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Tom: Can we all go and see Despereaux?
Me: No, you can sit in the theatre with a blindfold on and earplugs in.
Tom: Muuuuuum!
David: She's kidding...I think.
The Big Idea: Alex Shvartsman
1 day ago
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
It could have been a really bad day
But in the end it turned out better than average.
I took the kids to the pool again this morning, we all swam laps this time, Dave did 2, Tom did 4 and Caitlin did 6. She announced to me with great glee that she'd swum 300m. There may have been flippers involved but it's a significant effort nonetheless. I caved in to pleas for ice-cream when we were leaving so we all headed back to the car with fast melting treats. I had a Heaven Caramel Truffle which sadly wasn't nearly as nice as it sounds, I'll stick with something chocolate next time.
On the way home the car started doing weird stuff, we were slowing way down going up the hills, the transmission wasn't shifting down through the gears quick enough, then suddenly it would drop a gear and the revs were going through the roof. It was all very disconcerting and stuff, especially as I was in my swimming costume and board shorts. I knew I was low on petrol but not so low that I was worried about it - I've driven for 30 minutes plus with the gauge reading as it was many, many times. We made it to our street and just as I turned the corner and pulled into our cul-de-sac the engine died. Oh my god, I could have been stuck half-way to Pymble with a broken down car dressed in my swimmers in 35 degrees C! Close call.
After I'd got the kids inside I went back to check that the car was really dead before I rang the NRMA...and it started just fine, I was able to drive up to the house and park properly. Weird. I washed the dog (she was not amused) and then had a shower so I'd be presentable when the NRMA came, there was no way I was driving anywhere till someone had looked at the car.
The guy who came (and who incidentally was lovely, very impressed I was) gave it the once over but couldn't see any obvious problem. He suggested that the fuel gauge might be less accurate than it once was and offered to follow me to the servo to get petrol. No problems getting there, the car behaved quite normally, but when I filled up, instead of the usual 50-55L that fits in when the gauge is reading almost empty, it took 59.somethingL. It's a 70L tank. Seems I'd nearly run out of petrol and on the steep hills what was left in the tank wasn't getting into the fuel line properly.
The kids and I spent the rest of the day hiding from the heat. We played Disney Trivial Pursuit and much to Caitlin's disgust David and I won. Then we watched DVDs till Adam came home with his mum for dinner.
After dinner I buggered off leaving Adam with the kids and went to see Quantum of Solace with Jen which we both enjoyed immensely.
I took the kids to the pool again this morning, we all swam laps this time, Dave did 2, Tom did 4 and Caitlin did 6. She announced to me with great glee that she'd swum 300m. There may have been flippers involved but it's a significant effort nonetheless. I caved in to pleas for ice-cream when we were leaving so we all headed back to the car with fast melting treats. I had a Heaven Caramel Truffle which sadly wasn't nearly as nice as it sounds, I'll stick with something chocolate next time.
On the way home the car started doing weird stuff, we were slowing way down going up the hills, the transmission wasn't shifting down through the gears quick enough, then suddenly it would drop a gear and the revs were going through the roof. It was all very disconcerting and stuff, especially as I was in my swimming costume and board shorts. I knew I was low on petrol but not so low that I was worried about it - I've driven for 30 minutes plus with the gauge reading as it was many, many times. We made it to our street and just as I turned the corner and pulled into our cul-de-sac the engine died. Oh my god, I could have been stuck half-way to Pymble with a broken down car dressed in my swimmers in 35 degrees C! Close call.
After I'd got the kids inside I went back to check that the car was really dead before I rang the NRMA...and it started just fine, I was able to drive up to the house and park properly. Weird. I washed the dog (she was not amused) and then had a shower so I'd be presentable when the NRMA came, there was no way I was driving anywhere till someone had looked at the car.
The guy who came (and who incidentally was lovely, very impressed I was) gave it the once over but couldn't see any obvious problem. He suggested that the fuel gauge might be less accurate than it once was and offered to follow me to the servo to get petrol. No problems getting there, the car behaved quite normally, but when I filled up, instead of the usual 50-55L that fits in when the gauge is reading almost empty, it took 59.somethingL. It's a 70L tank. Seems I'd nearly run out of petrol and on the steep hills what was left in the tank wasn't getting into the fuel line properly.
