Live Laugh Poop

8/366

2012-01-08T22:03:00.000+10:00

Where's the grape gone Daddy? It makes you wonder sometimes, but Otto decided the grape he was holding just had to go in Han's brand new speakers requiring surgical precision to remove it.

7/366

2012-01-08T22:00:00.000+10:00

This morning we were up early, very early, just Otto and I while we let Han have a bit more sleep. 5am seems to be the hour that this little boy starts the day and even though I grumble and moan the promise of a coffee at the bottom of the stairs help.

Today was Saturday so pancakes was on order to help us lift the mood that near constant rain for the last few days has us in. This boy is so very addicted to being in the outdoors.

A new year.

2012-01-06T17:17:00.000+10:00

I am not normally one for new years resolutions, but this year I am at least going to try and achieve something that I feel really motivated to do. I have heard it said that it takes 30 days to make or break a habit so I will put that to the test for the month of Jan.

Basically I am joining Gregarious Peach in her 366 project, in hopes that I will document our time here in Indonesia and also become a better photographer in the process. This will also be a huge year for us, not only will we continue to live her in Jakarta but we will also be welcoming another member to our family in May. I am hoping to continue photographing these events and putting them here. I am not making myself promise to write here everyday but at least once a week for now.

Anyway, onto the first of the photos for the new year!

1/366

Otto is starting to feel so much more confident in the water and it is brilliant watching him develop in that way.

2/366

The last day of my Sister and Fathers visit Otto and I took them to a nearby zoo where you can sit with some of the animals. Otto loved experiencing this, talking to the Orangutan just as though it could understand everything he said.

3/366

Time is flying and with a very active 2 year old it is hard to keep up, but those little butterfly kicks let me know that there is a wonderful new life in there and I am so grateful.

4/366

Otto's last few weeks in his cot, ever since he could move he has always slept right up the top of the bed with his head on the rails, I wonder what new habit he will develop in the bed.

5/366

Daddy time, Han build them, Otto sends them crashing down!

6/366

I have cheated a bit with this one and included 3 photos, they were all so lovely I couldn't choose between them!

Having fun with shaving cream, Otto decided to be a clown.

One thing with Otto and most children I assume is that in built desire to be and make a mess as much as possible.

The noise from upstairs tells me that naptime has ended already for today but I do hope that you all had a wonderful festive season and a great new year.

The last of Australia 2011.

2011-11-08T17:29:00.000+10:00

We had a great trip home, there were of course moments of stress and tension as well as laughter and joy, as any expat knows the thrill of the lead up to heading home is almost as good as getting there, and living out of a suitcase with a toddler for 5 weeks sucks!

I look back on these photos now and can't believe how quickly it all went and just how beautiful my home really is. I now live surrounded by buildings, pollution and very limited green space so it makes me appreciate it all that much more when we get to experience it.

Onto the photos.....

Do you see what I mean, what child could have cranky periods with this just down the road?

Patting kangaroos for his 2nd birthday in the exact same spot as his 1st birthday, which coincidentally felt just like yesterday.

Another day another fun outdoor activity, with even more animals to play and harass.

This one should also be titled, it's my party and I'll spew if I want too, sadly only about 10 min after this was taken Otto ensured everyone made a quick escape from his party, which then started a fun week of no sleep and a very sick child who only just made it better for the plane trip home, possibly not the best way to end our holiday.

But a great holiday it was, we are already planning the next one!

A catch up.

2011-11-08T17:13:00.000+10:00

Hi again! Just when I thought that gastro was over, it came back with a good final kick that lasted for far too long. Anyway, we are all healthy here again and I thought I might play some catch up.

First of all, the last of the photos from our trip home in September, the whole reason we went home was to attend a wedding of our really good friends, it was a cold affair, I don't think I have ever been to a wedding in a vineyard where more coffee and hot chocolate was drunk than wine!

We all left our children at home and caught up properly for the first time in ages, it was a blissful few days, cups of tea in bed, wine tasting, chocolate tasting and sleep in's. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

And we are back.....

2011-10-12T21:36:00.000+10:00

Well that was a bit of an unexpected break, 3 weeks without internet at the end of our holiday coupled with jet lag and a run in with our old friend gastro I have been slow to come back to this space, but hopefully the last of the gastro has left our house today and we will be back in fine spirit over the next few days.

So much to catch up on.

Back soon......

Roxy

2011-09-08T17:46:00.001+10:00

Roxy is our lovely dog, she was our first baby and even though she has had less attention over the last few years since Otto was born we miss her each day while we are in Jakarta. Not sure that she misses us as much though thanks to all the attention from her minder.

We were lucky to be able to pick her up for some time together and we all loved it, so much so that Roxy has started to search for us throughout the day when she is alone.

Etsy love - Best buys.

2011-09-07T19:49:00.000+10:00

Passing Shower, limited edit... EloiseRenouf $25.00	Personalized Ribbon Hand Sta... TheLonelyHeart $5.00	Black Lariat with white but... anils $22.50	TABLE NUMBER 1 to 6 - antiqu... Hammermann $60.00
Sage Green Femme Fedora by Z... zazuandviolets... $138.00	Liana Necklace - FREE SHIPPI... 4USimply $600.00	Striped skirt IMMEDIATE SHIP... JulyS $59.00	Victorian Inspired 22K gold ... CreativeKates $22.00
16" DECORATIVE PILLOW C... JillianReneDec... $48.00	Pleated String Lights MADE T... PigeonToeCeram... $225.00	SALE small pinwheel cup catherinereece $15.30	Coffee with a friend - l... GreyHeartOfSto... $99.00
Letterpress Prints - Live We... happydeliverie... $36.00	Vintage Minnetonka Moccasins... RetroStock $25.00	Lovebird bowl in black and c... PrinceDesignUK $22.00	Tamarel - wire wrapped bran... MadeBySunflowe... $109.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

This week the theme was best buys. I don't really buy too much from Etsy, especially at the moment, our mail delivery can be less than ideal in Jakarta. Instead I just had fun looking for pretty things that I would probably buy if I had the chance and no spending limit.

For more treasuries, head to Abby

Family.

2011-09-04T19:38:00.000+10:00

A lovely Fathers day today, my father lives 6 hours away from Brisbane and he drove down to see us this weekend, our first fathers day together in years.

Perfect.

Such a poser.

The simple things.

2011-09-01T14:21:00.000+10:00

A glass of wine and Frankie magazine, it doesn't take much to keep me happy.

Happy first day of spring Australia, you certainly know how to turn on the gorgeous weather.

Etsy love - The best of Indonesia.

