Bear,Boo and Yum Yum

2011-09-21T03:14:00.004-04:00

No, not abducted by aliens. Tied up by clowns. Fortunately the clowns have now begun Kindy and have had to untie me so I can make their lunches. I'll be back soon. Promise. I really have to fix my banner.

Balloonapalooza - recap

2011-05-04T12:20:00.012-04:00

Boo and Yum Yum turned 5 two months ago. They have been looking forward to becoming "big girls" for the past year... soon they will be off to college, err I mean kindergarten.

Although they were very keen to include ten pin bowling, Dora and fairy princesses in the party theme, I took advantage of a fortunate TV moment to suggest a balloon party. It was so much fun I want to do it again. Tomorrow!!!

Although we hoped that by waiting another 4 weeks we might be able to enjoy an outdoor party, April showers meant we had to have the party indoors. In a confined space, with little natural light, there aren't many good photos. However the party was a blast. The balloon sculptor filled the space with the most wonderful wacky balloon creations. He made everything the kids requested and then some. We used a small helium balloon kit to inflate multi coloured confetti stuffed balloons in lieu of a pinata. The kids were able to pop the floating balloons using a stick with a pin taped to the end. They burst very messily all over the room. Big fun. I just wish I had a photo because I loved doing that. (The Dyson cleaned it up easily enough). When it seemed all the balloon fun was over I brought out my secret stash of balloons (hidden in the TV cabinet) and challenged the kids pop them by sitting on them. More fun, more mess.

Can you spot the "ooops" in my rainbow. Note to self, pay more attention to the balloons you are buying,especially size and random bags of smiley face balloons. Actually I think the yellow smileys added a little extra cute to my rainbow. I had to make this after I discovered BALLOON TAPE! All future Bear, Boo and Yum Yum events will now feature my signature Rainbow Smiley Balloon Arch TM!

Goody Bags....full of balloons of course...and mini balloon pumps. I found the perfect bags at Target.

Balloons on sticks...waiting to have sticker faces added. This kept the kids busy until everyone arrived.

The food table. Taken the night before so there's no food actually on it.I resisted all temptation to have a blogland "candy bar". Maybe for the Breadwinner's 50th I'll do one...but for a small kids afternoon tea party it would hav been overkill. We had fruit and cupcakes, birthday cake, GF carot cake and GF cinnamon cheesecake, veggies dips n crackers. And I hid all the crap in our house under the table :-0

This is their birthday cake ... on their actual birthday. It was small and from the supermarket LOL but they didn't care one bit. The cake we had at the party....that was super special.

Boo and Yum Yum celebrated the big 5 in a big way, it seems as if the celebrations went on for a month because, well, they did. They are very happy girls and we love them so. Bye 4, it was wonderful SNIFF.

Just pretend...

2011-05-04T12:17:00.003-04:00

That I went out for milk and now I'm back. I have a lot to catch up on.

I'm doing this

Gobble Gobble Turkey Day

2010-11-22T13:20:00.021-05:00

Thoughts on an Australian Thanksgiving. Every year a well meaning soul will ask me, in all sincerity, do we celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia? Well, actually the answer is no. Sadly the pilgrims didn't land in Australia. There were no Indians to share the corn. In fact I have a sneaky suspiscion that many of our first "settlers" weren't of a mind to celebrate their arrival on an annual basis let alone with an "all things cranberry and turkey" fest.

Since we have been living here in the US we have embraced Turkey Day as a day on which to gather our fellow expatriate friends, laugh, cook and eat together. Sometimes a little football will be watched but not too much! We stop for a moment to reflect on our good fortune and things for which we are thankful. It is like Christmas dinner without the stress of Christmas.

We have a fairly traditional Thanksgiving menu- Roast turkey with stuffing, gravy, roast vegetables, green beans, cranberry relish and jelly and a pumpkin pie. We are open to one day experiencing a deep fried turkey (if somebody else cooks it) but will most likely continue to draw the line at anything with marshmallows on top, candied yams, sweet potato pie or the tofu turkey.

We have a Thanksgiving tradition of our own... it's been about 7 years now so it's safe to call it a tradition. In our house the men don their chef hats and do most of the cooking whilst the women watch, heckle, drink wine and then ...eventually eat. Sometimes we women folk do a few dishes, find things that are in plain view, take photos and prepare appetisers and cook the greens.

The routine is fairly well honed. The turkey , around 12-14lbs, is ordered from Wholefoods. The same recipes are used every year. There's some pumpkin soup (butternut squash) to keep us sustained until the main event ( I cook a double batch of this at Halloween to freeze). There will also be a few little hitches. This year Breadwinner decided to store the turkey overnight in the esky (cooler). We have a bear in the neighbourhood, so he locked the esky in the car. Unfortunately it froze. The turkey not the bear. Our oven hasn't been fully functional of late and the spare part did not arrive until late on Friday. When I explained that we were doing an early Thanksgiving meal, the repairman made a special effort to come first thing Saturday morning to fix the oven. I am making huge progress in "Keeping Calm and Carrying on" because the fact that the oven was broken and the turkey frozen didn't bother me at all. In fact I was so relaxed (tired) I slept in until 10am. (Actually I am not well.)

A few small obstacles will not thwart our determined chefs, especially when they have visions of roast potatoes and gravy dancing in their heads.

So meet "Uncle Petey", and the Breadwinner, this years' Gnome Turkey Chefs Extrordinaire.

You can see one of their esteemed colleagues on the brie box.

These two work together like a well oiled machine...or not. Uncle Petey who comes from a short line of chef, is in charge of triumphantly finding the giblets, the potatoes, annual knife sharpening and carving. Mid preparations Uncle Petey will go for a run. Yes...he goes for a run. As he leaves he will sneakily turn the oven off. The Breadwinner, whose own father can barely make a cup of tea, is the expert in cranberry jelly, stuffing and annoying the turkey every 30 minutes. Pulling it out of the oven at every opportunity so it doesn't cook too fast.

Sometimes they move so fast it is hard to capture their speedy culinary moves.

Then they stop to consult Martha. Yes, they will not ask for directions but they will meticulously (ie fearfully) follow a recipe.

Martha requires this turkey be swaddled in muslin like a baby and then be basted lovingly with tons of melted butter and white wine. Every 30 minutes. For what seems like 2 days. Unfortunately the muslin doesn't taste so good.

Since the oven was repair wasn't complete until 11.30am that morning, lunch eventually became dinner.

Fortunately we had ample provisions to keep us sustained until everything came together in a delicious meal..at around 6.30pm.

TA DA ! Isn't he/she/ beautiful!

The kids kept themselves busy....chasing the Apprentice Gnome Turkey. This year he had no actual kitchen duties so no "chef" title. Actually there are two Apprentice Gnome Turkey Chefs... they had better study hard because their hats will be waiting for them next year!
The little people were very well behaved (mostly) , they went on a turkey hunt, coloured placemats, ate mac n cheese and then some turkey, and then settled to watch a new Disney Tinkerbell movie. Later they hid in the "cubby house" to tell spooky stories. 4 year old spooky stories.
There was orange jelly for the kids too ...and waaay to many candy canes.

My favourite thing of all ....the stuffing! Oh my, awesome sausage, apple, cranberry, herb and cornbread stuffing. I am thinking we might just have stuffing for dinner.

Now that our family includes two little US citizens we may well be celebrating Thanksgiving for years to come, at least as far as circumstances/ingredients will permit. In any case we have come to an understanding that there will never again be a hot turkey dinner at our house on Christmas Day. We are going to be having ours some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AND SAFE TRAVELS from the keeper of the recipes.

I've not done this before....

2010-11-11T19:23:00.003-05:00

I mean, entering into competitions online.

So a few days ago I did..and look here!

A welcome bright spot amongst a few not so bright spots this week.

I need to post..

2010-11-07T21:49:00.003-05:00

I am surprisingly slow at keeping this blog up to date...

let me plonk some photos here in this space for you... and summarise - Halloween was FUN!

We didn't carve our pumpkins this year...instead we went for The Mr Potato Head kits. Easy.

On the Friday morning the twins wore their costumes to pre school for a Pumpkin Party. That afternoon we attended our local Halloween tailgate which shows the best of our local community- not to say that they are all monsters, ghouls and vampires, but that they are hugely creative and generous. The way the cars/trucks/vans are decorated is incredible... maybe next year we'll give that a go...maybe.

I didn't see much of Yum Yum, we became separated in the parade so she did the Halloween tailgate with her daddy whilst I shepherded the Boo duck who did get very enthusiastic about her candy collection.

Our dentist will be pleased to see his best patients taking good care of their teeth..they are still thrilled with the Firefly toothbrushes they collected at the tailgate. They also wore these vampire to teeth the following week.

We were exceptionally pleased that there was no more Halloween for us on Saturday- instead we did the soccer duties, checked on the donut supply at the cider mill and went for a walk in the forest. We re-arranged the junk in our garage into spooky junk in the garage and on Sunday afternoon and into the evening, hosted a bunch of friends in our driveway...because we live in Halloween St. So with a firepit and plenty of food/wine we had a lot of laughs.

Most of the area is semi rural/ hilly. Our street is flat, it's a horseshoe shape and is home to a several enthusiastic homeowners who embrace spooky decor wholeheartedly. We have little choice but to join in..and now the annual celebrations are getting closer and closer to becoming one big street party. We forgot to keep a tally this year ..we get around 200 trick-or-treaters, possibly 300. Still, we are grateful that we don't live in Christmas Street. They must go bonkers with the cars driving slowly past ...over and over again...for weeks! Not to mention the electricity bill.

Eventually the candy high wore off and normal activity has resumed.

Note to self. Halloween 2011..ghosts x 3. This time I really mean it.

Done!

2010-10-29T22:08:00.008-04:00

I think I nailed it! When I saw the pink wig for $6 I knew it had to be. We also added a "slime"to a headband to help keep her wig on. The "slime" is a key character of the Dragonquest game...apparently. Bear was very happy with the way the costume looked, the acid test of recognition by her peers was passed with flying colours....although her music teacher thought she was Gelda or was it Zelda?.

two down, one to go

2010-10-29T10:52:00.007-04:00

I have completed the costumes for Boo and Yum Yum... they wanted to go as their cuddlies.."Bunny" and "Ducky". It would have been a whole lot easier to just buy them a costume each...but I always have to complicate things and make more work for myself.

Bears' costume is still a WIP, to be completed very soon, hopefully by the time the Halloween tailgate starts this afternoon! The fabric glue is making me feel a little odd.

Wish me luck....

2010-10-14T13:22:00.003-04:00

Bear wants to be this "hero" from the Dragonquest game. Apparently the game allows you to choose your own hair colour so we won't be concerned about pink hair. We have come up with a compromise regarding the skirt , it will be an apron. The chances of finding pale yellow long sleeved top and leggings are slim so we will be using white, possibly dyed with some tea.

It's Wednesday night- must be bento time

2010-10-13T00:27:00.005-04:00

Yes, you are seeing googly eyes on a banana. I'm hoping it gives them a giggle. Yum Yum is my only banana eater and even then it isn't always her thing. For lack of any other fruit to fill the gaps, Bear and Boo have carrots and teeny rounds of edam cheese-cut with an apple corer. I'm doing the apple pancakes again but I had to combine a Bisquick with a Jemima pancake mix, and it didn't seem to cook as nicely. I couldn't find the fruit leather so this time I used cranberries and dried apricots for faces. The photo is upside down- don't ask. Back in OZ we would ordinarily mix our own pancake (pikelet) batter but we have become accustomed to the reliable results of Aunt Jemima's- (read lazy).The twins will also have a yohgurt drink (Danimals Smoothie) whilst China always has 2% skim milk provided at school.

When 4 year olds paint pumpkins....

2010-10-12T19:53:00.012-04:00

When the Breadwinner spied these globs (not globes) he exclaimed his surprise that we would choose to buy green pumpkins. On closer inspection he wanted to know why anyone would paint orange pumpkins, green? There was a very adamant response.."they are NOT green daddy, they are GREY!".

Whew, 'cause what to do with them otherwise? When I think about their handiwork I have to admit they actually came up with a perfectly valid Halloween transformation. I have some ideas on how to complete their vision. Even if I hadn't been distracted by a sparkly cat yawning...

I don't believe I could have (or should have) changed the outcome. They enjoyed themselves and that is what mattered.

Reasons to like Fall-photo fest

2010-10-12T10:04:00.015-04:00

I'm sure you can see why we love this time of year here in the US... it's simply beautiful. No more humidity in the air, crisp mornings, colour in the foliage, harvest festivals, apple picking, pie eating, corn mazes, hay rides, doughnuts and apple cider. There are plenty of reasons to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Halloween is now just weeks away and is a big community wide celebration. We have started decorating the house inside and out and I'd better get cracking on costumes. One farmer, a scarecrow, a bunny, a duck, and some person from DragonQuest ?

Bento update

2010-10-08T02:39:00.007-04:00

This is my new favourite breakfast- homemade granola, greek yohgurt and berries..mmmm.

Do you remember this bento- complete fail. The biggest fail was that Bear could not open the yoghurt parfait...apparently it never occured to her to unscrew the lid!

During the week since... they have all had chicken noodle soup with crackers, tortellini and hot dogs- in their thermos' (not all on one day!). These were happily eaten.

I did have great success with Monday's bentos but I forgot to take a photo. I added a grated apple to some pancake mix, a little sugar and cinnamon and made funny face pancakes. I used fruit leather cut with kitchen scissors into small circles/triangles, arches/curves to make faces. I put the "face" parts onto the pancake just before turning them. I tidied them up with a circle cookie cutter- the uniform shape and size enhanced the cute factor..and it was amazing how little was trimmed in order to make each a perfect circle, not that the trimmings went to waste. I put the pancakes (3 each) in the lower section of the bento with parchment circles between them. I packed a little blueberry jam for each which none oft he girls bothered with. I popped paper plates into the lunchbags for Boo and Yum Yum so that theirs could be warmed a little in the class microwave. They had fruit and nut free granola (same as my breakfast) as a side.

Tomorrow's bentos I expect to be well recieved. I hopee. I know Bear likes my "chicken nuggets" for school lunch , just hope the twins also enjoy them at school. Only Bear likes kiwi fruit. I will add a yohgurt to her lunch in case she is hungry.I should add that during the drive after preschool- to pick up Bear from her school, the twins often request their leftovers from their school lunch.
And somebody else is benefiting from the bento production line. Here's the Breadwinners lunch..he gets a bunch of crackers and slices of parmesan cheese, and a bigger serving of fruit and chicken of course.
Just in case you want to know here's my recipe for the chicken strips/nuggets,

chicken breast cut into small chunks or strips

drench in seasoned plain flour

dip into beaten egg

coat in breadcrumbs

place on "foiled n oiled" baking tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil

cook at 350F about 25 minutes, turning halfway through.

The crumbs can be seasoned- garlic herb is tasty, or you can added lemon zest, sesame seeds .

sewing-fail

2010-09-29T11:49:00.003-04:00

Not very productive ... I'm a slacker, what can I say! I did finish embellishing the girls dresses, Yum Yum excitedly announced "nighties"..err, yeh they do kinda look like nightgowns now that you mention it, but nope.Have now promised to sew nighties (good grief!). They do love the little brooches I stitched them- they wear them very proudly and Bear has requested one too. In other news...apparently Santa is coming. They are practicing boxing items up, pretending to be asleep, waking up and acting surprised , unwrapping presents and saying "oooh I love it Santa, thank you very very much!" They did this in turn for about an hour. Then Bear brought out a tub of Little People...and of course Santa and his reindeer are in there. Mental note- separate Santa from his Little People until December. It really IS too early isn't it. OMG, it's NOT.

slow going...

2010-09-26T12:42:00.004-04:00

I did try to keep up with the kids wear challenge- truly I did...but I didn't make anything. Yet.

I did work on a makeover of some dresses that I bought on sale for Boo and Yum Yum last year. They are a light corduroy but a very drab colour. I could have dyed them (must remember that for next time) but instead have gone with a bit of ribbon, ric rac and then there will be a few buttons and an embroidered fabric brooch. The weather here last week was very warm, shorts weather. However this week will be rainy and soon the girls can wear their tights, boots and autumn dresses.

Apart from the sewing I'm not mentally prepared for autumn, it seems to me that the leaves are turning too early. I'd better get my camera out before I miss the best of it.

sew sew

2010-09-21T22:31:00.003-04:00

Good ol' dad
Originally uploaded by bearbooandyumyum

I am doing Elsie Marley's sewing challenge. I am, really I am but I can't get the button to load over there on the right. My week started with a migraine and I am solo parenting this week, so day 1 was a bust. Day 2 not so sparky either but I did some cutting out - photos to come.