The kids and I spent the rest of the day hiding from the heat. We played Disney Trivial Pursuit and much to Caitlin's disgust David and I won. Then we watched DVDs till Adam came home with his mum for dinner.
After dinner I buggered off leaving Adam with the kids and went to see Quantum of Solace with Jen which we both enjoyed immensely.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Splash!
We went to the pool today, it's not our closest public pool, there's one at Hornsby too but this one at West Pymble is in such a lovely setting that it's well worth a few extra minutes drive to go there instead.
This is the pool I used to come to for swimming lessons in the summer holidays when I was a kid, I have vivid memories of doing water safety and having to jump into the olympic pool fully dressed, tread water for a while and then swim to the side and climb out.
David and Caitlin also had a couple of summer's worth of lessons here when they were first learning. Once, when Dave and Cait were being taught in one half of the pool in the top right corner of that photo and I was watching and dividing my attention between them and Tom who was still in floaties and swimming in the other half of the same pool, I looked back from the lessons to check on Tom and he was no-where to be seen. I found him a couple of minutes later blithely climbing out of the deep end of the olympic pool and jumping back in again - he was 3 years old. I think he discarded the floaties for good the next time we went.
Today when we were almost ready to head for home (Caitlin's lips were blue - this is always our sign that it's time to leave) I was trying to persuade David to come and swim a lap or two with me, I'd done 5 but I thought I had at least 2 more in me. Dave was not showing much enthusiasm but Tom announced he wanted to do it.
Now Tom is a natural floater but hasn't been much for actually moving through the water. He deeply resented having lessons and being made to do what someone told him to and it was no good dragging him away from the side of a pool and using the sink or swim tactic, he'd just do the passive resistance thing and lie back and refuse to move, drove his swimming teachers nuts! We persevered, but when dance and soccer ended up clashing with swimming half-way through last year I gave up and he quit lessons just as he was starting to get the hang of doing the breathing.
When we first got in the pool today I asked if he could show me breathe and bubble and he was all over the place. I gave a demonstration and he did manage to get the arms and breathing co-ordinated but wasn't interested in doing more than a few strokes. So I really didn't think he'd be able to do two 50m laps...but he did. Slowly yes, but with great determination and astonishingly good style (until he was getting tired at which point he was rolling almost all the way over and practically turning into a submarine). I was amazed and very, very proud of him.
He was pretty pleased with himself too, when we got home he was desperate to ring Grandma and tell her all about it. Mum was suitably excited and impressed, she's an awesome grandma :)
We went out for dinner tonight, my mum came too, had a very nice meal at the restaurant that's attached to the Manly Fish Markets Cafe, a seafood platter for two plus a seafood basket main fed all six of us and it's BYO so we took a bottle of Grant Burge 2006 Kraft Sauvignon Blanc which we bought at the cellar door the last time we were in the Barossa Valley (we chose well - it was yum).
Then I took the dog for a walk when we got home, don't know where the energy for that came from.
You can see what I mean from the Google satellite image
This is the pool I used to come to for swimming lessons in the summer holidays when I was a kid, I have vivid memories of doing water safety and having to jump into the olympic pool fully dressed, tread water for a while and then swim to the side and climb out.
David and Caitlin also had a couple of summer's worth of lessons here when they were first learning. Once, when Dave and Cait were being taught in one half of the pool in the top right corner of that photo and I was watching and dividing my attention between them and Tom who was still in floaties and swimming in the other half of the same pool, I looked back from the lessons to check on Tom and he was no-where to be seen. I found him a couple of minutes later blithely climbing out of the deep end of the olympic pool and jumping back in again - he was 3 years old. I think he discarded the floaties for good the next time we went.
Today when we were almost ready to head for home (Caitlin's lips were blue - this is always our sign that it's time to leave) I was trying to persuade David to come and swim a lap or two with me, I'd done 5 but I thought I had at least 2 more in me. Dave was not showing much enthusiasm but Tom announced he wanted to do it.