2011-08-31T09:00:00.000+10:00

Balinese Silver 925 Earrings... Telur $49.00	Ikat Reversible Tote Bag 14x... ginette1223 $27.50	Lonely Bird Lumbar Pillow Co... Kainkain $20.00	Beach Bag SuperEarthGood... $65.00
Off White Personalized Linen... Kainkain $20.00	abcdrs UMBRELALA - Simple Po... abcdrs $15.00	grey artichoke headband charlindandroc... $20.00	Canvas Cute Camera Tote Bag-... inesianesia $5.50
Colorful RAINBOW Iridescent ... AgustusCollect... $26.00	The Blue Danube thebumpymonkey $20.00	Stripe Lentil - 30 x 20 mm -... ManikJawa $4.00	Organic Cotton Long Sleeve T... eleven44 $46.00
Genuine Turquoise Pendant wi... Azumie $68.00	little bird patched purse wi... relaxcrafting $9.00	Earthy Tone Resin Necklace cikimou $35.00	Original print on collage ar... riemandala $75.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

That wasn't the easiest one to put together, Indonesia is still learning the joy that is Etsy, but I had fun looking through what was there. For other treasury's head over the Abby.

Friends and Fauna.

2011-08-30T14:39:00.000+10:00

I think my posts will mostly be photos while I am home, we have so much on and I am working on my really slow laptop.

Today was fun with friends at the local Koala sanctuary, where we decided to act like tourists and pay for a photo with a Koala, so much fun.

Home.

2011-08-29T21:29:00.000+10:00

We are home, arrived on Saturday morning on very little sleep. We walked out of the airport to a rainy, cloudy day that was freezing, so that meant a run to target when Otto was napping for some warmer clothes, but since then we have soaked up the lovely winter/spring sunshine, blue sky, huge green spaces and clean air.

Australia, we missed you.

The beach. (Pelabuhan Ratu)

2011-08-25T17:14:00.001+10:00

Ok, so the two big M's turned out to be Mosquito's in plague proportions, Otto and I looked like we had developed a severe case of chicken pox, especially on his legs, and Mosques. Now, we thought our mosques in Jakarta had the monopoly on noise level, fireworks displays and general random events, (the mosque closest to us let out the first bars of 'Eye of the Tiger' at midday a few days ago). But no, it got worse, adding to the buzzing in our ears and slapping of our body, these decided that 2:30am was a great time to get on the loudspeakers and shout "IBU" out to remind the women to get up and start cooking, then they all had a great old party that went for hours.

Needless to say we woke up exhausted I think at 3am Han woke up and threatened to drive home, except we didn't actually know which way that was. Otto thankfully slept blissfully through all of this. Our mood however didn't stay around long especially when you can have breakfast staring at the beautiful ocean.

I am not sure that I have ever had my weet-bix in such a beautiful location before.

We decided to head off for the morning and explore the area a bit closer, I was told that the hot springs near us were unspoilt and lovely so after a few walks on the beach we headed off.

I always forget that pungent smell of rotting eggs that you get from hot springs, they were certainly unspoilt, we were pretty much the only tourists there, and the landscape surrounding it was gorgeous.

There were perfect rocks to try some skipping with, and even better if they ended up in the water with a big clunk and splash.

We thought about heading in for a splash, but after seeing some interesting antics further upstream from the locals we thought better of it and just enjoyed the serenity.

The ferocity of the steam was amazing, it actually sounded like a roar coming out of the rocks.

Not a bad way to get rid of the morning grumps, well that and a lot of coffee.

Wedding style.

2011-08-25T16:54:00.000+10:00

We are heading home tomorrow for a wedding, in the Hunter Valley, after living in constant summer for the last year. For those not from Australia, the minimum temp is around 2-4C and the dance floor is outside!

I have really been struggling with what to wear, and shopping in a country that is currently going through Ramadan which is basically code word for lets cover everything with sequins has not been easy. Thankfully there is a mall the size of football fields squared on nearly every corner, they are exhausting, but one day armed with a big coffee I trudged through them in an attempt to find something.

Ten hours later I finally walked back into the real world with an outfit. I am still at a loss for a bag and I can't find a photo for the shoes, but I am pretty happy with it so far. If I haven't managed to gorge myself on wine I will try and take a decent photo of it. But more likely I will have had too much wine, it is $50 a bottle here, enough said.

Belt

Dress, which I think might be a tiny bit too big on me.

Jacket so that I can hopefully ward off frostbite while living it up on the dance floor.

Esty love - My dream living room.

2011-08-24T17:17:00.001+10:00

Vintage Yellow Ginger Jar La... WeHaveItVintag... $137.00	vintage ostrich print on lin... dawnatthemarke... $125.00	Lounge Rock Sit 13x19 Poster... CoffeeShop $15.95	SALE Herman Miller Eames Fib... CoMod $575.00
Mason Jar Chandelier Lightin... BootsNGus $70.00	Mid Century Modern Geese Scu... CoMod $28.00	4.5 Gumball YUMMIRug Round ... Crafttasticpar... $399.99	Pillows Pillow Cushion Cover... FestiveHomeDec... $26.00
Custom Made Scandinavian Sty... mamnyc $325.00	Lego DavidRasmussen... $1750.00	Vintage Children's Rocki... Hindsvik $49.00	White lacquer and reclaimed ... spruceup $600.00
World Map Art Print / Nautic... jennasuedesign $15.00	Vintage candle holders handm... VeryVintageFin... $35.00	BOKZ LOVESEAT MID CENTURY EA... lunarloungedes... $625.00	Dansk Kobenstyle Fondue Pot ... bitofbutter $75.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Oh my goodness this was really really tough. As usual I left it to the last minute, and because I obviously needed more of a challenge in my day I managed to close the window just before finishing it off, twice. So I got to try and find my favourites all over again, trawling through quite possibly the worst of Etsy in the process. People please understand just because you put lace and feathers on it, it isn't suddenly shabby chic, it is still an old lamp now looking like some bird murder scene.

Also, it seems I like yellow and grey... a lot.

Head off to Abby at little red buttons for more.

Oseng.

2011-08-23T17:11:00.000+10:00

That is the only clue I have for what we are eating tonight. When I put that into google translate it comes up with stir. I assume they are talking about the cut of the meat.

Oh well, dinner will be interesting tonight!

The beach.

2011-08-23T16:35:00.000+10:00

After a crazy 5 hour car trip pretty much crossing the island of Java we arrived in paradise. Han was quickly scoped out by the sellers for being a sucker and before I knew it my two boys were heading down to the beach with a new boat for the little one.

