Through the Looking Glass

Indiana Jones

2009-03-21T13:04:00.001+09:00

He was running around looking like this the other day, I thought he looked so funny, totally cracked me up. I debated whether or not to post it, seeing as he's slightly indecent. Figured it was the same as if he was wearing a pair of swimmers, so hope you're not too offended. ;)

First day of school

2009-02-08T17:05:00.003+09:00

Ryan's first day of school (kindy). Just look how happy he is. He'd been looking forward to going to school for ages.

Picasa for Mac

2009-02-08T16:49:00.002+09:00

I am officially a lazy person. Since converting to mac, moving blogs and no longer being able to use picasa blogging was just too much trouble. Lo and behold I have just discovered the beta picasa for mac and so here are my first posts in years. Cheers all and enjoy!

Adventure World

2009-02-08T16:47:00.001+09:00

They made me go on this ride 10 times!!

Crazy thrill-seeking kids.

Vacation in Esperance

2009-02-08T16:43:00.000+09:00

Man and boy

2009-02-08T16:37:00.000+09:00

Birthday Girl

2006-06-27T15:49:00.000+08:00

After Cyd's 5th Birthday party!

The Brain Cloud

2006-03-26T10:25:00.000+08:00

I had a pretty stressful couple of days the week before last. It was one of those times that nothing works out, I was behind in my studying and feeling pretty much overwhelmed by it all. Then the wierdest thing happened, I started feeling this pressure in my head, like I was wearing a tight hat, except that I never wear hats.

I had no idea what it was, so I did an internet search and the only thing I could find was that sometimes it's a symptom of stress. Of course, that made me stress out even more, if I'm having physical manisfestations of stress now, in the 3rd week of my semester, I'm definitely going to have a full nervous break-down further down the line. So yeah, it kind of freaked me out 'cause nothing I did made it go away, and even though it wasn't painful it was so very annoying.

So Sol encouraged me to go to the GP and get it checked and I got the full work up, and everything checked out, no brain tumors or imminent strokes due to high blood pressure. As it turns out it was probably just a virus. Apparently you can get viruses where you only get one symptom, like one joint that swells up and everything else is completely fine. Now that I think of it, it felt like having a really bad head cold, except without the stuffy nose, sore throat, etc.... that usually accompanies one.

Anyway, it's almost completely gone now, I still get little twinges now and again, but I'm happy to say I'm on the road to recovery. It really did turn out to all be in my head.

Serenity

2006-03-26T10:19:00.000+08:00

In the last few days I've rediscovered the joys of star-gazing, of just looking up in to the huge sky and feeling the peace of knowing that I'm so small, the universe is so big, that it's just gonna keep on turning and everything's going to be alright.

I used to love stargazing when I was in my teens, when I was going through all that hormonal rollercoaster stuff, it was strangely calming. I hadn't done it for years, but the other night I laid out in the grass and it was like finding a long lost friend, it still hasn't lost its magic.

Pet for a day

2006-03-12T16:43:00.000+08:00

Ryan giving Shenzi a little too much love.

Cydney "reading" to Shenzi.

Cat Tales

2006-03-12T16:31:00.000+08:00

Our previous neighbors' cat did a "homeward bound" on us last week. Two sisters from India used to rent the unit next to us and they had this cute little kitten who was very friendly with us and the kids. Anyway, the girls went home at the end of last year and said they would find the cat a temporary home as they were planning to come back later this year......and that was that. Last week, after a 3 month absence we saw the cat lurking around our house. I didn't feed it for the first couple days, but it wasn't going anywhere and it obviously thought that he belonged to us, so I caved.
I'm not a cat person, but this cat was so gorgeous with the kids, and patient with ryan's wild, over-attentive ways, plus it had "come home", it was hard not to feel for it. We were tempted to keep it, but we have a "no pets" clause in our rental contract and it seemed cruel to keep it outside in the winter when it used to be a house cat. So I called up the local pet shelter who came to pick it up and assured me that they would help find it a good, new home. What surprised me was that I actually missed the cat after it was gone and I think part of me wants it to find it's way back to us again.