I did do a heap of sewing prior to our annual trip to Australia. It is winter when we go home and early August here it is hard to find suitable clothing at a suitable price to round out what they already have from last winter...so in the first half of August I made

3 pairs of flannel PJ pants
3 pairs of sweatpants
2 skirts for our trip to Legoland
2 pairs of jersey lined denim pull on pants

Some of these items are in my Flickr album ..but they are shots of when my children just happened to be wearing what was sewn, not good pictures of the clothes themselves- those I will try to take whilst they are at school tomorrow.

My list for the rest of this week
Alter sweatpants made for eldest-Bear, waaay too wide in the leg!
Make 3 scarves out of old favourite or never worn T shirts
Make second attempt to sew two piece swimsuits for Boo and Yum Yum to see them through the winter season
Embellish two corduroy dresses bought on sale last year, with something autumny
Make fabric hair clips- something pumpkiny
Make fabric necklaces- something halloweeny
Start on two halloween costumes, 1 duck, 1 bunny (order fabric at least)
Refashion some fine knit but hslightly damaged sweaters into something my Bear can wear.
Embellish Bear's grey velour top to cover stain...

Oh well....

2010-09-19T10:21:00.006-04:00

This was the week in which Bear, Boo and Yum Yum lost all their marbles. So pay day became no-pay day. Yep... sad but true, but they are taking it in their stride and a new week has begun.. and hopefully they will take us seriously about the cleaning up after themselves.

The last bento box wasn't a big success with Boo and Yum Yum, I had been a little too optimistic in presenting them with something they hadn't eaten before...mental note -don't do that!. They did eat everything on the bottom tray. The chocolate chip surprise was popular.

Bear ate all of hers but did comment that

"those pretend tuna sushi things weren't all that great ".

I told her that would be because they were SALMON not tuna....and if she had read the note in her lunch box she would have known that...mental note -write outrageous things on the lunch box notes to get her attention.

Tomorrow's lunch will be pasta/mac n cheese...although Bear's menu will read something like " braised moths".

The Breadwinner has jet set himself to Copenhagen so it's just me and the wild things for a few nights. Yum Yum was dicovered this morning with her daddy's Trident gum, methodically working her way through the entire pack and most reluctant to give it up! The artificial everything in her system produced a very wacky tantrum.

Bento improv

2010-09-17T01:28:00.005-04:00

So I'm still on my bento box honeymoon. Tonight was a little challenging because due to a Boo meltdown, the supermarket visit was cancelled. My plan for tomorrows lunches had been cookie cutter sandwiches using the Sunbutter (sunflower seed spread-PB substitute) with chocolate sprinkles and a homemade "trail mix" of dried fruits with a few chocolate chips mixed in plus a bit of fruit. However I only had three slices of bread to work with, my second tasting of the sunbutter convinced me that the girls would spit it out and everything I planned to add to the trail mix- yogurt covered raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries and cheerios- contained "possible traces of peanuts or tree nuts".

So I had to change my approach.... found a tin of salmon in pantry, some mini cucumbers, baby tomatoes and Vegemite, and then had idea to somehow make a salmon mixture with cream cheese and stuff it in the cucumbers.

So they each have some mini Vegemite sandwiches, a cucumber "monster head"- a round of cucumber with a scooped hollow filled with the salmon mixture-, grape tomatoes, carrots, and yellow bell pepper. ( Next time I could make little cucumber slice sandwiches using the salmon mixture-IF they eat it this time). I got tricky and made yellow bell pepper flowers with carrot centers. The twins have cheese stars to match the window on their sandwiches, Boo has a little serve of ranch for her carrots. I used cinnamon and sugar to dust some slices of apple. Hopefully this will disguise any browning since I didn't have a lemon to wipe them with.

I also put two tiny choc chips in each bento. Yep, I'm totally bonkers.

Bear's bento the previous day.. came home totally empty save for the olive pits. The upper compartment had hard boiled eggs, ham and mozzarella, cucumber, olives, tomatoes and fancy carrot curls (forgot to ask what she thought of that !). The bottom section of the bento I filled with leftover kettle corn and pretzel sticks. She gave the ham hearts away to someone who had no lunch. Note to self- give up on the ham.

So onto the experiment in egg molds. Aim is to make hard boiled eggs look so incredibly cute that eating them will be irresistable to all who see them. The problem I have is that "large" eggs were too small so there was still space in the mold. When I tried jumbo sized eggs there was some excess egg and when I tried to remove the eggs there was some sticking.

So TA DA a plate of gruesome eggs , more horrifying than cute. Bear had the heart egg which was the best looking of the three. And I sliced the others up for lunch.Maybe I can do this for Halloween...make the eggs look demented.

Losing my marbles...

2010-09-16T14:14:00.009-04:00

Jen asked about the new allowance system with the marbles.

So here goes... please bear in mind that we are only in our second week of the system. After week 1, Boo and Yum Yum have the grand sums of $1.50 and $1.25 in their purses (which are kept in my handbag), Bear came away with $5.

This is how it works- each child is given a weekly allowance equal to their age - $11 for Bear, $4 for each of the twins. I put marbles in each jar corresponding to their allowance. For Bear each marble equals 50C and for the twins the marble is 25C.

At the end of the week they are paid their allowance on the following basis:-

Bear needs to have completed all her homework, cleaned her room reasonably well by Sat evening and followed her routines during the week (which includes a nightly tidy up).

Boo and Yum Yum need to "go to bed sweetly", put their toys away when asked, put shoes away and make their beds.

I can give extra marbles for good behaviour and fine them for bad. When I have to do one of their jobs I get to charge them.

Whatever the final total 50% is for savings (we are keeping a record in a little book-Bank of Daddy for the moment ) and 50% is given to them.

So far Bear is totally onto it and saving her $5. She managed to earn a few extra marbles by helping her sisters clean up- in effect they paid her, and lost a few for leaving wet towels on her bedroom floor etc.

I took Boo and Yum Yum to Target with me which was a somewhat painful learning experience for them....everything that they desired they could not afford and what was affordable they did not want. It drove them (and me) nuts but I think it was the begining of learning about money and value. It was hard not to cave and contribute to a purchase. I have since found a Dollar store and will take them there provided they put away the dress ups from the playdate two days ago...but nope, still not happening. In a way it will postpone the trip until after the next "payday" and theoretically they will have a little more to spend. If they can purchase a small toy every two weeks then I think that is okay. Trips to the chosen store to spend their money need to be negotiated.

We need to perfect the system a little more... oh, and yes meddling in ANY form with MY marbles (and they are ALL my marbles ) will result in all their marbles being taken. I keep the jars on the window sill in the kitchen.

Whilst writing this the girls have been doing "something" a little too quietly upstairs. I hear Bear's name mentioned.... I kind of dread going to see what it is.

Bento Bento Bento

2010-09-15T23:51:00.018-04:00

This is the cat....just because.

So in the wee hours during a jet lag induced web surfing marathon I came across the subject of Bento boxes for kids lunches.

For the past four years Bear has had a few too many hot lunches procured by the school. My morning face has been a tad grumpy after so many interruptions to my sleep each night since the twins arrived. I took the easy/lazy option rather than packing her another lunch she wouldn't eat. Her school went online with monthly lunch orders it was indeed a lot easier to just let her eat the school lunch.

The hot lunch program at our local school is catered by outside suppliers and over the 7 years of school (OMG did I say 7????) things have improved due to a state mandated nutrition policy. But still the waffle, cheese pizza and buttered pasta make their appearance too often and my once very adventurous eater became a little fussy rejecting even the staples such as PB and ham (no, not together) to eat the ziti and mac'n,cheese. She enjoys salad but I was not succeeding in getting much protein into her.

This year Boo and Yum Yum are also eating lunch at school and I decided that I should make all the girls lunches three days a week. Whilst Bear has become oddly fussy she is still an avid fan of japanese food, so inspired by the likes of this and this, I was ripe for the suggestion that we try bento style lunches. After a little online retail therapy I now have the basic bento equipment....

Cute bento boxes

Silicon cupcake cups

Sporks- not really necessary but they were cute and inexpensive

Egg shaper mould thingies (not having great success with these so far- large eggs too small, jumbo eggs too big)

Mini freezer bricks by the sheet (you can cut them to fit the space and reuse)

A bunch of takeout cutlery to recycle, and my existing collection of cookie cutters

I already had the thermos', their Siggies and a variety of small containers and larger lunchbox freezer bricks...and their lunchbags of course. Altogether it's a sizeable investment really ...the return should be in better meals eaten, and prepared, with more enjoyment and less waste in the long term because there is less paper and plastic wrap being used. I hope also that dinner/lunch planning will be more organised and less food wastage overall. My iphone is in the photo because I use the note making function to jot down menu planning stuff..ie shopping lists.

The theory of a bento lunch is in the proportion of protein, starch, vegetable, fruit and a treat. I haven't quite got that part down pat yet. The cute arrangement and small amounts of a variety of foods is appealing to little kids and portion control is easy. Just to be clear I'm not cooking Japanese food to go in these lunchboxes but we are a family that eats a lot of Asian meals any way so stir fry and rice/noodles may make an appearance but will probably be in the thermos.I do want to try making ongiri, which has been on my to try list for several years now.

Bear had the honour of the first offical bento- leftover homemade chicken "nuggets" and salad plus applesauce (yuck- what can I say- she likes that stuff) and a back to school cupcake. The appearance of her panda bento caused a small ripple of excitment at her lunch table- it is very cute...and her buddies are all into anime/manga so it's cool. She ate everything. I have indicated to her that she may be promoted to a more "sophisticated" bento when she is older...something like this perhaps, or this, although she was more keen on this more traditional bento.

On the first day of school I sent Bear, Boo and Yum Yum with a firm favourite- tortellini in a thermos (which the little ones had eaten once before in their thermos at last years late soccer practices). They all ate that happily with a side of grated cheese, some slices of peach and raspberries.

Their second day of school was the inaugural "everyone is taking a bento to school day". Here's my handiwork. Boiled eggs, tomato, cucumber, snow peas (blanched), olives and red peppers with blueberries and grapes. A little side of ranch dressing for Boo and a tiny side of smoked salmon for Yum Yum. Bear had mozarella cubes and olives added to hers after I took this photo. I tried to make the twins eggs look like beetles and Bears was just a random monster which she said had her friends guessing what it was meant to be. (Those little worms lower right are actually stems I removed from the twins blueberries).

Now that three girlies come home with mostly empty lunchboxes, there is a pile of plastic containers that can be safely handwashed by young ladies who are extremely keen to play in the sink. I call that a win!

The next bento lunch day will be sandwich based so the cookie cutters will come out and maybe some fruit leather for garnish. I'm hoping to sneak some "Sunbutter" sandwiches into their lunch- the pre school is peanut and tree nut free due to allergies so this is a sunflower seed alternative. Bear and I tested it today-it's not bad tasting, just different.

On my list for future bento and thermos lunches...

soup

homemade mac'n'cheese (I make it with peas,corn,carrots) requested by Boo

tuna sushi for Bear( I'm trying out a little supermarket kit)

home made beef meatballs with spaghetti

taco salad with corn chips

tuna/chicken pasta salad

turkey/apple balls and other random things on sticks

fried rice with chicken (with a small side of low sodium soy for "soil" obsessed Boo)

yohgurt with fruit/honey

pizza rolls (made with ready made pizza dough)

chicken teriyaki and rice

dumplings in the thermos (my girlies are nuts about dumplings)

ham/ chicken cubes with salad on sticks

hot dogs and cooked veges, mini roll (ketchup for Boo)

should I do this to hot dogs? Maybe I'll save it for April Fools Day!

mini muffins, mini pizzas

pita wraps

salmon and cream cheese mini bagels for Yum Yum

and as treats- the occasional hidden choc chip (just the one chip), pancake, fruit leather, pretzel, popcorn or cereal to munch on (subject to the nut allergy thing).

Yes, more proof that I am not quite right in the head! I am actually thinking that I should pack the Breadwinner a bento. Maybe not a panda bento but perhaps a tiffin? He will feel more loved but he is much more likely to lose the containers. I'll have to think on this.

oh hullo...

2010-09-15T22:33:00.008-04:00

Keeping this blog up to date is a bit harder than I thought it would be , but never fear I am not ready to abandon my 4 readers just yet!

The weeks since that memorable July 4 weekend have flown by, there was a birthday party for an 11 year old... and then we flew ourselves to Australia and back (another blog entry for another time otherwise I'll never catch up), and the beginning of a new school year in which Bear no longer catches a school bus, and in which Boo and Yum Yum have begun a new pre school program three days a week from 9am-2pm. The Breadwinner enrolled all three in the local soccer club so we also have coaching (for him), practice and games to add to our week/weekends.

So whilst I now have a few hours a week to myself, they are all busy days requiring much staying on top of the game- remembering who to take where, when and how..., organising appropriate clothing in "mygoodnessyourfeetarehuge"sizes, negotiating wearing of respectable looking outfits, feeding them all homepacked lunches on the days that all three are at school, procuring a working mobile phone for Bear and negotiating the use of that phone (still a work in progress as the first attempt needs to be sent back as the service is too unreliable although everything else was all we wanted and more -Kajeet, sorry), and trying to get an evasive Bear to do her homework,worrying about the real bear that is casually wandering around our neighbourhood, getting Boo and Yum Yum back to an earlier bedtime, and starting an allowance scheme based on marbles for chores. I have a lot of marbles.

Yum Yum ran enough in her first soccer game to get thirsty while Boo just cried in misery. Sad A little embarrassing for the Assistant Coach.
OK- it's horribly over exposed but this the only one of Bear by herself on the first day of school. And below groovy sock wearing preschoolers! They are so happy with their new preschool (not that they didn't like their old one but they are ready for a bit "more").
In other news I have done some sewing and there will be more as I am once again going to join a sewing challenge having failed miserably at the last one. I'll do another post on that.

A very long post about going to Niagara Falls on the wacky bus...

2010-08-01T20:28:00.051-04:00

One of the things on my "USA to see list" has been Niagara Falls. It wasn't on the Breadwinner's list so it was agreed that Bear and I would have a little bus trip away by ourselves this summer. For 3 days and 2 nights, and based on what seemed like rational thinking, we selected the 4th July long weekend.

I needed a break from my two adorable munchkins. I needed it badly. Sitting on a bus with my eldest for 3 days sounded pretty darned good to me. It sounded good to Bear as well. So on July 2nd we headed out early to catch our bus . Boo and Yum Yum were quite good about the plan , they understood the plan involved their favourite sitter and their daddy with a weekend full of swimming and candy ahead of them.Not a tear , just lots of smooshy kisses. YAY!

I knew before we got on the bus several things about the type of experience it was likely to be. First it is a Chinese run tour company and as such caters mostly to Chinese tourists. As the bus then stops in an area populated by a large Indian community, they number the second largest ethnic group to use this company. A read of the many scathing online reviews will also give you an idea of what to expect ... and our years of living in South East Asia prepared me well. We were going to China and India, and if we were lucky, we might see Niagara Falls along the way. We expected it to be wacky...and the wackier it got the more we laughed.

When we boarded the bus we were the only non-full Chinese, non-Indian passengers. Except for three Austrians. A mother with two teens. Oh dear- they hadn't read the reviews and they were ill prepared for the experience.

It was a truly a brilliant summer day to begin a trip on. At our first stop we were asked to buy our lunch and bring it back to eat on the bus as they expected heavy traffic and wanted to try their best to keep to schedule. The chosen stop was a Burger King. We were given 15 minutes which sounds a little optimistic. Totally impossible given that ours was the fifth bus that pulled up. Imagine 250+ people trying to get lunch (and pee) in 15 minutes! The orderly mayhem inside the Burger King could only be wondered at. When unsuspecting families, travelling in their cars on their cosy 4th July family road trips, also selected that very same Burger King (in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere) the looks on theirs were priceless. I mouthed "RUN AWAY " to one mother, she burst out laughing and heeded my advice.

Our first official stop was the Corning Glass Museum. We were given about 90 minutes here and we would love to go back. It's free for under 19s and there is a pleasant store and cafe. Bear found the historical exhibits interesting, and there were excellent educational displays on all aspects of optics as well as live displays of glass blowing. Below is a boring view of the foyer, to the far right- a work by Dale Chihuly- one of our family favourites after having viewed his work in the New York Botanic Gardens a few years ago. I would replace it with a better , more interesting photo but it's all just too hard.

Next we journeyed north through New York State, every now and then I checked our route and progress on my Iphone map. For the most part Bear was reading or playing Nintendo. I listened to an audio book on my Ipod- Ken Follets' "Pillars of the Earth". It was fine...riding in a bus for hours, the air conditioning was working, no complaints. We stopped at a Chinese Buffet in Buffalo for dinner at around 6pm. It was no worse than expected...but remember our expectations were low.

