The birthday report: Eloise turns sixteen

Well it's been a while between birthday reports, but as I sit here in bed reminiscing not-so-fondly of the decent amount of pain I was in at this time sixteen years ago with no end in sight, I'm also reminding myself of all the twists and turns along the way to sixteen.

How you were such an easy baby.  You slept through at 9 weeks and I must have checked you at least a dozen times to see if you were still breathing and still OK... but you proved to me then and you still prove to me now that you don't need much pushing to get to where you need to be, you're very happy to move there at your own pace, which is usually in a hurry.

I'm thankful for your independent soul.  Your self-assured and wise way you navigate through tough situations.  Sure, you have mini-freak outs and you question yourself but overall you just know yourself.  You just don't understand what a gift that is.  There are adults I know that don't know themselves as much as you do at just sixteen.  It's pretty wondrous really.

You're also stubborn and will fight for the last word, talk over people to get your way and find it hard to say sorry sincerely - but at the same time you're incredibly generous, will put yourself out to help someone who needs it and reflect upon things with genuine regret and learn from your mistakes.  It's a mass of contradictions but it's you working life out.

I had a dream last week that you fell pregnant and I woke up in a genuine distressed panic and in the dream your Dad said 'but we love babies' and I was like 'Noooo.  No. No. No. No. NO.  She has PLANS.   She's going to travel, she wants to live a full life first, she's got things to DO.'

When I told you about this dream you giggled and then became concerned for my distress and came over and gave me a hug and a kiss and said 'Don't worry about it Marmite, I would never do that to you'.  To which I said 'Don't worry about me, don't do that to YOU'.

I guess that dream was a bit of my adjusting to you growing up and making your own choices and my dreams for you to have a full life like you want.

You have a good head on those shoulders, and I appreciate how open you are about your thoughts, feelings, what's going on in your life and your concerns.  To me this is a gift you give me.   I in return give you my implicit trust because I have no reason to not trust you until you breach that trust and so far so good :)

Anyhow, birthday parties still leave me exhausted and yours was tiring but I loved that we made some of your ol' favourites lolly bobble bliss bombs,  rocky road and a new favourite amongst your friends warm pizza dip.     Today for your actual birthday the repeated request of Victoria Sponge was adhered to and delivered :). I hope even when you're a grown up I can still make you some of your favourites...





But I'm not writing off the rest of your childhood and time at home just yet.  I'm savouring these last years with you with us and Covid-19 for all it's tragedy, has given us many gifts - more family time and I love that we're the 'fab-five' again rather than people who all live and eat together sometimes in between rushing off to this and that.   It's been wonderful.

Anyhow, I don't want to ramble on, but I wanted to mark this occasion with something that would at least mean something to me.  Happy birthday my 5ft 11 Amazonian baby.   I celebrate you today and always.

For posterity I also decided to add pics from your birthdays since 11... don't hate me..

11th - Dinner at Shangri-La Sydney

Last birthday in primary school - 12 - Victoria Sponge makes another appearance like it did at 8..

Happy birthday Teenager and first year of high school.  Yes, it's Victoria Sponge!

Fourteen, I couldn't get a pic of you with your cake without your phone in it, but it was a sponge cake with buttercream...!

15th birthday, Dark Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache..

What do you put in your... TRIFLE?

We love trifle in this house and it's a tradition from my family.  When I was little I remember having very boozy trifle, though I don't put booze in mine now...  My sister called it 'triffle' and it's kind of stuck now - I think we all call it 'triffle'.

Tradition was my Nan would make the trifle, and I made it for the first time all by myself.  'Our' recipe is fairly straight-forward and very cheaty:

This feeds about 10, and fits in a large trifle bowl (Just)

Ingredients
1 large jam roll sliced into 1cm thickness.
1 portion made-up raspberry jelly
1 portion made-up lime jelly
3 bananas, sliced
1 large or two small punnets strawberries, half sliced, half whole.
Additional fruit like sliced peaches or blueberries (optional)
600ml vanilla custard
300ml fresh cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Slice your jam roll and line the bottom of your bowl (should take 1/3rd the jam roll)
Add 1/2 bananas on top
Add 1/2 sliced strawberries
Add raspberry jelly on top
Add half custard
Layer another thired of jam roll
Add last 1/2 bananas and sliced strawberries
Add lime jelly
Add custard
Last layer of jam roll
Whip your cream with white sugar and vanilla extract until stiff.
Add as top layer and put whole strawberres, peaches, blueberries


Now I've heard of chocolate trifle and honeycomb trifle, what's your variation?

