I read an article this week about how it takes balls to go in public with young kids (Read it here). For the last few days it’s really stuck with me that it’s so true. 

Tonight Angel had a work dinner so the boys and I were solo. He came with us before he left, and it was all fine and dandy until he got up. Once he left to go to his thing, it’s like the boys sensed that one of the wheels was gone from the bus: one started banging a pit against the table as hard as he could and the other spilled an entire glass of water at a rate that would make scientists grab a calculator. Doesn’t matter who did what, because that’s the point here: it’s a crap shoot.  Now I have one kid crying and screaming because of the mess and the other screaming and making as much noise as he can and I’m trying to wipe water off of my diaper bag and ask for the check. Being a parent takes so much more patience than I ever thought possible. 

And some day I’m going to look back on this and I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the day that my kid’s tears could be solved by a hug. I’m going to miss that he wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to see me. I’m going to miss when he thinks I’m his best friend. 

I’m not going to miss the stares, comments, and judgements just for having kids. I’m annoyed that you think my stroller is too big, I’m over hearing that I look “too young to be a mom” and I can’t stand the my kid would never do that judgement. Your kid doesn’t watch tv? Slow clap. Some days that’s the only way anything gets done. Oh, your kid only eats organic? Mine has something in his mouth from the floor right now. 

Let’s just leave parents alone. Raising kids not to be the jerk some of you are is a lot of work and it takes balls to leave the house and face your criticism some days. 

Childhood is too short, and we need to celebrate the chaos for as long as we can

In other news, here’s what we’ve been up to down under:

Where to start?! We’ve been here 6 days and I’m in heaven!! Until this morning, I couldn’t find a single thing bad to say about Sydney. Even the flight wasn’t as bad as I expected. It was…. memorable. 

We were man on man defense: Angel with Lucas in one row and me with Joshua behind them. 15 hours, 2 vomit sessions, 5 blow outs, and an entire supple of wipes later, Angel and Lucas arrived refreshed while Joshua arrived naked and I looked like I was coming home from war. I doomed myself when I took this picture: 

Drinking a glass of wine, watching a chick flick, and enjoying some baby snuggles. I thought the red eye was the best idea in the world until hour 2.

So once we got here, Joshua and I were first in the shower having already blown through 3 days worth of clothes (in a 7 day supply). I swear to all of my readers that I will be traveling home with twice as many wipes as I traveled here with. And maybe that 4th change of clothes (eye roll). We ate lunch in the hotel, walked down to the beach by the hotel, and went to bed early. 

The next day we woke up too early to be appropriate and ventured into the city and off to the zoo. 

Are we there yet?

Man down

Escape from the stroller, because I swear to God if you wake up your brother we will not be friends for the rest of the day. 

View from the ferry on the way to the zoo

Lunch at the zoo with a couple of animals

I want to jump the fence and hold this koala. Is that so wrong?

Lucas is loving that we got to follow Daddy to work this time. Joshua is too young to care where he sleeps. 

Tour guide
The rest of the week has been a solo adventure. Angel is at work and I’m with these hooligans trying to get around half way across the world. Secretly? I love every second of it. I have fond memories of my Mom taking us into the City on SAN Francisco and doing all of these fun things all of the time and I feel like I’m that “cool” Mom here. Everyone is insanely friendly. Yesterday, we were coming home from the Maritime Muesum during rush hour so the city bus was crowded. I made Lucas sit in the stroller before the bus showed up because I was anticipating a struggle with a giant stroller in a crowded bus. But guess what happened when the bus showed up? The man in front of me getting onto the bus just bent down and picked up the front of this giant double stroller. No questions asked. AND he was in a suit! How many guys do you know would be in a business suit on their way home from work and just lift 50 pounds of stroller and children like it was as normal as stepping onto the bus himself? I was shocked (in a good way). But this pretty much describes my experience here. Everyone is so friendly! Someone overheard me telling Lucas that we were looking for the “M50” bus and he interrupted me to tell me that I was at the wrong stop and the M50 only stopped on the other side of the road at “that” sign (pointing) and then asking if I needed help getting somewhere. I’ve been out nearly every day this week solo with 2 kids and a double stroller and I had yet to meet someone who didn’t offer their assistance and genuinely mean it. 