Summer Fun

2006-03-12T16:25:00.000+08:00

Cyd getting towed by Nikki the dolphin.

To leap or not to leap.....

Out of Bounds

2006-03-06T12:22:00.000+08:00

There are two rooms that are strictly off-limits to Ryan, the toilet and Cyd's bedroom. This morning I came across Cyd herding Ryan out of her room and saying gently, but firmly, "Ryan, you need to leave. Even though you say 'please', it will never change." Poor guy, I could just see him frantically clapping his hands, pleading to be allowed the privilege of staying within the inner sanctum. There are just so many interesting, fragile, tiny, intricate things to destroy and saturate with saliva in there. Sometimes at night after she's asleep he'll disappear and I'll find him sitting quietly in her room playing with some treasure he's discovered.

Sun, Sand 'n Surf!

2006-02-28T11:51:00.000+08:00

We went to the beach on Sunday and only managed to get off one shot before I ran out of batteries. So here it is---the head of Cyd.

Shake that booty!!

2006-02-27T12:54:00.000+08:00

Cyd, well, Cyd's behind, at a school disco last Friday. She had such a good time! It's so cute seeing little ones dance, no inhibitions, no self-consciousness, just letting loose and having fun.

My little genius!

2006-02-27T12:50:00.000+08:00

I don't know if it's pretty standard that all kids can do puzzles around this age (16 months), but I was all proud of him for doing this 10 piece puzzle all by himself for the first time. I didn't even show him where the pieces went. I know, I'm the typical proud parent, but look how proud he is of himself as well. Note the hammer he carries around with him 24/7--he even sleeps with the thing.

Update

2006-02-27T12:40:00.000+08:00

Sorry I've been so unfaithful to update this--but I do have a good excuse, our old computer died, completely died. But now that we have our new one set up, (One of the latest IMACs, no less) I will make an effort to get back on the bandwagon.

I will be busy, I'm starting my uni studies this week and I'm a little overwhelmed by it all, but I am excited about it and looking forward to giving it my best shot. Love to you all and please resume dropping by every once in a while. Cheers!

In the whaling ring--Aussie vrs. Japan

2006-01-06T22:39:00.000+08:00

Japan harpoons 13 minke whales

Greenpeace says 13 minke whales have been killed by Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean.

The Japanese whalers are hoping to catch more than 900 minke whales and 10 endangered fin whales during the season, which ends in March.

Japan says the hunt is scientific but Greenpeace says it is for commercial purposes.

Click here to view the rest of the article.

This type of article has been front page news quite a bit lately. Australians seem convinced that the Japanese are killing whales for food under the auspices of science. In all the years I lived in Japan I don't remember hearing anything about whaling, for food, science or anything else, so while I instinctively defend Japan in this, I don't have any of the facts to back it up.

On the one hand, you've gotta wonder exactly what kind of research involves killing whales and on the other, why do the Aussies care so much? A lot of people here think that the Japanese just want them to eat, like whale meat is a delicacy or something. A while back there was a big deal in the media about some small town who had a fast food place with whale-burgers on their menu, but the way it was reported on it sounded it was available in any McDonalds in Japan. I was slightly annoyed, 'cause it was so skewed and gave Japan a bad name.

If anyone can enlighten me about local whale research in Japan I'd be interested, just for the sake of setting the record straight. Cheers. ;)

2005-12-28T15:35:00.000+08:00

I'm gonna get'chya!!

2005-12-28T15:34:00.000+08:00

My little man.

2005-12-28T15:33:00.000+08:00

I took Cyd and Ryan to a local Christmas pageant they had downtown. It was beautiful, they had dancing, singing, real animals, the works. I was surprised at how Christian it was, the mayor actually got up and gave an address saying how now is the time of year to reflect on Christian values and that we should take them with us into the new year.

2005-12-26T20:50:00.000+08:00

Last week, picnicking at the beach.