Meanwhile instead of doing all the motherly things I assumed I was meant to do, I headed out too, but in the other direction and found this lovely sunset and boys tending their sheep in the rice paddy fields.

Best part was once they had to go home they actually walked along the beach with them, I don't think I have ever seen sheep herded (is that even a word?) on a beach so couldn't resist a photo.

We all re-grouped for some snacks and drinks before dinner. I think Otto was easily the most impressed with the surrounds. The waves were huge, much to big to swim in, and with each crash on the shore his eyes lit up a little more.

You can see the little bungalow at the back there. Sadly we weren't to know what was coming to us in the form of the 2 big M's later that evening.

Today in Instagram.

2011-08-21T22:37:00.000+10:00

We had a lazy day at home today, a big week is coming up for us, lots of packing and organising ahead of our trip home on Friday.

It was nice though to just be home, together, probably the last time for the next 6 weeks due to all the travel.

Doing lot of baking and cooking, filling the freezer with treats for Han once he is back in Jakarta and we are still in Brisbane. Although now with my little helper I get to rescue the fire engine and harmonica out of whatever we are mixing at the same time.

Argh, and always the fun clean up after.

Otto's favourite things, he takes this collection everywhere.

Heading out for a little neighbourhood walk.

Coming back down our street, the guy on the left is delivering rice, people were getting ready to break their fast at 6pm.

Our guards keep lots of pets, the strange thing is that none of them seem to stay around long, last week this cage had the most beautiful bird, this week two lizards.

Heading home on top of shoulders, I loved this when I was a kid.

I finished this in one and a half days, seriously go out and buy it.

What child doesn't love living in summer all year round.

Otto spent pretty much all day naked thanks to a new skill of being able to remove his clothes and nappy.

Happy weekending!

Today.

2011-08-20T23:05:00.000+10:00

Today was one of those perfect little days, Otto and I spent some fun time at a little playground near here and then I got to go and have some mummy pampering time ready for our trip home next week!

At the salon I was told that I looked like Kimbra, I really enjoy Kimbra and her music so I was flattered that someone thought that but even more excited that someone here had heard of her, she is a breath of fresh air to the music around at the moment and I am trying to get Otto out of his obsession with Beyonce and 'All the single ladies' by playing her album almost constantly.

Enjoy some Kimbra on this lovely Saturday evening.

As a side note, getting your waxing done in a room full of women all laid out like a hospital room is certainly an experience, I think we all just "laid back and thought of England"

The jungle day 1.

2011-08-19T16:59:00.000+10:00

Our first day was a long one. We woke up at 4:30 to get to the airport on time and then of course spent hours waiting for a delayed plane, eventually we landed in the jungle without our luggage which was to arrive on the afternoon flight and headed back to the house to eat lunch and have a rest.

That afternoon we drove around the area and kept an eye out for monkeys, we were well rewarded and while in my travel fogged brain I didn't get many good pictures we had a wonderful time discovering the new environment.

Now I have finished all the days in the jungle, stay tuned for our beach adventure!

The jungle day 2.

2011-08-18T21:40:00.000+10:00

Lets just call this Proboscis day!

Today I fell in love with a monkey or three, we were doing our daily drive around to check out the wildlife when all of a sudden we spotted this troupe of Proboscis monkeys heading through the mangrove area near the ocean.

These monkeys are only found on this island and are sadly endangered, I hope that some conservation efforts are made but this seems unlikely. That is a conversation for another day.

A male and female.

I was actually lucky enough to see these guys pretty regularly while I was visiting and each time was just as brilliant as the last.

The jungle day 3.

2011-08-18T17:14:00.001+10:00

Min and I had some time to ourselves this morning, we left Otto and Henry at home with some babysitters and headed for a hike through the jungle. Min and Andrew had created this path for a family hike held regularly and at the same time planted some more trees to help the jungle recover.

We were joined by some other women from the area and set out, pants tucked into shoes, and mozzie reppellant at the ready. It is the middle of the dry season and rain has been really scarce, so the lush jungle I was imagining was very different from the dry and dusty one we encountered.

Checking on the planted trees was a bit sad, a lot of work is put into regenerating the jungle, picking the right plants, ensuring they are grown under similar circumstances, that when we found 80% had perished it was a blow. We did however try again, and planted some more to see if that will work.

It was so peaceful, well as peaceful as it can get walking through the jungle with a bunch of women and a machette! I had a great time breathing deeply and enjoying the sounds and sights, such a stark contrast to Jakarta.

You would think that maybe that was enough fun for the day, but this day got seriously better in a big hairy way.

I got the privilege of seeing this lovely female Orangutan up close and watching her eat and swing for a good 15 minutes before she gave me the signal that my time was up. I am unable to explain the beauty and awe that I felt watching these animals, it reminded me of our time watching the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

I was amazed by their hands and just kept finding my attention drawn to them, next to the bulk of the Orangutan themselves they seemed to fine and delicate.

The best part of this is the little surprise she had for me, can you see a few extra limbs there?

And then I got a peek at her little baby, oh the sweet fuzziness and inquisitiveness.

I know I said it every day I was there, but honestly does it get any more amazing than that.

The jungle day 4.

2011-08-18T17:03:00.000+10:00

We headed into town and had a tour of the mine site that Andrew works on, there wasn't really any opportunity to take a photo but a lot of it was very similar to Jakarta. Otto was enthralled with all the digger's and truck's and we could have stayed with them all day, but nap time was calling and we headed home.

That night we headed to the Aquatic club, it is hard to portray the beauty of this area, jungle meets the ocean right on their doorstep, we enjoyed lovely fresh seafood BBQ'd while watching another glorious sunset.

All the while I was contemplating exactly how I was going to leave this place and head back to Jakarta.

The jungle day 5.

2011-08-18T16:58:00.000+10:00

Today we didn't do too much, Sundays in the jungle are for relaxing. Min, I and her friend decided an Indian feast was in order so we spent the better part of the day preparing the food, sadly I didn't take any photos as I was the scribe for the recipes but trust me, they tasted delicious!

I did go out at one point at find a tree full of Hornbill birds, what a racket they make!

Blue Etsy love.

