26 December 2006

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day

Christmas Eve we all went over to Rob & Julie's around lunch time. They served a lovely meal and it was nice to have all the family together. Christmas itself was pretty quiet -- this year David's brothers spent the day with the "other" in-laws. David's mum (Raema) came over mid-morning and we all opened our presents together. Anya received so many presents she got bored with opening them. She really loved her new jungle gym (from David & me) and baby dolls complete with stroller (from Raema). In the afternoon we went over to Don & Ann Maree's and had a little swim. Anya's main interest seemed to be in walking around the edge of the pool and jumping into my arms at random. A little scary when she did that near the steps!

Boxing Day was possibly the worst day for both David and me in recent memory. We packed up for a two-week holiday up the coast, picked Raema up from her house, swung back by our house for some last-minute items, and were finally on the road by about 12:30. It was about 2:30 when we got to Coolum -- we had to stop because I was getting a bad headache from not having eaten. Unfortunately I'd forgotten that nothing would be open due to the public holiday. Luckily, a pie shop was open so instead of yummy fish and chips I had a pie. I couldn't wait to get to the unit at Peregian and settle in with some additional munchies.

Instead, when we arrived at the unit, a foul smell greeted me as I went up the stairs. I thought at first it was the house next door, whose family doesn't clean up after its dogs very well. Even after finding that the odor was coming from inside, I still thought that perhaps there was just a dead lizard stuck in the window, as has happened before. I walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer door, and realised that this decomposing mass was the source... remember that I was
nauseated (pregnant), tired (pregnant), and had a burgeoning headache (again, thanks to being pregnant I'm sure!) I exclaimed, "GROSS!!!" with great feeling -- whereupon Anya burst into tears (she had followed me in).

I carried Anya out, feeling bewildered & overwhelmed. Thankfully, Raema kept her cool, and suggested we move into the downstairs unit until the situation was resolved. I did the bare minimum of carrying some bags in, made up the queen bed, and collapsed on it, completely incapacited by my headache. (It lasted for 3 days in the end.) Again, thank goodness for Raema, who looked after her while I lay and groaned.

Meanwhile, David worked out that there was no power to the whole building, contacted Energex, cleaned out the fridge (retching the whole time), finished bringing all our stuff into the unit, cleaned the fridge some more, kept cleaning, cleaned the fridge again every time he went back upstairs for something... you get the picture. Every time he returned from a foray, the stench came with him and even after he left the room a bit of the smell remained behind. It was truly terrible.

Don & Ann Maree & their kids were meant to arrive the next day, but we called them to ask them to wait a day or two. It was raining, so going to the beach was not really a big attraction anyway. We spent the evening waiting around for Energex to fix the power. Dinner was a very haphazard affair, eating ham and bits from our Esky. Anya was probably a bit perplexed about sitting in the dark and using torches. Three Energex staff came out separately to look at the situation before a crew was finally called in.
It wasn't until 10:30 pm that power was restored. The failure had occurred from a neighbor's tree rubbing away the insulation on the power supply line to the property. They trimmed off some branches, but probably not enough. We really need to contact the owner (the property is a rental) and have the tree properly trimmed back.

Next time, I'm going to make sure to bring camping lanterns and some sort of gas stove, just to be safe. I'd really be happiest if we didn't have a fridge permanently loaded there, either, but the boys like to keep their bait in it. Sadly, we ourselves had left two Magnum ice-creams in the freezer on our last trip up, forgetting to eat them. :(

24 December 2006

'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

...and all through the house, not a creature was sleeping... it was teething time again. Meanwhile this poor woman is drooping with pregnancy fatigue... in the end we got 2 new teeth (bringing the total to 8) with possibly one more hanging about in the wings.

On Friday my office had an end-of-year/Xmas/etc. morning tea and I went along despite it being my day off, as it was the only day that they could fit in a farewell activity for me as well. I brought Anya along, which kept me and most everyone entertained during boring speech moments. Afterwards, we went along to David's office as well, so that Anya could wow even more plebs. She was pretty tired after all that socialising and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

18 December 2006

Big news

We're pregnant! This was our third try, and we implanted 2 embryos this time to increase the odds of success. I was just starting to feel defeated, and wondering at what stage we would give up, so I was surprised when the test came out positive. Wow! (Now I just hope I don't have twins...) The due date is calculated as 38 weeks from the moment of fertilisation, which makes it mid August.

