All about where I live...

I love where we live. It doesn't feel like you live in Sydney - the hustle-bustle. The houses aren't close together, most people have really big backyard... and it's semi-rural with many people with horses and livestock. In fact, we have a saddlery about 200m from our front door.


The shops are a real community. The IGA, postoffice, butcher (aka Meat Boutique) bakery, newsagency and chemist - pretty much everything I use the people are always friendly and take time to ask how your day is going and compliment how big the girls are etc. The family doctor is although in quite outdated premises, has a little charm to it - Dr George is engaging man and the last time we were there, Laura felt compelled to hug him and tell him that she loved him. He was genuinely chuffed. We have a cute little park and a library and a choice of little cafes or places to eat.. each quite quaint in their own way.



The library is something we haven't used yet but next week we will be using it for the first time. It's tiny and manned by volunteers I think - it's only open in the mornings on Fridays and Saturdays, and a few evenings through the week.

Loads of schools, the local public primary school is about 50 metres from our front door. Down the road is the German School and at the other end of our suburb is the Japanese School and a Christian High School. Spoiled for choice really.


With this semi-rural-ness and wonderful community it's like a tree-change without going too far. We're only 10 minutes from St Ives, 15 minutes from Warringah Mall and 20 minutes to Chatswood and MacQuarie. Also only 15 minutes from Bayview our favourite swimming spot. There's public transport at the door and overall I'm settled here.

The only thing we're really missing up here is a bank. That's annoying sometimes... but a small trade-off from a community that's rare these days.

A month in Review - April 2009

What we did:
We welcomed our new puppy Dougall into the family
Dug out the remainder of our vegetable garden
Celebrated Easter
Got a new separate freezer
Started preserving
Had my mother-in-law come to stay with us

Milestones
Laura - can count up to 12 unassisted

Olivia - has had dry nights for the past 2 weeks

Eloise - has counted up to 149 (and then she got bored) is starting to copy words out of books and read them.

RealityBites: Finales and Premieres...

Biggest Loser Finale:

Oh may Bob and Tiff killed it didn't they? 87.2 kilos!? Tiff looks AAAA - Mazing. Sharif looked fab, and it was nice to see Nathan happily married. It's obvious that in the majority of cases, the increment of weight lost was directly related to the amount of time in the house. That is sad, although any weight loss shouldn't be sneezed at.

MasterChef Week 1 - Casting:

Ok, OK, I know I said I wasn't going to watch it, but there's nothing else on! If I see another pasta with burnt butter and sage sauce I might hurl. Bit of a cop out - it's pretty easy to make.

Loved the guy from Brissie with missing teeth who was so passionate and nervous - I'm really glad they put him through.

ANTM - Week one - Arrival:

Just how bitchy was my mate Alex Perry? Bless him. I love him, his campy-bitchy-cut-to-the-bone criticism was giving me the giggles. "That girl needs to meet conditioner, and make it her friend" Oh I like her 'Jon Benet Ramsay Aged Eighteen', 'She looks like a wild pig' which apparently he has defended.

The girls are all young - I'm not too sure of a front-runner yet... Mikarla is cute and funny. There's two Laura's and an Eloise, a Clare (Olivia's middle name) - feel compelled to follow them.. though I do like them all.. and Tahnee...and Lola, Clare is a cutie too. It will all change I'm sure as time goes on..

Love, Sarah Murdoch, she oozes 'expensive, yet approachable' She's such a mother hen too. Bless. Great twist about having them arrive into a walk in and then straight into a catwalk show. Not to be confused with the catfights -Oh dear lord that IS going to annoy me! But maybe only slightly more than the sunglasses they are all wearing on the show.. what is with that?

Nitwit News: Given the finger to your employer lately?

Or maybe have you eaten it?

Source AOL:
BELGRADE (April 27) - A Serbian union official who chopped off his finger and ate it in a protest over wages that in some cases have not been paid in years, said Monday he did it to show how desperate he and other workers were.

"We, the workers, have nothing to eat. We had to seek some sort of alternative food and I gave them an example," Zoran Bulatovic told Reuters. "It hurt like hell."

Some employees have not been paid for years, only collecting social benefits, like free medical care.
About two dozen workers went on a 19-day hunger strike last year. Full story here

My Autumn Babes

With the change to chilly weather we're breaking out our winter clothes and last weekend it was finally the hats they've been dying to wear that I bought from the US in our summertime. We have also been wearing our parkas this week too!

Parading our hats!