…until today. The wheels fell off the bus a bit today. We were venturing into the city again to walk around the opera house. When we got onto the bus, the designated seats for strollers and wheelchairs was taken by someone who was less than happy to follow the signs and “vacate” the seat. I didn’t want to cause a scene on a non crowded bus mid morning on a Thursday so I was thinking of what to do with the stroller when the lady stood up to move throwing F bombs all over the place directed at me and my tiny humans for just being. The bus started moving before I could get Lucas seated so he jerked and stepped on this lady’s foot (who was where it shouldn’t have been, might I add) and then she threw an F bomb straight at my 3 year old. I was doing my best to keep my Mama Bear claws away because I’m the visitor so I simply said “I’m sure he didn’t mean it” in a kind voice that sort of sounded like “go f- yourself” when the few people on the bus just said what I didn’t: “that was unnecessary!” So a long, drawn out story short, a bus of kind people (including another mom with a stroller) restored my faith in Sydney. When this lady got off of the bus, a couple of people started talking to me to apologize for her behavior. One stating that she was going to step in if that lady opened her mouth again. Naturally, they asked where my accent was from (now I’m the one with the accent!) and we got to talking. The other lady with the stroller gave me her number, told me she was a nanny, and offered to meet up for a “play” with the kids at a park! I’ve totally taken her up on the offer and she’s already texted me 100 different things to do with kids. She’s never going to read this blog, but I hope she knows that she’s the reason I didn’t have a sour feeling all day. Because of her, this day my mood wasnt as bad as it could have been. 

So the boys and I had a lovely day playing in the grass, eating lunch, face timing Nana and Paws, and enjoying the Sydney Opera House

I got the munchkins shirts from a souviner shop and then it started to rain and was running into nap time so I toona deep breath and made my way back to the bus. We got back for nap, Lucas woke Joshua up because I wouldn’t let him eat a second apple. I got Joshua back to sleep and then Lucas woke him up again in 60 seconds flat for whatever other 3 year old reason. I texted Angel that I just couldn’t handle Lucas any more today. Luckily, my Knight in Shining Armour came striding in a few minute later and took over whiney preschooler for me. Tap. Out. We went to dinner and got a text from his coworker that the hotel was evacuated for a fire alarm while we were gone. I think it’s a blessing that I wasn’t there because I’m not sure I could handle 7 flights of stairs with an over-tired pair of children today. It was probably better that we were across the street putting food in our bellies. 

Sigh

Tomorrow I’m staying close to the hotel. Thanks to the flight, a couple of us are out of clothes so we’re going to spend the morning at the laundromat until Dad is done with work. But even after a trying day, I’m still not wanting to go home. Like, ever. I’ve even made a friend already!

Cheers, readers! It’s bedtime for me and time for you all to start the Thursday that was a little difficult on this side of the world. I wish you all better luck with it. And just tell that lady to F- off right from the get go. She’s going to deserve it. Or better yet, catch the next bus so you aren’t blindsided by someone who should have stayed home. 

I’ve been MIA. I’m not even going to pretend to try to catch you up. Last I left my blog I was struggling with postpardom depression, so let’s just leave it that some days I still am, it’s been a long road, and I’m appreciating modern science and medical advances. 

Now, on to my topic of discussion today: a future note to my children that no, the life they are living is not “normal” and they have no idea how lucky they are. 

We have been doing some traveling. Angel and I always prioritized travel so there’s no real shock with that statement. But reciently, Lucas is old enough to sort of realize that we go to these cool places, but he has no idea that this isn’t a “normal” thing. Our kids sleep in hotels without skipping a beat 

and fly on airplanes without realizing that some adults only dream about flying. 

Our kids play in airports quietly and with each other because they know not to disturb those around us

They don’t realize that this is a life of luxury that Mom and Dad have sacrificed and prioritized for. They have no idea that spending 6 days in Maui isn’t something that everyone does every year

If they don’t realize all of this, than they certainly don’t realize that it’s been a dream of ours to go to Australia before they were ever a dream of ours. They don’t understand that it’s a big deal to spend 20 days in Sydney followed by 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. They don’t know, but they’re doing it anyway. 

I often get comments about how hard it must be to raise a family without family around to help. I respond with the same dumb stare that parents of multiples give when they are told how hard parenting twins must be. We do it because we don’t have a choice. I don’t have the option to call my Mom and drop my kids off on the way to the grocery store every week, so they have to go with me and learn how to behave. It’s not easy for us to call family to come spend a month with our Tiny Humans while we go on a trip of a lifetime, so we adapt our plans and take them with us. I digress, but I would like to think that my reward for having to do this on our own is having kids who aren’t assholes who the rest of you have to deal with. 

But my point in this rant is this: I had a lucky childhood that I didn’t realize at the time exactly how rare it was. And here I am, passing the torch on to a new generation and hoping that one day they will realize how cool their parents must have been to spend a month in Australia and take them with. 

…because they don’t understand yet. 
Cheers from down under, mates! This month I’m coming in strong with photo bombs and word vomit so that my kids may look back on day and think “Damn, our parents were pretty cool for doing that for us.”