Happy Boxing Day!!!

2005-12-26T20:03:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas, Boxing day, New Years and O'shogatsu!! I know, I've been seriously delinquent about posting. Apologies all round. We've had an extremely hectic month, everything has been up in the air and they are only just starting to settle. We thought we might have to move house, Sol's been working crazy hours and I've been trying to get my plans for studying sorted, not to mention all the busyness the holiday season brings with it.

Thankfully some things have fallen into place and I'll just have to learn to work around the other things I have no control over. What it really boils down to is that we can only do what we can do, regardless of what we might plan and wish for. My kids will only be small for a few years and giving them a secure start in life is my priority, everything else might take time, but I will get to them eventually.

I got an amazing Christmas pressie though, my very own set of wheels. Thanks Babes!!! Cyd got heaps of gifts from everyone as usual, it's the first time she's been really "into" Christmas and it's been a delight to see. A special thanks to Ojichan, Obachan and Kevin for the train set and dinosaurs all the way from Japan. Many thanks also to Grandma and Grandad, Derek and Karen, Linda, Jane, Brad, Carmen, Tara and everyone else for their great gifts. I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends around me, after all, that's what Christmas is all about.

2005-12-26T19:47:00.001+08:00

Peek-a-boo!!

2005-12-26T19:47:00.000+08:00

Cydney and friend Tara.

Ikea always makes mistakes!

2005-11-24T13:16:00.000+08:00

After much anticipation, Sol's family has finally arrived and we're all very happy to have them. Last weekend, we went up to Ikea to pick out a new bed for Cydney. It's a very cute loft-style kid's bed, with room for a second bed underneath--Perfect for sleep overs or for play as a cubby house.

Now what is it with guys and instructions? I know it's a cliche and I didn't really think it was something that "my guy" would suffer from, but it does seem universal. We'd bought Ryan's baby bed at Ikea and Sol had put it together while I was still in hospital, but I do remember hearing some comments about how difficult it was to put together.

Take two. Sol decides to put Cyd's bed together on a week night, after dinner. He says it will take 30 minutes. About three hours later he's still rearranging the pieces because "there's something wrong with the instructions". Despite the "wrong instructions", he's having a great time. He seems to see the Ikea flatpak as a giant three dimentional puzzle, trying to figure out how it goes together without reading the instructions thoroughly is part of the challenge.

It's going on midnight, we're both exhausted and the bed still isn't up. I take a look at the instructions and I'm like, "uh, Babes, did you notice that each of the bedposts is labelled?" Lo and behold on each of the bedposts is etched a marking that tells us exactly where it belongs in the grand scheme of things. We follow the instructions to the letter and the bed is up in, you guessed it, about 30 minutes.

2005-11-23T11:36:00.000+08:00

Cyd's Kindy class worked on this mural.....Cyd painted the sun.

2005-11-23T11:35:00.000+08:00

For some strange reason, my little boy has a fascination with the toilet. I'm hoping it's just because there's water in it, and he does like playing with water. He's dropped so many things into the toilet and "gone fishing" too many times to count. Sometimes it's okay.....other times purely disgusting, if you get what I mean. This time he was "helping" me by scrubbing the toilet....and the walls and floor, with the toilet brush. It was too cute, and the toilet was already clean, I didn't have the heart to be mad this time.

2005-11-23T11:29:00.000+08:00

I pulled out all Cyd's summer clothes from last year and had her try them on to see which still fit. She insisted on taking photos of each herself wearing each outfit, and then wanted to see what matched with what......it starts.

2005-11-13T20:27:00.000+08:00

The four of us.

2005-11-13T20:26:00.000+08:00

Ryan having a go at feeding himself....and succeeding in feeding his bib.

Amazing Grace

2005-11-08T09:57:00.001+08:00

I came across this article today and was very impressed by it. Lately we've been hearing so much about terrorists, rioters and people who resort to violence to resolve their differences or to "make their voice be heard". I can't begin to imagine what this man and his family must be going through, but the way he handled this tragedy puts the Israelis to shame and I believe speaks much louder than any violence would. Pray for peace!