Beautiful, pensive Eloise


Laura - love how the light is catching her strawberry pigtails

Potatoes with a twist...

With my seasonal challenge going on I'm trying to use fresh lemons more and more. I've started having lemon water - as I'm not a huge water drinker but I should be, so to disguise the taste or non-taste of water, I'm lemon-ing it.

Another thing I've been doing lately is putting lemon in my potatoes. YES. My potatoes. I cut them in slices (skins on) and steam them until their slightly soft.. then transfer to baking dish, sprinkle on some olive oil, bruise and de-leaf a stick of thyme. (from my herb garden)Then I cut a lemon in half (I use the Meyer lemons, they have a thick-ish bright yellow skin) peel off the skin with a potato peeler. Add to potatoes....... then squeeze the juice out that lemon add some whole garlic cloves then give the whole concoction a good combine.

Put in the oven for about 1/2 hour. it all goes a bit crispy and the lemon zest infuses everything - yumm...

We have some potted meyer lemons, that hubby got from my Nan for his birthday this year, they've started to fruit, can't wait 'til they grow! We'll have our own lemons before long!

Coming to the bookshelf 'Gordon Ramsay's Great British Pub Food'

Well if news reports are anything to go by, maybe everyone should just buy some healthy choice frozen meals, but in all seriousness, I'm curious to see what Gordon has cooked up with this one. I swear by his cottage pie recipe, and where cottage pie is a staple counter meal at any British Pub, I want to know what else is there.

Publishers Harper Collins write:
"GORDON RAMSAY′S GREAT BRITISH PUB FOODis about relaxed‚ homely and comforting cooking. Packed full of sumptious and hearty traditional British pub food recipes‚ and insightful information into the history of the great British pub."

It's released on Friday and will retail at $49.95.

*thud*

That's the sound in my head.

Thud, thud, thud. Hurts my eyes to look at the screen. Children seem to have found the dial that makes the thud louder. Panadol and nurofen, a sleep and lot of water are not fixing.

Maybe it's a spider that's crawled into my brain and likes doof-doof music. I hate doof doof music, I hate spiders and I hate this thud.

I could however be listening to this -> seems like it could be worse.. just.

Whatever happened to....the smurfs?

La-la-le-la-la-la...

The smurfs conjure up many memories for me. They first came into Australia in the early 80's and I remember collecting them, I had the figurines, the drink bottle, stickers on my lunchbox, the pencil case.. oh my I think I just wanted to be blue. Remember the iceblocks? I wish they would bring those back, they were yummy.

In hindsight, was Smurfette a smurfing concubine? Only one woman and all those boys? Was Papa Smurf the pimp? Oh my.

Also our Maths Master at high-school looked alarmingly like Papa Smurf, and you would regularly hear a chorus of la-la-le-le-la-la... going on in a hum, whistle or cheeky rendition throughout the maths room hallways....

C'mon Fess up - have you got some blue make-up, figurine, smurf blow-up-doll hiding somewhere in your closet?..???

Tuesday: What will they think of next #3

Now I kind of like this one, and if you're anything like me, when stirring something on the stove (particularly when it needs attention like white sauce or custard!) you get a gadzillion interruptions - like there's an alarm going off somewhere..

Anyhoo - this little contraption will vibrate and spin in your pot whilst it is warming, so if you are prone to a lot of interruptions or you're just lazy and can't drag yourself away from Ellen this might be for you. Good for Risotto too huh?

You can buy from uutensil for about $40 AUD.

Another of our favourite books for bedtime...

Olga the Brolga by Rod Clements..

Beautiful illustrations, really rhymy and easy to animate - the little girls have got me reading it on at least a weekly basis... (this one and the Easter Bilby and the Easter Games are getting quite a workout!). It's also got a moral to it about badgering, probably too subtle for my kids -hehe.

We also have Edwina the Emu - a working mums tale really.. very cute -but we are yet to get Edward the Emu.. might be on the birthday list for Eloise....

Olga the Brolga will delight you and your kids - good for age groups 3-7 I think :)

Freaky or Fake?

I freak out when I see this show - every time I watch Lisa Williams - I mean, her hair is enough to freak out a lot of people (not me in particular, I think it adds to her persona) but it what she says and does that keeps my head spinning hours after the show is over...

She's super-specific.
She random reads people on the street!
She wears a hat when she doesn't want to have the people from the 'other side - communicate' with her.

