Don't do that! No, don't go there! That's dangerous... I don't want you to pop yourself.
BallFiend, talking to his 'blown-up rubber ring' [which is what he calls his inflatable pool toy ring].
--
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
X marks the mass
Many months ago, sometime around March I think it was, VolubleK and I came up with an idea for Christmas: to bring our families together and have a big Christmas day like the ones we remember when we were kids... the sort of day when there a heaps of people because an extensive number of extended family all turn up to gorge themselves, spoil the kids with lots of toys and chocolates and to re-gift the crappy presents from previous years.
So in November, after re-confirming with VolubleK that the plan was still good to go, I rounded up the family: StompyDad, CutLuce and DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward all said they would come. Unfortunately though, Gran and GrandPaul declined as they wanted to have one last Christmas day lunch with Gran's second cousin and his family before his planned repatriation back to Canada. (He and his family are secular Jews who like to join in on Christmas festivities anyway.)
What we ended up with was probably the epitome of a Gen X Christmas. Family and friends, old and young, were present, and there was a smattering of tradition thrown in amongst a whole lot of 'don't act too enthusiastic - it's just another day after all'.
Our Christmas Day began with a morning visit to Gran and GrandPaul's house where we were treated to brunch - a tasty quiche, fresh cherries and of course some fine wine (obligatory as far as GrandPaul is concerned). Gran's cousin and family arrived and we did the first round of gift exchanging for the day. We gave GrandPaul and Gran a doormat with "We serve only the finest Australian wine here. Did you bring any?" emblazoned upon it, which was well-received. Also to GrandPaul an autographed copy of Free to a Good Home by Catherine Deveny (DeepSpice went to her book signing) and to Gran some smelly (floral) soaps which she always likes.
We had received our present from Gran and GrandPaul a few days earlier - a portable gazebo for our backyard (as I was after a shady place for BallFiend and Thumper to play until our trees grow bigger). However, being the generous sorts that they are, they also gave us a few more things, but the focus was really on BallFiend and Thumper who were showered with gifts.
Next stop was VolubleK's house. After we arrived, there was more frenzied exchanging of gifts, followed by lunch. The adults sat at the table, the kids ran riot and barely stopped to eat as far as I could tell. In the midst of it all though, BallFiend sat down and ate in his picky, meticulous way. He generally takes about an hour to eat a simple sandwich, so Christmas lunch with all it's unfamiliar foods took him forever, by the time he picked out all the things he didn't want to eat. After lunch BallFiend played with PetitAmi and her big sister; he particularly liked the billiard table. ("Look mum! Billion balls!!") We finished up with dessert at about 5.30 pm and didn't end up leaving until 7.00 pm, with a very, very tired BallFiend.
Here is the summary of our ill-gotten goods (seeing as we are atheists, and so don't officially qualify for Christmas goodies):
Me:
So in November, after re-confirming with VolubleK that the plan was still good to go, I rounded up the family: StompyDad, CutLuce and DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward all said they would come. Unfortunately though, Gran and GrandPaul declined as they wanted to have one last Christmas day lunch with Gran's second cousin and his family before his planned repatriation back to Canada. (He and his family are secular Jews who like to join in on Christmas festivities anyway.)
What we ended up with was probably the epitome of a Gen X Christmas. Family and friends, old and young, were present, and there was a smattering of tradition thrown in amongst a whole lot of 'don't act too enthusiastic - it's just another day after all'.
Our Christmas Day began with a morning visit to Gran and GrandPaul's house where we were treated to brunch - a tasty quiche, fresh cherries and of course some fine wine (obligatory as far as GrandPaul is concerned). Gran's cousin and family arrived and we did the first round of gift exchanging for the day. We gave GrandPaul and Gran a doormat with "We serve only the finest Australian wine here. Did you bring any?" emblazoned upon it, which was well-received. Also to GrandPaul an autographed copy of Free to a Good Home by Catherine Deveny (DeepSpice went to her book signing) and to Gran some smelly (floral) soaps which she always likes.
We had received our present from Gran and GrandPaul a few days earlier - a portable gazebo for our backyard (as I was after a shady place for BallFiend and Thumper to play until our trees grow bigger). However, being the generous sorts that they are, they also gave us a few more things, but the focus was really on BallFiend and Thumper who were showered with gifts.
