So here’s a big tip for all you first time mums :

Before you spend $400 on a new pram… Make sure you buy one with a toddler seat add-on, especially if you’re thinking of having a second kid within 2-3 years!

Sure enough, it was time to upgrade our (perfectly fine) one seater pram to something that would accommodate TWO kids.

I looked into tandem prams, twin prams and even ride-on boards (a little skateboard thing that attaches to the back of the pram for the bigger kid to stand on – yeah right). Well I wanted something small-ish, light-weight, 3 wheels, air-tyres (for jogging), sturdy blah blah. But yeah, those twins and tandems are HUGE! Not to mention that a good quality one will set you back $600. Gaah.

Anyway, still reeling from our lack of foresight into this matter (ie. spending $400 on a new one, only 2 years ago) I thought I’d investigate the price of a secondhand one.

And lo and behold, after 2 weeks of trawling through the newspapers, ebay, the quokka… I managed to score a 16-month, near new, $580, 3-wheel jogger with accessories for only $250! Woo hoo. *So proud*

Argh. I don’t have any brain power to write a decent post.

I’m still recovering from last night….

Flowers. Presents. Dinner. And dancing on the stage with topless guys at a fashion parade at Connies till 3am.

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone!

So my actual birthday was today. My parents held a dinner, invited some relatives and we all sat down to a yummy Chinese meal.

Haha from the picture above, you’d think we ate at a restaurant. But nah, it was at my parent’s house and they cooked most of it. I think the polystyrene-containers-with-the-lids-cut-off-to-make-them-into -serving-dishes gave it away. Hehe no really, it was lovely. And unexpectedly I scored some birthday money!

Events on Saturday night :

So what I actually wanted to do for my birthday this year… was to swim with sharks. But eh, it didn’t time out well and I didn’t get around to organising it.
So yeah, instead I was just in the mood for a crazy night out.

We got tickets to a fashion parade at a popular gay club in Perth. And the show started at 12am! It was really cool! I’m kicking myself for not taking my camera. The clothes were wild and outrageous!
The models were fantastic – flamboyant and wonderfully camp!

We bumped into some old friends. Would have loved to chat and catch up properly, but hey it was a club. Instead we drunk a lot. Danced into the night. And took crazy photos of ourselves.

Plus, the place was CRAWLING with gorgeous, hot, young, half naked guys (ok, I exaggerate) who were all not looking at me… *hmph* (that’s because they were all looking at my husband :P).

On my way to the toilets, I got cornered by a British guy who said he was a photographer for some UK Magazine, and he wanted to take my photo. I almost pissed myself laughing from his pick up line. Hello, this is a gay bar mate! Part of me almost said yes, in case I just deeply offended a pro magazine photographer. But he was holding an IXUS for goodness sakes. Anyway, I think he took my pic as I pushed him aside. Grr.

Well I was ready to call it a night by 2am. Simply because I wasn’t feeling 100% in the first place. Haha I really am one year older.

Haha Sean is such a chubby little cutie.
He’s been rolling over (both ways) for a couple of weeks now… and I’m a little shocked. Are babies supposed to roll this early?!? I don’t remember Callum rolling at 3½ months.

They say the second child usually develops much quicker than the first, because they watch and learn from the older child. But I suspect it’s more of a perception thing too – you know, time seems to stop as you watch your first born child achieve his first big milestone. Like watching man’s first step on the moon. The breathtaking, miraculous achievement of mankind.

But second time round was all good too. Sean rolled over, cameras were snapping, camcorders were rolling, and there was plenty of oohing and aahing. So no one will be holding me responsible for middle-child neglect.

Sean also started doing several rolls at a time, and he can now grab and reach for things. Which means I have to keep the floor free from sultanas, rice bubbles, nuts and little plastic cowboys.

Ugh. And recently he’s been waking up 2-3 times a night this week. For a cuddle and a semi-feed. Which is not acceptable at 4:30am!
So solid food will also be starting this week. In hopes that his sleeping will improve.

Went shopping this evening. Again!

Hehe I had to get rid of my birthday money somehow! It was 4 blissful hours of shopping, trying on unspeakably expensive clothes, and wandering up and down the malls by myself. Just me and my thoughts. Ended up with a new jacket, hoop earrings, tops.