Slain Palestinian boy's organs donated--Word News CNN

2005-10-29T09:15:00.001+08:00

The three of us during an outing to the Perth Museum.

2005-10-29T09:15:00.000+08:00

Cyd posing on a meteriorite rock.

2005-10-29T09:12:00.000+08:00

too tired---Ryan fell asleep on the bus on the way home.

2005-10-23T16:22:00.000+08:00

A pensive moment.

2005-10-23T13:47:00.001+08:00

Where's the fire????

2005-10-23T13:47:00.000+08:00

So....do we look alike?

2005-10-23T13:46:00.001+08:00

Cyd and girlfriends at a birthday party on Saturday.

2005-10-23T13:46:00.000+08:00

Cyd doing a puppy dog impersonation. Party time over, time to go home. Poor me!!!

Boring mom/mum stuff.......

2005-10-19T21:28:00.000+08:00

Okay, you've been warned. We have a housing inspection coming up so I decided to tackle some household chores that I've left for far too long, namely cleaning the ensuite bathroom to our bedroom. I leave the kids happily playing computer games and get started. I stop to check on them five minutes later and Ryan is gleefully giving the digital camera case a bath in the toilet bowl. Ryan is banished to his crib with a bunch of toys. Five minutes later Ryan has thrown all toys out of crib and is starting to whimper. I'm determined to get this job out of the way, but by the time I finish he's crying his poor little eyes out. Finally ensuite is clean and I put Ryan down for his nap, just as he falls asleep the phone rings and he's all wide awake again. I'm starting to feel a little flustered at this point so I fix myself a piece of toast with chocolate spread and a cup of tea to try and relax. I turn my back for a minute and find Ryan holding the toast with a nice even coat of chocolate all over himself. Ryan goes into the bath, gets all clean, wrapped up in a towel. Phone rings again, while on the phone Ryan wiggles out of my arms and goes to play with Cydney in the living room. Finish on the phone and go to retrieve my adorable naked little baby boy and notice something suspicious dangling from his rear end.....gross! Some days it's just one thing after another.

God's Will?

2005-10-17T00:47:00.000+08:00

We saw the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" the other night. I enjoyed it, thought it was good and was very happy to see Orlando Bloom reclaim the masculinity he lost while making "Troy". I just have to vent on something though and that is how people can take their will and impose it on other people using God's name, as in "it's God's will". It's so sad because this is still happening today, look at Bush vs Osama, both are convinced they are doing God's will and are imposing all that comes with it on the world around them with a vengeance. It's just so annoying that all the differences people choose to get so dogmatic over (as far as religion goes) are those thought up by humans or human interpretation. How did we get so many different versions of "truth"? People are certainly entitled to their opinion, and even to their opinion of faith, but they are so not entitled to violently impose this on other people. To me, that's taking the name of the Lord in vain.

2005-10-11T10:06:00.000+08:00

Cyd showing off her flower crown.

2005-10-11T10:03:00.000+08:00

Boys and their toys!

Birthday Boy

2005-10-09T17:08:00.000+08:00

Ryan with the new Hummer that daddy bought for them.

Culture Clash

2005-10-08T18:16:00.000+08:00

I found these guys busking in downtown Perth, singing their hearts out in Japanese. Made me nostalgic for Japan and totally cracked me up.

School Holidays.

2005-10-08T18:10:00.000+08:00

Cydney the Bumblebee and Ryan the Fireman. They usually have some kind of event in the city during School holidays, this time the theme was safety and community. Fun fun!