Next stop was VolubleK's house. After we arrived, there was more frenzied exchanging of gifts, followed by lunch. The adults sat at the table, the kids ran riot and barely stopped to eat as far as I could tell. In the midst of it all though, BallFiend sat down and ate in his picky, meticulous way. He generally takes about an hour to eat a simple sandwich, so Christmas lunch with all it's unfamiliar foods took him forever, by the time he picked out all the things he didn't want to eat. After lunch BallFiend played with PetitAmi and her big sister; he particularly liked the billiard table. ("Look mum! Billion balls!!") We finished up with dessert at about 5.30 pm and didn't end up leaving until 7.00 pm, with a very, very tired BallFiend.
Here is the summary of our ill-gotten goods (seeing as we are atheists, and so don't officially qualify for Christmas goodies):
Me:
- Friendly Fire by Wil Anderson,
- Wil Anderson's Wilosophy DVD
- a purple scarf
- Space Oddity by David Bowie CD
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a box of chocolates (from Father Christmas),
- Outdoor Kids by Jamie Durie (from StompyDad)
- Mini vacuum cleaner
- (the aforementioned) gazebo
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- A book by Richard Dawkins.
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a green hat (from Gran and GrandPaul)
- a purple hat (from DesignerSis and Wigward)
- Ernie and Bert soft toys (from Gran's cousin and family).
- In The Night Garden memory game
- green teddy bear
- Dora the Explorer bowl, plate and mug set
- roll-around Fisher Price toy
- Teething rattle toy
- a few books
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a toy car
- stilts (from the playgroup Kris Kringle)
- Dora the Explorer floor puzzle
- a cricket set
- The Umbilical Brothers DVD
- a backpack for Kinder
- shoes
- green bath towel with a hood
- a quilt and pillowcae
- lots of books
- 12 inflatable mini beach balls! (Father Christmas found these on eBay)
- a large inflatable beach ball and an inflatable penguin-shaped green swim ring (courtesy of his great-aunt and uncle)
- probably some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Home Sweet Home
Nine years ago today DeepSpice and I bought our house at auction. I can't believe it's been this long!
In that time, we have done a lot of work to the house and garden, including:
Photos...
Rear of house
old bathroom
(matching pink bath, just out of view to the left;
and no laundry - just a washing machine in the near corner)
Old kitchen (no pantry, just badly installed shelves out of shot to the left - by badly installed,
I mean shelves nailed and screwed into the plasterboard.
When it was demolished, we counted 19 nails/screws holding in one bracket alone!)
So, what now?
It's been a good place to live overall, but with enough annoyances (primarily being on a main road; a nasty neighbour and a floorplan that isn't ideal for a growing family) that I have found myself scanning the real estate supplement of the local paper on numerous occasions, pondering where we could move to that would:
--
In that time, we have done a lot of work to the house and garden, including:
- extending the garage to create a workshop space for DeepSpice;
- restumping the entire house;
- tearing down the back of the house (including the asbestos-laden fibro cement lean-to) and rebuilding it, creating an open plan kitchen/meals/lounge room and adding a laundry;
- renovating the bathroom and adding an en-suite;
- replacing the decking on the front verandah with recycled Jarrah boards;
- installing ethernet cable and data points in every room (just a few years before wireless became common place, rending all this work a bit pointless!);
- repaving the driveway and sideway with new concrete, and adding a new path to the front door;
- polishing the floorboards throughout the house (after removing the ugly old axminster carpet);
- putting in an air conditioner (sorry environment, but this was something I really wanted when BallFiend came along... breastfeeding a newborn in 40 degree heat is no fun at all);
- landscaping the front and rear gardens;
- painting the entire house, inside (ourselves) and outside (paid some painters);
- installing canvas awnings outside and new blinds and curtains inside;
- installing a security screen door at the front;
- rebuilding the fence and putting in a new gate;
- getting built-in wardrobes installed in the bedrooms;
- and probably quite a few other odds and ends that I can't think of at the moment.
Photos...
Before:
Front facade
Front facade
Rear of house
old bathroom(matching pink bath, just out of view to the left;
and no laundry - just a washing machine in the near corner)
Old kitchen (no pantry, just badly installed shelves out of shot to the left - by badly installed,I mean shelves nailed and screwed into the plasterboard.
When it was demolished, we counted 19 nails/screws holding in one bracket alone!)
During:
Front garden just landscaped. November 2006.
Back garden - just landscaped, March 2008.
Driveway - new trees planted.