After a stop at a duty free (why?), we trundled across what I think was the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, our destination not yet in view, to meet and greet Canadian customs officials. And that is when things began going pear shaped.

We were excited, we were arriving on a Friday night, the only night of the week that there are fireworks on the Falls. It must have been around 7.30pm (possibly earlier) when we enjoyed the warm welcome that is Canadian customs. In one door of the drab building, a few gruff questions, stamp bang, stamp bang, out the other side to wait for the bus to pull up and re board. Only it didn't happen. At 9.30pm we finally found ourselves back on the bus heading back to the good ole USA. One family didn't have their paperwork in order. The tour guide was flustered, the Austrians were getting cranky and suggesting that the family be made to walk. So the US immigration officials and the flustered tour guide made arrangements for the family to be collected. We had been seated in a fenced outdoor pen feeling guilty for even existing . Finally they requested all US Citizens be checked, that left Bear, I and the Austrians sitting on our own.

When it was our turn (the riff raff that are not US citizens) it was discovered that the Austrians did not quite have their paperwork presented in the usual manner ....more kerfuffle, red faces and pondering over the fate of the three Austrians...and wait, what about those other two Austrians with the L2 visas? Of course for some- there was confusion over the distinctions between Austria vs Australia ..are they different? I mean, what are the chances that at the back of a busload of Chinese and Indian US citizens on an el-cheapo tour of Niagara Falls, there are 5 Austrian Australians planning something heinous... HUGE of course.

Finally we got back on the bus...headed back over the border but NOT stopping again at Canadian Immigration ( seemed a little less than rigorous protocol after all the silliness we had just endured, we could have picked up loads of people ON the bridge, but then again... ) and trundled through the brightly lit streets of Niagara to have our first view of Niagara Falls at midnight. If you squinted and didn't look directly at them, you could almost see them. At 1am we fell into beds at a Comfort Inn someways out of town. I drifted off hoping that they really do change the sheets between buses.

Next morning we were invited to enjoy Niagara Falls on the big screen at the IMAX theatre where we were assured there was a cafe at which breakfast (bagels and coffee) could be purchased. Sadly there were no bagels to be had, just Niagara Falls Best Popcorn and pretzels stuffed with cream cheese. We'll always remember not to eat those pretzels again- tasted like glue was Bear's assessment.We should have had popcorn I suppose.

So, unimpressed with the IMAX visuals, but supposedly "enlightened" by the fictitious story of Leilawala (the Maid of the Mist) we returned to our bus...but wait who is that walking suspiciously around the bus...see him there, just going around the back of lucky bus no 388...he looked like he was in a uniform? Hmmmm. On boarding we are told by our flustered tour guide that the bus has been randomly selected for a vehicle inspection which will be performed whilst we are viewing the falls.

The Maid of the Mist is a tourist operation that functions to the standards set by Disney. It features "hide the queue", the Kodak moment against a green screen, a complimentary blue poncho, efficient boarding and disembarkation arrangements, a thrilling water soaking ride and a huge shop. It was fun, I'd do it again but not in cold weather because you really do get wet. Bear thought it was a hoot. And I still try not to have that dream about the boat sinking and all those blue ponchos floating around my head and making it impossible to get to the surface.

We return to our designated rendezvous but no bus, no mind because it is an easy stroll to Skylon Tower. The basement of the tower seems to occupied by a less than successful games arcade. The ground floor had a Kodak green screen photo opportunity through which all visitors were herded...because you might want a picture of yourself going over the falls in a barrel (if you hadn't just purchased one of you standing in front of the falls with ice chunks). There are several souvenir stores...Canadian themed clothing, one that sold boomerangs and didgeridoos. The usual suspects...and a Starbucks. After milling around taking all the fine details in, we were taken to the revolving restaurant for a "fine dining" experience.

After the Burger King, the Chinese buffet and the glue filled pretzel...it was indeed fine dining. An acceptable meal to be fair but somewhat old fashioned.. but the view is spectacular! Bear was pretty impressed with the fact that the floor was moving, less impressed with our dining companions (Mum, they didn't even try to chat!). Watching a bunch of Chinese diners try to figure out what to do with half a tomato roasted with herbed bread crumbs was amusing. Our Austrian travelling companions had opted out of this part of the tour in order to sight see independently.

But the view....never mind the food, the view.... they missed the view!

With full stomachs and having drunk in the view, we descended at the appointed hour (1.30pm) to meet our bus.

I drank a ridiculous number of Starbucks caramel macchiatos, took more than a few silly photos, followed the shady spots around the building as the sun moved across the sky, watched flustered tour guide try to calm the disgruntled Austrians, and observed the rest of our travelling companions...the lovers, the grand parents, the family with the trendy daughters and crippled mother. Bear was brilliant, no whining , just played with her DS. I felt sorry for the mum travelling with the the chubby pre-teen boy who squabbled with his sister the WHOLE time, I would have voted yes to leave him at a truck stop.

Finally at 4pm a bus turns up. Our first bus, the lucky number 388, has failed inspection and is awaiting spare parts. This is a nicer bus...except that I am sitting on a hot seat. I mean, I can feel the heat of whatever bit of machinery is at the back of a bus, through my seat. Oh well.

The journey north took several more hours (did I fall asleep?) and we arrive in Toronto at around 5pm to stretch our legs at City Hall. Some washed their feet as well. My butt cooled down.

It was late afternoon Saturday on a glorious summers day. Toronto -our 5 minute look made me think a little of Brisbane and Perth with their mix of colonial stone architecture, modern high rise, the river fronts and a Sydney-ish skyline with Singapore apartment towers.

The G20 2010 Summit had just concluded a few days prior and apparently this event had added to the long-weekend-post-Canada-Day-4th-July influx of visitors. In other words we were not alone.

After cooling our heels for 15 minutes we were dropped off at the CN Tower Which is many many many many feet tall. See...

So we dutifully joined the queue to enter this marvel of modern engineering, to pass through security "puffers" and to wait in (yes, we say IN not ON line) line to board the super speedy elevators. By the time we ascend it was time to meet the bus. There are only two ways down, the fast way with the messy finish, or back in the long snaky line for the elevator . So we text the guide to let her know the situation and get in line again. It was probably the busiest day of the year. We have such great timing.

From there we are taken to the Harbour front which is bustling with the energy of people wanting to party, and did I say the weather was glorious? There are tall ships moored along with other party boats, people strolling, dining, and in amongst it we do a 5o people dash led by our flustered tour guide to board a ferry. Next to us is a much larger party boat waiting for it's guests to board and they looked like they were having a lot more fun than we were...but you had to be wearing black leather with feathers, chains, boots and fishnets and showing a lot of skin. We hadn't packed properly and there was Bear to consider. Dang.

So we chugged out of the mooring for a tour of Lake Ontario. Not all of it because Lake Ontario is pretty HUGE. Not as big as Lake Michigan but HUGE none the less. Our little journey took us to what seemed to be a group of islands that sheltered a yacht club. With the benefit of Google I see that it is in fact the Toronto Islands -a car free urban community. This would be an awesome place to spend a summer...kid friendly and just a ferry ride to the city.

After our pleasant jaunt around the islands we head back to the Harbourfront and board our bus for Chinatown where there is to be a chinese seafood banquet. Bear and I opted out of this and instead found our own meal...ahhhh bliss.

Word back on the garlicky bus was that we did the right thing. The Austrians are looking very unhappy.

Our bus tootles out of Toronto and at 11pm we pull up at a newish looking highrise Quality Inn. I would not be capable of laughing at ANY of this trip if we had unpleasant sleeping or bathing arrangements.I have my limits. We quickly unpack, plug in things to recharge and set all things capable of going beep, for a 4.30am wake up call and try to sleep. Yep...4.30am because we have to be on the bus at 5.00am.

Bear rises and showers with almost no complaint...at 4.30 am Sunday morning it is all good, but 7.15am on a school day- eye roll.

After waiting for our slower friends to get on the 3rd bus of the trip (sigh, there's always a few or 6 or an Austrian family making a point) we are relatively quickly on the road heading toward the Lawrence River 3 hours away. We arrive at Gannanoque (I have most likely spelt that incorrectly) to board a breakfast cruise. We are in the 1000 Island region and it is fascinating to numerous see tiny islands with a single dwelling upon them...and to ponder on the wonderful life the lucky occupants have.

One of the most famous is Boldt Castle, unfortunately not so lucky for it's original owners but a spectacular sight.

And this isn't a photo of the castle....this is a photo of whatever is on the other side of the Island.

But this is a photo of the silliness of umpteen tour buses arriving on Sunday morning. They haven't learnt the art of the Disney-hide-a-queue.

One suggestion... feed the people breakfast whilst they wait on the shore. Seriously, and change your baker.

So after returning we once again boarded the bus and got outta there.

We stopped at a gas station to CHANGE BUSES ...hello bus 388 all fixed up. We stop to do duty free and I discover that I quite like ice wine and chocolate. I knew I liked chocolate but together with ice wine..mmmm. But most exciting was the discovery of Smarties in Canada! That alone was worth the visit to the duty free (plus a box of Quality Street for the Breadwinner).

We were once more scrutinied by US immigration, given the option of Applebees, Pizza or chinese buffet for lunch (the Austrians left their $ in the locked bus so didn't get to choose any) and were dropped off at our stop at 7pm.

We had the house to ourselves and decided to watch a movie. Bear settled on this and sobbed herself silly then we went to bed. Excellent mother daughter weekend.

Meanwhile Boo and Yum Yum were enjoying the delights of Jenkinsons Boardwalk with their daddy and some tolerant friends. They stayed to watch the 4th July fireworks and arrived home at 1 am. I woke up to find my wee girls on my bed...they were blue. No, they were breathing fine, they were just blue. and bouncy. Daddy had fed them blue cotton candy. From 1am until 2am we enjoyed a spectacular Boo tantrum! So good to be home with sensible people.

Summer stuff

2010-07-29T22:28:00.012-04:00

I have , for the past 12 months, been "suggesting" (aka nagging) my Breadwinner to get a swingset for the girls. The swings are of exceptional importance to them at any playground and sharing them with other children is oh so painful...oh what bliss to have their own at home. I began the online research. My only requirement was that it be a simple, sturdy, inexpensive swingset for two "swingers". I am not keen on this type of...ginormous thing because we have two rather large outdoor playhouses already, although I am sure Bear, Boo and Yum Yum would be delighted. No, I was looking something more like this. Why? because our home is rented, our stay subject to immigration laws, returning to Australia with a wooden structure not even worth the bother of trying (ie it would end up costing more to fumigate) and because the Breadwinner can't manage Lego let alone construct a safe playset.

We ended up with this....

A 10ft by 30" inflatable pool with filter. And I have to admit it was a better choice than a swingset. And much cheaper too. If we get a second year out of this pool that will be a bonus. As you can see we have it on our deck. The deck IS very large..I think it is something like 25 x 40ft. A seriously large deck with decking in seriously bad shape hence the grass carpet. The pool is the perfect size for Boo and Yum Yum and in the past 2 months they have FINALLY progressed to puttting their heads in the water. Yum Yum has even swum under water! That alone is worth the $. When the weather is warm enough the girls play in there for hours (they are good about bathroom breaks!). This summer has been exceptionally warm!

Last summer they were "swimming" in this....

They were just as happy!!

Away.... Club Med Florida

2010-07-28T22:42:00.019-04:00

Our first trip away this summer was a wonderful surprise from the Breadwinner. He found a deal...and off we went to Florida to see what Club Med Sandpiper on the Port St Lucie River could do for our tired family. First things...it was hot, really hot. And stormy. Florida in June. Being on the East coast and on a river, there was no oil from the Gulf present.

Our previous experience with Club Med was many moons ago and far far away...we visited Club Med in the Maldives last century, just for a meal. We have been waiting for the twins to be old enough to make use of the kids club. Our research on Club Med Sandpiper led us to expect a slightly run down resort with a Circus School, Kids Club, Mini Kids Club and thoroughly happy busy, well fed families. And that is exactly what we got.

Our trip was successful in that Bear was happy to hang out with some kids her age, do archery, try the trapeze, and sail on the river with her dad. Boo and Yum Yum were over the moon happy to be swimming, it helped their confidence in the water so much. Mini Kids Club was not such a big hit for them. They needed just another few days to be comfortable and get into the routine of kids club. There were many moments worth remembering and we all got tans.

The girls were good travellers, they LOVE airplanes, airports and hotels, and they were delighted at vision of the big swimming pools full of inflatables, by the variety and quality of the food available (as were we), not the least the soft serve ice cream machine. Yum Yum developed a crush on an acrobat and almost attempted the trapeze..she was on her way up the ladder up when fear overcame infatuation. Boo managed to tear the end of her big toe just two days before we left... but it wasn't long before she ventured into the pool despite being adamant that she would NOT be swimming because of her booboo.

On day 2 in Mini Kids camp we were summoned to collect our girls because they were both howling inconsolably. It turned out that Boo had been lifting Yum Yum off the ground ( a game that they seem to enjoy) and they were fine until Boo accidentally dropped her sister. All would have been well eventually had another child not tried to join the game and lift Boo. She was dropped. Boo does NOT do well with rough housing from kids she does not know. It was a perfect little storm that would have made no sense to the young women taking care of them. I could say it was a bit of a twin thing, but it probably just a Boo thing. An INTENSE Boo thing. Sigh. Each year gets a little easier- truly.( I'm hoping very much that they will be ready for ski school this winter.)

The staff are responsible for keeping everyone as happy and involved in activities as they wish to be. So when storms closed the pools down and people retreated to the large bar, they would set up games. We teamed up with a woman who was with her son and managed to do well in one such game... her teen son had downs syndrome so I think she was happy that we didn't shy away from them. We actually managed to watch a few World Cup Soccer games in the bar so maybe we got more of a break from the kids than we realised. I didn't manage to read anything though.

The accommodations were definitely dated but were roomy and clean. We had adjoining rooms, the girls had their own bathroom and walk in robe. Our only suggestion would be that some space in the large walk in robe be traded for some extra space in the bathroom. It's never good to have a door that just grazes the loo as it swings open. (Actually..why don't bathroom doors open outwards here in the US, makes me crazy..have they not heard of pocket doors?).

Would we return? Definitely once the resort is upgraded we would consider it. On the other hand we are loath to go to the same place twice when there are so many places still to see! Perhaps we would pick a different Club Med. We would stay longer than 4 days so that the kids could get into the rhythm of the place. The over-riding factor of course is the cost. Club Med is an all inclusive resort so up front it is an expensive proposition. In practice it means not worrying about each and every drink or snack you consume. The kids can help themselves and they will not be served alcohol. You have no need to leave the resort and why would you if all your meals are paid for and there are activities galore. As I said earlier..the variety and quality of the food was really impressive- whilst the standard American fare was available there was great salad, breads to die for, delicious fish dishes and a rotating menu of dishes from all over the world.

We happened to share our airport transfer with another family who caught the same flight as us. They have done other "all inclusive"s with kids clubs, actually they do it every year. They were far happier with what was on offer at Club Med for their family both activity and cost wise.

If you were looking for the singles scene that many Club Meds cater to, don't go to Sandpiper (try Cancun). Sandpiper is definitely a family place although there is an "adults only" pool for quiet time away from pool games. Then again...I doubt there are any party animals reading my blog.

Now where was I?

2010-07-28T21:52:00.006-04:00

Oh my goodness, I kind of wandered off there for a bit. Do you know what happened?

Summer... just summer... getting outdoors, having a short break away and Bear, Boo and Yum Yum at home to entertain. Summer is the best kind of thing that can happen to me because I was really very tired of winter.

We celebrated with a girly manicure session... all of the colours of nail polish that are popular now inspired me to round out our collection of pink... to the entire rainbow.

The girls have been attending summer camp at the local elementary school and a gymnastics camp this week for Boo and Yum Yum. Boo and Yum Yum were so delighted after their first session , it was a bonus when they had face painting on the next day!

Back in the spring they had some rather stylish face paint done...

And so when I spotted a set of body art crayons in Claires, I bought them a put them away as an activity they could do with their big sister . Today was the day...

They enjoyed having their big sister's full attention, and Bear did her best to satisfy their whims by making butterfly and dragonfly faces , and flowers on their arms. Bear just scribbled all over her face in her excitment to see how the crayons worked. They went on easily and the colours remained lush.

Today we also had a visit from Mr Andy our plumber. For several weeks now, the girl's bathroom upstairs has had no hotwater to the bath/shower. We ignored this because we had some other more pressing repair situations - dishwasher and air conditioning had priority!