Now Tom is a natural floater but hasn't been much for actually moving through the water. He deeply resented having lessons and being made to do what someone told him to and it was no good dragging him away from the side of a pool and using the sink or swim tactic, he'd just do the passive resistance thing and lie back and refuse to move, drove his swimming teachers nuts! We persevered, but when dance and soccer ended up clashing with swimming half-way through last year I gave up and he quit lessons just as he was starting to get the hang of doing the breathing.
When we first got in the pool today I asked if he could show me breathe and bubble and he was all over the place. I gave a demonstration and he did manage to get the arms and breathing co-ordinated but wasn't interested in doing more than a few strokes. So I really didn't think he'd be able to do two 50m laps...but he did. Slowly yes, but with great determination and astonishingly good style (until he was getting tired at which point he was rolling almost all the way over and practically turning into a submarine). I was amazed and very, very proud of him.
He was pretty pleased with himself too, when we got home he was desperate to ring Grandma and tell her all about it. Mum was suitably excited and impressed, she's an awesome grandma :)
We went out for dinner tonight, my mum came too, had a very nice meal at the restaurant that's attached to the Manly Fish Markets Cafe, a seafood platter for two plus a seafood basket main fed all six of us and it's BYO so we took a bottle of Grant Burge 2006 Kraft Sauvignon Blanc which we bought at the cellar door the last time we were in the Barossa Valley (we chose well - it was yum).
Then I took the dog for a walk when we got home, don't know where the energy for that came from.
Friday, January 02, 2009
The eighth Down Under Feminist Carnival is up
This month's carnival is up at stephiepenguin's lj. Plenty of great posts to keep you busy reading so head on over and get clicking!
Pride and Prejudice - Facebook version
In a similar vein to the Facebook Hamlet, I am pleased to share with you this gem of literature transformed into a Facebook newsfeed.
Austenbook
Some of my favourite bits:
Go read it all for yourself!
via Tigtog at Hoyden About Town
Austenbook
Some of my favourite bits:
...
...
Go read it all for yourself!
via Tigtog at Hoyden About Town
Thursday, January 01, 2009
12 things for 2009
New Year's resolutions never seem to amount to anything much do they? I don't think I've ever made any that lasted past the first few days until last year and even then they weren't New Year's resolutions so much as February planning. I was quite pleased with how my goal setting for 2008 worked out, so I thought I'd do something similar for this year.
One thing I've learned from looking at which things got done and which things didn't is that there's not much point in setting my heart on achieving something that would require a major shift in behaviour for me or the family as a whole. Small changes and building on existing interests and activities is the way to go.
So what would I like to be able to tick off as done in 2009?
1. Take the kids to see live theatre - I'll be getting tickets to the Berowra Musical Society Les Miz production (which Caitlin did not get a part in - she was quite upset but hasn't sworn off auditioning in the future so I'm calling it a worthwhile experience) and I've booked tickets for The Nargun and the Stars so this one is well under way already.
2. Have a night out for just me and Adam once a month - movie, theatre, dinner without Tom demanding to leave as soon as he's finished eating, a moonlight walk on a beach, time to talk without interruptions or the distractions of tv and computers.
3. Learn something about photography and get the gear I need to be able to take good photos of food and jewellery etc indoors so I'm not reliant on the vagaries of natural light.
4. Remember to get my gorram B12 shots done on time - I had one just before Christmas so the plan is to get one in every month that's a multiple of 3, that shouldn't be so hard to remember should it?
5. Play a game, chess or whatever else he prefers, with David once a week - if we play chess he'll probably win every single time, after all he's been going to chess club for 6 months while I haven't played in years.
6. Do a craft activity with Caitlin once a week - we can play with polymer clay, make jewellery, draw, paint, make gifts for people, do needle crafts. She has a long-stitch project waiting to be finished at the moment.
7. Foster Tom's love of nature and interest in science by doing a simple experiment with him each week - I've got a book somewhere full of science experiments to do with kids using household stuff. He was absolutely thrilled with the electricity experiments kit he got for Christmas.