My prize for the trip was a pair of $150 Zu boots, discounted to $37! In my size! I was sooooo happy! My sister will be so jealous. And lets not bother with the fact that I have no idea where or when I’d wear them… or whether I really needed them in the first place. Heh.

As I heard the news about the explosions in London, my heart felt like it stopped. I was so scared. My mind raced to my family and friends who are there… trying to work out where they lived in London… whether they’d be ok…

My prayers go out to everyone living there.

We invited some friends over this evening for a dinner party.

I guess it was a late birthday celebration for me. But really, it was just an excuse have some friends over for some good food and wine. I was a culinary goddess! I cooked a fish + aubergine + tomato curry, a chicken tikka masala, a mixed vegetable korma, cucumber raita, a chunky tomato salad, and a capsicum salad. It all turned out really well! I was so pleased. *beam*

Hehe, I actually made most of it the last night. Mainly because curry tastes better the night after. And also to avoid all the last minute preparation stress – trying to prepare food for 11 people and tidying the house, 1 hour before guests arrive, while looking after two kids.

I unintentionally did something slightly weird and risky too. I invited a couple of close friends from different groups in my life. 1 friend from high school, 2 from uni, 2 from church, 2 long-time family friends, 2 ex-colleagues and of course, myself and my husband. Ha, well it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It was all kinda weird at first. As it is when you’re sitting around a table with people you don’t know. And I was half expecting everyone to be their normal selves, and instantly get along like a house on fire. And haha, admittedly, it was very funny to see all my good friends plunged into an awkward social setting in my living room.

But introductions went around. There were plenty of entertaining random conversations about PhDs, exploding ovens, lotus roots, homo-er0tic art, guys holding the hair of their girlfriends as they puke into nightclub toilets, heaty foods, romance books, secret agents and how to cook poppadums in a microwave.
So as the night wore on, there was much laughter and merriment.

We raced off to church in the morning.

Some aunty gave Callum a kid-size chocolate bar, without asking me! Oooh I hate that! The ONLY time he gets a piece of chocolate is when he does a poo in the potty. As a little reward.

So I had to carefully explain to Callum that mummy is going to put the chocolate into her pocket so we can eat it later. To which Callum threw himself on the ground, kicking and screaming. The aunty was so embarrassed. I shrugged and let him make a huge scene. Mainly so that no one else will give my kids sugary treats, without asking me. Adults need to be trained too.

Speaking of potties. Callum is toilet trained! Except during his night sleep. Woohoo! He’s 2½ years. My mother was pushing him to be trained by 1½ years. But pffft… I think you should start when the kid is ready and when it suits you.

Came home for a nice long afternoon nap.

Then we went to visit some friends for afternoon tea. Yummmmm they had fresh scones and jam, fresh hummus and turkish breads, and a huge steaming pot of tea. Kids, babies and toys were scattered all over the floor. Bigger kids were downstairs in the sandpit, swings and scooters.

And the adults were on the balcony chatting and soaking up the afternoon Sunday sun. One of the mums was a fashion designer who made her own one-off pieces and sold them to various boutiques around Perth. She was so inspiring! I can’t wait to learn how to sew!

Then back home again for dinner. Leftovers from last night. Put the kids to bed. Started to plan camping activities for our little holiday up north. And got stuck into my book, while sipping a hot cup of chai.

We’re going on a little holiday next week! Yay!
Ok it’s not camping proper. But we are having a campfire.

Andrew’s parents live up north in a small country town. They have a big property with heaps of big, over-grown trees that need cutting back and piles of fallen branches. So winter is the perfect time of the year to have a big bonfire!

I’ve planned heaps of fun camping activities for Callum. Toasting marshmallows. Making damper. Wrapping up potatoes and corn in foil, baking them on the coals and eating them with melted butter. Yummmy.

The property also has a creek! So we’ll be catching tadpoles. Floating bark boats. Making rivers. Painting rocks. And making a hanging wind chime thing out of nuts, sticks and feathers.

As well as that, I’m looking forward to catching up on some reading. Going for bush walks. The long drives in the country. Visiting the coast and walking along deserted beaches.

Haha, I feel like such a kid again. Can’t wait.