For the curious, the IVF timeline was:
  • 23-Aug...start treatment (nasal spray)
  • 28-Aug...start injections (twice daily in the tummy, self-administered)
  • 11-Sep...egg pick up (13 eggs)
  • 13-Sep...1 embryo transferred, remainder frozen
  • 20-Oct...1 frozen embryo transferred
  • 24-Nov...2 frozen embryos transferred

20 November 2006

Baci

Do you eat Baci? (it's Italian for kisses...) They are delicious chocolates featuring a slip of paper inside the wrapper with a quote about love. Sometimes they're corny, but I liked the one I got today, as it made me think about Anya:

Love me when I deserve it the least, because that's when I need it the most.

17 November 2006

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

Well, thanks to lavish praise and encouragement, and our new springy mattress, Anya became airborne this week. This followed just a couple of weeks of hopping from one leg to the other in an effort to "unstick" her feet from the ground. After making the breakthrough on the parental bed, she progressed to jumping on the floor and has been doing it with verve ever since. I was very excited, since this is six months early compared to "normal" development -- and those who know us well, know that David and I are not exactly the most coordinated people in the world.

09 November 2006

Love Yoooo?

Every Thursday, Raema (Anya's Grandma) minds Anya for the day. Today was extra special as the first time Anya said, "love you" [aw-w-w-w]. Raema was so thrilled, she got Anya to repeat it all day so that she'd remember how to say it when we came home.

The funny thing is that Anya says it like a question with a drawn-out "you" so that it sounds like "love yoooo?"

02 November 2006

The Punishing Schedule

For my own amusement I've set out the punishing and rigorous schedule that Anya followed today:
3 am - cry suddenly and get taken into Mama's bed [in Anya's defense, this is an unusual occurrence]
6 am - toss and turn until Mama wakes up
6:30 - visit Grandma's bedroom and potter around the unit on important bubby matters
7 am - eat half a bowl of porridge, then abandon it
7:30 - eat some of Mama's pancakes
8:30 - the beach: digging, and flirt with the notion of swimming
10 am - visit the downstairs unit, and insist on bringing 2 more pint-sized chairs back upstairs
10:30 - playing with the table out on the balcony, accidentally fall over backwards hitting head on the railing post; cry lots then abruptly demand to see the Wiggles
10:45 - get into Grandma's lap, snuggle in and fall asleep
12:15 - lunch: 2 entire bananas, few slices of cheese, and peanut butter (leave bread for future amusement)
1 pm - drawing
1:30 - bottle of milk
2:30 - the beach again: running straight into the waves with joyous abandon; getting in and out of the "bath" (a hole Mama and Grandma dug)
3:30 - afternoon snack: inspect sandwiches like a customs officer (do not eat)
4 pm - more drawing, followed by a good cleaning of all chairs, tables, balcony railings, etc. [I kid you not!]
6 pm - dinner
7:30 - bottle of milk and out like a light

01 November 2006

Recipe: Zucchini Fritters

This recipe is from a local newspaper's weekend magazine. The fritters were quite tasty and we had them as lunch as well as to supplement other meals afterwards. Below the recipe are some notes, as I think it cam be improved. Anyway, here is the original recipe:

Lightly grease 4 egg rings with some butter. Combine: 2 small zucchinis, coarsely grated; half a small red onion, finely chopped; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 50 g freshly grated parmesan; 1 Tbs flour. Heat 2 Tbs olive oil & 40 g butter in a pan. Place the 4 egg rings in the pan and fill with the mixture. Brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes altogether.

Place half a round of matured chevre on top, and grill until browned. Also grill some endive sprinkled with butter and brown sugar. Serve fritters with grilled endive on the side and zucchini chutney. (I skipped all this but the recipe included directions for making zucchini chutney, which basically looked like a sweet ratatouille to me, with onion and tomato.)

Some notes: the zucchini started to release liquid as soon as they were mixed in, which made the second batch of four sloppier than the first. I might try variations to firm up the mixture next time I make these, as the egg rings were not terribly effective, and I ended up browning the fritters under the grill to finish them off a bit more. Some options I've thought of are: less egg; more flour; grated potato; ricotta cheese. I also happened to have a bunch of coriander when I was making these, so I chopped up a generous amount and included it in the mixture, which tasted great.

31 October 2006

Boo!

Spending the week "up the coast" at the family beach unit with Anya and Raema (Anya's grandma & my mum-in-law). David, unfortunately, couldn't take a week off work and is waiting until the weekend to join us, if the weather holds.