Tales of the Otori

2005-10-08T17:59:00.000+08:00

I have a hard time getting into new authors. I absolutely love reading, but I'm quite picky about what I read, especially when it comes to fiction. Anyway, I just finished a trilogy called "Tales of the Otori" by Lian Hearn. I found it enjoyable, but it's main appeal to me was that it's a fantasy set in medieval Japan. I grew up in Japan, but since I can't read or write Japanese I never really had my curiousity satisfied on the folklore side of things, you know, with the Samurai and the Ninja and all that. It's kind of ironic, I end up learning about Japanese folklore from an Australian author, ha! Anyway, it was fun and I liked that the author sprinkled Japanese words and names throughout, it made me feel like I was an insider on the story since they all seemed so familiar.

Royal Perth Show

2005-09-30T08:45:00.000+08:00

Cyd participating in the Fairy Queen show.

Cyd and Ryan enjoying the show.

With Fairy Queen Caroline.

The Ducky Fashion show.....bride and groom.

More Ducky Fashion.

Pony ride.

Cyd the astronaut.

On the mini-roller coaster.

On the rocking boat......she barely made the height requirement and she went on all by herself......brave girl.

Getting her face painted.

Showing off the result.

Escapee

2005-09-29T19:33:00.000+08:00

Ryan trying to climb out of his stroller. He does this all the time.....and he absolutely hates being strapped in......the stinker.

Japanese in Hollywood

2005-09-28T11:06:00.000+08:00

I recently came across an advertisement for the movie adaptation of the bestseller "Memoirs of a Geisha".

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808405115

It looks interesting and like it will be a good movie, but I noticed that while all the male leads will be played by Japanese actors, all the female leads will be played by Chinese????? Granted the movie will be in English and will cater to a Western audience, but I couldn't help but wonder why they couldn't find any Japanese actresses, surely that would make the movie more authentic? It's something I can't help but take notice of, it seems that they almost always use Chinese or Koreans to portray Japanese or Japanese that were obviously raised overseas. Aich, remember that Samurai with the Aussie accent?

Maybe Japanese women aren't as talented or versatile??? Or maybe they just can't find any Japanese women who speak enough English? The closest I can think of to a Japanese actress in Hollywood is Devon Sawa, but she's only half and she's more of a model than an actress. There are several Korean and Chinese actresses who have managed to break into movies, but no Japanese, at least that I've noticed.

I suppose most people wouldn't notice the difference between Japanese and other Asians, but to those who do, it can be very annoying. That was one reason why I was so impressed with the movie "The Last Samurai", they used Japanese actors and you could tell that Tom Cruise actually had some idea of what his Japanese lines meant, whereas most actors simply rattle off strings of syllables that were obviously memorised sound by sound.

2005-09-28T11:01:00.000+08:00

Computer art by Cyd.

2005-09-15T17:07:00.000+08:00

The many faces of we.

2005-09-13T13:08:00.000+08:00

Off to explore the world!!

2005-09-13T13:07:00.000+08:00

Me and my Bub.

2005-09-13T13:05:00.000+08:00

......she loves, she loves me not......

2005-09-13T13:04:00.000+08:00

Cyd and her kindy class performing a father's day concert for all the dads.

2005-09-02T13:57:00.000+08:00

Cyd experimenting with photography and taking a picture of her own shadow.

2005-09-02T13:56:00.001+08:00

Love!

2005-09-02T13:56:00.000+08:00

Cydney and a friend, playing dress up.

2005-09-02T13:55:00.000+08:00

A moment of peace and quiet......for me!

2005-09-02T13:54:00.000+08:00

Ryan the Tool!

The Hairy Fairy Rhyme

2005-09-01T08:35:00.000+08:00

There's a line up of children's programs in the morning that I usually let Cyd watch a little of as I'm doing her hair and getting her ready for kindy. This morning as a filler between shows, this rather ugly, furry teddy bear wearing a tutu comes on and recites a poem that went something like this:

I'm a hairy fairy,
I like to dance
and wave my wand about.
If you'd like
to make a wish
The wish will soon pop out.

Now what does that make you think of? Maybe I just have a dirty mind, but it totally cracked me up--I couldn't believe they showed that on kid's TV! They probably have some cheeky young guy in the back writing the script.

