Kids Meals

Caitlin had her first Children's meal on Saturday.

There was a menu at the RSL for those under 12 with very kid friendly (ie deep fried or pasta) choices and I thought I would get her some fish and chips as she loves fish whenever we have it. Then the server told me that if they're under 3 they can have one of 3 meals for free. So Caitlin got chicken nuggets and chips. first time ever having processed stuff like that and she wasn't too fussed. Loved the chips though, and the grated carrot and cherry tomatoes from my salad.

The very special thing about the (free) kids meal was the bonus free ice cream with every kids meal. Yep, a free icecream with the free meal. She got a little coupon and everything. Which Daddy took to the counter to get a bowl of ice cream with chocolate topping. We gave her a little bit on the spoon and she spat the first bit out because it was too cold but quickly got the hang of it. I'd given her her cup of milk just before the ice cream came out and she much prefered that anyway.

Which was good because Ben and I both like ice cream.

How to make Christmas Balls in 10 easy steps

1. Begin baking at 2230.
2. Make a flourless chocolate and hazlenut cake mix.
3. After melting in water baths, whipping, folding and separating several ingredients, put the cake in a normal cake tin rather than a springform pan because you don't have one and assume it will be okay to 'flip it out'.
4. Put cake on bottom shelf in oven for unbeknowst reason, and cook for 2hrs as oven was on light rahter than 160 degrees.
5. Attempt to flip cake once it comes out, creating a hideous mess, eat several pieces of chocolatey mess with fingers, crack the s@$%s at xbox playing husband and go to bed, hoping he cleans it up (the water is still in the sink, come on!).
6. Wake up next morning to large, gooey yet slightly stale chocolatey mess.
7. Remember recepie for Christmas cookies with candy canes on top from Coles magazine and furiously crush a packet of candy canes.
8. Roll rapidly disintergrating cake into numerous chocolate balls of goodness.
9. Gently push chunks of candy cane into top of each ball.
10. Plate up as though it is what you intended to make all along.

For the record, I would do the candy canes much more fine (Caitlin didn't like the mummy crushing candy canes with the rolling pin noise) and roll the balls in the candy cane 'dust' like you do with coconut and rum balls. They were still pretty tasty though!

Routines

When I had Caitlin I thought I would be a person who would loathe routines. EVERYBODY said let the baby lead you, feed on demand, as long as she sleeps it doesn't matter where and on and on and on.

In the last year I have learnt that this doesn't work for me. If I let her lead all we would do would be watch ITNG until she crashed because she couldn't physically stay awake any longer. If I fed her on demand we would have taken much longer to discover her reflux as she was comfort sucking to ease her throat and wanting to suck every half hour. If I let her sleep when and wherever we would probably still be at the stage of her only sleeping on my lap for 20 min bursts. None of which was really working.

At the moment we have a great routine going when Ben is home. We're having an early dinner at 5:30 as a family, quite often the same food too. Today Caitlin had 2 frozen tuna and potato patties, our continental rice with carrot, peas and corn, seconds of our rice, thirds of our rice, tiny bits of my schnitzel and nearly a whole tin of apple custard. This was after having half a slice of bread 15 mins earlier because I wasn't cooking fast enough and was followed by a whole cup of milk. (And about 3 poos for those interesed in TMI, she had to make room somehow...). Dad then goes to have a shower after his bike ride home while I clean up Caitlin, Caitlin is then given a bath and dressed by Dad while I clean up the floor/walls/highchair and get the washing up started. Caitlin then runs round drinking her cup of milk and playing with toys while Ben watches the Simpsons and I use the computer and have a cup of tea. Either of us then put her to bed at 730, its usually Ben just becasue he doesn't see her as much. It's me when the cricket is on in Perth.

And its a lovely end to the day.

Learning to eat

Today Caitlin decided she would eat her baked bean dinner herself. She was reasonably content to ease her hunger by letting Mummy feed her to begin with (because it was soooo loooonnnng since afternoon tea...) but after a while we were definitely in 'I do it' territory.

Lately she has been trying to get her food onto the spoon or fork herself and she does succeed on the odd occasion. When that became too hard it was fingers, picking up fistfulls of baked beans then smushing them into her mouth, palm flat, and kind of sucking them off while the juice dripped down her chin. Finally we got to lifting the bowl up (those suction ones so do not work by the way, don't waste your money) and slurping out the contents. You can see the results below. Got to love her.

And because I'm such a mean mummy (should have seen the out takes from the santa photo today) here's the first photo I took and then decided didn't make the cut.

Year 9 are evil...

Kids just get to a stage in high school, around about half-way through year 8 where everything goes to pot (metaphorically as well as possibly literally for some) until the time they are doing the school certificate in year 10. Just about all of them come out the end of the tunnel as better people, even the lovely 70 class I had in my first year. Who became 8Y in my second year, who I thankfully didn't have to teach in my third year, small mercies. Now I'm having some extended contact with them again they seem to have come out alright.

