Stuff to Do

but I had so much fun with that 25 random things post on Facebook, that I thought I'd do another one.   1. I have this thing, or I used to anyway, where I wouldn't get out of bed unless the time on the clock ended in a zero or a 5.   2. I still have this thing, where I don't like the volume on the television to be set in between a multiple of 5. 5 or 10, but never 6.   3. I love to read travel narratives. Especially funny ones. "Round Ireland With A Fridge" was a great one.   4. I hate flying. Actually, it's not really flying - it's the thought of crashing. And not just any kind of crash - crashing into the ocean, a la Castaway. Although even I have to admit that flying with Qantas makes it a lot nicer. On demand movies, friendly and helpful staff. It's ALMOST enough to make me forget about all that freaking water so very far below us...   5. I watched Philippa's head come into the world, and it was the most incredible thing...

I woke up just before 6 this morning. Since the girls were still asleep, I decided to get up and enjoy a peaceful cup of tea. Charlie woke up first, so I made her breakfast, which she didn't really want until later. I got Pippa up, and she had a tub of yogurt for breakfast, followd by a bottle. I've planned the menu for next week, and I'm coming up with a first draft of a 'to do' list for today. Now, at 8:32, we're all awake and dressed. I've got 'Turkish Delight' by David Crowder Band (I think that's what they're called) on the cd player, and we're going to start what I like to call our life for today. This will involve breaking up love-fests, scolding, time-outs, trips to the 'naughty seat', tears, sleep? Refusal of food, nappies, bottles, 'accidents', it will definitely include the word NO, probably about 500 times or so, sweeping, mopping, cooking, wiping, planning our shopping on Monday, playdough, colorin...

It's 10:30, and I'm now going to bed. I stayed up to watch a movie with Lachie, called The Cleaner. It was pretty good, despite the fact that I'd never heard of it. Tomorrow is Saturday, and normally I'd take the girls for a coffee (my coffee, not theirs), but instead we're going to have some quiet time at home. Well, the quiet probably won't happen, but the at home part is true enough. :-) I'm feeling a bit more positive about things in general, now that the sun's gone down and the 5 million per cent humidity has lifted. (You think I'm joking, don't you - I get sunburned and sweaty while hanging out laundry, folks!). My mood always seems to lift in the evenings. So the dishes are done, floors and laundry are not (is laundry ever truly done in this house?), but I am going to bed. The girls are tucked in their beds, sleeping soundly. So I'm going to do the same. Good night, world. Sarah

And I had this whole post prepared about how the life I have isn't the life I expected it to be, how it's quite different than the one I thought I wanted. How boring my daily life is, how blah blah dee blah blah blah. Then I thought, "oh shut up already!" Besides, I've got too much to do for sitting here moping. So I'll have to wrap any self-pity into my jobs for today. Wash a load of clothes, whine a little. Vacuum the living room, whine a little. Hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have it out of my system. If not, it will be an early night. Now that's funny! An early night - that joke should have an incontinence warning! XOXO Sarah  

So I thought I'd give you a brief update on each of us, to catch you all up.   Lachlan: Still working at the council, still happy as anything to be there. He's been working super hard here around the house, getting ready for the new fence to be put in. This involved removing several trees, and removing the existing fence as it was falling down. It also involved demolishing a brick wall at the front of the house. He can be a maniac, when it comes to working in the garden!   Me: Still struggling with the weather thing, but trying my very best to 'bloom where I'm planted' - thanks, Cindy! I've volunteered to do some light administrative work for the church, which will mostly involve getting the bulletins ready for the services each week, as well as the slides that they use in each service. The best part of it is that I've arranged to do it from home, so I'll be able to squeeze it in when the girls are asleep. I'm still enjoying trying ne...

