It is funny how much has happened again in such a short time. My blog is not really up-to-date anymore. This probably has something to do with time. I think 24 hours is not enough in a day. I don't know who decided to put 24 hours in a day but I'll tell you what, it's too short!

This past month has been going even faster than every other month, and a lot has happened. December was my last month working as an au pair, which was a double feeling. So much to look forward to but so much to leave behind. But, before I said goodbye to my au pair-life, I had some amazing last weeks including a real Aussie x-mas!

Bloody hot

The first of December was the first day of summer. In the meantime I have experienced some really high temperatures in this last month. Some weeks even above 40 degrees for a couple days in a row. I love the heat but once the temperature hits 44 it's getting a bit too hot. Especially if the air is humid. It makes you sweat so much and by every movement you make, you lose 10 litres of sweat. The best way to spend those days is at the beach around Melbourne or at the pool back home with my four monsters.

Since the summer break had started for the kids, we were able spend some more time together. I promised the kids a long time ago that we could have a big sleep over in my room. But four kids in my bed didn’t work out that well, so we moved all the mattresses into the toy room and had a big sleepover there. Of course all the kids wanted to sleep next to me and I couldn’t split myself in four. Ella already slept in my room twice so she asked Josh to come and sleep with her so the twins could sleep in my bed. I ended up with one kid on top of me and the other one squeezed next to me. We watched the movie 'Elf' and the kids couldn't stop laughing. It was the best way to spend one of the last nights with them. Ella even wrote in my travel journey a story about how much she loved this night and the movie Elf. It couldn't be more adorable!!

Christmas Down Under

Even though it's summer, it was still December and that meant Christmas time! It was, and still is, really confusing to celebrate Christmas in summer. Christmas to kids is a really big deal as Santa is bringing them presents. The kids and I decorated the toy room into a Christmas room to bring some more Christmas feeling in the house. We made heaps of arts and crafts to stick on the wall and even made some fake presents. Wrapping the Christmas presents while using 10 rolls of sticky tape was obviously the most fun part! We didn’t only make fake presents but also real presents for their parents and grandparents. We sang and danced to Christmas songs every day and were singing so loud so Santa would hear them all the way from the North Pole. As for the gift wishes, they had some original ideas this year. Josh wished to get a real pig and when I told him Santa might not be able to bring a real pig, he decided to wish for a real robot. Because yeah, why not! Abbey desperately wanted a violin for Christmas. And if the violin wasn't possible, - she had been asking for it for ages- a ballerina dress was also welcome. Ella started to get her doubts about Santa and asked for some proof. She wrote Santa a really polite message and asked him to make a photo of him with his elves and reindeers. Such an clever girl! As for the last monster, Molly asked for pretty much everything. Her wishlist was the longest of all four! Obviously Santa didn't bring a real pig or violin but they did get heaps of other amazing presents.

Christmas Day in Australia is usually the biggest part of Christmas. Even though we did celebrated Christmas Eve this year, it is not that big or popular down under. I know heaps of you back home are all wondering about every details of a real Aussie Christmas so here we go.

We spend christmas eve at friends' place with a typical Aussie barbie. They invited more friends who had older kids which was really nice for me. Two girls who were traveling all around the world to see their dad, going to private boarding schools, have school exchange plans to Africa, and are dreaming about Europe. It is really inspiring see how different their life is like compared to how my life was when I was their age.

We played games in the park with the kids and opened presents we brought for each other and spent the rest of the evening in front of the fire in the backyard. Opening presents felt a bit more like Christmas, but that feeling changed as soon as I walked outside and felt the 35 degrees. The way home was by taxi as no one was, surprisingly, able to drive anymore. It was the first time for the kids in a taxi and they were so amazed at everything. Especially the Christmas lights next to the road made it the best ride they’ve ever had. They even searched everywhere in the sky to find any signs of Santa or his reindeers on the way back, you never know!

Christmas Day is where Christmas is all about. On Christmas morning the kids got to open the presents from Santa which started for us at 5:30am as the monsters woke up around 5am! We even warned the kids the night before not to wake up before 6am but that mission, obviously, failed haha. Their overly excited and happy faces so early in the morning made it all so worth it! After opening the presents we headed off to the bus stop at the college next to our house so the kids could try their new bikes and cricket set. It was still 6:30am but I didn't care. It was my last day with the kids so if I was able to cut the night out of the day, I would've done it.