8. Walk the dog in the mornings instead of at 9:30 at night - I'm hoping this will help with getting me into a better routine for the mornings and also with having healthier sleep patterns.
9. Do enough tablet weaving to trim my Huscarls cloak and dress - more would be good but let's not get too ambitious!
10. Grow some herbs in my hanging pots on the front deck - I've tried this before and killed many, many plants in the process but it really should be possible, I just want mint, basil, parsley and chives.
11. Make sure we do one fun active thing together as a family each weekend - ice-skating, bowling, swimming, bushwalking, a visit to a park, flying kites, bike riding, walking around a museum or art gallery, anything that's not about watching something on a screen or centered around food!
12. Get the extension built (assuming we can get it approved) - this one kind of freaks me out, the huge disruption of either living with renovations or having to move out while they're done, the resulting change in our financial situation, the stress of it all. I do think this is the right time to do it though, if at all possible I want it done before David starts high school in 2010.
One thing I've learned from looking at which things got done and which things didn't is that there's not much point in setting my heart on achieving something that would require a major shift in behaviour for me or the family as a whole. Small changes and building on existing interests and activities is the way to go.
So what would I like to be able to tick off as done in 2009?
1. Take the kids to see live theatre - I'll be getting tickets to the Berowra Musical Society Les Miz production (which Caitlin did not get a part in - she was quite upset but hasn't sworn off auditioning in the future so I'm calling it a worthwhile experience) and I've booked tickets for The Nargun and the Stars so this one is well under way already.
- The Nargun and the Stars 15/5/09
2. Have a night out for just me and Adam once a month - movie, theatre, dinner without Tom demanding to leave as soon as he's finished eating, a moonlight walk on a beach, time to talk without interruptions or the distractions of tv and computers.
- Jan - 17th wedding anniversary
- Feb - Belvoir Street theatre
- March -
- April -
- May -
- June -
- July -
- August -
- September -
- October -
- November -
- December -
3. Learn something about photography and get the gear I need to be able to take good photos of food and jewellery etc indoors so I'm not reliant on the vagaries of natural light.
4. Remember to get my gorram B12 shots done on time - I had one just before Christmas so the plan is to get one in every month that's a multiple of 3, that shouldn't be so hard to remember should it?
5. Play a game, chess or whatever else he prefers, with David once a week - if we play chess he'll probably win every single time, after all he's been going to chess club for 6 months while I haven't played in years.
6. Do a craft activity with Caitlin once a week - we can play with polymer clay, make jewellery, draw, paint, make gifts for people, do needle crafts. She has a long-stitch project waiting to be finished at the moment.
7. Foster Tom's love of nature and interest in science by doing a simple experiment with him each week - I've got a book somewhere full of science experiments to do with kids using household stuff. He was absolutely thrilled with the electricity experiments kit he got for Christmas.
8. Walk the dog in the mornings instead of at 9:30 at night - I'm hoping this will help with getting me into a better routine for the mornings and also with having healthier sleep patterns.
9. Do enough tablet weaving to trim my Huscarls cloak and dress - more would be good but let's not get too ambitious!
10. Grow some herbs in my hanging pots on the front deck - I've tried this before and killed many, many plants in the process but it really should be possible, I just want mint, basil, parsley and chives.
11. Make sure we do one fun active thing together as a family each weekend - ice-skating, bowling, swimming, bushwalking, a visit to a park, flying kites, bike riding, walking around a museum or art gallery, anything that's not about watching something on a screen or centered around food!
12. Get the extension built (assuming we can get it approved) - this one kind of freaks me out, the huge disruption of either living with renovations or having to move out while they're done, the resulting change in our financial situation, the stress of it all. I do think this is the right time to do it though, if at all possible I want it done before David starts high school in 2010.
Happy New Year!
Break out the bubbly folks, we've just passed an arbitrarily chosen point in our orbit around the sun, the primary effect of which will be that I won't be able to write the date correctly for the next 6 weeks or so.
Clearly cause for celebration!
Happy New Year everyone :D
Clearly cause for celebration!
Happy New Year everyone :D
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