2005-08-29T13:27:00.000+08:00

Cyd in front of her school.

To Spoil or not to Spoil.....

2005-08-29T10:21:00.000+08:00

http://www.themoviespoiler.com/

I came across this site for the first time when we were living in China and enjoying their dodgy DVDs--DVDs that would sometimes skip crucial scenes, become unwatchable halfway through or, god forbid, perform a "disc error" five minutes before the credits began to roll. I still find it useful for getting movie synopsis' or getting the gist of those "oscar material" movies I never get around to watching. Needless to say, if I'm planning on watching the movie, I don't read the spoiler, 'cause that would just, well, spoil it.

It's the control-freak in me coming out, but I hate loose ends, I have to know what's going to happen. I actually quite enjoy suspense in a movie or a book, but I have a time limit on it. I can't stand having to put the book down or having to wait another week or two to resolve that cliffhanger. I know Sol hates this about me. As an avid "24" fan, he treats the show like a spectator sport with much fist pumping and shouting directions and expletives at the TV screen. He's usually thoroughly pissed off by the end of the show, and yet, he keeps coming back for more. Me, I just can't take it, it's gotta be hazardous to health and well-being, but of course, Sol wants me to watch it with him.

My solution is to look up the episode guide. I don't read everything, because like I said, that would truly spoil it, but at least knowing who survives and who doesn't helps me relax between episodes and I don't suffer from post traumatic stress along with the characters on the show.

2005-08-27T22:23:00.000+08:00

Cyd horsing around with Dylan, her kindy classmate who came over for a playdate. .......Cyd looks kinda scary......don't know if he'll be back.

2005-08-27T22:21:00.000+08:00

I cracked up when I came into the room and found Ryan like this. He woke up and was trying to climb out of his bed when tiredness got the better of him and he passed out in the act.

Mum's the word

2005-08-23T22:01:00.000+08:00

It's official, Cyd's beginning the transition to being an Aussie. She spontaneously called me "mum" today for the first time. Usually she addresses me as "moooooooom", with fully Americanized intonation. When Cyd was in the hospital the nurses all thought that her accent was the cutest thing, they would keep coming by and make her say different words. It's wierd being so obviously a foreigner in a country that speaks the same language you do. I've come to the conclusion that an Aussie accent is the most difficult accent to imitate. I watched an episode of Alias the other day and I think that one of the characters was trying for a Aussie accent, that or South African, couldn't tell, it was that bad. British accents are easy and there are heaps of Aussie actors who can do an excellent American or British accent, but how many the other way around?

2005-08-22T16:40:00.000+08:00

Sol and Cyd, launching off for a kayak ride. Cyd fussed about getting her clothes wet, but she enjoyed it anyway.

2005-08-22T16:37:00.000+08:00

Ryan and Daddy at the river, stuffing faces with potato chips.

2005-08-11T17:45:00.000+08:00

Ryan can stand up now on his own, but won't take steps yet. I suppose it's more efficient to crawl. Cyd's dressed up as Snow White.

2005-08-11T17:44:00.000+08:00

With the neighbour's cat. The cat is amazingly long-suffering and Ryan just loves him.

Poop Soup

2005-08-10T22:09:00.000+08:00

My little girl is becoming such a little Aussie, it's almost sad. We haven't had much Asian food since being here, so the other day I bought some wakame miso soup at a new Asian food store that just opened up. They have the real stuff there, none of this "pretend" Japanese food. So I'm raving to Cyd about how yummy this soup is going to be and she was getting excited about tasting it, but seeing the miso paste she predictably says, "mommy, it looks like poop." I reassured her that it would taste very good once it was finished. So I happily sit down and serve Cyd her bowl. She takes one spoonful and very quietly says something that sounded suspiciously like "this tastes like shit". I was horrified and asked her what she said and she replied, "but mommy, it just doesn't taste so good" and refused to take another bite. Oh well, more for me.