This photo taken in December 2003; trees to either side had been in for about a year.
Plastering done and floors polished. June 2007.
Front garden just landscaped. November 2006.
Back garden - just landscaped, March 2008.
Driveway - new trees planted. This photo taken in December 2003; trees to either side had been in for about a year.
Plastering done and floors polished. June 2007.After:
There is no 'after' renovation! Anyone who has ever renovated a house knows that there is always one more thing to do. In our case, several more things to do. Including:
There is no 'after' renovation! Anyone who has ever renovated a house knows that there is always one more thing to do. In our case, several more things to do. Including:
- finish some of the painting (architraves, doors and wardrobes)
- restore original metal window opening fittings (strip paint, reinstall, etc.)
- replace sash cords in several windows
- build in more storage in bathrooms, bedrooms, study
- get a new gate installed across drive way
- plant more things in the garden (the garden bed along one side of the driveway is still bare!)
- finish unpacking all the crap we stored in the garage while we renovated!!
However, I will endeavour to take some 'after' photos of our renovated house and add them to this post at some time soon.
It's been a good place to live overall, but with enough annoyances (primarily being on a main road; a nasty neighbour and a floorplan that isn't ideal for a growing family) that I have found myself scanning the real estate supplement of the local paper on numerous occasions, pondering where we could move to that would:
- not be located on a main road, but would still be near public transport;
- keep us near to all the lovely friends we have in the local area;
- not be too far from family members that live in various nearby suburbs;
- be cooler in the heat of Summer;
- have all the nice amenities that aren't available round here, like nice parks and good schools, and
- not require us to win a tattslotto jackpot in order to afford it!
--
Friday, December 04, 2009
Why?
Why? Why? Why?Because.
Why?
Why? Why?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?Just because.
Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why not?
Why? Why?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why? Why not? Why?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why not? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why?-- BallFiend, just before his mother's head explodes.
Why?
--
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The best laid plans are unnecessary
Usually I am the epitome of organisation... things planned weeks in advance down the the last detail. But these days, with two kids to care for, planning is something that almost never happens. I always thought that the best things come to those who plan, but this experience proves otherwise...
Saturday afternoon rolled around and an invitation to come for Sunday lunch was received by telephone from Gran and GrandPaul. We accepted their offer and raised them one: "Any chance you could mind BallFiend whilst we go and see a movie?" DeepSpice asked. "We'll take Thumper with us." he hastened to add.
We had two movie vouchers due to expire on Monday. The vouchers were the result of my recouping hard-earned reward points on a former credit card. The credit card was associated with the old bank which we gleefully abandoned in order to get a better interest rate on our home loan at another bank. However, after we refinanced the home loan, I kept the credit card account open for some months, so we could accumulate enough reward points to get something vaguely useful... yeah, like a toaster that fries an egg at the same time.
A few months later, while I was still trying to accumulate enough points to get a measly $10 gift voucher or similar, the old bank sneakily charged us an annual fee without notice. When I complained, they refused to refund it even if we cancelled the card, so we were stuck with keeping the account open for another 12 months to get our money's worth. So I kept playing their game, trying to make just enough purchases to earn the exact number of points to get a $10 gift voucher, only to discover that I now had too many points and might as well try and earn a few more so I could get a $20 gift voucher. This stupidity continued until eventually I gave in and just redeemed my points for whatever I could get.
So that is how I ended up with a $10 Darrell Lea voucher and two movie vouchers. Both vouchers arrived a few months before Thumper's birth, just when I was too tired and sore with pelvic instability to either (a) trapse around shopping centres to find one of the few remaining Darrell Lea stores or (b) sit for ages watching a movie. So the vouchers were put aside to use up after Thumper had emerged.
So of course they all got left until the last minute, because that is how parents of newborn babies live their lives. The day the Darrell Lea voucher was due to expire saw DeepSpice wandering around the CBD looking for the one and only store and successfully returning home with a small box of chocolates for me. And that brings us to now...
A week ago, I remembered that the movie vouchers expired at the end of November and suggested to DeepSpice that he could arrange baby sitting with Gran and GrandPaul or I could give the vouchers to CutLuce or DesignerSis to use up. Of course, neither of these options were followed up, and I had pretty much resigned myself to not getting to use the movie vouchers. So when the phone call inviting us to lunch came, we decided to try going all 'Gen Y' and do things 'last minute'.