TRAVEL: Our emotional visit to Australian War Memorial - Canberra

My girls are obsessed with knowing more about World War 1 at the moment.  This is not a bad thing, and really extends from the focus on the centenary of Gallipoli landing this month.  Part of this learning was an assignment on a person who fought in World War 1 - which Laura with the help of my Mum did on her great-great grandfather.   As a family we were fascinated by our own personal link to the first world war.   

My great-grandfather John (Jack) McCarthy 56th Batallion

So we decided quite on the spur of the moment, given we had a break in netball commitments to go down to the War Memorial.  Hubby and I met in Canberra, so there is a certain sense of nostalgia when we visit.

As soon as we popped onto the M5 motorway, the excitement was building.  The frills have been learning about recipients of the Victoria Cross and all along centennary drive (the M5 through to Canberra) all the rest stops are named after Victoria Cross recipients... so everyone with their iPads and me with my camera were capturing them to reference later at the memorial.

VC photo-capturing

and we were even lucky enough to stop at one!  

What has changed is all the coffee stops along the way, coffee vans at most rest areas these days.. a very welcomed sight by hubby!

When we arrived, it was just at the end of the Op Slipper parade, which was a parade to commemorate the end of our defence involvement in Afghanistan and Middle East.  This memorial is to the west of the war memorial main building.

My smallest frills were so excited when they saw the statue of Simpson and his Donkey (Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick), as they had just learned about him the week before at school.

At this point I asked them to pose in front of Australia's Parliament House and hubby explained to them why there is a direct view from parliament house (old and new) 'so politicians making decisions about war would be constantly reminded of the sacrifices of war'.

Inside the Australia War Memorial, it's a very emotional place.   I would suggest heading up to the Roll of honor and hook up with a guide.  They have fascinating stories about the names on the wall.  Where they came from, where they joined, a bit about their family and loved ones and what they did in the war.. it really helps humanise those people.

We laid poppies in the wall next to my great-grandfathers' batallion and also at Jack Simpson Kirkpatricks (in the First Aid section).

The Hall of Memory is quite a solemn experience.  You can't be there and not contemplate the person this could have been, the family they left behind, their experience of war.  The stained glass windows, ceiling and murals are just magnificent. 

Then we headed into the new World War 1 section.  Quite frankly it's amazing.

My girls loved seeing the uniforms (and later they tried some on - more on that soon).  

It looks so heavy!

Laura and I were mesmerised by the Gallipoli landing boat, bullet holes and all.  Well worth a look and you can even touch it.  Having exhibits like this makes it so real and instantly relateable.  Laura was working out how many men could fit in there and then I reminded her they would have equipment as well...

There were diaries and films and interactive displays - I loved the artefacts most of all.  This is a recruitment poster from World War 1.

Remember our stop off? We went and found the Victoria Cross Medal recipients in the Hall of Valour, which is shaped in the shape of the Victoria Cross.

It's hard to tell what the kids' favourite part of the War Memorial was, and I'm only showing you a small sample of what we saw and experienced, but a must-must-must-do for the kids is the Discovery Zone.  The kids can get hands on experience of many war experiences.  There's uniforms for them to try on and try all kinds of things.

This is the dug-out.. where the kids can put their foot into an open space and...

See what trench foot looks like! (Yuck!)

Fly in a helicopter from the Vietnam War...

Hang out in a submarine (and a have a kip)

And try out some morse code...

For us of course the World War 1 section was the focus, I guess because the girls understood more about the war.  As my grandfather served in World War two and my own father in the Gulf and Afghanistan, I think we have a lot more family history to go through and then go back.  I honestly think you need a few days.. and it doesn't matter if you went last decade, last year or last month (or even yesterday) you can always see new things at the War Memorial.

Key info tips:

• War Memorial is free to all members of the public
• It's a long day, if your kids are younger than teens, split it into two days.
• Food and drink is not permitted, but there is a cafe on site, it's a tad on the expensive side, but less than the movies
• Tours are free you can pick these up at the front entrance or join one that might be in an area you're in.
• If you want to find records of those in your family - their research centre is open every day except Sundays
• The giftshop is where you can pick up poppies for $1 each.  The giftshop has a fabulous range of books, videos, posters and memoriabilia.  If you can't get to the memorial, you can order from their shop here: 
• The last post, bring tissues if you are there for it.  A tear springs to my eye if I hear it anyways, but there, it's profound.  Every day at 4.55pm.  You can watch a live stream of it here each day.

My top 7 tips for preparing to spend Christmas in New York

Almost 11 years ago, a newly married couple who were planning to embark on a belated honeymoon to celebrate New Years in Times Square discovered they had an unexpected wedding gift.  Their first child. Into the first few months the newlyweds decided that their honeymoon may need to be further delayed because the mum-to-be couldn't get on a bus or a ferry without being ill.. and a flight to the other side of the world would surely not be a comfortable one, and the money that was to be used for said trip would probably be better spent on car seats, cots and a new pram.