2005-08-10T21:59:00.000+08:00

I finally got a new card reader for our camera, so we're back on line with the photos. Here's one of Ryan doing his "Peko Peko-chan" face.

2005-08-10T21:49:00.000+08:00

2005-08-10T21:46:00.000+08:00

2005-08-10T21:42:00.000+08:00

My two little treasures.

What it really means....

2005-08-05T10:14:00.000+08:00

You know that famous song "Masturbation" in the movie "Hair"? I was looking up what pederasty means (and almost regretted it, it's quite disgusting) and then on impulse I looked up the definition for sodomy, and here it is:

sod·om·y (sd-m)n.
Anal copulation of one male with another.
Anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex.
Copulation with an animal.
sodom·ite (-mt) n. sodom·ize (-mz) v.
Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary

Ha ha! Bet you didn't know you were a sodomite!

The exploits of Ryan

2005-08-05T09:50:00.000+08:00

Pulling all the toilet paper off the toilet roll.......at least 5 times in the past few days.
Chasing the dirt when I am sweeping the floor......and when he reaches it, promptly stuffing a fistful into his mouth.
Doing a propeller impersonation during mealtimes......resulting in me being covered with a fine mist of mashed banana.
Refusing to sit down in his stroller......he thinks a stroller is like a skateboard--meant to be ridden standing up.
Getting tangled in the the vertical blinds.
Crawling behind the computer or TV and revelling in the wires......he's already put my camera cable to death by sucking.
Stalking and pouncing on the local wildlife.....so far I've fished a snail out of his mouth and saved a cricket from a similar fate just in the nick of time.

Ahh....just needed to vent a little. I know, I know, these are all normal happenings in raising a little boy, but since Cyd didn't do any of them, it's all new territory for me and oh so exhausting! When Sol comes home he asks me what naughty things Ryan did that day, with this look of pride on his face, and when I tell him he just laughs and thinks it's cute. Of course, he's not the one who has to chase him around and clean up after him all day.

Thumb Update

2005-08-04T10:32:00.000+08:00

We just got back from taking Cyd to the hospital for a check-up on her thumb. Despite a little infection scare just over a week ago, it's healing well and she should be able to go without bandages in a couple of weeks to a month from now. Thank you all for your concern, thoughts and prayers.

2005-08-03T10:26:00.000+08:00

Sol and company in Queensland.

All by myself.....don't wanna be.......

2005-08-03T10:14:00.000+08:00

I haven't posted anything for the past 2 weeks for several reasons; one, Ryan chewed up the camera cable so I can't get anything off the camera and I feel kinda naked babbling away without having any pics of the kids to balance things out. Second, I had my first week all alone. Sol went off on a business trip/vacation to the Gold Coast for five days and to pass the time I made the mistake of watching a very sad movie (Cold Mountain) and then reading a depressing book (Angels and Demons), so that kind of bummed me out. Especially since I didn't have Sol and his easy going self around to help cheer me up.
But yeah, Sol's home and it's all good. He's going on another trip next week for another 4 days, but at least he'll be home for the weekend. After this, no more trips for the rest of the year......so Sol says. Everyone kept calling and popping up on chat asking me "are you okay?". So I put on a brave face, and for the most part I was fine, it actually wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but it was so good to have him home again.

Bad Boys......Whachya' gonna do?