We have been a bit err, umm , less strict in the daily bath requirement for Boo and Yum Yum as a consequence. Stiff hair has become the new indicator of bath readiness, and we have been dragging them into our ensuite shower. Bear, being of a certain age, is required to shower more often of course, I could never let stiff hair happen to her- dreads!

So today, after a new tap/shower unit was installed, Boo and Yum Yum resumed the Barbie bath routine and guess what.

That Claire's stuff...it doesn't come off easily. I'll be carting around some odd looking children tomorrow.

sigh of relief

2010-05-31T14:56:00.005-04:00

Very much relieved to announce that my camera is back...I had a friend fiddle with it and voila, it works, something to do with a button not quite in the right position. So I was able to capture a little ogre ice cream attack (in honor of Shrek). It was quite scary...the ice cream attack I mean.

mmmmmm Yum Yum. Can I have another one pweeese Mama. Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

hmmmmmm

2010-05-30T10:38:00.008-04:00

I wanted to take a photo this morning. I had the three shots of bubblegum amoxicillin lined up like I was the most switched on bartender at breakfast...and I want to take a photo of all that innocent pinkness that chases away scarlet fever. And whhirrrpffft. Is my camera not well ?..OMG my camera is not working. Not good. Excuse me whilst I go lay down and try to process this latest calamity.

I'll leave you with some of yesterday's photos. Above, a local museum garden...we have driven by this maybe a 1000 times, first time we stopped!

And yesterday afternoon with Bear we stopped at an historical homestead and watched artists working plein air

Unsolicited Advice for parents of twins

2010-05-21T17:36:00.009-04:00

TIP 1. If you do not already have one, acquire a king sized bed, immediately. Co-sleeping happens whether you agree with it, plan for it or not. When there are 4 in the bed and the little one says......rollover! They will all rollover and the Daddy falls out and goes to sleep in a little persons bed.

TIP 2. Do not buy toddler beds, buy the most comfortable sturdy twin beds and mattresses you can afford. Because you will be sleeping in them.

Ahhh musical beds, the most fun you will ever not have.

This was the scene this morning. It was a humid night. The Breadwinner is in the land of the Little Mermaid. I thought I might have the whole bed to myself and have a lovely night's sleep. The older I get, the more I need quality sleep to function in a pleasant way. And then add suspected peri-menopausal insomnia and night sweats. I told you I was OLDER.

SNAP!!!

2010-05-15T16:30:00.009-04:00

The twins have added "snap" to their game playing skills. I have been waiting for this - card players!!! I remember we taught Bear card games at this age... and if the twins are soon able to entertain themselves with a game of cards that is like winning lotto. And dare I dream that all three girls will sit down to a game of cards one day soon? Of course games have winners and losers, and we have some competitive little ladies. Playing fair and not being a bad loser are going to become a constant refrain in our house.

We taught them Snap last week with an old pack of Rugrats cards when we were at dinner. We didn't teach them the yelling part as we were in a "fine dining" establishment at the time and it would have messed with the romantic evening some people were lucky enough to be enjoying. I can hear in the next room that the Breadwinner has just added the cry of "SNAPAROONIE!!!" and table slamming thumps to the version he is now playing with Boo. Won't be able to pull that game out in that restaurant ever again! The Breadwinner is doing a lovely job of entertaining Boo whilst her partner in crime is laid up with the bug. Boo fell ill Thursday afternoon and naturally Yum Yum followed Saturday morning -snap! I'm not feeling quite so fantastic either -snap! We really must find a nicer game of snap... Angelica, Chuckie, Spike, Didi, Grandpa, Boris. We don't even watch the show and now we know their names... sad! I'm sure we have some in the cupboard.

So in other news, that doesn't involve cardsharks, fevers and sore tummies, it is with regret that our dishwasher has died. I have a different 's' word for that. At least I have a pretty dishbrush to help me.

Hey You..

2010-05-14T20:58:00.004-04:00

Yes, I mean YOU, the only person reading this. I have a question...

Is the layout all funny when you read this. I can't seem to sort out the layout but then I wonder if ijust maybe t is MY screen that plays the funny tricks? Does there seem to be too much white space (mind you , I 'd LOVE some white space in my house right now), and do the words sometimes run onto the pics?

Just wondering... can you leave me a comment. Please.

Yee Gads I suck

2010-05-12T12:29:00.005-04:00

Umm no sewing happening here. Just a lot of thinking about the things I should be doing whilst wasting my time with the Housewives of NYC in the middle of the night. Insomnia. UGH.

And yesterday we unintentionally stood up a playdate...got my playgrounds mixed up. I feel really bad for the little girl, I messed up her day. Still Boo and Yum Yum had a fun time at the other playground. Here Yum Yum is eating the raw eggs that were served as breakfast on the train.

I think I'll postpone the kids sewing until next week...I am behind on my assignments and have a garage sale to prepare for.

Getting back to those skirts I made last year...

2010-05-06T22:43:00.013-04:00

The skirts were not very exciting technically , but very quick to make! I had seen a few bandana creations in the bloggy world and was inspired to try it myself. But I am not really one for following instructions, particularly if it involves sewing two squares together. The thing is, I didn't want to do any cutting but the length of the bandana was too long for my little people. My solution was to fold the bandanas to make a layer which is almost apron-like. In order to do this the reverse fabric needs to be reasonable as it will be the top layer. Then I simply stitched the sides together up to the point where the fold was and then stitched a casing. Put in some elastic and voila...bandana skirts. For $2. Each. Three lines of stitching and some elastic.

You can see that Yum Yum's skirt , the pink one, does twist on her body so that the seams are in the middle instead of the sides. She's skinnier than Boo so I think that is why that happens. I was thinking that it would look cute at the back if there was a large dark blue bow attached to the casing and a smaller one at the front, or I could just take it in a pinch...or she could just fatten herself up a bit! Another feature that my girls would probably approve - pockets. Maybe just one more bandana .... cut, edge, attach patch pockets to the "aprons". The $1 bandanas came from Walmart and have softened up nicely.

Feeling a little Bloggy today...(many random words to get out of my head)

2010-05-06T13:22:00.021-04:00

I have my back to the laundry piles, the Littlest Pet explosion and am listening via baby monitor to Boo and Yum Yum discussing their dresses for the ball. I know that there is this morning's Barbiefest on the floor of their room tangled up in blankets, and am expecting a dress-ups pile-up at the top of the stairs. They have had ballet this morning and have since changed into "comfy" clothes consisting of skirts made by mummy last year. Those clean clothes will now be discarded at the scene of their most recent costume change. So ignoring the mess I am taking 10 minutes to give some thought to their clothing.

I seriously wonder why I bother providing them with regular clothing, be it practical, cheap & cheerful, homemade, handmade, cute, pretty, darling, funky, trendy, funny, expensive... whatever ..because they would quite happily wear their dress ups all day and everyday. Except on the days when they would wear their swimsuits all day instead or if they had glitter and sequins on everything else.

I read on one of my fave blogs, Elsie Marley, that there is to be a week devoted to sewing for your kids....and an interesting post on Indietutes about keeping your own creative ego in check so that kids might actually wear what you make them.

So ...I ask myself should I be contemplating some sewing next week?

NO- I have an awful lot of other things I should be doing. Really. A lot.

NO- they don't "need" any more clothes. The store of Bear's "hand me downs" goes back to our arrival here in the US when she was just a little older than the twins are now. She was petite and gentle on her clothes, and I was a rather enthusiastic shopper ...and so begining with this summer it is feasible that we could dress the twins entirely in "hand me downs" for the next 10 years give or take a snowsuit, snowboots and other things that one kid doesn't normally have two of.

But you know what...I am still going to do it!!!

YES- the challenge calls for 1 hour a night. I waste many more hours a night procastinating, dithering online and not getting anything done anyway.

YES- It would make me really happy to do some sewing. It's a stress reliever for me.

YES- I have a lot of fabric (understatement) and I have many partially completed items, repairs, cluttering my workroom and many creative ideas cluttering my brain.

YES- I have a feeling that my girls will be excited about what I make them.

YES- There are things I want to teach myself about sewing esp with knits. This would be the time to try .

And in order to show that I am serious and to up my credibility in the crafty blogging sphere (ie. zip) I will share with you something I made for them last summer. Those skirts I mentioned earlier....

And, just as I was about to impress you with my sewing skills, there was intense wailing over the baby monitor. The following two hours was spent consoling an injured Boo who had managed to hurt herself quite badly. What I have pieced together is that she was upside down (OK- that part is still puzzling me) on her bedhead trying to turn on her nightlight (huh?) which is actually in a pocket hanging on the bedhead...she fell smashing herself just behind her ear on the pointiest hard thing she could find, the corner of the nearby bookcase. Fortunately no blood was involved. It was not the afternoon I had planned. I expect that she will have a very sore ear/neck and a big bruise tomorrow...and that I may still be taking her to see a DR just-in-case tomorrow. I did manage to get to my own re- scheduled medical appointment to be told that my blood pressure and ECG are great. So now I know I can feel totally crap but my blood pressure will still be awesome. I have to go see a Dr tomorrow to check my TB test ( story for another time) and I know that I can ask him to look at her because we FINALLY discovered a pleasant local Dr who requires no appointments and does urgent care- as well as medical reports for the Immigration Department and who takes our insurance. So ......deep breath, I so need a good night's sleep. We all do.

and the beat goes on...ladee dadee dee, ladee dadee da

2010-05-04T16:12:00.012-04:00

We've been flying off the furniture, going to birthday parties, getting dirty feet, dirty finger nails, having naps, playing outside with water, gardening, cleaning, tossing crap, singing, BBQ, corn shucking, sorting shoes, dressing for warm weather, dressing for wet weather, wearing swimsuits, being silly, having tantrums, getting really maaadddd, eating chocolate, playing soccer pirates, getting sniffy with the pollen, having "volcano visitors", and just generally busy "doing". Now looking forward to a Mother's Day visit to Stormking and to catching up on my overdue photograaphy assignments...

now I need a cuppa!

practice

2010-04-13T18:10:00.003-04:00

This week I am practicising my photography on my kids... I am not asking them to pose or directing them, just waiting until they are engrossed in play and using a zoom. Boo and Yum Yum spend half their day in dress ups. In fact they were out there doing the same thing again in the garden only it was overcast and cold. That would be why I have to take 500 photos to get a handful that I am ok with. Later this week I will try a posed session with Bear...hopefully it won't take so many attempts.

Old Dogs

2010-04-12T00:02:00.006-04:00

I am a kind of an old dog in the scheme of things. I am finally learning something that I always wanted to. I now have the equipment and the motivation. It's the brain power, eyesight and the quiet that are lacking.

I'm going to learn a new trick. It's called taking a photo when the camera is set on manual. No post editing. Natural light. Real fruit and flowers.

Do you see my dinnerbell? My kids cannot hear me in the next room scream "Dinner is ready!". They have inherited selective hearing from their Daddy. They sure can hear my dinnerbell tho'. Amazing isn't it!

trees, big big trees!

2010-04-04T20:28:00.005-04:00

Whilst the blooms were stunning today, the trees stood by, quietly preparing to unfurl their leaves. I felt that the textures and structures were best portrayed in black and white.

Bear took over my camera a few times. I wish I had another camera to catch her in action. She took some wonderful shots of the cherry trees, stalked some bumble bees with the zoom, took way too many of me from behind (which will never see light of day) and with the setting in sport mode, ratcheted up a humoungous number of photographs of quite still trees.

Some days are too beautiful!

2010-04-04T19:00:00.025-04:00

I find days as beautiful as this Easter Sunday a little difficult to grasp as reality. Too pretty.Can you see what I mean?

After our Easter lunch of salad nicoise (we like to eat our eggs with this) we went to the Freylinghuysen Aboretum. It was glorious . It reminded me of a spring 4 years ago, when we came with my mother and our tiny little baby girls. I think it may have been one of their first outings. We sat in the shade of a tree and fed our babies. Our wee girls are "big kids"now, running and enjoying their world.

There were trees to be climbed, grassy slopes to roll down, a ball to chase, nooks to explore and nature to admire and photograph. Oh, and a daddy to sit on.

At home we had an Easter egg hunt in the last of the day's warmth. Mummy is pretty proud of her egg hiding skills. The girls are now bathed and waiting to feast on Daddy's roast lamb dinner... the traditional Easter meal of the Greek Orthodox family. A day like today is such a blessing. I hope everyone enjoyed this day.

Birthday...

2010-04-01T10:01:00.009-04:00

April Fool!

yeh, me....it is my birthday. But thank goodness I didn't have parents as cruel (or imaginative ) as this poor woman's. Now saying this out loud might just jinx me...but no one has ever played a joke on me on my birthday. Our family has a lot of March/April birthdays.

I'm gonna be nice to myself today, it's sunny. We'll go to the playground and enjoy it.

.... and the Breadwinner is running himself around in circles once again..as if I sprung this birthday on him at the last minute. It's been 15 years...and my birthday is always on the same day, honestly hunny. Last night he' was online trying to convince me I wanted another heart pendant necklace, a bracelet, a glass hummingbird feeder!!! silly man..

But in all seriousness...it's fine with me, I am being spoilt in far more important ways than a hummingbird feeder.

Spring time, Bunny time, Good times!

2010-04-01T09:37:00.028-04:00

posted 3rd April 2010

Shhhhh....The bunny has been! There will be chocolate and little treats for our girlies. I can't wait to hear their excited little voices in the morning. Bear will also be going to church with her daddy. I hope she and the Breadwinner find this experience a positive one, and that it will be the start of something good for all of us.

In the meantime I have taken care of the magic to celebrate the arrival of spring that is so joyous after a long winter. As the twins get a little older we will hopefuly be able to introduce them to the community and beliefs of the church. Experiencing the Easter traditions in the Northern hemisphere where they originated is a treat. Like a hot summer Christmas, our Australian Easter is in autumn. Instead of the promise of new life, flowers and baby animals, we are instead welcoming the cooler months. In many ways I wish we could separate out the the seasonal traditions from the religious observances, so that they could all be made more relevant and their messages less confused. That would mean our Bunny would come in September and in July we could observe the Winter Solstice and sing songs about snowmen.

Earlier this week I whipped up some Easter Chicks, lemon butter cookies for the Pre school teachers. They tolerate my

tardiness with such good humour and understanding, they certainly need their Spring Break.

Yum Yum was caught doing a naughty thing, but at least now the girls can use their imagination whilst paying outside.

Going outside to play ...HOORAY.

Getting on our bikes and peddling like mad. Boo is a speedster, Yum Yum is not.

Boo likes to help Yum Yum by giving her a push...I just fear it might end in a disaster requiring many band aids!

It should be pretty obvious by now that I am still none the wiser as to how to fix the layout of each post. The preview doesn't actually look like the final post. sorry.

4, four FOUR!!!!!!

2010-03-30T23:29:00.033-04:00

I am having some problems with the layout of the posts- something to figure out another time.

Boo and Yum Yum did it. They turned into 4 year olds.

I still can't quite believe they are 4...and now it seems they are only moments away from 5. Especially since they now believe it is their birthday EVERY day. Boo is actually trying to convince me she is 10.

Mermaids are BIG in our house...the new Barbie movie has nothing to do with it...no no no, couldn't possibly. Several months ago I snapped up the Disney Ariel costumes on sale and they were the big hit I knew they would be.

Our mermaids might be camping out for the first time this summer so sleeping bags were in order. We'll be doing "camp outs" inside first, a practice run in the garden and then we'll see if they are ready. I don't want them in my sleeping bag!

Yum Yum is particularly happy to be a mermaid!

There have been a lot of mermaids in the bath every night.

She is such a Princess!

That evening we had birthday cupcakes. We had very pink cup cakes inspired by our recent discovery of the story of Pinkalicious. I used up some random candles and of course used a heavier hand with the red colouring than I would ordinarily. I did a a dollop of pink cake mix in each cupcake and of course in the cream cheese frosting.

Pinkalicious would make a fantastic party theme for little girls!

There was a lot of playing during the day , also an Easter Egg hunt and a movie! They slept very well.

Boo's first words the next morning were "Is it my party day?"

We did this party at our local YMCA- it was a gym party and the kids had fun.

This is one of the few parties we haven't had at home.

Bear's 7th was at a Japanese Restaurant which had a big private room for our use.

Thinking back, we really enjoyed doing the games and having the food taken care of at that party, much more so than the reverse which was the case at the YMCA. I must remember that for next time. Do the fun bit, let someone else do the cooking , serving and cleaning!

We managed to create a happy festive atmosphere in the YMCA room with bright party table decor and my favourite cloud balloons. We used some purchased theme partyware, mixed with plain brights and my favourite cloud balloons. I couldn't go past the talking Mr Men & Little Miss as party favours. I used plain treat bags and used my printer to add the theme with sticker images. The invitations were made the same way except I printed the Little Miss Twins on magnet paper so it could hold the invite on the fridge.