I didn't realise until settling in to write this that it's Halloween today! It's been sun and beach for 4 straight days, so it's hard to believe that it's dark and spooky on the other side of the planet.

Anya's vocabulary has just exploded this week - I tried to write down all her new words, but there are so many now that a list is meaningless. Some sources say that they are learning 90 words a day at this age, and I can believe it.

The main word of the week is pasta (often lazily pronounced as "pa-pa") which Anya insistently requests at every meal and snack break, while encouragingly patting the fridge door. She even asked for some as part of her effort to postpone bedtime. I can't believe she can be so cunning at just 18 months old.

Her other obsession is the Wiggles, which she calls "bow-wow" because that's the first song on "Top of the Tots." I have heard her asking, "bow-wow? bow-wow?" and "pa-pa? pa-pa?" so many times now that I hear her voice in my sleep...

20 October 2006

Day 22

FET (frozen embryo transfer) today. Yesterday I had to decide whether to put in one or two. I decided on one. During the procedure I mentioned that it had been a tough call, and Dr Kilvert said he thought I made the right choice.

17 October 2006

Here it comes...

It appears that terrible two-dom is coming up fast. Bright side is, this means Anya's precocious...?

Latest naughtiness includes: smacking me in the face despite all warnings to stop; climbing on to the dinner table while saying, "NO!" at the top of her lungs; extreme tantrums over being thwarted (about anything).

On the cute side, this morning she said, "Coco!" (talking about our neighbour Cora) so I asked her, "Can you say 'Sam' ?" (Cora's husband) and she said, "Am!" Turtles are also popular at the moment.

07 October 2006

Changes Imminent

A lot has happened since my last post and a lot is happening soon! Family: negative result on the IVF cycle, but due to try again soon (we have 3 embryos left from the egg pick-up and fertilisation). Work: someone sort of offhandedly offered me a job, I pursued discussions, and they should get back to me soon with a firm offer. Home: David has pushed ahead with getting builders and architects to visit us, to discuss renovations for our house, so we'll be committing to a course of action soon (yikes!)

Foremost in my thoughts recently is my work/life balance, as
I feel quite tired all the time, and at the same time constantly yearn to spend more time with Anya. Meanwhile, I actually like working, but have gotten burned out on my current role. At the same time, when I'm with Anya, she's so full throttle that I get tired out and wish I could get a break! Oh, if only I were rich and could have a nanny and work only as many hours as I felt like...

In any case, I'm very hopeful that this prospective job turns out to be as imagined. It's with a software company that makes hydraulic modelling software that I've used in both my current and last jobs. This would mean getting to focus more on my favorite aspect of work, computer analysis, plus getting to deliver training, also something I enjoy. Even if this doesn't pan out, it's made me think about what I really enjoy in my work.

22 September 2006

Daddy!

David's been away for a week, fishing with his brother and a friend. He just got back this afternoon. All week Anya was talking about Daddy -- every time she saw something that makes her think of him, like his stuff, or his side of the bed, or heard a sound outside that might mean that he was out there. David says she looks more grown up to him -- she's definitely doing more new things, like asking for the Wiggles DVD.

It's been a tough week for me and I hope to get to sleep in at least once this weekend. I got less and less sleep with each passing day this week, partly due to Anya and partly due to work-related insomnia. David peeked into her mouth at dinnertime and discovered that Anya has another tooth (#5) up top, which is probably the reason for her rough sleeps this week.

Tuesday was my mum-in-law's birthday, so I made a cake and invited everyone over as a suprise for her, since 2 of her 3 sons were away fishing! She wasn't really that surprised as she'd been half-hoping for everyone to come around anyway. The cake was a success -- moist chocolate with white chocolate custard poured into carved-out holes, then refrigerated and topped with chocolate ganache.

15 September 2006

Latest Wordsmithing

OK, I have no idea what these mean. Anya has been saying them for weeks now:
bee-ah-bee
me-ah-mee
Usually said repeatedly in a clear, bell-like voice. Today she said me-ah-mee in a growly voice, playfully. I once thought that bee-ah-bee meant bellybutton, because about half the time she would laugh and point at her bellybutton while saying it, but I don't think there's a clear link.

Meanwhile, new words this week are:
puh-pul (purple)
bubble (learned thanks to bathtime hijinks)
sto (stove)

And she continues to love saying stah (star), mooh (moon), bow-wow (dog), moh (more), pee/gee/dee (please), ta (thank you), and has started repeating words at random as we talk to her.

