Cousins

Lebanese takeaway 07-03-09

The dips were very nice and bread very fresh. Only the meat was less satisfactory, a little tough. Overall a yummy but light meal.

Toys in cot

The state of Lara's cot on Saturday morning...


I have a open toy box full of toys sitting on other boxes so Lara can get to it when she stands up in her cot. This is so that we might get a longer sleep if Lara has toys to occupy her when she wakes up.

It looks like Lara was up for quite a while that morning.....

Weekend away

Parents-in-law looked after Lara on many Fridays last year while I worked. I wanted to say thank-you. Rather than giving them a gift voucher for a holiday somewhere like we've done previously, I thought they might enjoy the company of the whole family. It was hard to find a weekend that everyone's free. It was originally planned to be near Lara birthday in January, and it finally happened last weekend.

Riverside Oaks - view from the balcony of a 4-bedroom villa we stayed in.


Lara's birthday cake - delicious mud cake - Telebubbies is a great choice.


Sparklers were popular with kids as well as adults after dinner.


Sunday breakfast - the whole bacon'n'eggs affair .


Morning walk along the golf course.

Zeb's little outing

I went to the shops on Sunday afternoon while Lara napped. On the way home, I noticed this black dog walking on its own not far away and it resembled Zeb. It didn't take me too long to realise that it was Zebadee!

I stopped the car quickly and luckily the car behind was patient enough to let me get hold of Zeb before it drove off. Before I left, Zeb was in the backyard watching Si cut the grass and we have a fully-fenced garden or so I thought. We couldn't find a way Zeb could get out and thought maybe the front door was open. Anyway, Zeb got out a second time and this time we spotted her exploring next-door's garden. We would never have known the fence had a tiny hole (disguised by plants) if Zeb hadn't come in through it when we called.

Zeb looked happy that she explored the outside world because she hasn't been walked for weeks due to a limpy back (right)leg. After the vet visit and x-rays, we were told she had a cruciate ligament rupture and surgery would be required. We thought it would be $2000 as advised by the vet. After the visit to the specialist who will be performing the surgery, we are now told the cost would be around $4500. Post-operation x-rays and medication would be extra.

Sorting out Zeb's leg problem is the next pressing item on the to-do list. We can devote more time to it now that we found a place to move into.

Difficult time

Lara had a difficult two weeks. Things that were a breeze previously, like eating and going to bed, started to take longer since the beginning of this year. (Is that why they called it "Terriable two"?) And Lara being sick twice in the last two weeks just made things a lot worse.

When I said worse I meant Lara:
*Saying "No" hundreds of times a day and cried and cried when she didn't get her way.
*Became very needy. I couldn't leave to use the toilet without some major crying.
*Became very unreasonable, like woke everyone up at 2am and insisted on sitting and sleeping on her sofa in the lounge. Or threw her blanket out of her cot then got annoyed becasue her blanket was not in the cot? (The only way I could execuse these kind of behaviours was to attribute these to her high (over 39.5C) temperature)
*Sat in her cot after waking up and repeatedly saying "no" and not want to leave her cot.

This two-week period coincided with a very busy time at work. I had no choice but to take time off. It also coincided with Mum and Dad's two-week holidays here. We ended up doing nothing and Mum and Dad went home with Lara's cold and got quite sick themselves. Now she's all happy and a sweet little girl again.

I'm sure all parents go through period like this. You worry, you're exhausted and sometimes you lose your patience. And suddenly they get better, and they are beautiful again. And you are left wondering what happened until next time!

No more swing phobia

Ever since Lara nearly fell off a swing at a neighbourhood park 8 weeks ago, she stayed away and wouldn't get on one. I didn't want to push her, but it was a shame because she really loved swings.

I've been taking her to a park with a "trainee" swing that is very low to the ground in order to build up Lara's confidence again. And I've been teaching her to hold on and only get off when she tells me first. (the reason she nearly fell off in the first place) Last Friday, after a short time on the 'trainee' swing, she decided she would get on the big swing. Once she was on, she didn't want to get off. We were at another park on the weekend, and the first thing Lara went to was the swing. It took some time but I think Lara's swing phobia is cured.