Gran and GrandPaul said "Yes, and you can leave Thumper with us too if you want." At first, I couldn't believe it... that I might get to see a movie after all. Then I even started contemplating actually leaving Thumper with them. I had initially ruled this out because of the feeding logistics. Thumper is fully breastfed and I am not very good at expressing milk, nor had Thumper ever tried drinking expressed milk from a bottle. But on Sunday morning, at the last minute (well, a few hours before lunchtime actually), I decided "what the hell - let's leave Thumper too. She isn't going to starve and I can be back to her in 30 minutes if it is urgent." I managed to express 25 mls of milk, and grabbed a bag of frozen milk (expressed two months ago during the early-breastfeeding-super-engorgement phase) and a bottle. Then we raced off to drop the kids off at Gran and GrandPaul's house.
We arrived with about 40 minutes to go until we needed to leave for the movie. And from this point on, the day just got better. Gran and GrandPaul had a tasty lunch (well, brunch really since it was just after 11.00 am) waiting - pide, smoked salmon, salami and salad. Just as well too, as otherwise DeepSpice and I would have been eating nothing but jaffas, popcorn and choc tops for lunch! We dashed off to the theatre with about 25 minutes to spare, and despite getting caught up in a roadwork-related traffic jam, still made it just in time to score a parking spot right next to the theatre.
The next potential hiccup in our not-plans: I noticed that one of the vouchers had actually already expired a month earlier. No idea why they couldn't send me two vouchers with the same expiry date. I rehearsed a sob-story in my head as I handed the vouchers to the box office attendant but she didn't even glance at them. Just handed me two tickets for the movie and we were on our way. After the movie, as there were no frantic messages from Gran and GrandPaul urging us to "come back now!", we decided to go for a coffee. Then about an hour later and still no frantic messages, we decided to push our luck and stop off at the supermarket - ah, the joy of shopping with out children in tow!!
Unfortunately at this point, the luck ran out. The frantic phone call came from GrandPaul, accompanied on backing vocals by a screaming Thumper: "Better come back now, she is refusing to drink milk from the bottle." Apparently she had been calm when she woke from her three-hour sleep, then got a bit upset but calmed down again quickly with some loving attention from BallFiend (what a star!). But now, she had finally realised she was hungry and she just didn't get the bottle concept at all.
So we abandoned our shopping expedition (having managed to purchase only one item, but luckily the most important one: a chocolate advent calendar) and dashed back to the hungry Thumper. Of course, just as we walked in the door, we were informed that she had decided she would partake of the bottle, thanks very much! Still, she clearly preferred the real deal when it was offered and BallFiend was happy to have us back too.
I was impressed with what Gran and GrandPaul had accomplished in our absence: (a) a sleeping baby for most of the time; (b) BallFiend had a swim and did some more toileting practice (remembered to get out of the pool to do a wee); (c) GrandPaul purchased a real pine xmas tree; and (d) BallFiend helped to decorate the tree.
The afternoon was nicely topped-off with an invitation to stay for dinner - although GrandPaul's plan to cook a lamb roast hadn't been realised, so DeepSpice and GrandPaul went and got some oh-so-not-healthy fish and chips for us all. Then we got BallFiend ready for bed and headed for home.
PS. The movie was really good too - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasuss.
--
Saturday afternoon rolled around and an invitation to come for Sunday lunch was received by telephone from Gran and GrandPaul. We accepted their offer and raised them one: "Any chance you could mind BallFiend whilst we go and see a movie?" DeepSpice asked. "We'll take Thumper with us." he hastened to add.
We had two movie vouchers due to expire on Monday. The vouchers were the result of my recouping hard-earned reward points on a former credit card. The credit card was associated with the old bank which we gleefully abandoned in order to get a better interest rate on our home loan at another bank. However, after we refinanced the home loan, I kept the credit card account open for some months, so we could accumulate enough reward points to get something vaguely useful... yeah, like a toaster that fries an egg at the same time.
A few months later, while I was still trying to accumulate enough points to get a measly $10 gift voucher or similar, the old bank sneakily charged us an annual fee without notice. When I complained, they refused to refund it even if we cancelled the card, so we were stuck with keeping the account open for another 12 months to get our money's worth. So I kept playing their game, trying to make just enough purchases to earn the exact number of points to get a $10 gift voucher, only to discover that I now had too many points and might as well try and earn a few more so I could get a $20 gift voucher. This stupidity continued until eventually I gave in and just redeemed my points for whatever I could get.