If you haven't seen her, here's a clip:



If you want to read or follow her blog - it's here

What do think? Freaky or Fake?

Manic Monday: Is this for REAL?

Was on the centrelink website the other day and as I'm about to head back next financial year to stay-at-home-insane-mummydom (thanks economic downturn or is OK now to call it a recession?) I know we'll be entitled to some benefits (thank goodness we're off the poverty-line---just)...

Anyhoo, so I'm filling the estimator in, and I'm NOT kidding here when it asks you 'how many dependent children do you have?' You can choose a number up to 29 yes... T-W-E-N-T-Y N-I-N-E! Who has 29 dependent children? I want to meet them! You can then add to that another 29 that might be dependent on your partner and another 29 you have shared care for. Bit much?

Then the bit I hate. I fill in my details for my kids, one born in 2004, and twins born in 2005. The next question says 'Are there any children who are part of a multiple birth and are under 16 years of age?'... and you know what I have to answer? I have to answer NO. Why? Because in Centrelink speak, a multiple is 3 or more. They can't count. I mean there were MULTIPLE babies (i.e. more than one) in my tummy. I remember that. I got up to two crying babies night after night..yes my memory is quite vivid. I for some reason, bring out two birthday cakes out every December.. hmmm could it be because they are TWINS?

I wish they would change it to 'Are there any children who are part of a higher order multiple birth?' because seriously those two words would make a HELL of a lot of difference to all the twin parents out there. I'm not saying I should be entitled to anything more (though it would be nice to have acknowledged that I have and will continue to buy two of the same size - same text books, no-hand-me-downs..) and the HOM families (with triplets and more) have only recently got their multiple birth allowance in 2007 after YEARS of lobbying... they SO deserve it. But to not be acknowledged as a multple birth by our own government - stinks just frankly.

Vege garden update - Week 4

Well it's been wet, wet wet this week! I was expecting a few casualties, which we did have - a few of the cauliflowers have been nibbled upon, but nothing disastrous.

Still growing strong and hubby put the finishing touches on the plots today..Woot! So our 4 plots are done (so to rotate). Looks amazing!

Work in progress this morning...

Final product this afternoon:

So some pics of the veges :

Carrots - still going great guns about 2cm above ground now, lush green-ness to their tops..

The beans are gathering strength with their stalks thickening up this week, think we should be seeing shoots very soon!

Peas have had a quiet-ish week this week - but as you can see in this and other pics the marigolds have flowered..

The Womboks (chinese cabbage) are going great guns, and luckly haven't falled prey to slugs or birds/wildlife!

Love this pic taken at ground level of the sugar cabbages..

New planting today: White and brown onions into the 3rd (new) plot.

and hubby has transferred his overgrown chilli seedlings (grown from 1 chilli!) into the ground, they have chillis on them!

And here's a good view from the rest of the yard: (click to see a better version)

Beginnings and Endings...

With a lot of finales coming along this week my attention turns to what's the next lot of shows coming up... some I'm looking forward to:

Lush House - could always use some tips from the Aussie Queen of Clean (Mondays 7.30pm Lifestyle Channel)

Australia's Next Top Model: Love Sarah O'Hare - she's my drawcard to this (Tuesday nights 7.30 Fox8)

Thank God You're Here - makes a triumphant return (Wednesday nights 7.30pm NOW on Channel 7)

Heaps of people are looking forward to Masterchef - but to be honest I've watched the UK one and I got bored with it... willing to be convinced though. Any other shows coming up?

FrillyQuizSunday: Who am I?

OK this weeks' who am I is ---->



OK, you didn't guess last weeks'.. it was Sigmund the Sea Monster... if you were born in the late 60's or early 70's you might remember this show - here's the opener:

Seasonal Challenge Update 1

OK, how are we going?

Well I've got myself some preserving jars.. that's a start!!

I bought a persimmon. (pictured right) It's like a hard orange tomato. Co-incidentally my husband had tried one a couple of days prior from his work fruit basket not knowing what it was.... he described it as tasting like 'Arse'. hmm I only bought one for $1.50 and I thought I would try and incorporate it into a recipe.. when I did a search I mostly came up with cookie recipes heavily spiced which makes me think there could be some truth to my hubbys' seemingly harsh assessment or it's like a choko, with no taste. My Mum informs me however you need to let them go a bit soft before consuming - and their taste is a sweet/sour kind of taste... we'll see.

