Anya Portrait

Anya Portrait
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Callum Portrait

Callum Portrait
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Life, the Fast Version

I’ve decided to try posting via email from now on. Sadly, I can’t seem to find time to blog properly, so maybe this will work. You’ll notice I started back at work mid-April and stopped posting in May… (except for one or two uploaded photos)… We actually hit a lot of milestones recently which surely merited blog entries, but time continues to shoot past like whitewater rapids, so I’ll just have to recap quickly now:

This weekend Callum’s two top teeth started to break through so he’ll finally have a complete set for biting… he’s already a menace whenever anyone is eating (wants to eat everyone’s food!) Now he’s really set. As for walking, he is still “surfing” the furniture. I’ve tried holding his hands for walks, but so far he only takes a few steps and sits down. Talking consists of babbling although a few times he’s seemed to repeat a sound back, and his main form of communication continues to be laughing (most of the time) and screeching (when he wants something NOW, or is frustratedly trying to remove his shoes and socks).

Anya is starting to be interested in spelling out words, but so far only spells “DANGER” and her own name. She knows “DANGER” from going to the train station and seeing lots of construction sites around town. She’s been pretty indifferent to the Olympics, but it’s been good to introduce her to the idea of physical contests. She’s got a great broad jump, a tiny hop for vertical jumps, and super yoga-quality balancing and flexibility. Going from point A to point B usually involves running enthusiastically or sauntering slowly, with no in-between speed setting possible.

I turned 40 on August 2^nd and Callum turned 1 on August 11^th. It’s rather unnerving to be confronted so emphatically with the age gap between us (Anya’s birthday is in May, so I tend not to think about it too much, with her). The same week, Brisbane had the “Ekka” (Royal Exhibition), an annual week of agricultural displays and competition which has somehow become popular as a fun fair. We duly went along and showed Anya and Callum all sort of animals and took Anya on some rides, and went home exhausted after just a few hours. Since then we’ve felt a bit partied out, so haven’t been up to much.

What did I do for my big four-oh, you ask? My day started with my usual Saturday morning kickboxing class, after which I went to a beauty salon, where David had arranged for an hour long massage followed by a facial. Then it was home for lunch and naptime (not for me, unfortunately), then over to our in-laws to celebrate more birthdays (my nephew Isaac and niece Jessica). Last, in the evening, we went out to dinner with friends at Mondo Organics, a restaurant whose chef I’ve enjoyed watching on Ready Steady Cook. At day’s end, I collapsed gratefully into bed – really feeling my age.

Backtrack

A quick summary of Callum events (missed when I didn't post anything from May to August...)
21/5 waves back
3/6 gets keen on pulling himself up on furniture to stand
12/6 mimics my actions -- feeling a book, tapping a box
15/6 first tooth
2/7 Callum had been napping -- Raema (David's mum) heard a brief cry, and didn't go in right away; she found Callum crawling out the bedroom door, much to her shock (must have climbed out of his cot from the bassinet insert, across our bed, and somehow got down to the floor) -- we stopped using the bassinet insert!
8/7 loves to point; Anya has been licking his finger to make him laugh
14/7 second tooth
20/7 climbed a full flight of stairs, at Rob's (David's brother) house
27/7 clapping
11/8 first birthday! ...says "ah-ta!" peeking out from behind a cloth; puts things into a box (until now was only pulling them out!)
21/8 hands things to us over and over; loves rummaging in drawers and cupboards
23/8 third tooth (top left)

Going to Town

5-Aug-08 Gaythorne Station
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This is our typical arrangement when going to work for the day. Behind David you can see the stairs we know very well from crossing the train tracks to get to the city-bound platform from the carpark. Anya now has legs of steel from traipsing up and down these stairs three days a week!

Man Enough

This is the tale of one man, two children, and several Samaritans...

David was taking Anya and Callum home on the train yesterday when Anya started to cough. She coughed and coughed and coughed until she started to gag and then... she threw up.

Two men nearby immediately moved out of the vicinity.

Three women immediately came forward to offer help. One even gave David her towel to mop up the mess.