I received a huge parcel in the mail yesterday. From Japan! My sister sent me a birthday present – a gorgeous silky yukata (summer kimono), and some funky kimono fabric cuts she bought at the Asakusa markets.

I let Callum try on the yukata, and immediately he went “Raaawkk! Look mummy! I’m a BIRD!”
He ran around the house flapping his wings, swishing his tail, going RAWWK! RAWWK! and it was just so cute. Especially because he was still wearing his little red underpants.

Ho ho. This was my first attempt at knitting… in about 15 years.

And before you give me one of those “just stick to web design babe” looks… it wasn’t supposed to be anything. It was just an experiment piece – where I tried to remember how to knit, purl, cast off, increase and decrease etc. Hehehe plus, I thought it’d be funny to show a pic of it, since there are so many knitters our there.

Anyway, I gave it to Callum and he called it a crocodile. So nyeeh, it’s a crocodile. And it eats cashew nuts, OK?

This was what I was trying to make! I tried to find some knitted flower patterns on the web, but I couldn’t find one I liked. So I just designed my own. Turned out quite nice!
Sorry I can’t share the pattern, because I can’t exactly remember it! I kinda made it up in my head as I went along. I’ll try to write it down one day, but right now I’m going to try out another idea brewing in my head.

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day.

I dragged the kids out to do some last minute shopping before our trip. Bought a tonne of nappies – we’re still using ½ cloth and ½ disposable nappies for Sean, even on our holiday! How’s that for dedication. Bought a couple of colouring-in and activity books for Callum. Did I mention the drive was going to be about 6 hours?!?

We discovered that a kid’s show was about to start in the middle of the shopping centre. So we hung around for 10 minutes. Haha, I was spotted by 2 people who read my site. I had both Callum and Sean (who was sleeping) in the trolley, but when the action started, Callum wanted to join the other kids in the mosh pit. I had a rather nervous moment when his head disappeared into the sea of children.

Later we dropped off the kids at my parent’s place. Andrew and I spent some much needed quality time by ourselves over dinner. Then we drove over to Fremantle to meet some friends at Clancy’s Fish Pub. Those seafood platters are to DIE for. Anyway, it was a farewell party for a friend. Who is off to sail around the world. Literally. Sailing. In a boat.

Haha, I don’t know why I’m always so surprised by this… I’m the only Asian face in our crowd, and I am SHORT. I’m 5′3 (160cms). And I have these Aussie guy friends who are HUGE. Some of them are like 6½ feet! I think. And every time we stand around the bar, they tower over me and block out the light. My nose jabs at their belly buttons. It’s quite a funny sight.

Then we drive off to a friend’s house-warming party. Huge house in the suburbs. Beautifully renovated. I had house envy. It looked like one of those stunning homes on the cover of magazines. Had some really nice chats with friends and strangers too.

Someone picked my astrological sign. Cancer. Because I sounded maternal and domestic. Bleh. We laughed. But secretly I was annoyed, because I don’t believe in star signs. And I don’t like to think someone can fit my personality into a box. Anyway I drowned my sorrows in Japanese beer and DELICIOUS finger food.

Phew. Such a long day. But we still managed to be home and asleep before we turned into pumpkins.

As with most holidays, our trip up north was brilliant simply because it was just that – a holiday. It was fantastic to get away from it all, our everyday routine, the activities, the city… kick back and breathe in some fresh country air.

We spent a lot of time outdoors. The weather was stunning. Blazing sunshine and crisp cool air. We built lots of big fires. Roasted potatoes. Sizzled cobs of corn. Toasted marshmallows.

We took strolls along beaches. With no other souls to be seen. Built sand castles and elaborate channels and lakes. Collected excellent specimens of shells, sea sponges and drift wood. Paddled in the water and played in the waves until our jeans were soaked.

We explored the creek. Can’t begin to describe how beautiful it was. Imagine a small stereotypical Australia creek. Over hanging gums and tea trees. Clear cool water trickling across the red brown earth. Bits of bark and sticks caught behind water stones and pebbles. Grass and water wriggling with bugs and frogs and crickets. We built a dam. Caught tadpoles. Found wild melons. It was so much fun.

We also drove into town and discovered a spectacular 2 storey bookshop/cafe – open warehouse style with 2 mezzanine levels, gorgeous floorboards, retro couches, huge windows with a view of the ocean! They served coffee AND chicken + avocado toasted focaccias. We couldn’t possibly ask for more.