There was our dilemma and we decided then, that at our 10th Anniversary we would plan to take the family to New York for Christmas.  It was wonderful, and I planned it over a long time so I thought having been, I would give you my tips on planning to be there and actually being there - first of all - let's start with some tips to get started..

1.   Book your accommodation early.  Airbnb is a great alternative to expensive hotels, and many worry this is illegal, but it isn't now it seems due to a new agreement that's been reached with New York State officials.  It's easy to search and book, look for places with lifts and washing facilities - you can filter this by going to filter>amenities.  I think those two things plus having somewhere close to subway is essential with kids in New York.

So I say - GO FOR IT!  Live like a New Yorker!  Get a real New York experience I say! We stayed on the upper west side just 30 metres from Central Park and where-ever you are - you won't be far from a chemist (aka Duane Reade) or a Supermarket (Whole Foods, D'Agostino).  Most supermarkets deliver for a tip - rule of thumb is about 10% of your grocery bill.

We stayed here but I believe that the owners are no longer booking the house out because they have returned to live in it... but just goes to show what wonderful places there is out there!

If you prefer a hotel lifestyle some friends I know recommend Hotel Belleeclaire, The Durmont, Hotel Beacon,

Either way, book early to widen your choices and avoid disappointment - the prices do hike up around October so best to do it sooner rather than later.

2.  Watch your exchange rates.. Now if you're based in the US - this will mean nothing to you but for everyone else you might have noticed the dollar is a bit up and down like a yo-yo.  My advice is to get cash when the exhange rate is good.  In Australia, that's anything over 93 cents to the dollar (that means you get 93 US cents to 1 aussie dollar).  Beware of fees, and try to avoid doing it at an exchange booth - go to your bank if you can and negotiate your exchange rate and fees.

 Don't try and exchange Aussie dollars in New York, there isn't a lot of exchange booths around, and the ones around that we saw didn't have favourable rates.  For us, we took about 3,500 USD in cash for our 3 weeks in the US - and we pre-paid accommodation and most of our activities.  This was enough for us.

source

3.  Book any shows you want to go to SOON.  I think if you're going to go to New York at Christmas time you MUST go see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  You can buy the tickets from here - sign up to their newsletter get discounts on tickets too! We also went and say 'A Christmas Story' at Madison Square Garden, but there's lots on - if you want to chance it, you can get tickets to shows at good discounts at TKTS booths, the most notable one at Times Square.

The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular is fabulous and my girls just LOVED it.  It's very entertaining and gets you really in the Christmas spirit.

4.  Stock up on good boots, coats and thermals.  When our winter sales hit here in Australia - pounce!! These are not things you want to spend time shopping for when you arrive.  Water-proof boots, long coats, scarves, hats and ear-muffs are all essential.  The temperature hovers around zero during the day..    Thermals aren't so easy to get - but we got all of ours from Uniqlo - great prices, great quality and cute too!  Hubby thought I was a bit silly getting him some but let me tell you - he wore them!

5..  Don't forget your visa - for us Aussies it's quite a simple process done online and costs about $15 each from memory.  Takes about 2 weeks to come through, sometimes less - but the line does get longer closer to Christmas, so do it early and it get it out of the way.  You can apply here

6.  Pre-pay as much as you can.  Otherwise you won't enjoy your holiday because you'll be parting with so much cash.  Pay your accommodation, Airport transfers, shows - whatever you can in advance.  I'm so glad we did that - it took the sting out of it and I think also, made me more excited about the trip.  I wouldn't pre-pay the carriage ride in Central Park again though, it's cheaper to get them to walk up.  My tip would be go at 11:00am - less busy.

7.  Take your own Christmas pudding and your own Christmas Crackers.. if you want them - because I paid $25 for a Christmas pudding  and $20 for 6 Christmas crackers from a speciality British store.. and had to travel all the way downtown to get it.

We did have an awesome Christmas though - completely worth it if you can't be bothered!

The Frills do Disney California Adventure!

You've asked for it, and finally here it is!  Our day at Disney California Adventure.  I can say without a doubt, completely worth the plane ride from Australia.  My only regret really is that we only spent one day there and spent too long at Disneyland.  Don't get me wrong, Disneyland would have been great had we not had such bad luck with the rides and if your kids are six and under it's totally your park.. but for us, with eight and nine year olds - California Adventure all the way!

As we were staying onsite at Disney Grand Californian Hotel, we just popped downstairs for breakfast at the StoryTellers Cafe.  Everyone told me I had to book that way in advance and I booked the night before - thinking I might not get us in - but I did and when we arrived at 7am there was next to no-one there.  We were having a lucky day it seems!  Reason we started so early is because if you stay at the hotel you get an extra hour in the park - 8am - 9am - depending on the day it could be to Disneyland or California Adventure - this day it was California Adventure and the entrance was less than 100 metres from the restaurant too.