Tangalooma 26-Apr-08

Tangalooma 26-Apr-08
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Swimming with Dolphins

We had a great Anzac holiday weekend with Paul and Teresa and Heather (now 6 months old) at Tangalooma, a resort on nearby Moreton Island where dolphins come nightly to be handfed by willing tourists. I had imagined myself swimming with dolphins (yes in a fantasy-like mini-movie starring Elaine) -- the reality was quite different, with long lines of tourists going down to the water like an assembly line, but it was still pretty amazing to be that close to the dolphins. We waded out with a staff member and each had a fish to place in the water. I wasn't quick enough and my young dolphin (3 yr old) nipped my fingers a bit by accident. Anya, meanwhile, was keen initially, then ended by climbing my body in fear when Storm and Silhouette were actually circling us. (I'll post the photo soon.) So David fed Anya's fish to the dolphins as well, then the staff member even gave us more fish to prolong the moment. Paul gloated afterwards that he got THREE fish to feed their dolphins -- I didn't realise it was a competitive point!

The other great activity was snorkelling the wrecks just off shore. All of us enjoy scuba diving (Paul used to be an instructor) so it was the perfect holiday activity for us, and largely fitted in with the constraints imposed by two babies and a toddler. Paul earned platinum status by looking after both Callum and Heather while Teresa and I were snorkelling -- both babies needed naps and he had to walk up and down the beach carrying them both until they fell asleep. Meanwhile, David was back at the villa waiting for Anya to finish a nap. He went snorkelling after we came back, and Paul went back with him.

From Anya's perspective, the best part was probably having four adults to talk to. I don't think she considers herself a child! She enjoyed being right on the beach with grassy areas, sandy beaches, a swimming pool and playground all within a short walking distance. It certainly was great being able to swim at a moment's notice (the family unit at Peregian Beach is a couple of blocks away from the beach).

Silver Clouds

warhol4
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Took Anya to the Gallery Of Modern Art today to enjoy the kids' area. My favorite part is a high-ceilinged room with fans blowing around bouyant Mylar pillows (the silver clouds). I had a hard time convincing Anya to pose at all for this "celebrity portrait" as she was more interested in using the controls in the photo booth -- hence the odd expression.

For some reason this photo reminds me of the Frieda Kahlo self-portrait with herself repeated three times as goddess, mother and child sitting inside successive embraces.

Thunderbirds Are Go!

This Easter weekend, we stayed at the family units in Peregian Beach along with our in-laws. Last year Anya had followed her cousins around without real understanding, while they hunted chocolate Easter eggs (the youngest, Isaac, by cunningly following their dog around); this year she actually did some hunting herself, with everyone chiming in, "hot!" "cold!" to clue her in. I wish I could remember what Americans do, because my childhood Easter memories are mostly formed from school activities as my parents didn't do much special for Easter. I remember dying and decorating hard-boiled eggs, crafting bunnies and chicks from cotton balls and pipe cleaners, and just maybe getting to eat a tiny bit of chocolate and marshmallow. (That's another discrepancy -- no marshmallow chicks are sold here.)

Meanwhile, Callum really got moving this weekend and started going across whole rooms and down hallways, groaning with the effort as he went. Life's a whole new ballgame for him now! Today he also stepped up the pace with making not just one, but several different syllables in one continuous burst of sound -- for example: "Mamamam bab bab buh mam mam buh bah boo..." (Until today he would only repeat one syllable over and over.) This morning I could swear he talked for a solid fifteen minutes (and David could hear him from the other end of the house) while I lay groggily next to him and occasionally lifted my head to murmur to him encouragingly.

Other milestones for Anya: sleeping overnight without a nappy (she's been dry for a few months now but we were too chicken to try it); swimming across a lane and back, talking the whole way; writing letters and numbers... and generally acting like a little adult (except for a baffling need to delay and naysay proceedings at random times throughout the day).

Our Celebrity Portrait

warhol1
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

I finally made it to the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art this week. Strangely, I ended up feeling that I was more impressed by Yayoi Kusama's works. However, I imagine that it's probably hard to take in Warhol's work because he's been so influential. His way of seeing and creating art has so pervaded our cultural environment that his artworks seem (in hindsight) obvious and nothing special.