I have cooked:

• Apple (and Pear) Cobbler
• Lemons - I have used some in a lot of my cooking this week, (example- there's scallopped potatoes with lemon juice, sliced peel, garlic and fresh thyme from my herb garden in the oven making me very hungry at the moment!) but I'll need to buy more to make preserved lemon which is on my hit-list for sure.
  

I have Preserved:

I have made some peach jam! It was soo easy and I actually wanted to eat it before it was jarred!

I will need to do something with this persimmon as the strawberries are still expensive, though I passed a fruitbarn in Vineyard who was selling them for $1 a punnet, we were on the wrong side of the highway! Next time! I'll be getting a box of lemons and a box of oranges next time we are up at the farmgate, we'll head up to the Schofields Orchard which is closed on Saturdays

So I am making an effort, slow to start but I'm committed.

Peach Jam - made in the microwave!

Honestly, this jam-making business is MUCH easier than I thought. In fact, I don't think I'll be buying it anymore. It tastes soooooooo good. I mean REALLLLY good.

I'm going to try this recipe halved with strawberries too.

Ingredients:

1kg Peaches ( stems and seeds removed)

1 lemon

3 cups sugar

Method:

• Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into large microwave cookware bowl (pyrex, corningware - I used tupperware stack cooker - the large bowl). Take out the seeds, put the rinds whole in the bowl.
• Chop up Peaches (I left skin on) , add to lemon
• Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stir at 3 minute mark.
• Add sugar and combine thoroughly
• Microwave on high for 20 minutes, stirring at each 5 minute mark.
• Pour into sterilised jars (basically wash, rinse and boil them for 10 mins, then dry in 110deg oven for 15 mins)

I've labelled mine 'Peach Jam' 'Made with love by Liss'

Not much washing up either! Bonus

HappySnapSaturday: Impromptu Cubby House

Weekend Cubby House using old cot quilts (which they usually snuggle on the couch with these day) lovingly made by a friend.

Even though the top bunk is a pain in the derriere to make for a shorty like me (let's face it I never make it, just throw over the doona!) it's brilliant for an inpromptu cubby house and gives us at least a 20 minute sleep in.. hope you got one this morning!

FrillyFrivolousFriday: Have you met Saint Vivian?

Hope you're all either at the local having a well-earned ale or if you're at home with the kids, chlling with a cocktail or a glass of wine....

Well I have something for you... feel no guilt - consume all you want (just make sure you don't drive!) because you can just have one of these on your beside or in your pocket for the morning:

Product Info:

"St Vivian is the Protector of hangover sufferers.
This mini-figurine comes with a Prayer Card and humourous text to help soothe the suffering. Measures approximately 10 cms (4") tall. Not suitable for children under three as she cannot protect against choking due to small parts. Children under three rarely suffer hangovers anyway. "

Let me know if it works.. buy from here for $11.95

Bad taste, poor judgement or what?

Obviously the people who had devised this were either parents who felt they needed to spread their pain to their childless peers or someone who had a long flight behind a screaming baby on a plane to pitch their new game idea.

The idea is the game is a baby crying and to see how long you can stand it before you shake your iPhone. Honestly, do you NEED to do this? Surely the real thing is worse enough?

Seriously though, how awful is it? No wonder people were up and arms and it needed to be pulled. I would hazard a guess that mums and dads of multiples would have been the big winners of that game because you have to listen to a lot of crying whilst you settle one baby down, the others have to wait- and usually they go out in sympathy!

Who needs tresillian when you've got Twitter?

Ok, you don't need to force me, I'm willing to admit I'm a twitter-fanatic. Love it. No commitment, no one needs to see you online, no feeling like you need to respond to anyone, is something you can do for 2 minutes or less, here and there - it's like one-night-stand-fest online.
But that's not all - 140 characters can reveal so much. And for a mere-fly-on-wall experience of following celebrities without feeling like a stalker is pretty cool. It also allows you to understand the 'celebrity' as a person a little too. Like Ben Stiller... he's an insomniac, loves playing with his kids, is probably a little bit accident prone, exists on sugar, and seems every bit like that guy you would love to have him and his family over for a friendly barbie.

Dave Hughes (co-incidentally with the same name as my Dad - weird!) well known from his work on Rove and Nova Melbourne (we don't get it but I knew that) and it seems a nervous and tad excited Dad-to-be. Now us twitterers are world-wide and many are Mums and Dads pounding the halls with bubs over the shoulder or been-there-done-that-got-the-condor-marks-on-the-back-of-all-our-shirts parents. Hughesy without even realising it has all of those Mums and Dads on tap.