I didn't invest a lot of time decorating the cakes as Boo and Yum Yum were adamant that their Little Miss Sunshine and Chatterbox toys should be on top... I was happy to oblige! Boo had a yellow star cake that was vanilla with lemon frosting and yellow sugar crystals , and Yum Yum's was chocolate heart with pink sugar on vanilla frosting. There are no photos of the cakes....and that's probably a good thing !

I couldn't find the T shirts I wanted (Sunshine & Chatterbox) but when I think about it, the ones I did get were perfect too. Boo's multiple Little Miss/Mr Men design suits her split personality! A ray of sunshine one minute, a stormcloud the next. Yum Yum's Little Miss Whoops T shirt is so appropriate for her. Now that I am keeping track, I have come to realize that Yum Yum falls off a chair AND spills her drink at least once almost every day.

Mr Bump is looking terrified to be included in a goody bag! But it all worked out fine!

Go to sleep three year olds...

2010-03-27T01:34:00.003-04:00

and tomorrow wake up and be four years old!

Some more pics from Wednesday

2010-03-26T10:43:00.005-04:00

New Yorkers are dog lovers! The people and dogs come in all shapes and sizes! I'd like to take the kids to NYC with a dog breed book and see how many we could spot....Doggy BINGO!

And Popsicles.... mmmm happy...

And because I spend way too much time in the loo with Boo and Yum Yum...
Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, that's better.

Wednesday in NYC

2010-03-25T01:47:00.026-04:00

Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful. The forecast for rain/cloud had been changed to sun.

The girls had eaten some Fruit Loops (it was a large box) and were ready for something "real" to eat. Only a few steps away from the hotel is an outlet of Dean & Delucas where coffee was calling my name. We had some healthy fruit and yohgurt. Again I resisted all the YUMMY looking cakes and pastries.

Outside there were some grumbles about being cold. I hoped that once out of the built up wind tunnels that all would be well. Only two blocks north and there stood a line of pretty horses with decorated carriages. BINGO. A sure fire way to put an end to the whinges! Taking the girls on a carriage ride of Central Park was on the wishlist and the opportunity presented itself perfectly. So we loaded up into a carriage pulled by Charlie Horse and were snuggled cosily under a big thick blanket. No one had to walk or pee, everyone was warm and we the sun was shining. It really doesn't get more perfect than that.

Central Park is a wonderful place. A delicious mix of people playing and nature. I would love to spend a whole week just exploring it and taking photos.

When we disembarked we were near Fifth Ave and headed to the zoo. I lost my bearings so our path was not the most direct. But that was OK because otherwise I would never have seen this stunning cardinal and his mate sitting in a yellow cloud of flowers. If only I had my big zoom.... but I did manage to get some reasonable photos.

Our walk also took us past the the busy Wollman ice skating rink, had to sneakily take care of a Yum Yum- I need to PEE without a loo, and the Dairy Gift shop. Although my instincts were saying no to shopping with the twins I am still looking for a birthday gift for my mother. I didn't find anything for her but I was happy with the selection of inexpensive novelties for the kids. We chose Bear a Strawberry Fields T shirt and all the girls each got a kazoo. Now I must point out that I LOATHE whistles. But a kazoo I can tolerate..in fact I find them a little giggly funny. And in the big open space of Central Park the girls could kazoo their hearts out and forget to whine. It worked, we got to the zoo.

Central Park Zoo is quite small, very manageable for little kids. There are turtles, sea lions, polar bears, penguins, a snow leopard, a red panda, a tropical house and a petting zoo.

We had lunch in the zoo cafe, had a pee stop and after the girls had more enthusiasm for looking at the animals. Boo was particularly happy with the Penguins swimming past her head (and pooping). After the zoo we slowly walked towards the Playground with a couple of very frozen popsicles. There are many little dogs to greet along the way and flowers to spy. Unfortunately the Carousel is closed until next week. Hecksher Playground is our family's favourite place to go for a play. For a long time it was closed for refurbishment and is now all brand newish. There were plenty of other children of all ages enjoying themselves, many along with their nannies.

The fort like structure of turrets, bridges and tunnels is great fun although hard for a mum of two to keep tabs on her kids. Mind you the Playground is enclosed so wandering off isn't the concern. The "fort" seems to have been a 70's design, very urban, concrete. So apart from having some weirdo take your kid, falls must involve blood. The surface around it is rubber but there are still a zillion opportunites for cracking a little gourd. Boo did take a heavy drop on her bottom when she missed the last step on the ladder but she shrugged it off with "I'm Okay!" and continued after her sister. Yum Yum also skinned her knee but also shrugged it off rather than stop playing. The opportunity to play Princesses and Castles and Monstas is THAT good! The "fort' also joins a giant rock mountain which my girls do not have permission to climb on without daddy. There are plenty of seats and bathrooms at hand.

From the playground I cajoled the girls toward the Time Warner Center so I could buy some dinner from Wholefoods to take back to our room. It was afternoon tea time so they each selected a pretty easter cookie to nibble on the way home. Yum Yum fell asleep mid cookie.

Boo happily ate her dinner whilst her sister had a nap from which I could not wake her. Yum Yum has the disturbing ability to open her eyes whilst still asleep. Friends have been known to talk to her not realising she is in the Land of Nod, but I know that glazed unfocused look too well and she doesn't fool me! Later Yum Yum woke to eat whilst Boo played in the shower making potions trying to entice her sister to join her. Yum Yum did NOT want a shower and that may have been because of the skinned knee.

The end result of this really great day of fresh air sunshine and excercise.... an overtired, squeaky clean, Boo tantrum of gargantuan proportions and a wide awake chatty grubby Yum Yum at midnight. UGH.

Tuesday back to NYC

2010-03-25T01:22:00.028-04:00

Since we have the NYC accommodation for a week I came back with just Boo and Yum Yum after Pre -school on Tuesday. It was raining and I had to do some internal debates about the possible merit of bringing raincoats and wellies for the girls. I decided against. We managed to get on the NJ transit midtown direct train at noon. Boo and Yum Yum don't recall a train ride (although I'm sure we have taken them by train once before). This time it was just me - solo parent with the girls of the broken legs, broken bladders and broken tempers. I put "pull ups" on both of them before we got on the train, packed a lunch and hoped for the best.

So at the next station Yum Yum asks "Are we here yet?". SIGH only 65 minutes and about 12 train stations to go. They were pretty good really, eating their PB sandwiches, pretzels and berries. The carriages were fortunately quite empty. There did come a squabble about whose feet should go where (they were sitting facing each other). I brought out their Sweetpea3s to listen to for a bit and looked out the window telling me they could already see the city (any building taller than 4 stories was "The City").

Eventually we get to Penn Station and we managed, juggling an umbrella, a handbag, a tote bag, myself and the twins, to get all of us into a taxi with the small rolling case. I left the stroller in the hotel room on Sunday for our use later in the week. Adding the stroller to the mix on the return journey on Thursday will be loads of fun for sure.

When we get to the hotel ( Yum Yum has christened our room the Stinky Room because of the off odour in the hallway outside- sounds posh doesn't it!) the girls want their Barbies. SIGH. No I didn't bring toys..I could barely fit our clothes in the small case. I did have crayons, colouring and a DVD. But I had a plan...

So first stop- The Children's Museum of Manhattan on 83rd St. Again by taxi. I don't do the subway by myself without the Breadwinner (he is in charge of the Subway travel) although it would be cheaper/quicker sometimes. I certainly don't do it with Boo and Yum Yum. (With Bear I might give it a go). We arrive at the CMOM at about 2.30pm, just in time for the afternoon crowds to get off the school bus.

Unfortunately Boo and Yum Yum were not really enthusiastic about this place. They figured out what was on each floor and had me take them to check everything out. Being late in the day the exhibits were a bit messy and dis-organised. Their attention spans were not held by Dora and Diego for very long. A visit to the Block Party Room downstairs was actually the best part. It was a lovely quiet and big, mostly empty, space with a vast supply of wooden blocks. I could have happily sat there building for a very long time.

We were out of CMOM much faster than I had planned...3.30pm. So I guess CMOM is better for the 2-3 year old set. At a week shy of 4, my girls seemed too old/bored or maybe overtired/hyper or just bloody spoilt!

We did have luck finding the restaurant I had picked for what was supposed to be an early dinner. Cafe Lalo was virtually across the street and not around the corner as I had thought.

If there are issues with this restaurant they would be - the stairs in front, cash only, not cheap. In other words they are "passively" rejecting the mothers from across the street! Tempting them with delicious coffees and divine pastries but making it hard work to actually have. I was glad I wasn't put off by the stairs. The staff took my stroller "downstairs" for me. They must still regularly encounter mothers with children popping in every day.

I didn't choose very well for the girls, the grilled cheese was a little too "rustic" in style for them, Yum Yum ate some roast potatoes and Boo concentrated on her chocolate milk . I was much hungrier than they were as I had not had lunch. I ordered an interesting surprise dish -a large slice of baked eggs covered in a delicious spicy tomato/olive sauce with a pita bread. I've never eaten anything like this before, MMMMM it was very tasty. I refrained from having dessert despite a very very large and tempting selection, but I did get a chocolat croissant for Boo because she did not seem to have eaten much.

Boo posed for me at the front steps, giving me her new best pose- urban kooky. BTW this is the Tom Hanks - Meg Ryan "You've Got Mail " cafe.

After that we headed back to the hotel to rest as I had a headache coming on. It was drizzling lightly all day and I was being careful to avoid peak hour.

Back in the room I tried to restore ease to my throbbing head by having a cup of tea and sitting down whilst the girls played in the bed room. It was soon obvious to me that I needed to sleep it off - a reboot. Going out again for some headache tablets was not an option, the exertion would have meant I would have quickly passed the point of no return into migraine territory. So into the bedroom I go to find that Boo and Yum Yum have stripped the bed completely. DEEP BREATH. I had to remake the king sized bed before I could lay down. I tried to make sure they had snacks and something to keep them occupied but I was so desperate to sink into oblivion I had to tell myself that whatever happened it would all be a lot easier without the headache. And so I slept.

I think I was out for an hour. Whilst I slept they investigated the contents of my toiletry bag. The combination of familiar smells kept me guessing and eventually I tracked down the globs of creams, pastes and lotions...some in Boo's hair and other's in random places. Thankfully nothing really horrendous involved- mostly travel sized and no nail polish. But it was probably a near miss, it could have been really bad. I had to buy more toothpaste later.

After cleaning them up I decided to head to the already tested Sushiya. The girls really like the miso soup there. They walked there and back, they ate really well, and behaved themselves (much to the relief of the couple next to us). Oh- on the way there I had a near miss on the footpath with a man hurrying along engrossed in his conversation with his friend. Do you suppose Kelsey Grammar is blogging about that tired looking woman he almost trod on? Nah, I don't. BTW- he looked GOOD.

The forecast for the next day, Wednesday was no longer for rain so I decided to go with the Central Park plan. Back in the Stinky Room we called it a day after a shower and a few PBS online stories.

Saturday afternoon in NYC

2010-03-24T22:52:00.025-04:00

The Breadwinner arrived home from Utah on a flight close to midnight on Friday....so the turn around time Saturday morning was a little slow, and we didn't make it into the city (by car) until close to lunchtime. However we had awesome weather and we weren't going to waste it completely. I took a DVD for the girls to watch during the drive- choosing "Sleeping Beauty" so that the story would be fresh in their minds for the play we had booked on Sunday. Boo was very excited to be in the city .

Although traffic going in was heavy, the drive was pleasant enough (no whining) until mid-way through the Lincoln Tunnel when Yum Yum announced that she had to PEE!!!!!

Ordinarily we put a nappy (diaper) on Yum Yum when we are in the car for any long trips because her bladder control is not as good as Boo's. But Yum Yum had refused. I grabbed a pull up "just in case" and put it in the car. So in the Lincoln Tunnel I performed a physically awkward and illegal manouver in a moving car to put a pull up on Yum Yum whilst she remained in her seat. It was a little difficult to ensure a leak proof fit and fortunately the traffic wasn't moving fast. She was still hanging on and refusing to pee when we pulled up ...and she could hold on no longer. SIGH. There was a leak...luckily only minor. So upstairs to change the knickers and blow dry her leggings.

It was just a little after 1pm. Here are some shots of our accomodation... a one bedroom "executive" suite with a sofa bed. The sofa bed from "planet unsleep", the Breadwinner and Bear drew the short straw which is really bad considering the long straw is sleeping with Boo and Yum Yum! Boo and Yum Yum have reached new levels of curiousity about hotel rooms. Thankfully the interest in the room safe was short lived.

This is an executive suite in a Timeshare property. Two bathrooms, a kitchenette, dining and two flat screen TVs. For NYC this is extremely comfortable for a small family. Of course when you use the remote control in one room, it changes the channel on the TV in the other room. And as I said, the sofa bed was in horrendous shape and I did tell the front desk about it later.

We had planned a walk after lunch along the High Line. Bear's first request of the weekend was that she get to eat char siew bao (steamed BBQ pork buns). When looking for somewhere in the Meatpacking District (where the High Line is located) I came across a place called The Dumpling Man. It seemed that this could fit the bill for Saturdays lunch even though char siew bao weren't on the menu, it was close and it sounded promising. This was the first of some not so perfect choices! Our hotel is at 56th so a taxi was in order given that there was no time to waste before hunger induced meltdowns might occur.

On first appearances The Dumpling Man is a tiny hole in the wall. It is cute and the kids were happy enough but only about 10 people can sit down to eat. We could have easily been out of luck if it were in fact considered luck to get a seat. At the counter bench the kids had a good view of the dumplings being prepared and the staff were amiable. The not so good thing was that the dumplings were difficult for the kids to eat out of the very small flimsy plastic "bowls". Drinks were spilled (Yum "May I Spill That For You" Yum is a chronic drink spiller) and dumplings dropped but that was to be expected. Bear, Boo and Yum Yum are enthusiastic dumpling eaters but everything here was just a tad awkward.

And for the adults, the meal was just so so- those dumplings stayed with us for the rest of the afternoon if you know what I mean! So no need to rush back and I wouldn't send anyone there! And a reminder to treat online reviews with a tad more sceptism. We really should have gone to Chinatown.

Also this restaurant was a LONG way from where we wanted to end up... ie the High Line. (Note to self - always check a map and don't rely on a search for "kid friendly restaurants Meatpacking District" to give you the best answer!) It's big positive...it is located in a very colorful neighbourhood..The Bowery. Lots of interesting people out in the spring sunshine. We started the stroll west, Yum Yum and Boo dancing very happily along the sidewalk.

Before long there was a call put out for a stop for ice cream at a Coldstone Creamery. Yum Yum discovered that a mouthful of gummy bears can really slow down the ice cream eating experience. And whilst you are busy chewing and chewing and chewing...your daddy eats your icecream!

After consulting the map again it was decided a taxi was needed. We were dropped at the southern entry to the High Line in Gansevoort St. And it being a truly beautiful Spring Day every other man, woman and child was there too (no dogs allowed). The girls had fun following the old tracks where they are set into the pathways but after about 20 minutes we made a departure and left it to the crowds. I hope to go back sans children and enjoy this walk properly with the Breadwinner.

We exited at Chelsea markets and here it was that I made an even BIGGER mistake. I remembered that I had forgotten the bedtime story book so tried to dash into a book store to pick something up. Sure enough they all insisted on coming with me and then were insisting on choosing the book, and then were insisting that they get two books each and then insisting that it be THIS book. But then Boo said "I need to PEE!!! so off I went at a jog in the direction the French cheese man indicated to join a line that was 50 people long NEXT TO A WATERFALL.

After about 10 minutes commiserating with the others in this slow moving line and rehearsing a desperate plea to get to the front of the queue in my head, a janitor kindly informed us that there were more restrooms at the other end of the markets. Restrooms NEXT to the BOOKSTORE with nobody lined up. Of course. So a bunch of us jogged up that way and it was the truth. NUTS. We went back to the bookstore where Yum Yum had chosen a book and was insisting on another..she then told me that she needed to PEE! Now that I knew where to go that was easily sorted. When I returned the Breadwinner was sitting on the floor in the children's section reading to a happy Boo. Time to go....

And then came the Boo MELTDOWN. Oh lordy lordy lordy . I'll leave it to you to imagine the embarrassment that our inept parenting of this child can cause. Yes- I caved, Fancy Nancy came home with a smug looking Boo. And exit quickly stage right

Chelsea Markets BTW way has a lot of yummy places to eat (including an oyster bar), awesome cupcakes and some cool looking clothing stores. The ice cream is popular and most exciting of all....they are opening an Anthropologie there!