Eggs

Monday (11th) was egg pick-up day. Thirteen eggs... no wonder I felt so bloated... After getting home I told David I'd like a nap, and the next thing I knew, I woke up at 9 pm having missed Anya's entire dinner-bath-bedtime routine.

Tuesday I went to work, but operating at half-speed, so decided to go home a bit early. Typically, I didn't actually manage to leave until an hour after deciding to leave.

Wednesday was embryo transfer day. At Dr Kilvert's recommendation only one embryo was put in. David sat next to me holding my hand and we were discussing the difference between American and Australian TV when Dr Kilvert, who'd been poking around down below, said it was done. I was a bit surprised, as I didn't see the scientist come in with the egg (last time it was shown to me), and I had no idea that he wasn't just prepping.

I'd intended to go to work in the afternoon, but went home instead and rested and napped. I wasn't this exhausted the first time we did this!

We now wait fifteen days before we can test for pregnancy. Meanwhile, every morning and night I top up my progesterone levels with refrigerated pessaries (wax pellets that I insert... /shudder). Sunday I also inject HCG to help things along. I feel like a pincushion with all this self-injecting.

Work is of little interest to me at this point and I find myself fantasizing about just quitting, or getting some mindless sort of work to do, like running a video rental store.

01 September 2006

T-shirt design

Here is a photo of the finished shirt. (shirt is well used by now and somewhat stretched...) -- Jan'07












This is the t-shirt design I came up with for my mothers' group (for the toddlers in the group to wear). I thought it would be cool to have something that linked everyone together, plus it would be fun for us to make the t-shirts. We will be making them next week -- I'll update with an image of the finished product.

28 August 2006

Next Steps (IVF)

Today is Day 6 of my cycle (Day 1 is when your period starts) and I will be starting FSH injections. Looking back over notes from last time (pre-Anya) I found that on Day 12, the doctor identified how many eggs I had, and on Day 19 the eggs were extracted and fertilised. By Day 22 the fertilised eggs were implanted. In other words, by Sept 13th I might be pregnant. Yikes!

Meanwhile I was also a little freaked to realise that I'm 38, while filling out forms. Dumb, I know, but I don't normally think about my age any more except in the vaguest terms.

This weekend we drove up the coast to Peregian and stopped to look at display homes on the way. The prevailing plan at the moment is to remove our house from the property and build a new one, since we've been unable to find a house that meets all our requirements. I've been feeling quite reluctant to get into building or renovating as I know how time-consuming and frustrating it can be, but I feel quite excited after looking at the display home! http://www.civicsteelhomes.com.au/

17 August 2006

Hop on Pop

Reading Dr. Seuss's "Hop on Pop" to Anya...
Got the page with words rhyming with DAD:

DAD
SAD Dad is sad.
BAD Very, very sad.
HAD Dad had a bad day...


At which point Anya wailed, got up from my lap, and ran straight to David in the kitchen and gave him a cuddle.

16 August 2006

What do you say?

Elaine: What does a dog say?
Anya: Bow wow wow!!!
Elaine: What does a cat say?
Anya: Mnow! ...Mnow!
(etc.)

Elaine: What does Sam say? [Sam is our neighbor, retired, who mostly tinkers with lawnmowers in his bak yard and likes having Anya over for visits.]
Anya: Wooo, woo! [This is, in reality, what Sam says when he's calling to her!]

... [trying to think of something else to ask her...]

Elaine: What does Anya say?
Anya: ... [dead silence... stymied! I think the answer should be, "num, num!"]

12 August 2006

Census 2006

The Australian Census was conducted this week (8 August). I completed my form on-line. It took a long time to fill out for all three of us! I do wonder sometimes about people who design official on-line forms. Despite some good features (such as simply clicking "Same as Question 1" for additional address questions, for example) this form was, as usual, slow to get through because you had to page through so often. Why are the forms designed this way? Why can't they fit more questions (or all the questions, come to think of it) on one page? It would be to their benefit as well as ours to design forms that are faster to go through. (I know, there are probably reasons like data validation and suitability for sight-impaired users, but surely there are work-arounds that could be implemented, rather than encumbering all users with a dinosaurian process.)

05 August 2006

Whale Breaching

I went whale watching for my birthday. David, Anya and Raema came too.

This was the second best moment of the whole day.