2011-08-17T17:40:00.001+10:00

Blue Hydrangea Shabby Cottag... violethillvint... $95.00	Colony Blue glass ornate dri... buyvintagesupp... $45.00	Vintage 1960s Royal Blue Sle... ragsfeathers $125.00	Vintage Blue Ball Jars jeremysmith198... $14.00
Shabby planter- Little Blue ... JunqueCoutureH... $9.95	Small plates into dollhouse juppa $32.00	Little Blue Dream Charm Neck... NestPrettyThin... $32.00	Blue and White Porcelain Mem... lizbriggsdesig... $17.00
Two style in one sholuder ba... SIAMLEATHER $139.00	French Throw Pillow - Blue V... HomemakerAccen... $42.60	Owl Locket,Blue locket,Photo... emmagemshop $28.99	Blue Polka Dot Little Man Su... SewSimplySweet... $15.00
Silver Marquise Leaf and Blu... ACutieChick $26.00	Blue Bicycle 16x20 Print of ... RebeccaLeighFi... $30.00	Light blue leather wallet/ p... TutsandcrasH $18.00	Turkish Bath Towel Blue Cott... softcotton $18.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Linking up with Abby at little red buttons for this weeks Etsy collection.

The jungle day 6.

2011-08-16T16:34:00.000+10:00

Today was a bit of a quiet day, after all the playing and fun we decided to just chill out a bit. One of Min's friends came in the afternoon to make us her 'pink drink', which was interesting.

The ingredients are, rose water, basil seeds, vermicelli noodles, and......

Milk!

Surprisingly it tasted much better than it looked.

The boys were getting a bit rowdy after being home all day so we headed out for some afternoon monkey spotting and we hit the jackpot.

These pig-tailed Macaque monkeys had been hiding from me for our whole trip so I was excited to be able to finally see one. This female was on her own with her baby which is really unusual.

Next up I finally saw the red leaf monkey much closer than before, I still wasn't able to get the best shot but we loved watching them swing between the trees and have fun as the sun set.

Ahhh, there aren't many places in the world where you can relax, enjoy a crazy drink and see monkeys all in one day.

Dreaming.

2011-08-15T23:48:00.000+10:00

Still dreaming that I can hear the waves crashing on the beach as I head off to sleep.

Weekending.

2011-08-15T16:59:00.000+10:00

We went away to a lovely seaside bungalow over the weekend and as soon as I look at the 300 photos that I took (seriously) I will tell you all what a wonderful time it was.

Until then, cute photos of Otto.

This is his newest way of telling me that he wants what I have.

Sadly I didn't realise there was still some coffee left in the bottom.

The jungle day 7.

2011-08-11T16:30:00.000+10:00

After such a wonderful time away with friends we topped it off by heading to watch the sunset on our final night. Gin and tonic in hand (to help keep the mozzies away!) and the boys tearing around on bikes it was the perfect end.

Otto and Henry

The lovely sunset.

2011-08-11T16:20:00.000+10:00

Love it, I pass this every morning and it makes me smile.

Breakfast.

2011-08-10T21:46:00.003+10:00

Best enjoyed with a smoothie mustache (unibrow optional).

The jungle day 7.

2011-08-10T17:08:00.005+10:00

Our final full day in the jungle, also happened to be market day, so Otto and I headed off, leaving Min and Henry behind.

The green little boat in the picture is the one that we used to get from one side of the river to the other. I didn't realise I was standing on it until until it started moving, it didn't really look like much of a boat.

The market is about the same size as many in Jakarta, but the biggest difference is that they don't see many white people, Otto and I became a huge attraction, and at one point I felt like a pied piper with all these children giggling after us. There is a big wet market attached which is mainly for fish and chicken.

Indonesia is never complete without chili, this country uses it much more than my Australian palate can handle, but I am slowly getting used to it.

The experience is only made that much better by the locals, even though we have a language barrier, we can still have a laugh at our inability to understand, and pantomime is becoming a fairly effective tool.

We returned home exhausted, thirsty and hot, but happy, and ready for a nap!

The jungle day 8.

2011-08-09T17:11:00.003+10:00

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
— A.A. Milne.

Leaving the jungle Otto had to wear ear muffs, and I ear plugs on the plane. I was so fortunate that Otto didn't mind wearing his 'special ears' for the short flight back to a bigger airport.

The jungle.

2011-08-09T00:08:00.000+10:00

Otto and I went away to visit some friends, that are really like family, in the jungle of Kalimantan. Min and I have known each other since we both started dating our husbands around the same time. Our husbands have known each other since they were 12, so we have some pretty strong ties, only strengthened by the fact that we now live in this crazy country together, me in the city and Min in the jungle. Polar opposites really in the accommodation sense, something we are both grateful for.

After a week of no traffic, pollution, Mosques at 4:30am we arrived in Jakarta right on time for the midday prayer session during the first week of Ramadan.......que traffic hell. Sadly that was topped later in the day when Otto and I ran out quickly to get some supplies to get us through dinner. We spent the better part of an hour and a half stuck in a Bajaj trying not to breathe in the fumes of hundreds of motorbikes around us.

Welcome back to the concrete jungle.

Now that is what I call a break!

2011-08-08T23:38:00.001+10:00

My goodness I have spent an age away from this space and not a huge amount to show for it. I am going to try to catch up by going backwards, starting with the now and heading back to when we moved into the house.

We have done some travel, got used to the daily frustrations of this chaotic city and developed some sort of routine. Life as we know it is pretty good right now.

Here is a photo from today, the gorgeous Otto who turns 2 next month. Where does that time go?

Amazing

2011-06-23T16:39:00.000+10:00

I know, I said I would be quiet for a short while and it has been forever, but setting up and organising a house has been an interesting challenge in Jakarta. Not to mention the fact that the internet seems to cut out the minute I sit down to write.

I am ducking in quickly to pass on a wonderful animation video I have come across today, it is so beautiful I was speachless and it couldn't have appeared on a better day for me.

Enjoy.

I might be a bit quiet

2011-05-28T00:16:00.000+10:00

Like that is anything different from late, but we are moving to our home tomorrow! It seems as though 7 weeks in a hotel didn't make me completely insane, but we are very excited to finally have space again. Hopefully I will be back with some more fun during the week.

Almost ready.

2011-05-24T16:48:00.000+10:00

We move into our home and leave this hotel finally on Friday. I can't even begin to tell you how much that last sentence made me happy! Over the weekend we started to shop for the things that the house will need, we are hiring a lot of our furniture, but cutlery, crockery and so on was still required.

I managed to hit one discount chain store and pretty much buy the lot, with toddler in tow for half the time, I was feeling pretty proud of myself, until I had to try and get it all to the car!

Borobudur shrine.

2011-05-22T23:34:00.002+10:00

Ok, so firstly I am mostly writing these posts as a way for me to not forget what we saw while we were there. I hope I don't bore you too much! Also the photos are better if you click on them, for some reason that is probably perfectly obvious to everyone else I can't seem to make them clear in the blogger format.