So we fuelled ourselves up - characters come and sit with you at breakfast - it's a big hit with the kids!

We're a bit blurry before our morning tea and coffee...

Great start to the day!

And you can get up and do the hokey-pokey too!

The kids had a kids breakfast set which was pancakes with syrup, juice, and fruit.. We had maple bacon and eggs - all hearty and the bill for five of us was about $85 USD with a tip.  

Then we set off for our day - one hour in the park almost to yourself is a god-send and we headed straight to Soaring over California.  It's a ride that you sit (strapped in) on a structure that lifts you up to a large 3D screen, it moves, blows wind in your face, you get the smell and feel of flying, I lost my stomach a few times I'll admit, but it was AWESOME.

IMAGE CREDIT

Next it was off to a 'A Bugs Land'. I thought this was more for smaller kids - ideally 4-8 year olds - but my kids still liked it - the scene is very well done - everything is scaled up to make you feel as small as an ant - these are 'recycled juice box and leaves' ride called 'Flik's flyers'.

Next we headed to Cars Land and whether you're a girl or a boy you're going to love these - these are vacuum powered tyre ride called 'Luigi's Flying Tires'.  We had great fun bumping each other!  

We then went on the cars ride 'Radiator Springs', and it was great until the race at the end - the kids and hubby loved it - I just accepted I'm not thrillseeker.  No I am not!

As you may remember from when we went to Hong Kong Disneyland I'm not fond of rollercoasters.  Even though we hadn't quite seen it in the flesh at this point I started to get very anxious about Laura and Olivia's desire to go on California Screamin' I just think I knew it would be too much for them and I was almost beside myself in tears and I begged my hubby to side with me and not let them go on it.  For some unknown reason I didn't have the same concerns about Eloise - perhaps because she's older..   I thought honestly as we neared the entry to Paradise Pier that I was going to throw up!

Anyways, we turned the corner and everyone got sight of the massive structure and Laura and Olivia declared 'No, I'm not going on it now!'.  I had a little tear of relief.  As it turned out, they were too short anyways.. PHEW.

So hubby took Eloise - and apparently she didn't even scream.  Thank goodness my hubby loves these kind of things because I can't do it!

She looks a bit non-plussed right?

We did this instead...

Paradise pier is a brilliant place to have lunch I think, it's very picturesque and we were there in December the weather was beautiful, much like Sydney spring weather - in the early to mid twenties each day.  At night there is a light show 'World of Color'.  We didn't go to this but wish we had now - we were just too tired.

Then it was time for 'Mickey's fun wheel' you can choose whether you want a sliding carriage or a stationary carriage,

I honestly wish we'd spent two days at California Adventure, I want to go back!

 Later in the afternoon after going on a few other rides hubby took the kids to 'Grizzly River Run'.  I as usual was the photographer and will recommend you take a poncho...

As they got a bit wet... hubby had to go change his jeans  - luckily it was right by the hotel so no biggie.  This was an enormous hit with our family.

Then we went to Hollywood land - some highlights:
Muppets 3D - this is like going and being a real part of Muppet Theatre, I think hubby and I enjoyed it a little bit more than the kids!

Animation Academy - where you get taught to draw popular Disney characters - we did Donald.

And sometimes the scenery is better than the rides.. this couple we saw in Disneyland the day before in the same outfit, here they are at the Monsters Inc ride.

When we were in Hong Kong a month later we spotted these, but we didn't buy them.. kind of regretting that now.. (for the fun factor)

Then day turned to night, and we hung out at the 'southern' end of California Adventure - like a mini dixie-land called Carthay Circle - we caught the red car trolley up and down and took in the sights, we were exhausted by this stage!

This wasn't ALL our day of course, but a good chunk of it!

If you're looking to go some tips I will leave with you:

1. Get in early - and do Soaring over California and Radiator Springs first before the queues get too long.

2. Take as little as possible.  1 backpack between a family is plenty really just for water and your camera. 

3.  Take sunglasses and hats and sunscreen - regardless of the season.

4. If going to grizzly peak, buy a poncho, worth the money.

5.  For character photos - take your own, mine turned out better than Disneyland ones you can use on the photopass.

6.  Talking of photopass - this is great though - the first photo you get taken you get a card, then every time you get your photo taken after that - whether it's on a ride or whatever get it added to the same pass... register your pass and  generally after a few days after your visit - Disney will send you an email discounting the digital download of your pics.

7.  Souvenirs I think are quite reasonable.  Set your kids a limit of $30 that should get them one good thing or a few small good value trinkets.