I mean, who wouldn't want to help out a first-time Dad? He could go on twitter and say 'Baby driving us nuts, won't stop crying, what do we do?' and we'll probably say either 'the head goes at the top' or 'have you fed it yet?' or maybe some more practical advice.

I'm not discrediting what Tresilian does at all - and by all means people should use all the support available to them, but when insomnia hits or it's 3am in the morning - you don't need to watch Jerry Springer or spend money on the shopping channel buying a rotating duster - you can twitter.

So folks, if you want to lend Dave a hand, be on hand to answer any questions he and his wife (by default) may have. His Twitter ID is DHughesy

RealityBites: It's time to cut the fat... Biggest Loser Week 12

Interesting times this week - and a definite goodbye to Meagan (did you hear me 'whoohoo'ing?) and Sharif is back in the game with that massive record-breaking weightloss - how exactly does one lose 11kg in one week? I need to know! A lot of us need to know!

Jedda going was a huge relief, I swear my wrinkles were increasing wincing at her whinging. Hey lady, that's not a chip on your shoulder, that's a potato!

Not too sure about Stewart though.... I don't know why I feel this way, but I don't feel like he deserves it... maybe I just don't connect with him because he talks about the money too much.... looks like his days might be numbered - see what happens with that 'mystery case' tonight.

I never watched the video diaries until this week. They are really quite an eye opener. Don't get me wrong, I love Tiff, and hope she, Bob or Sharif win but in her video diary for week 11 she refers to looking at the old contestants coming back as 'fresh meat' to vote off because she doesn't want to vote off her alliance - well, erm, that backfired this week didn't it?




Cameron's attitude just stinks. I thought Shannon was quite restrained - but I'm glad he said something rather than nothing at all - something tells me that's really who he is, his only regret is that he showed someone.

Almost at the finish line....Go Sharif! Go Bob! Go Tiff!

How fantastic ABC, 1-2 and soon to be 3!!

Hooray! A new kids' TV channel - and it's FREE (to all digital TV subscribers which by 2013 will be everyone anyway!)

From 6am-9pm daily it will screen from sometime before Christmas - with at least 50% of the programming to be Australian. It is believed it will cost $25 million to $30 million a year. I wonder how much of that can be netted off with advertising (though ABC is anti-advertising..?) and merchandising. Merchandising I believe is the biggest money-spinner of children's TV - DVD's, books, clothes, toys, kitchen-wear, bags, you name it!

But the big winners are the kids - watching more Australian programs, having choice. Parents who don't have access to PayTV might actually have something to keep the kids amused on rainy days.

Nitwit News: $26K phone bill Just for Txting?

Might get the telcos to think twice about unlimited txt plans?

Two guys in Philadelphia, United States sent 217,000 txts to try and beat the Guinness Book of Records attempt previous held by an indian man at 182, 000 in a month. Then they got the shock of their lives when their phone bill arrived in the post - in a box and was US26,000. (Apparently this has been since adjusted). Full story Associated Press

The Nasty Brigade

Love them. Those people who say the things that you want to say, that need to be said but you just can't. They can. Have no problem with it. Admire that.

But why are 90% of them that appear on telly BRITISH? Is it the culture? We often think of the british as those with the best manners, the epitome of correctness but it's the rest of the world who is importing these brits onto their shows or broadcasting their british shows to say the things they just can't seem to.

Who am I talking about?

Dicko - yep he comes out with tripe sometimes but he's pretty honest - even about himself.

Ruth Watson

If you've ever seen 'The Hotel Inspector' Ruth has a talent of saying 'you are an absolute imbecile' with her face before following it up with her words - in the nicest possible way of course..

Mary Portas

Mary has her own show 'Mary Queen of Shops' where she puts ailing boutiques on the right track and again. No pulling any punches with Mary!

And then we've got our 'Britain's got Talent' Stable with both Simon Cowell of Pop Idol/American Idol fame

and Piers Morgan

who again proved how ambitious, ruthless and direct he was in Celebrity Apprentice in the US.

Oh and lucky last- Gordon Ramsay...

Tribute and Tradition - Anzac Biscuits

I love Anzac Biscuits. They make me feel patriotic, Australian, and gluttonous because you can never stop at just one. As a child I used to make them with my Mum and as I became old enough, I made them for my family as a teen and now with my own family.