We popped into the Subway... the girls were quite interested in the whole experience. This whimsical sculpture was intriguing. It is a work by Tom Otterness, seeking out the remainder of his installation will be on my to do list next time we hit that Subway Station. Public art in NYC is something that could occupy me for months!

Dinner was at Sushiya. I didn't take my camera, being somewhat all photo'd out! It was a good, tasty and healthy meal and walking distance from our hotel. Once back we settled in after a shower, to read the new books. Boo and Yum Yum fell asleep quite quickly. In the other room there was a war with the sofabed.

Sunday in NYC-more pics

2010-03-24T09:47:00.022-04:00

Here are some more pics...I haven't found the secret to easily rearranging the photos in the order that I want them. Apart that is from uploading them in reverse order. There must be a trick???? anyone?

Monday morning I woke up to find that Yum Yum stripped off her clothes, and had snuck into our bed during the night. Boo had come in to yell "I WANT BWEKFASSSST!"
But we managed to delay getting out of our bed by feeding each other candy from her new nightie...and then her daddy tickled her until she begged for mercy. Suddenly Yum Yum was awake and asking where her new nightie was. Her last sleeping thought is almost always her first waking sentence.
Le Carrousel at Bryant Park. I have a thing for Carrousels.

What are the odds, you come out of a Fairytale theatre and walk past the Cinderella Building?
Anthropologie's Spring recycled flowers in the windows reflecting the Rockafeller Center.

This must have been where the Princess ' beautiful dresses came from, they certainly were "sparkly"...next door to the theatre.

More of Bryant Park and Le Carrousel
I really adore the avenues of bare limbed trees, very soon they will be all green.

Balloon bear for Boo at Le Cerce Rouge Braisserie. Of course as a parent my immediate thought is "oh no, how soon can we lose it". Yum Yum lasted about 20 minutes before hers vanished and I think Boo's knots eventually came undone. It wasn't too traumatic and whilst they lasted they did the trick of making them forget about the pancakes they hadn't eaten yet.
The next post will be about the Saturday!

Weekend in NYC-Sunday

2010-03-22T00:27:00.083-04:00

I am doing this a little backwards, I am recapping our visit to NYC this past weekend with Sunday first as that is freshest in my mind. Please feel free to ask any questions.

As is usual with our family...we struggle with organisation especially for a trip on the spur of the moment, as we two adults are always extremely tired. And then we have the twins, Boo and Yum Yum, who alternate between having broken legs or being able to scale tall sidewalks in a single bound. We stupidly thought we could manage with just one stroller. I had packed both but we had second thoughts. My back wishes we had third thoughts. So, most of the day we had one being pushed and the other being carried...and intermittently both were skipping along. They were the ones running UP the Subway Stairs. I just wish they could pace themselves.

I should explain, for fellow twin parents, that we don't have a side by side umbrella stroller. Generally we always go out together and we prefer to have the two smaller Maclaren strollers so we can split up and take one twin each if necessary. We also take up less room on the frequently busy sidewalks of NYC. If we are spending all of our time in Central Park on a day trip, we sometimes take the larger, more comfortable double urban terrain Tike Tech stroller which takes up the entire trunk of our Town & Country van. This bigger stroller reclines each side individually fully flat and that was great for when afternoon naps were a daily occurence.

The combination of strollers worked for us because the bigger stroller is mostly for at home where there are no sidewalks. In hindsight (not much help to us now of course) an additional umbrella fold side by side would have been useful for days like this and for travel overseas. I understand now why some families end up with a fleet of strollers.

The girls are about to turn 4, theoretically they shouldn't need strollers for much longer. However Boo suffers from anxiety in new environments, NYC can be a very intense experience with it's crowds, noises, smells and traffic. When distressed she needs the security of being carried or feeling the protective cocoon of the stroller (she will pull the hood down over her entire upper body). Yum Yum is so fearless that it is pure luck that we haven't lost her altogether but of the two she is more likely to need a nap in the afternoon. Whilst I think the girls weigh close to 300 pounds each when I have to carry one, the reality is that they are not Sherman tanks, they are still on the petite side, and walking all day is, for the time being, still an unrealistic expectation.

10 year old Bear LOVES NYC, and she carried her life savings of $5 and looked for opportunities to spend it (or lose it).. the $5 simply can't be kept in the purse but must be admired, fondled, folded and flaunted. Her sole agenda is to find something to spend it on, eat sushi, dumplings and to divert us to the Nintendo store at Rockafellar plaza.

On Sunday morning all the girls woke up to play with their Barbies/Nintendo and have a bowl of special occassion Fruit Loops; they were happy. This was a good thing as we didn't get up until close to 9am. By 10am we were showered and dressed and had settled on Bubby's in Tribeca for brunch. There is no booking a table at Bubby's so our plan was to catch a taxi and suck up the wait. We have eaten several times at the DUMBO branch, the food is always good.

Downstairs we emerged into a strangely quiet sunny morning to discover that 56th St and 7th Ave were closed. The police, the barricades, the alarming number of green paper cups strewn across the empty roads? Was there an explosion at Starbucks? No, closer inspection revealed the sponsor of the cups to be Gatorade. Ahhhh, a herd of runners doing a half marathon had recently passed through leaving police, film crew, communications, transport and sanitation workers in their wake.

The closed streets were causing much angst in the taxi department. I felt especially bad for those toting luggage clearly intent on a trip to Penn Station or the airport, and particularly for those who hadn't clued in that the street was closed but still stood there in hope.

We walked a few blocks (Boo on shoulders) to find that the problem was quite extensive so once again we ended up on the subway. Having just the one umbrella stroller is a blessing when it comes to navigating the subway unless you are doggedly determined to make use of all disabled entry ways and elevators. Emerging in Tribeca we were in need of some help to get our bearings. Coming out of the Subway is often a disorienting experience. One of New York's finest pointed us in the general direction and off we traipsed with visions of pancakes dancing before our eyes. Along our path was Hook & Ladder No8. In the fresh morning light Ladder No 8 emerged along with the crew. Had we had a little boy among our group THIS would have been THE BEST THING EVER. A sparkling red fire engine and big burly firemen. We even got a wave. My girls? mostly oblivious ( I googled it later to find that it is the Ghostbusters/Seinfield Firehouse !)

The Fruit Loop euphoria was starting to fade and our mission to find brunch was now a little more urgent.

We marched west along North Moore St passing groups of people milling around the doorways of other eateries. Some looked as if they could have been out running that morning. Some had foil heat blankets draped around their shoulders and medals hanging from blue ribbons. Awww crikey..we must have been seeking brunch at the finish line...yep just several blocks away. The crowd around Bubby's was so big it wasn't even a matter of crossing the street to enquire as to waiting times. We turned around and rocked back along the street. We passed Walkers which also looked packed to the gills. Mental note- that looks like a seriously good place to try at a less crowded time.

At this point Yum Yum announced her dire need to pee NOW!

So we headed directly to what looked like a promising cafe , Cercle Rouge Brassierie at the end of the street in the hopes of at least finding a loo if not breakfast. There were people seated outside as I hightailed it in with Yum Yum. My eyes noted at that same time that not a single person had any food in front of them. When Yum Yum and I returned from the first of four trips I made to their basement loo, the Breadwinner had scored a table inside. YAY!

And then the waiting began........there was whingeing from the Breadwinner, whining from the Bear...and my persistent attempts to keep Bear and Yum Yum occupied by drawing pictures of pancakes for them and playing eye spy.

The staff were clearly unprepared for the throng that had descended upon their restaurant before they had even heated the coffee. The manager/owner wandered around and offered explanations and apologies. A full house the minute they opened.

Hey, just an idea for the manager of that place...put a note in the diary for next year...1/2 marathon, finish line nearby?= loads of hungry people times 100 if a sunny day...and get your staff in early! Those tables should have done two seatings, possibly three in the time we sat there.

It took a long time for a drink order to be taken. An even longer time for the coffee and juice to arrive. The staff were looking a little stressed. Fortunately, just when we were all about to pass out from hunger, a small tin bucket of sliced baguette was given to our table with a slab of nice cold butter. And another. That kept us all busy for 3 minutes. The sight of a funny yellow hat gave us hope that there might at least be entertainment. Finally our orders were taken and after another 45 minute wait, we had our meals. Until then "The Great Ragidy Supreme" Magician (and apparently a hip hop artist) enthralled the girls with some simple magic tricks and balloon animals. As far as our family was concerned, his efforts single handedly saved us from a potentially very nasty low- blood- sugar toddler (and adult) meltdown.

When our brunch did arrive, it was delicious. Maybe we were just ridiculously hungry? But I did notice that every plate in that restaurant was "licked clean". Seriously , not a shred of endive left on a plate. I had a wholewheat crepe stuffed with shrimp and asparagus. It came with a pile of greens topped with a huge slice of beef tomato. I joined the clean plate club. I'd love to go another time for a meal. Brunch was $20 each and it included fresh baguettes, freshly squeezed orange and good coffee, and of course a choice of several tempting brunch dishes. We managed with 4 brunch dishes between 5. We didn't need lunch...and in any case it was close on 1pm when we left and moseyed up the street.

We quickly came upon a small park. Tribeca's Beach Street park. There our girls got some exercise chasing each other, the pigeons, greeting numerous cute little dogs out for their walkies and being caught and squished by their daddy. There was sunshine and daffodils in this wee park...and what seemed like fresh air.

We had tickets for a children's show at 3pm. It was advertised as being 2 blocks from Bryant Park so we headed there. Bryant Park is generally known as being the venue for NY Fashion Week. This past Fashion week will be the last in Bryant Park. I understand the very large lawn is curently being re-turfed. It does indeed feel as if you are in Paris. The sweet Le Carrousel plays French music which supports the pretty illusion. After playing with the water in the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial fountain (and Yum Yum giving it a dramatic bruising head butt-ouch) there was a few turns on Le Carrousel ($2 a turn).

Across the road we spied Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread). We love LPQ ever since our first visited their restaurant in Brussels. The breads are delicious, the chocolate hazlenut and jams are yummy...and the pastries! We looked forward to seeing the day when LPQ would be available in Australia (we even daydreamed about taking up the franchise but of course time has past and someone else has taken up the challenge). There are several outlets in NYC but when Boo and Yum Yum were babies we had to give up going as the spaces are generally cosy (not always stroller friendly). Now that the girls are older and this outlet of LPQ is HUGE we celebrated with lemon tarts. MMMMMMM Delicious. It is a great spot for breakfast, lunch or coffee. One of the features of LPQ is the huge communal table and the table here was ginormous! We didn't subject other grown ups to the antics of our tribe, we sat at our own table. In hindsight (hindsight is such an amazing thing) we should have ordered take out drinks and pastries to eat in the Park although the restroom was a vital element to our stop there.

NYC is always full of sights to delight and amaze youngsters. For example the tattoo art on the lady seated nearby was extensive and colourful... but not only that, on her arm was a large illustration from Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit! Turn head to right.

We walked the two blocks and found the Galli Theatre without much trouble. It is a very low key, low budget, small affair. The girls were happy with their pink princess seats,and rearranged themselves several times. They perform interactive kid friendly versions of Fairytales, sometimes with a strong accent...Russian?. They also do workshops afterwards and on this Sunday most of the audience were set to celebrate a birthday after the show. The show, Sleeping Beauty, was certainly amusing for the parents because of the over the top performances, but the Breadwinner and Bear will beg off future visits. It was perfect for Boo and Yum Yum, they really enjoyed themselves and we got loads of pleasure from their reaction. There are several other theatre experiences (eg Pinkalicious) that I would like to see with the girls but they were sold out. We won't be paying for a Broadway show until they are at least 5, probably The Lion King late next year.

Here the girls in black are the thorns surrounding the castle where Rose (under the cloth) sits sleeping. A number of hapless Princes come along to try and pass the thorns but of course only the right Prince succeeds. You can see below that Rose was definitely a beautiful Princess.
A workshop is available after the show and we may try this on our next visit. The girls ears pricked up when they heard the next show would be Snow White. I will be happy to bring them back to this small theatre... mainly because of it's location! We walked right by M&J Trimming. I think I can convince Boo and Yum Yum to do some button shopping next time.

We decided to head back to the hotel, the Breadwinner (in charge of the map) decided it wasn't too far to walk..and we were only a few blocks from Rockefellar Center so Bear got her wish after all, a stop at The Nintendo Store. By the time we arrived Yum Yum had nodded off. But once in the store she woke suddenly and exclaimed I HAVE TO PEE NOW!

So I dashed downstairs with Yum Yum to the Plaza below and took care of that. The Breadwinner treated the twins to some candy (in the cutest Mario mushroom tins) and Bear scored the freebie Pokemon drawstring bag. They were all happy campers .
We stopped briefly to watch the ice skaters...there were some seriously good skaters doing jumps alongside some small kids...there were a few collisions!
Along the way back we went past my favourite store Anthropologie to admire the windows. They were festooned with flowers made from plastic bottles. I can't upload the photos into the right spots- haven't figured that trick out just yet, so I will post some more photos of the windows amongst other things, in a separate post. We also found some other things to look at on the way back.
Yum Yum is our star! Life is wonderous and strange, perhaps in the future she will indeed have a star of her own.

After a rest in the hotel we headed by taxi to an Italian Restaurant called Patsy's Pizzeria on 60th. The simple pizza, salad and the cabonara were really delicious and the chianti went down easy. We will be going back. It was busy, efficient and well priced.

But the REALLY BIG DEAL was that this restaurant, by HAPpY HAPpY HApPY co-incidence was opposite DYLAN"S CANDY BAR! I had decided not to bring the camera to dinner, that was dumb, sorry no photos. The building looks awesome in the evening. I have had Dylan's on my wishlist for a while and had already checked out the offerings online. Had we not been so full of delicious pizza it would have made a perfect dessert stop (there's a cafe on the top floor). I wasn't after candy so much ...the lord knows my girls have way too much candy. But candy covered nighties...YES. My little ones have been asking for nighties and these were very special. The little girls were happy with $1.50 ring pops as a treat and skipped happily back out of the store. The Breadwinner and Bear filled some bags with their candy choices. I didn't have any. I don't think I would make that trip JUST for Dylan's but combined with a decent meal at Patsy's Pizzeria, it qualifies as a PLAN your kids will be extremely impressed with .

We went back, loaded up the car by 8.30pm and then sat in the traffic....for what was a long time. It is what it is. The yellow M&M looked as dismayed as the Breadwinner was.
But once through the Lincoln Tunnel the drive home was speedy enough...the dirty sticky children were transferred from the car to their own beds by 10pm. We were also tired but pretty happy with our weekend in the city.

Spring? Is it you? Is it REALLY you?????

2010-03-16T17:10:00.016-04:00

Is that you Spring? It would be really lovely if it was you. That storm we had was a doozy.We hope it blew winter far far away. It was certainly strong enough. We were lucky not to lose power. So what have we been doing ....

We've been to visit some sheep but we were told it was too cold to bring the bunnies out. Boo and Yum Yum tried to feed the sheep. It wasn't entirely successful.

We went to a zoo and saw some hungry sheep, some prairie dogs, bison, alpacas, llamas, penguins, a pig , a leopard, a randy kangaroo and almost a bear. Boo and Yum Yum cared only about the carousel and the bunnies that were not there. It was a nice day for a walk.

We went to visit Daddy at his office and had lunch in the fancy schmancy "canteen" surrounded by "suits".

Boo had some trouble with the revolving door. Yum Yum brought Prince Charming with her.

One of the Breadwinner's colleagues squealed "oh, they are just like twins".

The girls WILL one day fall into this water feature.

Thankfully they wear visitors passes so that they can be re-united with their father when this happens- because I will pretend to not know them .

It was sunny today so Boo and Yum Yum bounced on the trampoline with their Barbies.

The Barbies were then treated to snow baths.

The oil cloth bicycle bags were filled with snow.

Later Bear came home and they played "Easter Egg Hunt" with empty eggs.

Tinky used Boo's new Crocs as pillows.

I washed Tinky's beloved bed. I tried to remove the fur from it with a lint brush. Then I tried damp paper towels. Ended using packing tape. I should have spun it and knitted up a scarf. Tinky is extremely relieved that there is sunshine. She's also looking a bit fat. So do I.

The lake has melted!

There are little plants poking up in our garden.

OMG OMG OMG. OH MY GOSH! The hyacinths are coming up again!

And we will watch these flowers until ours grow.

They spin and they are shiny. WIN.

We practiced helicopters at the playground with a playmate.