Later that morning their grandparents came by and brought the kids even more presents! I gave the kids a hand made (thank mum) mermaid tail sleeping bag which they loved so much. After opening those presents we ended up having three mermaids and one mermaid boy trying to swim on the floor. Such an adorable view!

As they have two parts of their family and only one Christmas Day, we went away for lunch and diner. So much food and so many unlimited lollies and icy poles for the kids. In combination with soft drinks and heaps of presents took the kids to an energy level that they could only jump and run around. Even while Christmas is compared to the Netherlands not really about food but more about the atmosphere or maybe a better description, alcohol. As for the food itself had a lot beautiful salads and obviously a lot of meat on the barbie, as that is typical Aussie. I loved, as always, the desert the most. All kind of home made (and typical Aussie) cakes like chocolate mud cake and Pavlova. After having lunch we headed off to have diner at Grannie's where everything, including the drinking, just started all over again. It was such an different experience but really nice to be part of.

A lot of people asked me if it was hard to spend Christmas away from home. Of course you miss that old Christmas feeling you always got at home a bit. But I have a total different life here and nothing is the same as how it used to be. So I didn’t really have a feeling that something was missing. I loved spending Christmas with my (host)family and the kids. And I’m so happy that I have been able to experience this way of living and celebrating holidays like they do.

There is so much to look forward to but so much to leave behind.

That's pretty much all I could say about starting my new adventure. Because starting a new adventure means the other one ends. Saying goodbye to my monsters and my whole life as an au pair was so hard. I hate saying goodbye and rather just skip it. But, obviously, I couldn't leave without a proper goodbye.

It's strange realising how much my life has changed in the past 6 months. I became part of a new family, made heaps of new friends, did amazing stuff and built such a loved relationship with the kids. They really became a big part of my life and will always be. I learned so much and enjoyed every single moment we shared.

Never say goodbye because saying goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.

Like I said before saying goodbye is always hard. I felt that the kids were pretty upset and didn't want me to leave. Even though they didn't said it that way, I could just read it of their faces. Ella asked me a couple hours before I left; "You will come back right?! For a day or a week?" Her sad voice and those beautiful big eyes made it even harder to leave. I knew I didn't have another choice and of course I was looking forward to my next adventure, but something in me just didn't want to leave. I promised her and the other three kids to come back which gave them bit of hope. Even though Abbey didn't want to let go of me and wanted to cuddle till the very last minute, Molly kept saying she wouldn't miss me with that big cheeky smile on her face. And Josh just ran around the house to avoid the confrontation. And Ella kept saying she will take care of my room and my suitcase. She worried about me even while she is only 9! They all processed it in their own way. But, they did it so well and didn't even cry till the very last moment. We probably all felt tears in our eyes but didn't show it. Until the moment when I stepped into the car drove to the end of the street to turn around came. I saw all the four kids with big tears streaming down their faces waving me goodbye. It was one of the hardest things ever. And I still got tears in my eyes writing this. It’s just unbelievable how much you can love them in such an short time.

Even though I loved playing with the kids after working, It is also good to have some time off. Time to build a personal life down under. I spend a lot of time just alone or with friends in Hamilton. I enjoyed biking to the lake and just sit down and listen to all the birds and, if I was lucky enough Koalas. Even while Hamilton wasn’t that special, I will miss those days. But I also spent a lot of my free weekends away in Melbourne. I’ve met so many new people and became really close with some. Those people who just pushed me out of my comfort zone without even asking for my permission. That one person who believed in me from the very beginning even while I didn’t believe in myself. Six months ago I would never thought I was able to do things I'm doing right now. I learned so much in the past months and I am so thankful for every memory.

Sorry for the late update as this is almost a month ago! In the mean time I arrived in New Zealand, spend time with my kiwi family, traveled a couple weeks with Geanne, seen heaps and now started traveling alone. So much happens in such in short time. The next blog is all about New Zealand!