Big question

"When do you get old and die? How do you die?"

- BallFiend talking to DeepSpice, during the nightly settling-BallFiend-ready-for-sleep routine.

...and in case this ever happens to anyone else, DeepSpice's reply: "That's too a big question to answer when you are just going to sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow." seemed to work quite well.

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Sog

"But how did the floor get all sog?"

- BallFiend, on seeing me mop up water spilled from Thumper's cup.

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Smoking macaroni

I made macaroni cheese for dinner last night... thinking that it would be a huge hit with BallFiend, because after balls and balloons, pasta is his next favourite thing, closely followed by cheese. He would eat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let him. I got BallFiend to help me make it, by getting him to grate some zucchini and carrot (gotta make it a little bit healthy!), make some breadcrumbs by rubbing bread between his palms and then sprinkling the breadcrumbs on top.

But when it was served, he wouldn't eat it! For some strange reason, he doesn't like cheese that is"too-cooked". DeepSpice has since pointed out to me that BallFiend doesn't even like toasted cheese sandwiches or the cheese melted on pizza. Anyway, eventually BallFiend picked out the macaroni and did his best to scrape the sauce off. Then the really disturbing thing: he placed a macaroni between his lips and said "Look Mum, I'm smoking".

When I asked him how he knew about smoking, he reminded me that we had seen a man smoking at the tram stop that morning. I've have really tried to ensure that BallFiend doesn't see people smoking and in the past he hasn't really noticed when someone is smoking nearby, but obviously he has reached a stage where simple distractions are not enough.

So, to all smokers out there: please go and do it somewhere out of sight of impressionable children, thank you.

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Peel that baby

"You just peel and peel and peel and peel and change and change for a long time."

-- BallFiend, on how to change Thumper's nappy.

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I want a holiday

It's been a whole year since we last had a holiday and I really, really, really want another one. Time to get into planning mode. But there's a few logistical issues to contend with: last time we holidayed, Thumper was on the inside. Now she's a squirming, wriggling, commando-crawling baby with a toddler-sized attitude. Also, we barely managed to pack all the stuff needed for two adults and one 2.5 year old boy into our car. No idea how to fit even more stuff, now that there is an extra person in the mix, even if she is only 2 feet tall! Then there's the cost - the family income is somewhat depleted since I have been on maternity leave. Fortunately, most places that accommodate kids don't tend to charge for them to stay. Unfortunately if you want a kids-stay-free type of deal, we all have to sleep in the same room. And quite frankly, BallFiend snores! Plus if the kids are asleep in the same room, we would have to creep around all evening before going to bed ourselves. Not much fun.

So I'm trying to decide what sort of holiday to have, where to go, and how to get there. Drive or fly? Self-contained and self-catering or a hotel where we always eat out? Local, interstate or international?

I don't really want the hassle of flying, especially international - organising passports, delays at airports, kids vomiting on planes, taxis, currency exchange, etc. So maybe a road trip is the answer. That way the kids just vomit in our car instead. But there are some really great deals on international holidays to south pacific resorts... maybe it is worth the pain of getting there?

I usually prefer self-contained accommodation so we can self-cater. But right now I would love a holiday from the drudgery of cooking and cleaning. (I desperately want a holiday from the witching hour - if only a magic fairy would appear and do the 5.00 - 8.00 pm shift and get the kids fed dinner and into bed!) So a resort style holiday with all meals included would help somewhat. Although, with two kids, eating out isn't restful either - we constantly have to be on guard about BallFiend's behaviour, and to a lesser extend Thumper's.

I kind of like the idea of a Club Med style thing where everything is provided: no cooking, no cleaning, no planning activities for BallFiend. But apparently the resort at Lindeman Island is really run-down. And getting there involves a plane and a boat ride at the very least.

Another place I've been considering is the RACV resort at Inverloch. Sounds quite good, but no kids club, so we would have the pleasure of BallFiend and Thumper's company all day everyday.

And where-ever we go, there's all the hassle of packing and unpacking. I feel exhausted just thinking about it. Maybe we just stay home, hire a nanny/chef/housekeeper and relax as best we can.

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Spoon!

There's a story that my great aunt used to tell, that StompyDad loves to retell to the point of annoyance: that my mother "could eat out of an eggcup at 6 months" (or sometimes 7 or 8 months depending on the mood of the storyteller).

Well, I can hereby declare that Thumper can spoon-feed herself out of a ramekin at 8 months. She probably could have done it at 6 or 7 months too, except we never gave her the opportunity because we are using the baby-led style of feeding. Last night, she was having yoghurt and DeepSpice offered her the spoon to hold. She did really well - got at least 2 or 3 spoonfuls successfully to her mouth. This morning, she was having Vitabrits and again used the spoon. She was ever so proud of herself.

Maybe I'd better offer her a boiled egg in an eggcup for lunch? Although, my great aunt's story doesn't actually specify what was in the eggcup... could have been a chunk of banana for all I know.
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In a manner of speaking...

"Mum, am I making speech bubbles?"
-- BallFiend

Clearly DeepSpice has been reading too many comics with BallFiend.
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And she's off

Thumper is on the move. She officially started crawling at about 6.00 pm tonight. She is one day short of being 8 months old. BallFiend crawled when he was 8 months and 2 weeks old. (I know, I know, you're not supposed to compare your children.)

I was in the kitchen, getting dinner organised and looked over to see her scooting across the floor chasing a toy block. Interestingly she is crawling commando style, just like BallFiend did. However she has a bit of a variation - she holds her left arm across her body and uses the entire forearm to pull herself along with, as well as using her right hand. So far, she isn't using her feet at all, they just wave about in the air, kicking wildly, as if she is swimming!

About a week ago, Thumper suddenly started being really difficult to get settled in the evenings. All her life, bedtime has been pretty straight-forward: put on her PJs, feed her and stick her in the cot. She goes to sleep. Suddenly, it all changed - I put her in her cot at about 8.00 pm but she cried and cried and would not go to sleep. I tried feeding her more, holding her in the quiet, dark room, then we tried controlled crying. None of it worked. The DeepSpice tried holding her and finally she fell asleep in his arms. This went on for three nights in a row.

We were racking our brains trying to work out what was going on:

• separation anxiety?
• teething? (her first tooth started peeking through on Monday 3 May)
• the cold weather?
• unimpressed that Shaun Micallef didn't win the gold logie?

Then, two nights ago, I made sure she went to bed a bit earlier - 7.00 pm. And it seemed to help a lot. So I suspected that the unsettled behaviour was due to being over-tired when going to bed. But now that she has started crawling, I think that may have had something to do with it. Her brain working overtime, trying to put all the pieces into place to figure out how to crawl.

Ah, babies... a puzzle, wrapped in a enigma, embedded in a mystery.

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