We left for our holidays with trepidation on Saturday morning, very early. I had started to feel sick on Friday afternoon and we were a bit concerned that the whole holiday of climbing and exploring a few of the good temples around Yogyakarta would be unachievable while trying to keep my stomach contents down. Luckily by the time we arrived, Otto and I had a nap and were feeling much better. Sadly the same couldn't be said for Han who needed the afternoon in bed. After that disastrous start things could only get better, and they did.

Sunday we headed to Borobudur shrine, the largest Buddhist shrine in Indonesia. It was built between the 7th and 8th century and it actually isn't the shape of a temple but of a stupa. From what I could gather from our guide who spoke in heavily accented English was that the basic principle of Buddhism is the belief that everyone passes through a series of reincarnations. To be free from this cycle of life and death you need to understand the four pillars of truth. Some googling later and I found them.

(Catur Aryasatyani)

Life is misery
The root of misery is lust and desire
The elimination of misery is possible
To avoid misery, one should observe the eight main paths (Hasta Arya Marga).

These themes were depicted on the walls (reliefs) on the lower levels of the temple.

I was so interested in this, a lot of the reliefs were covered over for protection from acid rain which while understandable was also disappointing. I was also struggling with the hordes of people that wouldn't leave us alone. I have touched on the photo taking here before, but it reached epic proportions this time. We were there with a lot of school trips and everyone wanted to touch or take a photo of Otto and I, which is fine up to a point. By the time the 20th person (no joke) interrupted us our friendly guide stepped in and created a shield which was nice but it was so strange to have people reaching over to touch Otto's face while he was on my back.

We continued to climb (hello gluteal muscles!) and reached the top of the shrine called the Stupa's. There were three layers of round plain bell like stupa's encircling the main Stupa which depicted the spiritual world.

There were small Buddhas placed within the small Stupa's and a few of them were left uncovered to show the public.

Inside the Borobudur shrine there are 504 Buddha statues in either sitting or standing positions, some of them have perished due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or lightening strikes.

I still find it amazing that the Stupa's of Borobudur have watched the sun rise and fall now for centuries, our guide said something that stuck with me, "The faithful witness of the eras". History is amazing!

It was a fun day for the whole family, once we got down from the shrine which was stinking hot, we walked around the grounds, which was so calm. Otto even got really lucky and was able to pat and have a ride on a horse which is his favourite new animal, we can't go anywhere without his miniature horse!

We also listened to some of the musicians play outside the museum.

Exhausted and hot we headed to the car and the air con which was a welcome relief, sadly Otto only thought to give us a 10 minute nap that day and we were glad of the great pool and grounds back at the hotel, having some R&R before tackling more of the sights the next day.

Wide load.

2011-05-19T16:45:00.001+10:00

I can't even imagine how long it would have taken him to fix the load up and get back on the road, it did look spectacular as it came apart around the bend though!

Away.

2011-05-18T22:23:00.002+10:00

We loaded up the bags and headed to Yogyjakarta for the long weekend, it was a brilliant time away and so relaxing to get out of the big city. I have a million photos to edit on a very slow computer and terrible internet so it might take me a while to get a post together about our time, until then, a photo of the 3 of us in front of the Hindu temple located there.

Otto looks thrilled doesn't he! I will be back soon with more details, but until then the unpacking awaits.

Yesterday....

2011-05-10T16:28:00.001+10:00

I looked at these little hands and wondered what they would be...

I saw a little boy intent on his own purpose ......

I marveled at how far we have both come in such a short time, but the capacity for further growth is astounding....

We played with cars.....a lot.

I loved the patterns and colours on my new skirt, not to mention newly painted nails.

Otto opened the fridge and helped himself to the butter.....

Yummmmm

And we watched this glorious sunset.

Mothers Day

2011-05-09T16:58:00.001+10:00

I had a lovely day, a bit of pampering and some lovely time with the two males of the house. We hope you had a great day too!

All shiny and new!

2011-05-07T16:42:00.001+10:00

So, Han arrives home yesterday with something in a black bag and he hides it, takes no guessing that my Mothers day present is in there. I am usually pretty good at guessing my presents with little to no effort and I was determined that this year I wouldn't try to guess, but then the suspense got the better of me, I looked at my camera bag and realised Han had been at the electronics mall and WHAM, I just knew that he got me the camera lens I have been wishing and saving for.

Once I knew there was no more point so I got to try it out straight away and started playing. These are early shots mind you but I am in love!

This is going to take some practice, but it is something I am more than happy to do! Happy Mothers day to all the lovely mothers out there.

Monkey

2011-05-06T16:48:00.002+10:00

Or really, in this case, cranky monkey.

One of the first things we saw when we started walking was the huge amount of dog walkers there are, some of them managing up to 10 very uncompliant dogs each. I was suitably impressed, at home I sometimes struggled with one relatively well trained dog on my own.

I was about to be more surprised and then dismayed when I saw a man charged with the task of walking a monkey. I couldn't believe it, was this normal? I hadn't been in Jakarta for long enough to know, and since that day I hadn't seen it again, until this morning. Worse than seeing it be walked, was seeing it locked in a cage in the full sun. I tried to get close to it, but it got very upset and started shaking the cage, so I snapped a photo in the hopes that I would be able to determine what kind of monkey it is.

It isn't easy to see what type it is from the picture but I have narrowed it down, so tomorrow I will go and check out the particular markings and see if I can make a match. I also looked into the laws surrounding keeping monkeys as pets in Indonesia, and as long as the owner has a license it should be ok. Sad though that this man thought it would be better to lock up a monkey by his front gate then just keep a dog roaming around.

Sights of Jakarta.

2011-05-05T16:09:00.002+10:00

While driving around finding somewhere to live I have seen some pretty crazy things, like 6 people on a motorbike heading the wrong way into incoming traffic, people with merry-go-round horses attached to bicycles for children to ride around town on, but the other week, this one took the cake, and luckily my mobile was in reach and I was fast enough to get a picture!

The worst part is that I didn't even realise they were alive until someone on my facebook page noticed! I think I am going to have to keep my mobile camera poised at all times around here!

Our daily walk.

2011-05-04T16:25:00.001+10:00

At home Otto and I took our dog Roxy for a walk every single morning, once we moved here without Roxy (she is being cared for and terribly spoilt by a family friend) I found that I missed that hour in the morning when we were both our getting fresh air and meeting new people.

Three days in and I wasn't missing it, I was going crazy! I quickly sussed out the best walking around the hotel and off we set. The first one was a bit of a mission, I thought I could take the pram, I soon worked out that prams and footpaths don't go together here, they aren't cared for and Otto nearly got thrown from the pram a few times. A quick trip back to the hotel and the trusty ergo carrier came to the rescue. Quite a crowd of sellers had gathered by this stage, watching the 'bule' (white person) try to maneuver around the back streets of South Jakarta and we all had fun laughing at my expense.