Bye bye garden

We received a termination notice last week. The landlord wants to move back so we have to vacate this house by the end of the lease. This came as a real surprise as the owner originally wanted us to sign a one-year lease. We don't want to rush into buying (though we felt tempted sometimes to just settle in somewhere....) so I guess we'll have to find a house to rent again.

We decided this is probabaly a good thing after the initial shock. We love the garden, but this hosue is old and for what we pay, maybe we'll find a better place. We might also get to know a different area better and this helps us when we buy. There's also the excitement of a newer place. We'll have to put up with the packing and unpacking for now.

Bye bye garden.


Lara spent time with wai-gong (granddad) in the garden.


Lara trying out slide in the front garden (I should have borrowed the bigger slide, this one's too small!)

Sushi takeaway

Books July - Dec 2008

Not a producive few months as far as books were concerned....

The Devil Wears Pranda by Lauren Weisberger
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kingsley
What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami
Paula by Isbella Allende - Had to return it to the library (borrowed for too long) and I was only half way through. I'm determined to finish it in the near future.
Under the Tuscan sun by Frances Mayes - only a third way through. I'm leaving this book for now. I'm normally very interested in these sort of "sea-change" books but for some reason found this book boring to read.

[2 years] Alright Mom?

It has been 2 months since I last wrote out Lara's development. I enjoy Lara's little progress, a new word, an interesting behaviour or new likes and dislikes but I don't particularly enjoy writing them down day after day. I try to record them becasue I understand the usefulness of it - to help me remember things in the future or to settle arguements like 'when did Lara learn to do xxxx".

Memory deceives me all the time. When I looked at some of the entires I wrote down here, they seemed so far away (I swear I thought Lara knew her animal sounds long ago but in fact she got some of them wrong only 1-2 months ago).

Lara's progress report:
*Lara sometimes got the animal noises wrong. She told me "rabbit meow meow" the other day. When I picked her up from day care one day, the teacher told me they were learing about an animal then she turned to Lara and asked Lara which animal went "quak quak". Lara picked up a cow on the table and replied " Cow?"

* Lara started saying "Alright Mom?" when she thought I was hurt or unhappy (while she patted my back). I realised that was what I do.

* Loves dresses. Most of the time when I put a pair of pants on her in the morning, she would protest and wanted to wear "dress". She loves to wear "pretty dress" (her fairy dresses).


* Lara say things in sentences - "Lara put it in the trolley". "Mommy cut it up". "Lara don't like it", "don't want it". Sometimes she talks not in sentences but paragraphs!! I asked Lara the other day if the food she was eating was nice. She told me "it's yummy Mommy". She also uses *very very" to describe things, ie "very very cold" she told me one morning. She uses the word "too" a lot. "too fast", "too hot", "too big", "too much".

* I feel like I can hold a conversion with Lara sometimes. The other day I said to Lara "it's so cold today". Lara replied "it's freezing" while crossed and rubbed hands on her arms.

*Will come and give me cuddles or kisses. Says "apple raisin grapes?" when she's tired or unsure. Loves tomotos and all fruit (including dried ones). I askde Lara one day "what do you want? Yoghurt or watermelon?" Lara said " Watermelon, (but) Yoghurt first".

* Very clear about ownership. "da da's shoes", "Mommy's bag". Everything is Lara's though. Quite bossy for someone so small.

*Likes to watch Zeb eat.

Spring rolls

Why does all this filling only yield 30 spring rolls?

Swimming pool incident

I had last week off with Lara after Husband went back to work.

Lara gets very bored if staying at home all day and kids do naughty things when they are bored. I knew If I plan things right and get rid of this 'boredom' energy, I would be rewarded with an enjoyable day with a happy child. I knew I had to take Lara out at least once during the day.

The weather forcast was hot. I arranged to meet a friend at the local pool on Tuesday after a long play in the park on Monday. Lara got into all 3 outside kiddies pools and was generally happy during our stay. Being a little "lady", she didn't like 'boys' splashing water everywhere (she pointed her finger at them and said "no naughty" with a stern face) and of course wouldn't even comtemplate getting her face or hair wet.