But at that point half way through year 8, when they're no longer shiny little year 7s who tend not to muck up too much and if they do the threat of a phone call to mum settles them down again, they seem to lose the plot. I can't wait until I have one of my own...

Big girl

I've been on the verge of writing a new post many times since Caitlin's first birthday party but put it off because I couldn't think of the right thing to say for such a momentus occasion. My bubba is a Big Girl now. Walking, saying lots of words and understanding a whole lot more. My current favourite is 'goh', which is 'gone', and is accompanied by a shrug with hands up in the air (and quite often when I've initiated the saying of 'gone' when I've put the whatever-mummy-has-that-Caitlin-wants item out of her line of sight it's accompanied by a look of there's something not quite right).

But today Caitlin struck me as a Big Girl when we went to the shops to get our groceries. She was wearing a proper size 1 big girl t-shirt and a pair of 3/4 denim shorts rather than the onesie and whatever is not stained shorts she usually wears. I couldn't find the trolley insert so it was into the seat she went, with her cup of milk. She sat there very proudly, waved at everyone and tried to hand the man at the donut shop the loyalty card but he took too long so she ate it.

Luckily for her mummy however, when a nice romantic song came on in the juice aisle I was able to waltz with her, doing spins and fancy steps, holding her hand while she sat in the trolley. Much giggling and a big long cuddle were the result so I guess she's not too much of a big girl to be embarassed by her mummy acting like a clown in public yet.

Haircut

I got my hair cut super short today. Not as short as I wanted though and I'm convinced it looks horrible. The hairdresser told me it was meant to be like Ashley Judd's hair because I have the same shape face but unfortunately that doens't make me look like Ashley Judd.

I wanted a really close cropped pixie type cut because I'd love to look like a cross between Winona Ryder and Natalie Portman and really short hair would do the trick I think. The old haircut had reached that ratty shoulder length where it constantly had a kink from smushing on my shoulders and as it was long enough to tie back I never wore it out anyway. My other problem is that I have absolutely NO idea how to style it effectively and I've only got one day to figure it out before I go to school on Monday. Nothing cuts deeper than snotty nosed year 8 brats telling you your hair looks shit, miss.

On the upside, I think this means I need a new dress for Becky's wedding to go with my short hair. Snap.

Our House

Our new, FIRST, house is settling this week. On Wednesday to be exact. We went past last week to take some photos of the interior (note, don't leave such an important task to Ben-who-is-not-in-charge-of-decorating) and to get the carpet measure and quote done. Already I think I am being very impractical redecorating wise for a home that will be lived in for 2 years and then become a rental. I just COULDN'T buy the sturdy, durable ugly carpet. It's going to be our first home that we own, I want it to be nice!

I am already addicted to home rennovation forums, the Dulux colour application and the paint counter at any large department or hardware store selling paint. I keep a Howards Storage World catalogue in the car for light reading. I may have Ikea in my favourites. I know in my head what I want it to all look like and I know in my heart that I will be bitterly dissapointed when we move for the next posting and all my lovely coordinated rooms have to be smushed into a new house whose floorplan and decorating scheme are as yet unknown. And then there's the possibility that the fridge won't fit in our future posting house (I want a new one, didn't you know, more freezer space...) and it has to go in the lounge room. Don't laugh, DHA regularly suggest this for any fridge or dishwasher that doesn't fit, even when you make sure you lock down a property with the correct dimensions for them on Homefind.

It will be such a short term house really but I just want it to be perfect. Heaven help us when Ben gets out and we stay put. My decorating gene may go into overdrive.

I think I want a Wii Fit.

Which really means I want a Wii too, something I tried to convince Ben of before he went and got an XBox. Before I got rid of the N64 and after my parents got rid of the old Master System II. If he had his way we'd have a PS2 as well, all hooked up to the plasma.

I think we're becoming one of those families I don't like... I've avoided having a TV in the bedroom for so long but with all his Xboxing I am beginning to think I might have to hook it up, just so I can do something other than watch him shoot those damn Nazis ( they don't shoot themselves you know). I would whack the old TV in the study with the old DVD/VCR (who watches videos anymore?) but it seems people only put aerial connections in loungerooms and bedrooms. Don't think DHA would be too favourable about putting one into the study either. And frankly I'm trying to avoid annoying DHA so they give us a free move when our home purchase goes through. Not 100% sure we are entitled to one.

So when we do eventually move, we'll have all those platforms to interconnect with our wireless internet and 2 laptops. Yes we have one each, use them together in bed some nights but are yet to chat whilst sitting next to each other. Yet.

Small mercies.

My glob has been created...

... and I said let there be a blog and there was a blog and I saw the blog and I saw that it was good.

Then I rested, I've got work in the morning!