Since that first day, Otto and I head off each morning after breakfast for our walk, we see the same people each day and are always greeted with a warm "Pagi" (morning) and wave. The curious thing is that we are our very own tourist attraction, I had assumed that with the large expat population here we wouldn't be a novelty, but Otto and I are constantly having our photo taken by people, not one morning has gone by where at least 2-3 people ask for our photo, I have to admit, I certainly don't look my best at that time of the day.

The sights we see when we are walking and the cheerful people we meet make battling the pollution and traffic to get to the suburban area worthwhile, Otto has made friends with the local dog walkers and we stop and pat the dogs at least once during our walk, he has also made friends with a little boy whose mother owns a shop along our walk, it has been so sweet watching them learn about each other together, pointing out shoes, belly buttons and eyes, they don't speak English and I don't speak Bahasa yet but it is lovely to see them having fun.

Soon we will move from the hotel and while I am sure I will find another walking route, I will miss these people that helped me find my feet in these first few weeks in another country, even though they have no idea what help they have provided, these walks have been the highlight for me.

Where have I been?

2011-05-03T22:53:00.001+10:00

Sorry for the very very long absence, I was almost convinced not to come back here, but I need to be able to write down my thoughts somewhere!

My last post mentioned that we had big news, well we do, we have moved to Jakarta, Indonesia for 1-2 years, I am currently sitting in a hotel room that we have been living in for the last 3 weeks while trying to find a house. It has been a crazy few months, Han left ahead of me in Australia so I had to pack up the house and organise what was to be shipped here and what went into storage, and then I haven't stopped since we arrived!

It has been great though, I am really glad that we have taken the plunge and moved overseas again, it hasn't been easy so far but I know that over time things will become more normal. Otto has taken it in his stride, we had a few teething moments for the first 2 weeks but that all seems to be much better now, it is amazing how resilient little people are.

Sadly we haven't had much time to do any sight seeing but hopefully over the next few weeks we will get out there a bit more.

That is it really! Hi, hopefully we will be around a bit more and share this journey.

{this moment}

2011-03-05T09:13:00.001+10:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you would like to see more head to SouleMama's blog.

Sorry for the absence, but there are some big changes to the LLP household coming your way soon.
(I am not pregnant)

{this moment}

2011-02-18T16:57:00.001+10:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama's blog for

*** *** ***

Wednesday Links

2011-02-16T17:18:00.000+10:00

There isn't much going on around here so I thought I would link up to some favourite new sites.

36 Pages
Craig Frazier, an American children's book illustrators blog, some amazing behind the scenes of absolutely gorgeous children's books.

At home with Montessori
An Australian Montessori teacher who know stays at home to look after her newborn baby, you can purchase from her and she also has some great links.

We heart books
A great resource to find out about delightful children's books and you can also purchase from them.

I should add that these are just personal opinions, I don't get compensated for this in any way.

Valentines day.

2011-02-14T13:01:00.000+10:00

I am not usually one to get caught up in Valentines day, but something had to happen around here to lighten the horrible Monday mood!

Hope you have a great day!

Pinchable

2011-02-13T21:44:00.001+10:00

How could you resist?

Running through the sprinkler after the grass has just been mowed, makes you wish to be a child again.

Weekending.

2011-02-13T21:42:00.001+10:00

We have had such a lovely summer weekend, the weather has been lovely and we have been enjoying each moment of it. A lot of time has been spent working on the yard out the back, trying to work out which plants will survive on the rock face.

I couldn't resist this, both boys shirtless in denim shorts, Otto is desperate to be up there with Han!

I love the light streaming through the trees, although it is definitely something I need to work on capturing properly.

Helping dada with the mowing.

Loving his first swimming lessons!

We hope you all had an amazing weekend too!

{this moment}

2011-02-12T18:12:00.001+10:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama's blog for more.

Sadly out of focus but still, these two are developing quite the little friendship lately and it is gorgeous to watch.

Too tired!

2011-02-10T11:59:00.000+10:00

Hi!

Two hours sleep here, a mixture of working late and having an early bird child so not a lot to talk about really, however I did want to show you a link of some brilliant photos of Australia's early criminal mugshots in Sydney! Not the best looking bunch but some definite characters in there.

Off for my nana nap now.

Here is the link to more! Well worth the look.

Sydney.

2011-02-08T13:18:00.000+10:00

Ahhh, how I love that city.

We flew in Friday evening and headed straight out to dinner at a really funky pizza place right next to the harbour and opera house. By this time I had stopped crying over leaving Otto and was more than a little excited to spend some days just soaking in my husband for a while.

The gorgeous Sydney harbour bridge at night.

Sydney Opera house.

The next day started HOT! Sydney threw us the hottest day on record at 41 degrees celcius. In spite of the heat we had a lovely time having breakfast with friends overlooking the water on the harbour and walking around the city.

The Harbour bridge and Opera house by day.

Having a bit of fun by the Harbour.

The two of us at the wedding, we had such a brilliant time, the reception overlooked the Harbour and every detail was perfectly thought out.

One last photo on our way to the airport, after such a wonderful weekend I couldn't wait to get back to see Otto.

I think maybe we might just be heading back there for an anniversary later this year, fingers crossed! We hope you had a great weekend too.

Today.

2011-02-03T17:30:00.000+10:00

Last night I went to sleep knowing that they eye of the storm missed by best friend and her family, I knew they were safe, I also knew that they were getting winds of 170km/hr at her house, as you can imagine, we didn't have a lot of sleep waiting to hear what the morning would bring.

Happily, it only bought a few trees down and loss of power, I think I finally could breathe again. Now Queensland, which has really seen enough of bad weather will pull together to help another community pick up the pieces.

Amazing this spirit of ours.

The small rain that we had from the cyclone did make for some fun spider web picture taking this morning though.

I always find water drops on spider webs look amazing.

Creepy spider, but he is doing a good job keeping our insects down! That blue sky today was amazing.

And of course, the gorgeous little boy doing what he does best, explore!

Bird!

Sadly today I realised that he ended up with my chubby knees and 'thick' thighs, poor little mite, at least he got his Dad's lovely olive skin!

Posting will be a bit quiet probably (like it already hasn't been!). Han and I are off to enjoy our first toddler free weekend in Sydney for a wedding, two nights to ourselves!

A trip to the seaside.