I should have taking Lara home much earlier than I did. Being such a hot day and with so many kids around, Lara grew over-tired quickly. She became extremely difficult and had to be dragged out crying and screaming in my arms. It was not my proudest "parenthood" moment.

I couldn't leave things like that and gave Lara a bad pool experience, so I decided to take her back the very next day by myself (also to find the pair of shoes we left there in our haste departure). I made sure I watched the time and only stayed for about an hour. I also further enhanced the "pool experience" by sharing an ice pop with her before we left. Lara was very happy when we left the pool this time.

Who says money can't buy happiness (at least for a short time) and it only cost one dollar!!

Morning tea 2-Jan-2009

We love the beach!

We went to the beach twice between Christmas and New Year.
We didn't plan each outing, it was spur-of-the-moment, letting the weather and our mood decide how we spend the day.

Sandy beach was nice and more kids friendly as the waves were smaller. Lara and her dad spent some time building sand castle and digging sand canal. We had to take turns going into the water as Lara was not keen going into the sea until just before we left. One of us had to be with Lara on the sand and it was very hot.



We learned our lesson and left home later (3.30pm) the second time. The sun was less harsh and Lara spent more time in the water with us. She liked the waves and gave out shrieks of delight when the bigger waves splashed water about. We took turns having a dip ourselves, the water was so refreshing! We forgot Lara's swimming nappy. You could spot a wet patch on Simon's t-shirt even before we arrived at our spot on the beach!

We'll make sure we do this a few times more before summer ends.

Young artist at work

Thanks to some bath crayons, Lara now knows these colours: black, red, blue, green, yellow and orange.

Pecan pine nuts goden syrup chocolate tart

My first homemade shortcrust pastry.
I cooked the cake 10 minutes too long. It was partly my fault because I forgot to take it out. But also the cake still looked wobbly (recipe say to bake until just firm in the centre). So it was over-cooked a little. Si didn't think chocolate shortcrust pastry go with the nutty filling. It's nearly all gone but not a hugely popular desert.

Christmas 2008

Lara standing still for a minute for me to take a picture.


A game of twister before the feast started.
Rach won most games - long legs are a great advantage.


Christmas was a two stage feast this year.
This was first course - Prawns, ham, ocean trout and potato salad.
Second course almost didn't happen due to a technical oven fault.


Water was freezing.
Some went in for a splash, but came out blue-lipped and trembling.


Our second Christmas feast at S&M's place.
There were heaps of tasty food, the Gammon was delicious!


The cute couple relaxed at the pool comtemplating about next year.


My first attempt of Christmas puddings (before cooking).

Beef bolognese

With work being very busy before Christmas and trying to get ready for the festive season, I had absolutely no motivation to cook. Wanted to use up some old frozen meat, I made a few batches of Bolognese sauce using beef mince. The good thing about beef bolognese is that it taste nice as left-overs and it's very versatile. Besides serving it with pasta, I made "Nachos" one night and "Lasagna" two days later.





Afternoons or early evenings were cool in the last few days, so we ate on the veranda most nights. Light meals such as nachos and lasagna seemed very fitting for fine afternnons like these.

2nd Saturday before Christmas

We spent a very unproductive Saturday buying Christmas presents. We only managed to buy a couple of presents in 5-6 hours! We told ourselves not to leave Christams shopping until the last minute every year. But it feels like you blink you eyes in the middle of November and next thing you know, it's the week before Christmas! If it were not for the lovely evening we spent with some friends and their kids in Bicentennial Park Pymble for "Carols in the park", we would have felt like we wasted the weekend.

Sitting on a picnic blanket listening to carols and surrended by strangers holding candles somehow felt very festive. The grass was still a little wet from rain the night before. It was breezy but quite warm. It would be good if there was more singing but I guess the choir also needed rest. The kiddies were tired by 9pm and it was great to be able to get home under 10 minutes.


Lara enjoyed patting sheeps, chicks and rabbits at the little farm they setup for the event.


Another Jakaranda branch in the front garden fell off while we were shopping on Saturday.