Boo had her first really huge public meltdown. Only two swings, too many little girls, too hard to share. She loves the swings. She is one of those children that adores bouncing, swinging, jumping.... she's waited a long time for the swings.

Laugh, then cry.

2010-03-07T11:01:00.023-05:00

It was a typical Saturday morning in our house.

Saturday is my morning to have a little sleep in, which was very lovely although interrupted by a loud giggly game of chase that burst into the bedroom and lingered in our ensuite for a brief shriek, and then out again. I rose to join my family.

The Bear had installed herself under a blanket in the quiet of the lounge room to play Nintendo.

Later she lay still on the floor in a patch of sun watching her other tricky T shirt change from orange to white .

The Breadwinner and I were catching up over breakfast. The sun was shining in. He had fed the Boo and Yum Yum and they had run off to play "beach" because he mistakenly said "swimming pool". We could hear the twins via the baby monitor, they continued to giggle sweetly.

I remarked jokingly that they were probably doing something we wouldn't like. I was enjoying my breakfast. It was mellow. You know where this is going don't you.

A parcel arrived. The Breadwinner was excited. A new

snowboard and bag.

The bag he chose can only be described as hideous. Pink and green plaid???? Whatever was he thinking?

We started giggling too. We took photos of his latest purchase and shared his fashion vision online with friends. He already has a reputation for questionable taste when it comes to his snowboard gear. Our friends were very impressed. He is going to pay dearly for this, much more than the bargain price of $39 and free shipping. Silly man.

So Breadwinner, still rationalising his nifty purchase, wandered upstairs to shower in readiness for the monthly recycling trip.

Then I hear him scream and beg me to "come upstairs NOW!" . So I ask "how bad?"

His reply... "worse than you could ever imagine". The smell of nail polish hits me first...and then this.....

The photo just does not convey the horror. What you see is a very small section of a room sized Jackson Pollock masterpiece in blue nail polish. On the carpet (of our rented home) and on the rug of Boo and Yum Yum's bedroom.... on the beds, on the bed clothes (which were filling the gap between the beds.

......and on all of it....BLUE nail polish with face powder, face cream, DARK RED lipstick, CONCEALER stick and MASCARA.... the doll house had a paint job, the beds had been sprinkled with face powder. Everything.

(There was a whole lot more but I had to stop taking photos and start cleaning)

But we are not really sure who could have done such a thing...?

We don't know mum. They were hiding in the closet from who ever did that terrible thing.

They still have blue hands and feet two days later. I have battled some of the stain in the carpet (used one whole 6 oz bottle of non acetone nail polish remover and have another 2 ready) but for the most part I am in denial. I just want to pretend it didn't happen. The bedclothes remain in the washing machine until I feel strong enough to look.

I don't know either mum.

We grounded them.

They are not allowed to giggle. ever. again. The rest of the day wasn't so mellow.

Ta Da ...a banner.

2010-03-05T00:33:00.004-05:00

There, I think that looks a little better. I purchased Photoshop Elements last week. After a session with my friend, I am starting to find my way around the software. Still a bit hazy on a few aspects but another session should clear a few points up. It is still a bit busier looking than I was going for but I don't think it is too awful. "It'll do pig". I'll come back and rework the banner when Spring actually arrives here in NJ. So now I have some party invites to prepare (subject to confirmation from the venue). It's 2o+ something sleeps until the big Boo and Yum Yum 4 th Birthday. Can I tell you, these girls are very excited. Here's a little hint ...

Birthday parties... Frida Kahlo

2010-02-27T14:16:00.033-05:00

I like planning the birthday parties, I get to indulge my kids in a special way and it is an outlet for my creative energies.

My interest in Frida Kahlo's work and planning birthdays, collided spectacularly when I came across this fantastic blog. My mind went into overdrive. I then re-read Kahlo's biography (which I have had for a long time) and bought the Selma Hayek movie which is visually stunning.

Bear's birthday gift was to be an easel and paints so it fit with the theme perfectly. Later I added some Frida themed framed prints from LuLu...and Tacsha ( I also used her cards for the invites). The prints look lovely in her room and are a great reminder of her party.

In hindsight I planned to do too much in this party (too many ideas!!) so there was a big fail in one respect - there was only one portrait completed during the party but I must say that one portrait was gorgeous. I really should have listened to that little voice that whispered "paper collage". Bear's birthday is at the end of summer so the party decorations were excellent summer craft activities for all of us.

I spent many hours online seeking out more Mexican themed ideas and tutorials for the making of pinatas and papel picado. I ended up with 40ft of papel picado and a tissue paper chandelier.

In addition I made rose headbands and little stuffed Milagro 'burning" hearts from fabric for the favours, together with a colourwheel from Blik. Party game prizes were brightly coloured bracelets from Claire's. The game of Loteria I purchased online very inexpensively, a large one to play and mini ones for inside the pinata to accompany the candy. As Loteria is a game of chance I felt it appropriate to give Milagro charms as prizes. It was an opportunity to learn a little about Mexican culture and practice some spanish.

We found a brightly tiered skirt for Bear, together with bright party dresses for Boo and Yum Yum, at Children's Place. I already had a tiered peasant skirt. I embellished Bear's skirt with additional ribbons. And with a huge silent YES!!! I scored two perfect peasant style embroidered white blouses at a local discount clothing store. I trimmed one down to fit Bear and used the excess to give mine a little more bust room. We also did beading together to make her a special necklace featuring Frida Kahlo charms from Michaels Crafts. Together with several purchased hairbands with large bright silk flowers, a bunch more necklaces, some make up, shawls and an eyebrow pencil ...we had plenty of fun dressing up and taking photos of our guests " Fridafied" against our personalised backdrop.

We had fajitas and tacos for dinner. We had fun making fresh fruit smoothies for the girls and margaritas/pina coladas for the adults. We would have been saved some work if we had catered the food , even though ours was delicious it was hard work trying to do everything at once.

There are loads more photos in my Flickr set.

Thanks again to Erika of Mikodesigns for the inspiration. Please feel free to ask any questions about the party that you may have in the comments. It was over 6 months ago but I might be able to find additional links for you if you are interested in the suppliers. During this time the breadwinner was actually in Mexico several times but he was not much help- shopping is not his forte. Sorry, I am still figuring out how to fine tune the layout of my blog posts.

snow day

2010-02-26T13:37:00.012-05:00

Here in NJ we are in the midst of a "Winterblast"," Snowicane" or less sensationally. snow. Lots of snow...it has been snowing constantly for two days and we have a foot of fresh snow on top of the remains of last weeks snowfall- about 6 inches of a sloppy mess. It's pretty , and unfortunately for civilisation as it exists here, incovenient. And yes, it makes travel difficult and at times dangerous. But only IF you need to go somewhere.
Fortunately we don't. However the Breadwinner is in London and is due to fly home tomorrow. We are crossing our fingers that he doesn't get delayed.

We are on day 2 of school Snow Day, so a 4 day weekend.
The Bear , Boo and Yum Yum went out to play in this white fantasy. It took at least 30 minutes to get everyone dressed. Yum Yum lasted about 5 minutes. Bear and Boo went on a snow trek around the house and then played in it on our deck. Now everyone is back inside resuming couch potato and computer game positions. And I have a big pile of wet gear.

Life is so much easier in summer, keep the doors open, in, out all day long, and Tinky is a much happier cat. Being cooped up inside during winter means that the house gets trashed, we eat too many snacks and watch too much TV. We have missed our ballet and swimming classes.

The worst thing that could happen is that we lose power or needed a doctor in a hurry. If we lose power we lose heat, water (we have a well with an electric pump) and internet (that would be terrible). I wouldn't be able to open the garage door. I'd have to build a fire in a room with a catherdral ceiling to keep my family warm and we would eat peanut butter. At least the food wouldn't spoil because that can go in the snow. I've not tried flushing a toilet with snow- I guess the pipes would eventually freeze - Eeew. With wet sticky snow building up on trees, the trees tend to fall down. Why oh why they don't put the electricity cables underground I don't understand! It's not as if they don't know how- our street is all underground power. So instead every time there is a storm we lose power and peolpe have to risk their lives in the weather to restore it and at other times to continually prune the trees that pose a risk. We are talking big trees- oaks and pines. For those unused to living with snow, I have to shovel our front path so that visitors can make it to our front door. We have someone plough the snow from our driveway and the streets are ploughed (and salted) by the township. We don't have sidewalks so we don't have that responsibility. Mind you I'd rather clean sidewalks than not have the sidewalks but that's a different gripe,

And in order to maintain mail service I must dig out the mailbox so that our friendly mailman can access it in his special little truck and if I don't the friendly mailman leaves terse warnings in my mailbox. Sleet yes, snow no. Since all the snow from the road is piled up alongside the road, it's a little more difficult than you might think. We have our cars in the garage so we don't have to dig them out... not sure why people here rather fill their garages up with junk and leave their cars out in the snow. Headshake over that one.

But I am making mountains out of mole hills here... I don't have it hard. Not at all. Snow here is at about the right frequency to be fun and I suspect all the NJ griping is because they just needed a new thing to gripe about. It's the length of the winter I object to!

All this cabin fever is putting me in a mood to

MAKE something.

Not sure what but something! I started a pair of little pillows for Boo & Yum Yum..but not feeling like hand stitching just yet. I have used Heat n Bond to attach details to little house shapes.

And I'm so excited that I am signed up to do Rachel & Peta's online digital photography course in April. I'll be installing photoshop Elements soon and figuring out how to access the thousands of images from the past 5 years that I have on the hard drive. Hopefully you will see the results of these efforts in the near future. I also have bookmarked a lot to read about privacy/security...

So keep warm, or keep cool, just keep it real!

Edited to add , this is the 6th winter we have had here... looking out at snow falling from inside a cosy house at Christmas time just NEVER gets old. A sunny blue sky and sparkly white snow is glorious. Slushy muddy muck and 5 months of cold, so over it.

Things you don't really want to hear....

2010-02-21T19:34:00.004-05:00

Things I'm not sure I wanted/expected to hear....

1. Corina, your car battery is dead. (put in context- first time for everything, the news you had to have, I am a big girl now, I can handle this but do I want to?)
2. Canonball !!!!!! (heard via baby monitor, asked 10 year old to put twins in bath)
3. Kiss my butt! (during same bath- yes, the giggling 3 year olds)
4. I forgot to hand my homework in (the homework we had 2 snow days to complete and stayed up late to finish)
5. Oh, what time will I be home, well actually I am going out to dinner with the people that are visiting from blah blah (breadwinner at 6.30pm)
6. Some guy at the office died (33 years old, kids, skiing NO F'ING HELMET)

Funny things to hear

A complicated discussion place taking under the dining table about Prince Charming ....... "true loves kiss?, Yes KISS her!, She's NOT waking UP??? Get some one else! Someone else has to help. The Penguin?" Yes, get the Penguin! "etc

Things THEY do not want to hear...

1. Do your homework (it's up there with clean your room)
2. It's time to tidy up (yep , clears the room EVERY time)
3. It's bedtime

ooooooh SQUEEE fonts!

2010-02-16T10:55:00.008-05:00

I am conscious that all this fooling around with the blog is a lot like reading an assignment written by an 8 year old that has just discovered fonts. It is Awful. I know. Sorry. Desktop publishing is available to EVERYBODY now. And just like anything , some do it better than others.

My Little Blog is saying "But I just want to look pretty". Don't we all.

Oh, Little Blog, you are experiencing puberty. Every time you look in the mirror you will look different. You will be a little clumsy at times , too much make up, your features might be out of proportion and a couple of nasty pimples might pop up. And did I mention there will be growing pains? Maybe even ..GASP... INSULTS. But you will grow out of it.

Fortunately I have a friend who is a little more computer savvy than I am in terms of graphic design. I promise to consult her in the very near future.

Wonky Blossoms - Inspired by Leslie!

2010-02-15T23:09:00.019-05:00

I wanted to do a post to thank Leslie whose work inspired me to make these "Wonky Blossoms" for the newborn twin girls of a friend here in the US. Until recently (ie tonight!) I hadn't managed to stumble upon the source and now I would like to link back to Leslie's '

blog . I really enjoyed making these.

As the mother of twins I was trying to give something unique but not too 'precious". We are drowning here in a sea of outgrown clothes, toys and baby gear. I didn't want to give something that would become clutter.

Her delight and appreciation for the gift of the Wonky Blossoms was well worth the time it took to stitch them. It took a little while to select the fabrics and do the embroidery. I wasn't able to assemble the blossoms as neatly as I would have liked. Having 3 year old twins at the time meant this was a project I had to adjust to doing in little snatches of time.

My friend, the mother of these babies, is someone to whom I was instantly drawn when I first met her in Singapore. She is a genuinely sweet person. At that time I was engaged and she, well, was with someone that wasn't good enough only she didn't seem to see that. For a time we all shared a house in Holland Village. We were thrilled when she kicked Mr Wrong to the curb, and ended up with Mr Right.

We were stoked when we were able to visit them and their 2 children in Texas in 2005. Very excited when they moved closer to us- PA. And stunned when she told us that she was unexpectedly expecting twins...girls at that. If 10 years ago anyone had suggested that I would be living in the USA not too far from this friend I would have scoffed at such an unlikely scenario as nice as the idea may have been. That we would both have a set of twin girls, there would have been beverages exiting from my nostrils.

Life has proven to me to be so full of the totally unexpected that when I try to guess what our future holds, I try to now deliberately think of the most far fetched thing I can. And yet everything is a consequence of some conscious decision, and the future is probably written in front of us but we don't have our reading glasses on. Who wrote that...oh I think I just did LOL.

I woke this morning convinced I should run to delete the cat post. After rereading it I was actually happy I had written it down (apart from the typos). There were lots of things that that had started to fade from my memory. I can't say it was all pleasant recalling the emotions that went along but I hadn't intended to chronicle my life from that perspective when I tried to simply tried to explain why Tinkerbell is our cat. There is a shorter answer of course.

The excercise raised questions that I can ask of my mother whilst I still can. I will go on to finish the cat story soon. I have debated with myself how much of the Ugly I should leave out but I think I needed to acknowledge it because otherwise it isn't going to be the whole picture. I don't think I have a gift for creating fiction, and I didn't come here to be constantly checking myself. I really don't want to be bitter, twisted and boring either, just honest. I won't say that I had it bad, but it wasn't good. Eventually it all exploded. This is also something that informs my views on mothering, on parenting, on families and on my own motivations, strengths and many weaknesses.

Cheers

Let's get the cat post out of the way shall we? I'll start with the rabbit...

2010-02-14T22:04:00.007-05:00

I can really only talk about my present cat in the context of my experience with past cats and other animals. I'll try to get it all done with here and then the cat post will be done.

We are cat people. It didn't start out that way. The breadwinner wasn't a cat person. Based on what I now know, pets, other than some very strange goldfish (hmmm must ask the ILS where they went?) did not prosper in his childhood home. None of his family has had much of an affinity for animals (or craft) although second BIL 's family now has a small dog. The fact that his mother is allergic to cats was probably the main reason. That and the fact that she was a working mum who had 3 boys more interested in surfing. The breadwinner was clueless about domestic pets and it should have been obvious to me when we were first "courting". He presented me with a pet rabbit. A tiny little black and white bunny we called Rex. Not the most practical of gifts but points for originality and "the thought that counts". To put it into perspective we were living in separate rented accommodation at the time. Both working full time. No bunny hutch or caged run. In Singapore. Our lives carefree but defined by Visas, single, working hard, party hard etc etc. It can only be described as irresponsible gift giving. He died of course, not for lack of care on our part but rather because of the poor sanitary conditions of the pet shop from which he came.The vet told me he was unlikely to survive. The vet was right. But he was adorable...and he'll be fondly remembered. RIP Rex.

And not much later our relationship became more serious and were were living in the same rented acomodation still in Singapore, we happened upon an elderly woman with a cage of rescued kittens. Holland Village was at most times awash with strays and the pitiful mewings of stray cats and kittens. So hold that thought and let me review my family's history of pet ownership.

My earliest memory of having a pet was that of a chubby puppy with stumpy legs. We lived in the Highlands of PNG at the time and having a dog was probably a sensible thing. Only ours was no guard dog, he was ridiculously cute and I'm not sure but maybe a snake ate him. He probably wasn't an indoor dog. I wonder now why we didn't have a real guard dog when we lived in Port Moresby because we surely needed one there. Anyway from there we moved to Melbourne and somehow we became the guardians of a screwed up little dog called Blackie that terrified us so much we avoided going into the backyard to play. If we did venture outside it was a fast dash to climb the apple tree. I can only surmise now that the dog was not well trained, my parents had no clue or it was completely bonkers. That dog contributed greatly to my general level of anxiety during the Melbourne Years. I do not know what became of it.