2011-02-01T13:34:00.001+10:00

All weekend Han was away on a trip so Otto and I decided to have some fun and meet his mum and her husband at Sandgate. The beaches are still closed due to contamination from the floods and the risk of debris but the weather was lovely, the park lots of fun and it was gorgeous to watch the sun set over the water while having fish and chips.

I still get amazed sometimes by how big he is all of a sudden.

We hope you had a great weekend! Sadly for Queensland we are bunkering down again, the northern part of our state is preparing to be hit by a category 4 cyclone late tomorrow or early Thursday morning, mother nature really is giving us her full wrath at the moment.

{This Moment}

2011-01-28T17:36:00.000+10:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

*** *** ***

Happy weekending.

Happy Australia Day

2011-01-26T13:36:00.000+10:00

Ahhhh, the day to eat a snag wrapped in white bread, say old Aussie sayings like Struth! Flaming Hell! and generally sound like a knob.

Sadly for us Han had to work today so Otto and I headed off to the Government house open day, I am pretty sure it only opens a few days a year, so it is a bit of a treat. We had a great time wandering the grounds and Otto lived out a little boys dreams when we found the army tank display.

The lovely Government house.

Otto at the helm of an army tank.

Enjoying a yummy (but not very healthy) lunch.

We hope you all had a wonderful day.

A perfect day.

2011-01-24T20:58:00.001+10:00

Any ordinary day has the chance to be a perfectly lovely day, and our day was just that, perfectly ordinary.

New shoes for the boy, who insisted on carrying his bag.

Our first flower from the bushes we planted last year.

A glorious blue sky that stayed with us all day.

Fun blowing bubbles with the hose.

Water dripping off baby (toddler) elbows.

Proof that Otto is my son, and closes his eyes in nearly every picture taken with a smile!

Hello.

2011-01-24T14:09:00.001+10:00

Wow, I never intended to take such a long break from this blog during the flooding, but it just happened, my energy was needed elsewhere at the time and in the days following supporting those that had been affected.

All my family were high and dry, but sadly a few of my friends were not so fortunate, two in particular have been devastated by the damage to their homes, belongings and lives, it will take years for them to rebuild from the disaster.

For now, all the physical work has been done for them and only the emotional rebuilding remains until work on their houses commences. Words can't even express the extreme sadness and loss that they and others have gone through.

We are fortunate though to live in the 'lucky country' and there has been a huge amount of support given to those affected both from the government and complete strangers.

I hope to see you around here a bit more again from now on!

Alanah.

Prayers please

2011-01-12T18:12:00.000+10:00

Our city is flooding, there is destruction and devastation all around us, my family and I are safe and our house will not be flooded but each road I turn down there is more water.

I am asking for good thought, prayers and anything else for the people of Queensland, I have friends who have nothing but the clothes on their backs, unable to get to friends and family, and have lost everything. The magnitude of this is mindblowing.

Our Christmas in photos!

2011-01-09T21:32:00.000+10:00

Basically our Christmas was one big family love fest (a lot of travelling) that also sadly coincided with flooding rain the likes that Queensland hasn't seen for many years/decades. A great time was had, we came home exhausted with a sick little boy but another great year of memories.

Sneaking a look at the presents Christmas morning.

Our very helpful elf.

Opa, may I have your beer?

This is my belly button.

There is your belly button.

Otto's first taste of a prawn.

His favourite past time, throwing sand.

Beach time.

I swear I didn't torture him, he loved the water up until now!

Watching the waves with Daddy.

Being cheeky with Oma.

The birds loved having a go at Otto's left overs.

Enjoying his very first ice cream.

Escaping the rain at under water world.

Somebody loved the touch and feel pool

Finally, our first glimpse at blue sky.

Going for a stroll and getting soaked at the Noosa National Park.

Our last full day and we finally awoke to sun.

Kite surfers enjoying a change in the weather.

Getting to know the wildlife on one of our walks.

Sandy little toes.

Learning to make new friends with good toys!

Phew, and the photo overload is done! Well done to anyone who made it to the end.

We are back.

2011-01-04T21:43:00.000+10:00

We made it through the crazy holiday season and terrible weather, however Han is still on holidays so posting here will probably still be sporadic until next week. I am so excited though, Thursday is a day to myself and a girlfriend hitting the shops, this is the first time that I have left Otto to spend a day doing what I want since he was born (16 months ago!).
I. CAN"T.WAIT!

Merry Christmas.

2010-12-22T13:33:00.001+10:00

From my family to yours, have a wonderful, safe and joyful Christmas, I will be back with lots of photos and stories in the new year, until then I have a couple of shifts of work (finishing midnight Christmas eve) and a wonderful weeks holiday at the beach.

What a difference a year makes.

2009

2010

Our weekend in pictures.

2010-12-19T20:47:00.000+10:00

We have had a lovely, fulfilling, busy weekend, and I just can't recap it all right now, so instead some pictures and captions.

Playing around with a macro lens I have been loaned by my Mother in Law.

More horrible weather here this weekend, so we headed to the Art Gallery and Museum.

Inspecting insects at the museum.

Playing with Han and Stegosaurus.

More Macro lens fun, it took me forever to get him still long enough to get the eyelashes in focus!

The poor little man after an unfortunate face plant incident, off to the doctor tomorrow to get that all checked out.

And best of all, my Dad visiting from out of town for Christmas.

Reflections.

2010-12-15T13:14:00.001+10:00

This time of year I always start to reflect on what type of year we have had, what we have done and how we have grown, and my, haven't we all grown in this household. Otto probably being the one who has done the most growth both physically and as a person, but not to be forgotten is the fact that both Han and I have grown so much as individuals, as a couple and as parents.

Reflecting is so much a mix of wonderment, happiness and a tinge of sadness. There were some amazing moments of 2010, and there were some really big low points, but most important of all, we are all here, happy, healthy and together, ready to take on 2011 and see what amazing memories we will make in another year.

With Han and Otto at my side, not to mention some pretty awesome extended family and friends, we really can take on anything. Once I have the time I am hoping to go through and pick my favourite photos from 2010, you can bet that will be a huge post! Happy reflecting.

Sunshine after the rain.

2010-12-12T20:59:00.000+10:00

Our weather has been absolutely mad lately, the poor farmers have gone from one of the worst droughts in decades to flooding. Puts my concerns for not being able to get to the park with Otto in perspective.

However today we did see a little bit of sunshine late in the afternoon which made everything sparkle with raindrops, such a gorgeous way to finish a lovely weekend.

Click on images to view larger.

This weekend has been full full full, but with lovely things to do. Saturday was spent with me doing more work around the home (more on that later) while Han and Otto had some quality time. We headed to the German Club for a 30th celebration which was uber fun!

