey (the 3 year old), he crawled up on me and we snuggled and he fell asleep in my arms. It was seriously one of the best feelings I've had...I caught myself dozing off too a few times! Anyways, we made it back to Sydney and I officially got settled into my new room! It feels so great to have all my things put away and have my own space now. It's such a sweet room--it even has built in speakers on the ceiling and for the past couple hours I've had my ipod plugged in and have been having my own little dance party....I guess I need to meet some friends haha. Hopefully soon...tomorrow (monday) and tuesday I have off, so I think I may head to the beach (pray for sunny skies!) Should be fun....I'll keep you all posted! That's it for now :)

Luna Park!

Today was such a fun day! Ashley (the other au pair) took me to Luna Park, which is an amusement park in Sydney....it pretty much has carnival type rides there. We got there by bus and train-so it was pretty fun & beneficial for me to take my first train/bus ride here with someone else (that knew what she was doing!) Once we got to Luna Park, it got really warm out and we were pretty hot in our jeans and long sleeves, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We took tons of pictures of the opera house and of sydney's harbor bridge--it was a beautiful day! At luna park we went all out and bought the "go wild" pass which lets you go on unlimited rides...my visa card wouldn't work at the atm, so thankfully Ashley bought my ticket. It's a bummer they don't have wells fargo here! Anyways, we went crazy on all the rides and felt like we were five, but we really didn't care! (we got right in line with all the little kids haha). Just as we were about to leave, it started pouring rain! So we ran and ran to the train station...this is where it gets a little crazy...it was rush hour, so the trains were JAM PACKED with people... as we were waiting for our train, the doors opened and no one got out of it, so Ashley crammed her way on, grabbed my arm (I seriously didn't think I would fit)...I somehow wedged myself between two men and began cracking up. Ashley and I grabbed onto eachother for support, and we were SO thankful that our stop was the first stop, so we only had to be like that for 3 minutes. Thank goodness!! Once we got off, we were starving, so we went to the first food place we saw....Subway...haha we felt really American. After we ate we headed to 7-eleven to buy a "travel 10" bus pass, which works for 10 bus rides. I also bought an Aero mint chocolate bar....it is one of the best chocolate bars I've ever had...after that we caught another bus from Wynard to Manly. Hopped off the bus at Manly, and walked home :) what a great day! Tomorrow I leave in the morning with the mom and kids to Avoca Beach for five days...we are staying at a beach condo! Unfortunately the weather is supposed to be crummy, so we'll see how it goes...keep your fingers crossed!

jet lag!

..so I'm finally feeling the effects of jet lag. I woke up this morning around 7 or so, had some freshly baked bread with jam for breakfast, then hung out with the kids for a bit. We then took the kids out to Manly Beach where they have lots of little kiddie rides for them to enjoy...so Tim (the dad) & I watched them while the mom met up with a friend for a bit. Just as we were leaving it started to rain!! After lunch I could feel myself getting tired and even Julie (the mom) noticed I looked really tired so she told me to take a nap and relax...it didn't take much convincing..I went up to my room and immediately fell asleep. For dinner I had LAMB! I've NEVER had lamb in my whole life and surprisingly it was pretty tasty! Although they put mint jelly on it, which didn't really tickle my fancy hah. Tomorrow the kids go to daycare all day since there's no school, so Ashley (the other au pair) and I will hang out and maybe head into Sydney or something. I hope it doesn't rain again--it even thundered today and there was some lightning too! yikes!! 

First night out!

So I went out with Ashley (the au pair that's here now) and her friend Roxanne (another local au pair). We went out to a restaurant/pub and had some dinner and "champas" (champagne) and watched the biggest rugby game of the season! The champas were only $3.50 because it was happy hour--wahoo! We each bought eachother a "shout" or a "round" as we would call it...it is so funny learning all the different slang they have here. For dinner I had pumpkin & sage ravioli...it was SO good!! After we finished dinner we sat and chatted for a long time..then to our surprise LAYNE BEACHLEY (the most famous women surfers) came and sat to the table next to us! We tried to take pictures of her, but the waitress got upset at us & said, "Now don't be rude girls!" Hah oh well. We had a fun night, but got pretty tired, so we came home around 9 or so. Ashley and I had a 20-30 min walk home & it started to rain :( Let's hope the weather gets better tomorrow--we are supposed to go out on the Sydney harbor in the boat with the family! 

I made it!!

I made it to the land down under!! Although I was expecting it to be hot and sunny, but found it to be cold & rainy! I got picked up by a shuttle from the airport, and on my way to the house we drove past the sydney opera house, and drove through sydney's harbor bridge which was really cool! (I even saw people climbing up the bridge--if you pay a couple hundred bucks, you can climb to the top of it). When I made it to the house in Manly beach, the mom was the only one home, so we chatted for a bit and she made me some banana pancakes :) The house is very nice!! Everything is white and new! The parents are VERY nice, and the children (oscar, mia, and harvey) are adorable! THey have lots of energy, but they are very happy, goofy, and cute! The parents are pretty strict with them & yell a lot, which is something I will have to get used to. But the family is very loving and extremely welcoming towards me! They drove me all around town yesterday and we stopped at the jazz festival on the way home, although it started to pour so we had to leave. The children were getting fidgety in the car and the parents kept saying "stop winging!" (which I'm pretty sure means, "whining"). The little girl mia kept yelling nonstop, "I love Caitlyn" which was pretty funny...I do feel loved here..even on my first day! :)