Monday - Grilled lamb w/ tabbouleh preparation was easy peasy, and the flavour was out of this world! Tuesday - Vegetable Risotto preparation - slightly more complicated, but equally good. Wednesday - Grilled fish, Greek Salad w/ homemade tzatziki sauce preparation again was easy, and while I'm not a big fan of whiting, you could use any fish. The tzatziki was sooooooooooo good; but we still smell of garlic. Thursday - Pizza We decided that once a week, we'll have one of our "old" meals, as a treat. So we had pizza, but I used a proper pizza base, tomato paste, mushrooms and salami, plus fresh garlic and loads of seasoning. Friday - Roasted pumpkin, lentil and ricotta salad. preparation was a pain in the rump. The recipe said 10 minutes prep, but it was more like 30. I had to cut the pumpkin, peel it, and then cut it into smaller bits. Any suggestions on how to do this quickly would be most welcome. Otherwise, not much preparation required. Flavour? WOW!! I really did...

to everyone who responded to yesterday's email. Just as I wouldn't criticise another mother's choice for her children, I should be confident in the way I parent. I am only doing what I feel is best for all of us. Maybe the woman yesterday was having a bad day. Maybe she didn't realise she was being a bit unkind. Maybe. Whatever her story, she cared enough to speak her mind, however uninformed and misguided she may have been. I think it was just the shock of having a complete and total stranger berate me in a public venue. I'm over it now though, and can happily report that life goes on. I am very tired today, as I had a 4AM wake up call. Pippa Jane went to bed a bit early last night, and as a result, woke up a bit early. So I did not go walking at 6AM, like I normally do. I'm in a state of mind now that requires massive infusions of coffee. Seriously, like I could so go live in Colombia right now. Or get a job at the Coffee Club. **Side note - Char...

is that they're just that. Opinions. Not commands, not edicts, not even suggestions. But sometimes, when someone offers their opinion a bit too forcefully, it feels like the Spanish Inquisition. For example: Charlie Brown has this tendency to run away from me at the shops, expecting me to chase her (which of course I do). To her, it's all a big game, and very funny. She's two, and naturally, has no sense of any danger. She's wandered away from the house before, in an across-the-street kind of way, and so I am a bit overprotective now. I see no problem with this at all. I will do whatever I have to do to keep this little one (and Pippa Jane, when the time comes) safe. So I went out and bought one of those nifty harness things for toddlers, that has a strap which attaches to the back. Admittedly, it's not cute - it looks roughly like a dog harness and lead. But the point is, it works. And in all the times we've been shopping with it, she's never ...

She says, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.   Last night was the first night of the no-more-junk-food-for-this-family regime. We had grilled lamb cutlets, seasoned with cumin and turmeric, and tabbouleh, consisting of couscous, chickpeas, shallots, diced tomato, mint, and parsley. Oh me oh my was it ever good. I didn't expect to like it, but I did. I could eat it every day, it's that good. It was satisfying without being heavy, and I still felt full but not stuffed a couple of hours later. Charlie just had the lamb, couscous, and chickpeas, but she wolfed it down, which was amazing because she doesn't do that. Tonight we're having vegetable risotto, with zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, and onion. I'll write about it tomorrow. It was supposed to be with chicken, but the meat is so expensive here, I opted to make it a veggie risotto instead. I'm still waiting for my cookbook, but I'm enjoying finding new recipes using ingredients that are ne...

Me: "Did you drop your guts?" Him: "No". Me: "I really hope it isn't one of the girls then!"   (Sound of footsteps back the hallway to the girls room)   (Door opens)   Me: "OH MY LORD IT'S EVERYWHERE! CHARLIE, DON'T EAT THAT" (gagging and coughing noises from me) LACHLAN, I NEED YOU!!!!!   So she's progressed from being disgusted by poo to finding it the perfect medium for fingerpainting. I've heard of other kids doing this, but thought that surely mine would NEVER do such a thing.   I. was. so. wrong.   So then I chucked her in the shower, used a spare toothbrush to clean her fingernails (yes, it was under the fingernails) and toenails (yes, there too), washed her hair, dried her off and dressed her, only to find that the smell of poo does not wash away. I can still smell it on her hands, even though they've been scrubbed mercilessly.   Then I discovered that the other child (who thankfully...