Anzac Day (25th April) is bittersweet for me. For my Grandad he loved Anzac Day - he would organise the reunion for his war-mates though he didn't march in the years that I knew him and always said when others offered to march for him he said 'no-one will march for me until I'm dead'. When he did pass away just shortly before Anzac Day 18 years ago, I marched for him for the first time just two days after his funeral and I cried the entire way. I felt proud, I felt close to him, but I missed him so much.

I've march for him every year since, bar 3 - once I was overseas, once my twins were both in hospital and last year the RSL discouraged relatives from marching for their families (that really hurt!). I still have those feelings of pride, connection and still grief and sorrow. Above all I feel it's an annual tribute to his life and what he and many others did for the freedom and safety of our country.

I have in all the years I have marched formed bonds with his war-buddies - the 67th Searchlight Battery (Army) whose job it was in the war to light huge drums with mirrors to light the sky and enemy targets for the airforce. (pictured right) The blokes all tell tales about their times, we look through photo albums and there's more often than not a story about my larrikin Grandad (Bluey). The scams he used to run, the practical jokes he used to lighten the mood with. He was the guy that could lift the spirits of anyone they said.

Ironic, his spirit lives on with these blokes and they cheer me up endlessly and I love them for it. Sadly, every year as they grow older, their health deteriorates and we have less marching every year. I sometimes don't even want to know why. It breaks my heart.

My grandad didn't change over time. He was and always will be a larrikin, I knew him that way too. Always quick with a witty remark, a wink and nudge. He made me feel like the most special girl in the world.

I will be marching this year, last year was just awful not going. I think I'm going to take Eloise with me.

Anyhoo, the Anzac Biscuits.

These were made to send to the blokes in the war I'm told because they had less chance of spoiling. They also had ingredients readily available during ration time too. The absence of eggs from the recipe is no co-incidence - apparently there was a shortage of eggs in the war due the poultry farmers joining the war effort. If you're not in Australia, and don't have access to Golden Syrup, you can use treacle, they still taste great but you simply MUST try and get hold of some. I'm sure someone imports it where-ever you are.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup dessicated coconut

1.5 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

3tsp hot water

125 gr butter or margarine

1 tb golden syrup.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees c or 375 F

Mix all dry ingredients together - except the bicarb soda.

Dissolve bicarb in hot water, sit aside

Melt the butter/margarine with the golden syrup. When melted, add the dissolved bicarb/water into the saucepan, and take off the heat as it will foam up. Pour int a well in the dry ingredients and combine.

Mixture should roll into balls - if too dry add water, if too wet, add flour.

Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. When you take them out of the oven. let them cool on tray for 5 minutes before transferring them onto cooling trays, this will help maintain their shape.

Devour!

Coming to the bookshelf..'101 things to do before you diet'

Well given that I am watching what I eat and I am 'dieting' or changing my lifestyle somewhat I'm still interested in this book - hints and tips for me, to more complement the dieting experience.. some of the tips:

*How to find the perfect jeans

*Mimi's 12-step programme to fix your fattening habits

*Revealed: the true power of pants

* The secret of Solution Lingerie

*Wear heels (um I can't see this happening!)

*Arm yourself against Calorie Ambush

*Disguise your unlovable bits

*Learn to give Good Photo

Available 1st May - distributed by Random House RRP $32.95

I had forgotten...

...what it was like to carry a child around on my hip all day.

My little pumkin Olivia was sick today, second day in a row home from kindy. Third day in a row she was miserable and for a lot of day I literally couldn't move out of sight or moreso she wouldn't leave my lap. Lucky she's the lightweight of my brood or I might be looking at a hip replacement! I used to carry a twin on each hip A LOT when they were little. It seemed weird today carrying just one child... like I only had one arm...

It's so hard to see your babies unwell. Apart from medicating, making them comfortable and giving them lots of comfort there's not a lot you can do and as a Mummy you want to make their distress go away... don't you?

House is in pieces, I'm exhausted, but now she is fine. Happily jumping about and had two servings of dinner... a change from the buttered toast and apple and banana requests of late (which incidentally didn't stay down).

This last couple of days and nights has followed her twin Laura's illness culminating in a middle ear infection and asthma diagnosis. Hubby and I wrecked. Kids are resilient but now find myself feeling worn down and have lost my zing somewhat.

I made a hot spicy curried beef (yes, it was beef, not lamb like last night!) with coconut rice that I hope will allow us both to sweat it out... and maybe, just maybe, get a decent nights' sleep. I've definitely forgotten what that's like. My love to all parents with sick kids at the moment!