So that is how I ended up with a $10 Darrell Lea voucher and two movie vouchers. Both vouchers arrived a few months before Thumper's birth, just when I was too tired and sore with pelvic instability to either (a) trapse around shopping centres to find one of the few remaining Darrell Lea stores or (b) sit for ages watching a movie. So the vouchers were put aside to use up after Thumper had emerged.
So of course they all got left until the last minute, because that is how parents of newborn babies live their lives. The day the Darrell Lea voucher was due to expire saw DeepSpice wandering around the CBD looking for the one and only store and successfully returning home with a small box of chocolates for me. And that brings us to now...
A week ago, I remembered that the movie vouchers expired at the end of November and suggested to DeepSpice that he could arrange baby sitting with Gran and GrandPaul or I could give the vouchers to CutLuce or DesignerSis to use up. Of course, neither of these options were followed up, and I had pretty much resigned myself to not getting to use the movie vouchers. So when the phone call inviting us to lunch came, we decided to try going all 'Gen Y' and do things 'last minute'.
Gran and GrandPaul said "Yes, and you can leave Thumper with us too if you want." At first, I couldn't believe it... that I might get to see a movie after all. Then I even started contemplating actually leaving Thumper with them. I had initially ruled this out because of the feeding logistics. Thumper is fully breastfed and I am not very good at expressing milk, nor had Thumper ever tried drinking expressed milk from a bottle. But on Sunday morning, at the last minute (well, a few hours before lunchtime actually), I decided "what the hell - let's leave Thumper too. She isn't going to starve and I can be back to her in 30 minutes if it is urgent." I managed to express 25 mls of milk, and grabbed a bag of frozen milk (expressed two months ago during the early-breastfeeding-super-engorgement phase) and a bottle. Then we raced off to drop the kids off at Gran and GrandPaul's house.
We arrived with about 40 minutes to go until we needed to leave for the movie. And from this point on, the day just got better. Gran and GrandPaul had a tasty lunch (well, brunch really since it was just after 11.00 am) waiting - pide, smoked salmon, salami and salad. Just as well too, as otherwise DeepSpice and I would have been eating nothing but jaffas, popcorn and choc tops for lunch! We dashed off to the theatre with about 25 minutes to spare, and despite getting caught up in a roadwork-related traffic jam, still made it just in time to score a parking spot right next to the theatre.
The next potential hiccup in our not-plans: I noticed that one of the vouchers had actually already expired a month earlier. No idea why they couldn't send me two vouchers with the same expiry date. I rehearsed a sob-story in my head as I handed the vouchers to the box office attendant but she didn't even glance at them. Just handed me two tickets for the movie and we were on our way. After the movie, as there were no frantic messages from Gran and GrandPaul urging us to "come back now!", we decided to go for a coffee. Then about an hour later and still no frantic messages, we decided to push our luck and stop off at the supermarket - ah, the joy of shopping with out children in tow!!
Unfortunately at this point, the luck ran out. The frantic phone call came from GrandPaul, accompanied on backing vocals by a screaming Thumper: "Better come back now, she is refusing to drink milk from the bottle." Apparently she had been calm when she woke from her three-hour sleep, then got a bit upset but calmed down again quickly with some loving attention from BallFiend (what a star!). But now, she had finally realised she was hungry and she just didn't get the bottle concept at all.
So we abandoned our shopping expedition (having managed to purchase only one item, but luckily the most important one: a chocolate advent calendar) and dashed back to the hungry Thumper. Of course, just as we walked in the door, we were informed that she had decided she would partake of the bottle, thanks very much! Still, she clearly preferred the real deal when it was offered and BallFiend was happy to have us back too.
I was impressed with what Gran and GrandPaul had accomplished in our absence: (a) a sleeping baby for most of the time; (b) BallFiend had a swim and did some more toileting practice (remembered to get out of the pool to do a wee); (c) GrandPaul purchased a real pine xmas tree; and (d) BallFiend helped to decorate the tree.
The afternoon was nicely topped-off with an invitation to stay for dinner - although GrandPaul's plan to cook a lamb roast hadn't been realised, so DeepSpice and GrandPaul went and got some oh-so-not-healthy fish and chips for us all. Then we got BallFiend ready for bed and headed for home.
PS. The movie was really good too - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasuss.
--
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)