Friday, January 30, 2015

15 people in 1 house

he

He shared a room with one of his very best pals, stayed up late and slept in late, played and played and played, was more interested in the signs/maps at the lookouts than the views, decorated and devoured a gingerbread train with his friends, fed native birds on the verandah.

she

She enjoyed the birds, trees and general hubub of so many smiling friends in one place.

me
8 adults and 7 kidlets (my two were the tallest and shortest of the younger generation) stayed together at a rainforesty house at Springbrook for the long weekend, and it worked surprisingly well, especially when considering the torrential rain and consequent increased indoor time! A cafe, very cute shop and an expansive lookout were a short walk from the house - so freeing to be on foot for some of our excursions. Our family ended up (i.e. she woke up and needed milk and cuddles) lunching at another cafe - fresh, homemade pizza - on the way home on Monday: Puddleducks, where every table was on its own little island, surrounded by rainforest and accessed by winding boardwalks. Nice.

b
B did some rainforest/waterfall walks, taking some spectacular photos (and managing to avoid leeches).

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

fridge

he
He embraced this bizarre world of white goods with a grin of cheeky mischief, happily exploring the glossy ravines and munching on his Vegemite sandwich.

she
She kept me company while I emptied the thawing contents of the old freezer/fridge into boxes and eskies.

me
 
The fridge was working fine a week ago. Then we noticed that a hinge was a little cracked, and within a couple of days the freezer door had fallen off, the fridge was constantly beeping to tell us to shut the door and the repair man informed us that there was no hope (and charged us $80 for his effort). So, obviously, we went away for the long weekend and hoped that we would return to find that it had miraculously healed itself. Nope. B recalled hearing about a magical place nearby that restores and sells 2nd-hand ones - which seemed like a great option. So, after swimming lesson yesterday, I took the munchkins to explore this wonderful, cavernous, slightly scary, run-down-in-an-intriguing-kind-of-way, wooden Queenslander, growing a thick crop of washing machines where the rose bushes should be. 

Friday, January 23, 2015

another week

he


- He has added a pterodactyl cape and sparkly skirt to his standard 'Dorothy' outfit.
- He made his own little garden, with stones, pinecones, plants, petrified wood, shells, watering can etc. which his friends gave him for his birthday. 
- The 'little lego' currently lives on our dining table. He happily fiddles with it during every meal (and before and after). He's not the only one.

she
She has a new favourite toy - this scarf! Here she is, taking a break between browsing the $1 section and the expensive section, at her first ever Lifeline Bookfest! So exciting.

me

- It was our 15 year wedding anniversary. That is a lot of years! B bought surprise tickets to Thriller Live at QPAC. But it was easier to get a Lion King photo for the blog. It was much, much fun. 
- For the past week I've watched as my the lillies opened wider and wider to an impossible hugeness! Magic.
- I continued my coffee quest.
- I shopped at my friend's Free Shop (give-away piles) and came home with swimmers, pyjamas, shirts, dresses, matryoshka measuring cups and beach cricket gear. Not a bad haul! In an effort to maintain equilibrium, I also took a box of our stuff to the op shop.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

obliteration

he

she

me
I stuck my stickers on her head, he peeled them all off!

we
Three years ago, when he was just teeny, we played in the Obliteration Room at GoMA.

Friday, January 16, 2015

three

he

 THREE years! On his actual birthday, he opened presents on Mummy and Daddy's bed, took cupcakes to share with his daycare friends  and had curry (and lassi!) for dinner. The following afternoon, he had a little party with a train cake and lots of friends to play with.

she

THREE months! 
Here she is being gorgeous on my friend's lap, and another picture of her showing off a favourite trick: sitting up (if there's something to hold for balance)!

me

On his birthday, I dropped the car off for a service, then strolled to my THREE favourite shops on delicious Balaklava Street: Pennisi Cuisine for haloumi, Banneton Bakery for olive & rosemary sourdough and All India Foods for herbs and nuts.

 Then wandered further, with sleeping bub, to three more fun local places with our friend: Brown Dog, Gabba Antique Centre and the Guitar Centre (to help her spend a voucher). By then, THREE hours had passed, and the car was ready for me to collect so I headed home to bake, after borrowing "a cup of sugar" (more about that another day).

And that night I spent about THREE hours decorating the cake...