Moving on, I am in Grade 2 and somehow we now have a cat and we live in Central NSW ie. the country. It is a BIG (to my mind) ginger tom cat. He may have had the original name of Ginger. Can't recall Ginger being cuddly or friendly. This cat came with us when we went to the Gold Coast, our next home. I do recall we did try to dress it and push it around in a pram. Not sure what happened to that cat either. Then in my 7 year old wisdom I bring home a pet mouse from school, name it Marvin and for some bizarre reason instead of being beaten senseless, I am allowed to keep it. My parents even buy him a special little box. If you knew my family this falls into one of the "unexplained " things that was "allowed" in a world where our Ruler did not allow much.

So Marvin moves to Brisbane with us not long after. We are in a rented house for 6 months and my parents aren't keen to have the landlady upset by the existence of a little mouse. So my mouse learns to undo the lock on his special mouse house. Clever Marvin always comes back until one day he doesn't. Only some years later did my mum admit to taking him for a long walk down the backyard several times only to discover that she needed to take him for a really really long walk to confuse him.

So we move into a new home and my sister brings home a kitten from school. Now you may be wondering what kind of schools were these that let kids bring mice and kittens to school to be taken home by random children without parental consent. I am wondering the same thing. They were just regular State run primary schools in relatively new estates. If Bear did that tomorrow I would be livid with somebody. The Ruler let the cat stay to. Granted that cat was pretty and sociable, and had my 9 year old brother not tormented it quite so much, she might have remained sweet. But for the life of me I can no longer recall that little white/tabby cat's name because she eventually became known only as Pooface. The most contrary cat on the planet. That cat lived for 17 years, her last years with me during which she barely gave me the time of day. But during the early years of Pooface's life another cat came to our home.

When he first turned up he was a wild looking thing....he had barely any fur on his body, smelt awful, had scars all over him and the cheeks on his face were swollen. That he boldly entered our home to eat from the dish of Princess Pooface was a shock to us all. Particularly Pooface. We gave him points for that. She didn't hide her displeasure but didn't raise a paw or claw. He was incredibly affectionate to us and had to be sitting on your foot if you were standing or in your lap if he could get there. But having a stinky dirty full grown male cat in the house that we kids called Fleabag did not thrill my parents despite the novelty of an affectionate cat. So he was taken to the vet and....neutered. You see, he wasn't picky in sharing his love and the Ruler of our world was as much taken by this as we were. The cat was Switzerland. So Fleabag healed, grew fat, his cheeks returned to normal size and he was rechristened Boo. My Grandmother called him the ugliest cat she had ever seen (she's not a pet person either !) but he was a cat with a HUGE personality. He followed us down the street like a dog. He talked. He would REPLY to you. He would sit on the butter if you weren't careful. He was our Garfield. He slept on me most nights. He was heavy and loud. You could hear him purr in the next room. Pooface learned to live with Boo. She always kept an aloof distance. When both cats were heavily sleeping we would arrange them close together just to see her reaction when she woke up.

The Ruler of our world got it into his head that we should have birds. Budgerigars. A small native Australian parrot that comes in a variety of colours and which we call Budgies. So on my 11th birthday I received a beautiful lilac coloured bird bred by a friend who had a large aviary. That bird never really learned to talk but he was allowed to chase the cats down the hallway, nibble at the newspaper and my earrings and eat toast. He was returned tis cage after an hour or two of indoor freedom each day. One day my mother forgot he was on her shoulder when she went out to water the garden. Although he was recaptured with a lettuce treat that first time, he tasted freedom again but at that time we moved to a larger house not far away. The new home owners reported sighting him often but they could not get close enough to catch him. In the new house the Ruler had a large "green room" built that was an outdoor living space where we had a dining area with a BBQ and loads of plants, ferns mostly. The shade cloth kept the outdoor area cool and free from mosquitoes. It was angled from the roof to the ground so that it enclosed the surrounding garden bed but allowed the rain in to water the plants. It was also a giant aviary.
And then in a short time we had 10 budgies living in that garden room. I will not ever keep a bird again. To try as a young teenager to save an egg bound bird is just heartbreaking. Over time they all succumbed to some sad end.. not all of which had to do with Pooface or Boo, but a couple sure went that way. It was hard to keep the cats out of that garden room, it opened directly into the house.

Finally came the long overdue divorce of my parents. There was an occasion burned into my darker memories of Boo launching himself at the Ruler of our world. A cat that was loyal and protective. A cat that eventually chose sides. Smart cat.

The cats came with us naturally. We didn't know exactly how old Boo was but he lived with us in total for about 8 or 9 years until one day he did not eat his dinner. And then he went outside and didn't come back. We knew he had gone. However Pooface rocked on and on and on...and my mother remarried and I ended up with that cat. My sister's cat. That cat would sit in the middle of our little street playing chicken. She would go out and deliberately sit in puddles. It got to the point where I told my housemates that if the cat insisted on sitting in the driveway they were not to feel bad if they hit her with the car (accidentally of course). She was becoming a problem with what seemed like a death wish. My housemates dutifully cared for that cat whilst I went overseas for a year and when I returned she was still there. An old but healthy, anti-social cat with a death wish. Then one day she didn't come home for dinner. RIP Pooface. 17 years old.

So by the time I met my future husband i had learned that cats have huge potential for affection and companionship, loyalty and also for complete indifference. I also learned that cats can live a long time. And to me a home needs a cat. I can't say much about dogs, I just never had one that meant anything to me.

This is turning out to be a far longer story of my pets than I first thought. And I'm still 2 cats and 6 countries away from Tinkerbell. I'll have to complete this Short History of my Pets in another post.

Blogging for Beginners

2010-02-14T12:40:00.005-05:00

Yes I am a newbie to the blog world.... and I'm teaching myself as I go along. You can see that I have made some progress, a Flickr account with sets, blogging about photos from Flickr, designing a banner using free banner design. I'm trying to introduce myself around to the bloggers I have been reading with which I feel some shared experience, situation, interest or have inspired my creations.I hope you make it here..eventually! I do feel as though I am talking to myself which is adding to the sense that I am more than slightly unbalanced.
Cheers I'm not sure how to link to my blog or to post links within the content of my blog...but I will get there, I know I can. It doesn't look too polished and my writing is full of errors....but at least it's happening. So please bare/bear with me whilst I build my house here, furnish it in a style that is all my own. Each moment I can spare this winter I will devote to solving a blog puzzle. I am posting entries to my blog to perfect these new found skills. Presently I am sitting on the couch with Boo draping herself across my shoulders (she's 30lb of cuddle) and Yum Yum snuggled under pink blankie soothing herself by fiddling with the bunny's ribbons. They keep shoving their cold feet up my PJ top. Time to get off the couch and make something happen in the real world. Like lunch. "Ollie like lunch" (a hug if you know that line).
Cheers

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-14T11:42:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day 2010
Originally uploaded by bearbooandyumyum

Candy Candy Candy
A very sweet beginning to our lazy Sunday...just Mummy Boo and Yum Yum .
Bear and Daddy have left for the slopes up North. (I hope they will be OK, and that no one up there thinks they are in the Winter Olympics- it is after all a former Olympic venue ). Bear took her Flip so maybe we will see some action video but more likely really silly video.

Spongebob luvs ya!

2010-02-13T09:56:00.005-05:00

Spongebob
Originally uploaded by bearbooandyumyum

Yadda yadd yadda comercial yadda yadda fake yadda yeh, same old same old , don't do it if you don't want to.
Here, If you are under the age of say, 12, you could care less that Hallmark, florists and the chocolate companies are competeing for the dollars of the guilty, the hopeful and the desperate. Like that other American super holiday Halloween, the context is important to appreciating the fun aspect of the celebration. If you were trapped indoors in an endless cold and grey world with little children, I'm willing to bet there's a good chance you will be making heart shaped sandwiches with the best of them. The thing is that here in the NE it makes an otherwise dreary month pass by with a little bit of colour and most importantly CANDY. Religous celebrations here are "difficult" but there is nothing religous about Valentines Day...unless you count the almighty ring of the cash register. So the schools here are free to embrace all the symbols of love in the name of friendship and it appears in the form of craft and treats. And glitter...lots of glitter. They have the kids construct something in which to collect their cards in (a mailbox, a bag) and they have a little lesson in mail.
Valentines Day comes a few days earlier when you are at school because the exchanges need to occur during the school week. The exchange of cards between 4 year olds who are clueless is funny. Stores here are full of cards designed to facilitate the giving of a Valentine to each of your classmates with an attached treat- candy, sticker or tattoo. They usually featuring a licenced character designed to appeal mostly to the giver rather than the recipient. So Boo and Yum Yum have messages of friendship from Spiderman, a Yellow Spiderman and a Green Spiderman (their interpretation- I think it was the Hulk ). Many messages from Spongebob and assorted Mattel and Disney megastars.There was even a Harley Davidson one. I wonder what the boys think of recieving a Barbie, Tinkerbell or Princess Tiana card. Do the other mothers of girls buy a different Valentine to give to boys? Since I didn't grow up with these types of Valentines I couldn't bring myself to buy these time saving kits. They whispered "lazy" and " wrong" to me. Since transplanting here I usually like to make the cards with Bear, but 5 years of hovering over her to write her name and assemble them...well it gets a little old and I couldn't muster the energy to be doing this with Boo and Yum Yum in PRESCHOOL. Unlike their gifted counterparts, they haven't yet learnt how to write their names. So I used a bunch of cute old fashioned Valentines I already had (bought on sale last year- pat on back), added a sticker and wrote in the cards myself. Job done in 15 minutes instead of 15 hours. There were a handful of homemade Valentines the girls recieved, well done to their mothers!

So this year I kind of dropped the ball... N&T recieved many more Valentines than we gave out... result of a slightly complicated set of circumstances wherein I did not get the memos. Lucky for me Boo and Yum Yum remain clueless that they committed any social faux pa. But all they know is that there was a lollipop fest at our house yesterday. And they are happy they have a lot of classmates.
I let Bear handle her Valentines Day on her own, she had wanted to distribute fortune cookies since it is also Chinese New Year but we didn't get to THAT particular store last week.
Here at home our Valentines Chinese New Year celebration is going to be a bit of a non event. The other parental unit (ie the guilty) has already made good on the roses and chocolate ( a 1 kg bar of English Cadbury thanks) but he is leaving tomorrow morning with Bear to ski/snowboard for several days. He returned late last night from a week long business trip. Boo and Yum Yum have been counting the sleeps until Daddy came home..and just one sleep later he'll be leaving again. There were tears shed and pitiful cries of "Daddy don't go away again" this morning over our pancakes. Ugh ...I'm being left to console the abandoned children. Hopefully chocolate will make us all feel better. Happy Valentines Day to all.

At Disney 2009

2010-02-08T17:12:00.004-05:00

At Disney 2009
Originally uploaded by bearbooandyumyum

Introducing Bear ,Boo and Yum Yum...
I've been busy at Flickr setting up sets and uploading photos. Here my girls are visiting Tinkerbell (and friend Fawn) at Disneyland August 2009. We live on the East Coast of the US but must travel via LA on our annual home leave to Australia. This last trip we decided to stay few days and treat the girls to Disney. They had a blast and it was nice to totally focus on just the 5 of us having fun in the sun.

I have sets for each of the girls, for twin photos, the cat, for bits that I have made, and their birthday parties from last year... just to get started. I have many more photos that are on a separate hard drive and have not yet figured out how to upload them on my Macbook...but I'll get there eventually. Hope you enjoy looking at my 2009/2010 photos in the meantime. I would love to hear from anyone who actually finds this blog!

Flickr

2010-02-08T17:08:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

subjects for blogging....

2010-02-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

What is it I want to share? What don't I want to share?

It's my life, my life as it is, as I would like it to be and as it has been.

I'll start by sharing my adventures in craft and hopefully in fine art.

A lifetime living a like a gypsy tends to shape a life and has its ups , its downs. I have been influenced by so many places and things. It is hard not to acknowledge them especially as it feels that from a creative perspective I may have wasted some incredible opportunities. I can at least say I drew an elephant from observation in Thailand! Better still I hired the elephant for that express purpose and had to pay rates set by the makers of "The Beach"- Elephants Actors Equity rates. However in my 5 years here in the US, despite having them at my back door for free, I have yet to draw a squirrel, or the snow, or my children! But my entire life I have been drawn to creative endeavours but I am not a free spirited type of person...and for a time I was trapped in a world of numbers and laws out of fear.

For a brief spell I was submerged into a creative world that suited my analytical approach. It was heaven and then life intervened. I wasn't able to pursue the opportunity offered and I became a mother. No regrets really just curiousity. And over time any discipline I once had was redirected to feeding, cleaning and clothing kids, getting them places, getting us places and trying to be organised. Now failing at some of this so this blog is also an excercise in "cleaning house", resetting priorities, finding new energy and committing.

So I have dabbled in making things, as much as motherhood and moving around the globe has allowed, satisfying my creative needs with retail therapy (oops) , making babyfood and sewing bits n pieces, doing craft with my kids. I have been learning to sew since dressing dolls with my mothers' fabric scraps whilst somebody important landed on the moon on the TV behind me. And for the last few years I have built me a "stash". And only 4 years ago I discovered there was a name for that pile of stuff I was hanging onto- a stash! Who knew LOL.

I won't share my cooking.. you don't need THAT let me assure you. Not everyone has to be a brilliant cook- I'm sure my family don't mind that I'm an OK cook. But it doesn't give me the same bang for my buck as would an hour of drawing! And then there's the dishes....

Being a parent, that is life defining.
I'll share my girls with you ...they are too much deliciousness for just me alone! Being the mother of twins I am fascinated with them, and with the blogs of mums who have twins too. All the more if they are girls around the same age as mine and their mums are creative, organised and talented types! I am not anal enough to self censor all my images and blog entries , you'll see their funny little faces, but I will try to stick to their nicknames only lest they suffer in the future for my follies. And I will admit upfront here, I had periods in my childhood that were just absolute crap. I get to give these children everything I didn't enjoy and more. Apart from that, I try not to let the past define my future. So here goes...

Finding a voice...

2010-01-26T13:46:00.006-05:00

I'll be playing around with the look and "sound" of this blog until I find my "voice".

I've been enjoying the blogworld for the past few years, being amazed, inspired and entertained, touched and educated by so many amazingly talented, generous people who share the urge to ...share! At times I have commented but to take part in the " conversation" more fully I've decided that this is the year to start my own blog. Here 'tis.

I shall start with a little introduction. My name is Corina and nowadays there are a lot of Corina's. I'm not THAT Corina...(in case you were looking for a specific Corina). I'm not young, I'm not really really old. I'm married to a generous and caring man who indulges all of us. I am a mother to three girls. The eldest is 10 and my youngest girls are twins about to turn 4. So far they are all completely healthy and mostly delightful. A true blessing. The twins, in their Princess mode, are currently serenading each other with harmonicas whilst Hi5 provides a beat. We had a little celebration of Australia Day at their pre-school this morning. The fairy bread was a hit. Hoovered in fact.

I enjoy sewing and craft, photography, painting, drawing etc I have had some formal art school training (many years ago now) but I am still trying to find out what it is I want to "do" aside from being wife and mother (which I do find satisfying for now). I don't like cleaning, I don't like a mess. I am not that thrilled with cooking ...I do enjoy the eating bit. I'm a control freak that lacks self discipline, an anal pack rat, and the most untidy organised person you will ever know. I'm compulsive but get I migraines over analyizing (spelling?) and trying to plan an unpredictable life. My housekeeping is not the best but better than some. My personal "style" has been lost in circumstance, children, practicality and tiredness. I admire refinement and simplicity but I'm like a lint roller and collect everything under the sun. I feel as though we need to rethink our lifestyle and environment, become captains of our ship again instead of passengers and stowaways...

I am Australian by birth and identity. I currently live in the US. A constant theme in my life has been packing and unpacking. The house we currently call home is where I have lived for the longest time in my entire life...now approaching 5 years. The sad thing to me is that it is not our house, it is not the the house of my dreams and it is not in the place of my choosing. Renting sucks. It means a lot of compromises in how you make a house into a home. Having said that, it's not exactly terrible.

Our life together so far has meant that we have lived in several countries. Half of my family know of no other place to call home.....the cat and the twins having joined our family during our posting here. My husband and I met and married whilst overseas so we have no history together in our "home" cities of Perth and Brisbane. We have had short stints on the Gold Coast and in Sydney. I might write a little more about the other places I have lived as a child as an adult, in subsequent posts. I guess the notion of where and what is "home", is something that is on my mind a lot. We miss our families and friends in Australia. Thank goodness for the annual trip home, internet and Skype!

I am now going to start a Flickr account since that seems to be the thing to do in blogworld.