The Summer That Wasn't

    Today is the last day of summer.  It's cloudy, it's been rainy, and I'm not expecting the temperature to break 70 degrees (about 22 C for my down under friends).  Seasons in Australia are very organized. No hanging around for the solstice here. Tomorrow, March 1, is the first day of Autumn.  This will last until the first day of June, at which time it becomes winter.
    I love Autumn, so in theory, I should be happy.  Unfortunately, last year we had the winter that went on forever.  Spring was almost non existent.  So by the time summer rolled around, I was actually looking forward to having a string of warm sunny days (but not too hot, when it really heats up here it can get a bit unbearable and I still don't have access to the car more than a couple of days a week).   Nope.  Didn't happen, or at least, it didn't happen in the amount needed to feel like we were actually having summer.
     We received 300 mls of rain this summer in Melbourne. 30 cm, 12 inches of rain over 3 months.  Thats more than twice the average rainfall and don't forget, we've had a drought for the last decade.  Rain doesn't fall here the way it does up north, or in the northeastern part of the US.  Most of the time, rainstorms here are not drenching downpours.  It just kind of rains light to medium for a bit.  It is rare that someone here has a raincoat, or carries an umbrella.  I've actually gotten into that habit as well.
    So it rained.  Sometimes light, sometimes heavy.  I'm sure you all know about the floods that have hot several states and crippled small towns and major cities.  Some summer, huh?
    The sun is still strong, even though it has not been out as often.  I finally bought a huge bottle of sunscreen, (the kind with a pump) and it's in the bathroom, right next to the shower so that instead of lotion, you end up applying a layer of SPF 30+.  You can get a sunburn in 11 minutes here on a strong sunny day.  My 21 month old daughter has already learned to apply and I often just give her the roll on sunscreen when she's in the pram.  A little extra coverage on top of the layer I've given her can't hurt, can it?  It doesn't help that she now HATES the sunshade and screams when I try to put it over her head.   Wear a hat?  Well, that depends on her mood. Sunglasses?  Only if she feels like a movie star.  Let's just say I know where all the big shady sidewalk trees are in my neighborhood.  I have even made a "cap" for the pram that will shade most of her head and face and that sits out of her line of sight (although, if she turns around to look at me and sees it she screams and pushes it back).  It's not forever, I think, as she screams, throws the sunglasses and complains "eyes. eyes!" because the sun it too strong.

     Speaking of prams, can I just say how amazing my stroller is?  This is not a product pitch, per se, but sometimes you luck into a product from a company that knows how to treat their customers well.  We have a Bugaboo bee -  a funky little pram meant for urban areas. It fits just about everywhere, turns on a dime, etc.  It would not be so good for NYC subways because you can't fold it easily on public transport but in Melbourne, I don't worry about crowded subways so much.  So, we bought this pram on Valentine's Day 2009 because the shop we went to was having a mega sale and we got the baby cocoon for free that day etc.  On February 18, 2011, 4 days after the warranty expired, the mechanism that controls the sunshade pivot got stuck and I snapped one of the sunshade supports while I was trying to force the cover over my (finally) sleeping daughter as we walked along.  So, we took it back to the shop, they e-mailed Bugaboo and 3 days later they called me and said "Your new seat is in, come pick it up".  Yes, this one stupid sunshade mechanism was attached to the entire seat and not easily replaceable, so they just sent us an entirely new seat, after the warranty had expired, at no charge.
So, if you are pregnant and looking, I recommend a Bugaboo.  Expensive?  Yes, a bit, although certainly competitive with other prams.  Worth it?  I sure think so.  

     So, in my effort to avoid a 9 month winter this year I am heading back to the states with Nora for the month of May (Hooray!).  My mom has been missing out on being a grandmother so she is about to get a mega dose of 2 year old.  Nora and I will be flying to NYC on April 29, and then traveling upstate a few days later.  (Yes, we will miss the Royal Wedding, although I'm sure we will be able to watch it all online once we have internet access again. )   My parents will also be able to spend Nora's second birthday with her, which, although it will be away from Nora's Australian family and friends, will be full of her American family and as I have learned, it's hard to be be two places, 10,000 miles away at once. You have to pick and choose and take the opportunities when you can.  My husband is lamenting us being away for this time period but he knows that the airfares were the lowest all year and that it is my family's turn.  It won't be every year, but Nora is a Yank too (she's a dual citizen) and it's about time she got a taste of the good ol' U S of A.  As for me?  I am so looking forward to being home, words cannot describe my emotions  It's been too long.
     The best part about being home?  We get an extra month of warm weather this year, woo hoo!

   Sorry, my life has not been so exciting lately.  It's been a tough summer in terms of life, budgets, kids, etc.  My daughter is amazing but I haven't been working at anything more than a job that pays for coffee in a long time so Aldi and sales have become my new best friends.  We are learning to live with less and I am rewinding my head to a time in my life when I didn't have so much myself (but I did have a mortgage and health insurance payments).  So, I'm back to the days when $40 in my pocket for the week seems like a lot of money.  It's ok.  It's not forever.  And I would rather be with Nora than work to keep her in daycare.  I'm lucky that we have a choice when so many families don't.  It just means that I do a lot more online fantasy shopping.  Nora starts school in 2015, so I've got 4 years to position myself to reenter the job market.  I've signed up for the first of many classes in textile design at RMIT, (they moved me to an August session so it starts a bit later but I've got time to spare).  The money I do spend is mostly to buy shoes for Nora, (her feet just keep growing!  At Christmas she was a size 4, now she is a size 6!) and she needs a warm coat/ hoodie that fits her.  I can make a lot of her clothes, so shoes and coats become the major expense.  It's a path many families have followed before.

So, that's the summer that was.  Not so warm, a bit frugal, with a lot of rain. But it hasn't been all bad.  The rain has been good for the flowers and life is beautiful.