Sunday, January 11, 2015

big caloundra day

he
He was invited to celebrate three different birthdays for three special little boys yesterday: His gorgeous cousin, his pal who is 4 days older than him and his pal who is 2 days older than him. When he hears about a birthday, his first question is, "What kind of cake will it be?" Apart from Gorgeous cousin's amazing blue car cake (which, hilariously, cousin 'cut' up himself, and passed handfuls of to the other kids via his own mouth), the highlight of the Caloundra party (for little He) was his uncle's drum kit (closely followed by the pool)! So much bigger than his own. It was far more appealing to him than 'pass the parcel' or eating, or socialising. He would have been happy locked away in the drum room all day. He doesn't know yet that my big drum kit is currently packed away in the built-ins in his bedroom!

she
She partied pretty hard and enjoyed the company of so many people who love her! The trip home wasn't her favourite part of the day.

me
It was impossible, logistically to get to one of the parties (oddly, the one that was closest to our place), so we were planning on spending the morning at cousin's party in Caloundra and  the afternoon/evening partying on the Wynnum foreshore. But when I checked my phone as we were leaving the coast I had a message that the next party was postponed as the birthday boy was sick, poor little guy! So, we turned around, called family and friends and headed back to meet them at the beach. I had a very comfortable afternoon/evening in the shade, with friends, sisters and babies.

Friday, January 9, 2015

weekend visitors

he

He shared his room with his friend (the youngest of the three girls, three weeks older than him) for two nights - he's really getting into sleepovers! These two talked for AGES into the night. Because they were using the gorgeous, confident 'announcement' voices that toddlers use when chatting to/at each other, we had no trouble following their conversation from the lounge room. It was - honestly - more entertaining than anything we could have been watching on telly, or anything we could have been saying in our own conversations. He explained the circulatory system to her: Your heart beat pumps blood around your bottom. They discussed their horses, in detail. She has real horses. He invented his own, affectionately known as 'Footpath'. She told him that horses die. He asked, "What's a die?" She explained, "It's when a horse dies and it has to go in a ground hole." And on and on. South Bank was the other highlight, playing, swimming, picnicing, and, for extra excitement, (because their dad is a bit croc-hunter-esque) everyone got to pat a water dragon.

she
She didn't want to miss out on all the fun, so had her first South Bank swim with the rest of the gang. She wasn't here yet, last time they visited. This time, she was an important part of every activity, adored by all of her extra mummies.

me

 There is a bright side to having friends like these who live far away - when we do get to see them, we get to do it properly - from breakfast until bedtime for a couple of days! It's lovely.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

state library visit

he
It's been a while between visits, but we accidentally ended up at 'The Corner' (kids' space at the State Library) on Tuesday morning. He didn't make it past the entry area, where there was a big jungle cave. He took off his shoes, gathered as many jungle animals as he could hold and sat down in the swamp to cuddle them and narrate their stories. And didn't move from there for an hour. Even when Timmy started playing and singing down in the main area, he stayed put, calling out to me, "Mummy, I'm just going to listen from up here!"

she
It was her very first visit to the library, and very first experience of Tim Jackman's 'Hickory Dickory Rock'. She danced and smiled - Timmy's newest fan.

me
As I played/sang with her I had some very strong and lovely recollections of the early days with her big brother. We spent so much of our time there, with pals, playing and rockin out with Timmy. (The picture shows him, freshly hatched, nearly 3 years ago!)

Monday, January 5, 2015

happy 2015!

he

He had some of his very best buddies here, and they partied hard for hours past bedtime! And bedtime was just another party! Sleepovers are so cute.

she
The two attendees who had spent the night in their beds instead of partying woke to find a house full of fun!

me
 For the last few years, we have flown home from Adelaide on December 31st and, rather than head out again for a New Years' party somewhere else, we've had a little gathering at our place. The year has started nicely.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

flying home

he
 He knew that it was his special responsibility to remember to bring Giraffey when we left for the airport. The problem is that Giraffey is so crucial that he is carted from room to room and can't be left with the pile of bags that will definitely be put into the car. Unsurprisingly, when we left for the airport with Grandpa, Giraffey wasn't with us. Thankfully, Granny found him hanging out in the lounge room, drove to where my sis was shopping, then the two of them drove to the airport to reunite He and Giraffey just as we were heading through the security screening. Phew. His time on the plane was a happy experience, if you erase the first half hour or the last 5 minutes. He wasn't allowed to sit on Daddy's lap (which they let him do on the previous flight) for take-off, and he was incredibly scared and incredibly screamy about this. It was horribly sad. Prior to landing, we clarified that they have recently changed their policy on the use of electronic devices, so he watched Playschool - on his own seat - and we had a very uneventful descent. After landing, however, he turned his attention to the safety information card, decided it was the best read of 2014 and was thoroughly upset when asked to put it back in the seat pocket and exit the plane.

she
She slept the entire time, and I didn't take a picture. So this is another picture from our flight the previous week. Awwww...

me