I didn't get a photo of the best moment -- I was busy watching it! It was when four or five dolphins were swimming with a pod of whales. They'd leap out of the water just a second ahead of the surfacing whales. Apparently, they ride on the whales' noses for fun!

02 August 2006

IVF Round 2

I went back to see Dr. Kilvert this morning, who guided us through IVF last time. It certainly felt odd knowing that I was committing to possibly being pregnant again by early September. However, as David pointed out, we were very lucky last time in succeeding right away. Still, it's nervewracking. I don't feel ready, but I didn't feel ready for Anya, either!

For my birthday (tomorrow) I'd decided I wanted to go whale watching. We last went a few years ago as a present for Raema (David's mum) to celebrate her 70th birthday and found it quite exhilarating. Due to work pressures I didn't have time to make a booking until today, so I was very happy to find out that places were still available on the boat for this Friday.

I also got motivated and went to the gym after work tonight. It was my first visit in months. I had to give up spending the evening with Anya, though. It's really hard having to choose between Anya time and health time...

01 August 2006

Anya's Words of the Week

New words that Anya is saying (almost) this week include:
now/mao ("miaow")
cah (car) -- but she also still goes "brrrrooo"... to our delight
noo (nude)
poo (yes, poo, that was David's idea)
buh (book)
gog (clock)
moo (moon)

23 July 2006

Married Again!

No, it's not what you think. It's just that David finally picked out a replacement wedding ring today. It's tricolour with three separate hoops that run in parallel except where they intertwine on top. I found myself admiring it all afternoon as I happened to glimpse his hand.

I've been feeling sort of unmarried ever since it became apparent (over a year ago now) that David had misplaced his wedding ring and was going around barehanded. We still have to get the new ring resized, so he's wearing it on his middle finger for now. So, in a way, I am still not back to feeling fully married yet.

We got the ring in Fortitude Valley, where we went this afternoon to buy all our special, weird foods (the ones that make other people say, "you ate what? where did you get that?") Our purchases included sweet potato noodles, japanese seaweed and various sorts of steamed buns. Speaking of odd foods, on the "Iron Chef" tonight (Sole Battle!), Iron Chef Sakai (the French one) garnished a dish with deep fried corn silk! And it tasted good, judging from all reactions. Naturally, it didn't hurt that the dish included lobster and truffle...

22 July 2006

Brr! Canberra

I visited Canberra this week for two days. Its daytime high, 10°C (50°F), was lower than Brisbane’s overnight low, 11°C. Brr! I was there to look at Scrivener Dam, which impounds Lake Burley Griffin. Touring the control gallery inside the dam was especially cold, as the masses of concrete acted as a perfect heat sink. I was pretty impressed with the second exit added recently which was drilled through the solid concrete at the far end of the dam to provide a virtually vertical climb out (we didn’t try it).

I called home to say hi to David and give Anya the thrill of talking to me on the phone. I think she was rather indifferent until she recognised my voice, but then accidentally put me on hold (something that neither David nor I know how to do!) I had to call back, and by then she’d lost all interest. And I was so looking to forward to hearing her say “oyley-o?” to me…

14 July 2006

Anya at My Desk


There's just something about the curve of Anya's mouth that I like in this photo.

Anya's Words

Anya has been imitating words with varying success. Here are some gems:

Oyley-o = Hello
Shhh... = Shoe
Jay-je = Jaeden (her cousin)
Moh = More
Amma = Grandma
Brrrrr (for cars and motorcycles)
Ooffff = Woof (for dogs)

She confidently says Bye-bye, Mama, Daddy, Unh-uh (as in, "no") and Uh-Oh! She also says "nummy!" when reading about eating, expecting a meal, or playing with pots/pans/bowls.

11 July 2006

Pressure Cooker

Today's dinner was made in the pressure cooker. Seemed like an apt metaphor for how life's been lately. Lots of ingredients, but it all tastes the same at the end. I can't wait for my boss to get back from China so I can stop acting as manager!

I had a small break today meeting David at a jewelry store at lunchtime. We were looking for a replacement wedding ring for the one he's misplaced.
It was interesting... we definitely don't have the same taste. I like different, but simple & subtle (stripes & waves); David likes different, but noticeably different (knots, links & puzzles).

After trying every ring in their extensive collection, he still hadn't taken a shine to anything. Later in the afternoon he emailed me to say that he'd stopped by a further four stores after we parted, and realised that the first store had, by far, the best selection. So he went back there again!