We kinda live by a theory, that our kids undergo an amazing surge in development whenever we plunge them into a completely new environment. It’s happened every time we’ve tried it. And it’s something we want to keep doing. So I was really eager to see how my 2½ year old would develop this time.

To my surprise, he turned into a little shit. It was the whole “terrible two” phase all over again. Absolutely defiant. Constantly nagging. Whinging. Crying. Shouting. Screaming.

And the 4 month old was no better. Teething! Feverish. Rashes. Screaming. Drooling. Restless. Clingy. Awake 6 times a night.

Ah well. We had a nice time. And it’s good to be home.
I’m exhausted. But it’s a nice kind of exhaustion.

I took a zillion photos during our trip. Way too many to post up. So I’ll probably do some random posts every now and then. When I have the time. This is Callum eating his potato-on-a-stick. He loved it! And it was very funny to watch him manoeuvre his arms and elbows in the air as it spun around.

I went to a lingerie party this afternoon. Haha it was heaps of fun!

We locked the kids in a playroom, and spent the next couple of hours giggling like high school girls at a sleep-over. We sipped champagne. Devoured chocolate-coated strawberries. Sushi. And a table full of fancy nibbles. We all knew each other, so we spent most of the time chatting, laughing, teasing and talking secret women’s stuff.

Like, husbands and sex, boob jobs, liquid-filled push-up bras, husbands and sex, lop-sided breasts, g-string jewellery, brazilian waxes, husbands and sex, granny underwear, black pantyliners, how to teach your daughter about sex, periods and inserting tampons, and reminiscing about those old style super-sized pads that were thick as a brick. Hahaha.

The lingerie range was REALLY nice. Very similar to stuff from Victoria’s Secret. Less colours. But much cheaper.

But I couldn’t buy anything! Aaargh. I’m still breast-feeding, my size is all over the place and it’d be really stupid to buy something now. The amount of self-restraint I had to invoke gave me a headache. Grrrr. So I had to promise myself (the same way I make chocolate promises to Callum) that I’ll splurge when I finish breast-feeding.

“Hey honey! Water please!”

“Callum. Don’t call me honey.”

“No honey. I like it.”

“Well I don’t like it. Call me Mumster or something.”

“Monster?!? Bwahaha. You so silly honey.”

“Gah. You’re such a child.”

“Honey Monster! Honey Monster! Honey Monster!”

I was invited to a mini launch party for a new online boutique! My lovely friend Mei Ling is selling all her crafty goodies, jewellery and an exotic line of clothing at her site Ms. Cranberi.

It was really cool to catch up with her! Plus a bunch of old friends from the multimedia/design crowd. There was a really nice vibe in the place. So much yummy food! And so many new faces.

And although I was temporarily lacking the funds to buy something, I left with a tummy full of delicious lamingtons.

My second knitting project turned out pretty well! I borrowed Sue’s knitted flower pattern (which was really easy to do) and added a few more stitches to make it a teensy bit bigger.

It just feels so good to make something out of nothing. Ok, it isn’t much.
But I swear, the need to create must be woven into my being. I just get so restless and frustrated if I don’t have my head in some project. I figure it’s something between needing to express some kind of tangible evidence of my existence (aside from the kids)… and needing to know that I can still make things. Beautiful things.

I just love having that first vision. A vague picture in my mind of what it could be. An image blury enough for creative accidents and spontaneity. And then there’s that rush of putting everything together – the plan, the stuff, the skill and flair.

I guess I’m doing lots of creative stuff each day. It’s enough stuff to keep me sane. Playing with my kids. Tinkering with this site. Taking photos. Making up yummy recipes.

But eh. I’m struck with bigger and bigger visions, growing each day. Painting. Screen printing. Wood block printing. Exhibiting. Fashion. Textiles. Photography. Illustration. Writing. None of them focused enough for a complete business/career plan. They’re just little dreams. Just a list for the future. To check them off and go, yep done that. But I have so many. And there’s so little time.

Ah. I guess I’m still young. The kids will grow up. By then I’ll be in my prime. I’ll be wiser. And richer. I’ll have plenty of time then. Well, that’s what they tell me anyway.