Rainwater Tank Installation

This is only a temporary location, but still annoying that the tank completely blocks access through the yard.


David looks like he's grinning, but actually he is grimacing in pain as his head is aching from a cold and the machine vibrations are getting to him (not to mention the general fatigue of a long day of hard labor).


This is the tank overflow pipe (should we ever be so lucky to have that much rain). It was a real bugbear to complete the installation since this neighborhood doesn't have a stormwater system, so we were required to connect to a 1m x 1m x 1m rubble pit. Thanks to the tank installers, we learned this fact after the tank had been placed in the only through access, forcing us to be inventive about how to bring in the earthmoving equipment.

It was lucky for us that our neighbors had their house razed recently (to build a new one) and were happy to let us drive in through their property. David simply cut out some of the rotten old fence (to be replaced anyway as part of construction) and set up a ramp over our back retaining wall. Once situated, the digging was not so straightforward either as he discovered some 60-yr-old construction rubble in the process. Fortunately, the rubble was useful for filling the pit, which was for the rainwater tank overflow. This job took all weekend. Kudos to my manly man!

Terminal Fatigue

David is conked out in bed with a cold and the rest of the household has also been under the weather for about the last two weeks. I haven't gotten terribly sick (had maybe a couple of days of feeling headachy) but I am very tired from coping with two grizzly kids. Callum seemed to be on the mend earlier this week but went downhill again with new, scarier symptoms. The doctor thinks he probably got a second virus just as he was getting over the first one.

Nonetheless, there are some fun things to report. Last night we had several friends over for a games night -- "Man Bites Dog" was first, then "Listen Up!" No PCs or game consoles involved! Just great food and conversation.

Also despite being sick, Callum has continued to show off new skills such as waving his dummy or toy between my mouth and his own -- he also did this with his grandma. It really seemed like he was trying to insert his dummy in my mouth.

Anya surprised me tonight by properly counting objects in a picture. She's known how to count up to 13 or 14 for quite a while, and recently mastered the idea that holding up fingers = a number, but until now had never seemed to understand about pointing at objects one by one to count them, and would randomly point all over the page while reciting her counting sequence.

Figure Drawing

This is Anya's latest skill. /tears/ She's really growing up!

Her first figure drawing (Feb 8th):


Her drawing of me (Feb 23rd):


Her drawing of David (Feb 24th):


Another drawing of me (Feb 24th):

Asian Beef Salad

David and I made up this recipe last night -- he did the greens, and I did the beef and onions:

Marinate 2 or 3 small flank steaks in lime juice + pulp, chili sauce, kecap manis, soy sauce and honey. (Approx 2 limes, 1 Tbs chili sauce, 2 Tbs kecap manis, 2 Tbs soy, 1 Tbs honey, but I just drizzled it into the bowl without measuring.) Grill on the BBQ or sear in a pan, then slice up for your salad.

Slice 2 onions and brown on the BBQ plate or in the pan. Set aside.

Simmer the marinade on low in the pan until thickened (approx 3-5 minutes). Return the onions to the pan and toss to coat. If there's a lot of sauce then you can also toss in the sliced beef.

Serve warm on a bed of mixed lettuces, fresh basil, tomato wedges & freshly toasted walnuts lightly dressed with sesame oil, fish sauce & rice vinegar.

Some Movement, Please

We've known for some time that Callum is raring to get going -- hates to be left lying around, rolls every which way, and constantly insists on being sat up (preferably in someone's lap) for a better view of the world around him. I've tried to show him how to slide forward on his tummy, but so far he still only scoots forwards if given something big to push off from (then he gets so excited that he's moving!)

Today he was making his usual break for it off the change mat, and I noticed that he was getting up on his knees. So it seems we'll be skipping phase one and going straight to hand-knee crawling. He's also been much more stable when sitting on his own (tipping over after several seconds rather than instantly) so that's the other problem sorted. :)

He's been much more vocal over the last few days despite (or perhaps because of?) having a snuffly cold. Vav vav vav, mam mam mam, bla bla bla (didn't you understand that?) Laughs like it's the greatest joke ever when we say "achoo!" and "boo!"