2005-07-21T13:15:00.000+08:00

It never ceases to amaze me how different Ryan is from Cyd at the same age....or maybe I should say, it's amazing what an easy baby and toddler Cyd was. Ryan was an easy baby, a very easy baby, but now as he's growing into toddlerhood all his "boy" genes, hormones or whatever are coming into full swing. The kid crawls a mile a minute, gets into everything, screams with delight, doesn't understand the meaning of "no" and is only interested in playing with things he's not supposed to have. My respect for mothers of little boys is growing by the minute....Aich, that's you, by the way.
Equally amazing to me is his attraction for all things "boyish", like things on wheels for instance. He loves pretty much anything on wheels that makes noise....thus the vacuum cleaner is a big winner. I remember seeing a documentary where they were conducting a study about how gender definition is established and they were saying that people treat male and female babies differently--that people's expectations of them build the foundations of babies becoming "little men" and "little women". That may be so, but before I even started to think about buying Ryan any "boyish" toys, he's surprised me be gravitating towards those things all on his own.
I suppose each kid is different, I remember one of my brothers who used to love barbies, he' d steal mine so he could have some quality time with it since he was discouraged from playing with it in public. Kids also go through phases where they experiment with things as well, next year I'm sure that Ryan could very easily develop a strong attachment to Cyd's doll house and Cyd could turn into a tomboy. But for now, I've got one very girly little four-year old and a nine-month old who is the embodiment of all things male. (Complete with reaching for his "ahem" every time it's accessible.)

Caffeine High

2005-07-16T15:42:00.000+08:00

I got my first lack-of-caffeine induced headache the other day, so I guess that means that I am now officially addicted to coffee. Thankfully that doesn't freak me out nearly as much as it used to. I remember when I was little my dad's love affair with his morning coffee used to cause me no small concern--especially when he told me he "had to have his coffee, or else he'd go into withdrawals". For me, that put coffee right up there with heroin and cocaine. I had a little first-aid kit put together and of course I included a couple packets of instant coffee just in case my dad started writhing on the ground in agony due to not having had his daily dose of caffeine. It sounds ridiculous, but I really thought that would happen, until someone took the time to explain that the worst that would happen was a slight headache and being a little dopey first thing in the morning. --So not a big deal.

2005-07-16T15:38:00.000+08:00

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries.....lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.... The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is hell!
--C.S. Lewis

2005-07-09T15:43:00.000+08:00

Cydney and the Crocodile.

2005-07-09T12:32:00.001+08:00

Cyd with Jaws....I told her to make a scary face--this is what I got.

2005-07-09T12:32:00.000+08:00

Ryan, making friends with a Killer Whale skull.

2005-07-09T12:28:00.000+08:00

Downtown Perth--Note Cyd's vicelike grip on Ryan's shirt to make sure he doesn't fall into the water?

2005-07-09T12:27:00.000+08:00

Our little wounded soldier. Cyd was so brave, we're very proud of her and thankfully, her thumb is healing nicely.

2005-06-26T21:09:00.000+08:00

Giddyup daddy!

2005-06-26T17:01:00.000+08:00

We went to Lake Monger today to feed the ducks and other water birds there. They didn't phase Ryan at all, but they gave Cyd a run for her money. She's had a couple experiences with some of the more aggressive wildlife here so she's a little wary sometimes.

2005-06-26T16:57:00.000+08:00

Gorgeous day....it's been the wettest June in years so we really appreciate the sun when it does come out.

2005-06-26T16:54:00.000+08:00

Cyd rode her bike around the whole lake....must have been at least 2 or 3 kilometers.

2005-06-26T16:52:00.000+08:00

Ryan loved the pelicans, pretty much anything that moves and makes noise, he loves.

2005-06-24T23:44:00.000+08:00

Check it out...finally enough hairs for a mohawk!

2005-06-24T23:43:00.000+08:00

And Ryan had a bone for dinner.

2005-06-24T23:42:00.000+08:00

Cyd with the big plate of veggies she announced she was eating for dinner. I'm usually on her case to eat more veggies, so I was surprised that she volunteered to eat all of this.....and she did. What a shiner!

The Onion Wars

2005-06-24T23:34:00.000+08:00

Cyd passed a huge milestone today, she tasted an onion and behold, it was good! Cyd's always been a firm adherent to to the "I know I don't like it because I've never had it before" way of thinking, and it's been tough getting her to try new things. This past couple of weeks though she's added a number of new foods to what she's willing to eat, which is great 'cause it's a a real pain trying to pick the onions out of a plate of spaghetti for instance.

2005-06-12T18:53:00.000+08:00

For all those of you who have a foot fetish.....enjoy! Hee hee!