Late Night Musings

While cooking some pasta last night I wound up thinking about my friend William. I pretty much think about him every time I cook pasta, although I haven't seen him in over fifteen years (though nearly caught up with him at the turning of the millenium) and haven't exchanged email or anything with him in probably seven years. The reason I think about him is that he's the person who showed me how to slightly twist a bunch of spaghetti before letting it fall into the boiling water. I still remember how "Eureka!" that moment felt to me. I suppose to most people in the world, cooking pasta is a very ordinary event, but to this day, when I stand some spaghetti in a pot and then let it fall in a spiral, I feel a little thrill.

This got me thinking later that night about food memories. I guess they keep coming back because you never stop eating and the food still tastes like it did the first time, bringing the memory right back again. Especially if you're as into food as I am. (I do realise that I've just rather inelegantly re-capped that famous bit about madeleines and tea, but they're my own inelegant words, so there.)

I'll think of Jill every time I eat artichokes. A "wow!" moment when she showed me how to steam one and dip the leaves one by one into scrummy dip, after which I willfully broke away from her recipe (lemon juice with a tiny bit of melted butter) and ventured into high-fat territory (melted butter with a squeeze of lemon juice, and aioli, and anything with lots of butter).

Gosh, anyone reading this who's never met me would never know that I am NOT as big as a house. /laugh/

I also remember my sister "inventing" cheese cooked in a pan, after realising that her favorite part of a grilled cheese sandwich was the cheese that melts out the sides and browns in the pan. At the time, we thought she was weird. She was just in the wrong family! She should have been born to a Swiss or French family... of course, raclette is not traditionally made with a slice of American cheese.

Whenever I cook eggs, I think of my first boyfriend, who astonished me by cooking his eggs in butter. As my parents cooked everything in vegetable oil, it had never occurred to me to cook eggs in butter. His mother is German, hence the butter. I now definitely prefer eggs cooked in butter. Also broccoli cooked in butter. And most anything cooked in butter.

Which reminds me, when I first flew to Australia (to visit my not-yet-husband and in fact he was my not-yet-fiance), I went on Air New Zealand and was amazed by the delicious butter served on the plane -- a weird thing to be impressed by, but I later found out that New Zealand is in fact renowned for its dairy. I learned in the Gina Mallet book (see my list of good reads) that a small increase in the quantity of butter fat can make a world of difference in the taste of the butter, so I'm guessing that's what impressed.

This entry is starting to be all about butter... when my hubby (pre-affiancing) first asked me how I like my toast buttered, I answered him truthfully, although afraid of seeming fussy, that I like to let the toast cool slightly so that when I butter it, the butter doesn't melt all the way. I was gratified when he replied that he did exactly the same thing! The first in a long list of things we do the same (to match the equally long list of things we like to do exactly opposite).

Meanwhile, here is the little pasta recipe (without any butter) I made up last night:

2 small onions, diced small
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
2 red capsicums (bell peppers), diced small
approx 1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large chorizo sausage, diced small
handful arugula leaves, chopped coarsely
handful fresh basil leaves, chopped coarsely

Cook the onion on low heat in some olive oil until softened, then stir in the garlic, capsicum, mushrooms and sausage. Keep going until the mushrooms are cooked. Stir in the fresh herbs. Serve over spaghetti tossed with fruity olive oil or chili infused oil, and garnish with grated Romano cheese or crumbled Danish feta. (I think some fresh sage would also go well, but I didn't have any to try when I made this dish.) If this dish isn't saucy enough for your tastes, add some diced tomatoes to the pan as well and let them cook down a bit.

How to Blog It Right

I've been reading Notes from Inside My Head with awe and delight. I write my little blog as a sort of news posting for friends, but this author writes about motherhood with such verve that even commonplace events such as colds, tantrums and tender moments take on a special patina of significance.

Frangipani T-shirt

One of my main artistic outlets these days is screen-printing t-shirts. My niece Lauren asked me for a frangipani and I came up with this design. I like that it's different from the common frangipani design I've noticed on numerous shirts and tableware ever since she asked me for it.

Flexiboy

Callum has recently learned to eat his toes!