Today we have been celebrating, birthdays, Christmas and just life. A full and wonderful weekend, here's hoping we see more of the blue sky this coming week.

{This moment}

2010-12-11T09:03:00.000+10:00

Happy Weekend to you!

A different one than usual for us, but after so much rain and local flooding, the sunlight streaming in through the windows as Otto ate his dinner on a quiet Thursday afternoon was just too lovely.

Weet-Bix thief!

2010-12-10T13:07:00.000+10:00

If you live in Australia you would have to know the jingle "Aussie kids are weet-bix kids"

This ad is from the late 80's but still lots of fun.

Anyway, Otto is certainly living up to the slogan, we tend to rotate between vegemite toast and weet-bix for breakfast, this morning I must have got it wrong, even though he ate up all the toast, the weet-bix must have been calling for him!

You can bet that he was very glad for a glass of water by the time I found him.

Achoo Achoo!

2010-12-08T17:27:00.001+10:00

This time of year both Han and I are reminded of our aversion to pollen. We have a lovely tree next to our patio that provides some much needed shade from the summer sun, but each year around this time it erupts in gorgeous white flowers that attract lovely insects, but sadly also the sneezes coming from our house. We are debating what to do with it, keep it and put up with it for the few weeks it blooms? Or plant something a bit more allergy friendly. Oh well, whatever we decide I had fun trying to catch photos of some of the insects today.

(Click the images to make them larger)

The gorgeous lady beetle.

Weekending

2010-12-06T20:49:00.000+10:00

What a weekend we have had! I attended some training by the Peri-operative association of nurses on Saturday and we were lucky enough to have a remarkable trauma surgeon talk to us about some new operating procedures for paediatric trauma cases. The only problem was watching the photos of the horrific injuries babies and toddlers had received, unintentionally and intentionally. I certainly came home and hugged Otto so much tighter.
We then headed out as a family to grab Otto's Santa photo, there were a few tears but once he got a few high fives from Santa and saw us chatting to him it all went well.

Sunday was a lovely day spent at home with family, we also attended the priest who married us, and baptised Otto's 80th birthday, he is such a wonderful man, and forward thinking priest in the Catholic Church that it is always a pleasure to bring along a bottle of wine and talk to him and all the other young couples that he has married.

Well we are starting another week, and that only brings us one more week closer to Christmas day (i am not counting the days just yet!).

{This moment}

2010-12-03T17:19:00.000+10:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Visit Soulemama for other peoples moments from the week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kiddies cushion concerts.

2010-12-03T13:19:00.000+10:00

Otto and I had a lovely morning, we attended the Queensland Symphony Orchestra kiddies cushion concert called Christmas capers (try saying that three times quickly!).

It was a blast, lots of carols and dancing and chasing Otto around, they have a few concerts a year and we will be going back for sure.

2010-12-02T12:40:00.001+10:00

Otto has been copying what Han and I do for a while, he loves to sweep and get the washing out of the machine for me (still working on getting it in the basket though!) but lately he has started copying us talking on the phone and it is just priceless, he passes it back from us to himself all the time and while he doesn't actually speak into it at the moment I love the way that he is understanding the world around him.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-11-29T20:43:00.000+10:00

Otto's first look at the Christmas tree with lights! I love this time of year.

This moment.

2010-11-26T17:17:00.002+10:00

I have read SouleMama's blog for a long time, and never really linked up to it before, but I am hoping to try and get into some sort of photo posting rhythm from the week and this suits me for now.

Have a lovely weekend.

While you were sleeping.

2010-11-26T13:01:00.001+10:00

Lately while Otto has been napping I have been preparing for the move to Rockhampton that is no longer happening, so often he would wake up and find whole rooms moved around and things missing. I often wonder what he thought when he would look around and wonder where on earth everything was!

We did a huge clear out and sold a lot of our dated and mismatched furniture, due to budget constraints the furniture we have since acquired has also been second hand or from IKEA but I am so happy with how it is looking.

Today, Otto went to sleep and when he wakes up, a new dining room table awaits. I am so excited about this purchase, our tiny dining room table has been with us from our first rented apartment together and hasn't suited us for years, especially as Otto could move it all around the dining and living room, making an awful noise.

Our living room when he went to sleep. (I wish I had taken a photo of what it all looked like before we started clearing the furniture out.)

Our old dining room set up and dining room table.

Our new dining room set up, sure we don't have as much space but it looks so much better, and even matches Otto's little table and chairs.

The banner in the background says Merry Christmas, I am slowly getting Christmas stuff organised.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Oh dear.

2010-11-24T12:53:00.000+10:00

We have a climber.

I love this city.

2010-11-23T21:19:00.000+10:00

So I have been a bit absent lately as Han and I were preparing to move to Rockhampton in Central QLD, luckily for us that plan has fallen through and we get to stay here. I wasn't overly worried about a move to "Rocky" but we have such a nice group of people here and Otto and I do some wonderful activities during the week that it would have been sad to give them up.

In celebration we headed to a new park close to us that I have heard is wonderful for young toddlers, and it certainly didn't disappoint. We are so blessed in Brisbane to have access to some wonderful parks right on our doorstep. We visited Dorrington Park in Ashgrove.

They had these awesome wheels that spin and make the noise of a common animal, Otto loved the one that sounded like a koala.

Yep, give him a park and he will play with the water bubbler.

A giant frog located right next to the magic toadstools that tell a story when you press a button!

Fun on the swings.

Aunty's are the best!

2010-11-18T21:55:00.000+10:00

They let us play with bubbles

and teach us to poke out our tongues!

A boy and his dog.

2010-11-16T19:17:00.001+10:00

Roxy was our first baby, we got her from Rockhampton not long after we first moved out west together and she has been everywhere with us except for Africa. I was a bit nervous about introducing Otto when we first bought him home, but Roxy really wasn't very interested in the crying, pooping little thing at all.

Now he is walking we have seen a change in their relationship, there has been a bit of an issue making sure that Roxy understands she is the bottom of the pack but things are looking good. I am really enjoying watching them getting to know each other and develop a relationship, and I am sure Roxy is appreciating all the donations of food from the high chair!

Bottled water.

2010-11-16T13:23:00.001+10:00

Since the arrival of summer I have noticed myself handing over small change regularly to purchase water in a bottle that I can get freely from a tap. They have been piling up everywhere, in the car, in my handbag and on the kitchen bench. It got me thinking, if I am buying this much water, then other people must be too, that would make for a lot of bottles going into the rubbish each day, and even though we have a recycle program, is it really working?

I looked on the internet for some statistics and frankly they were staggering:

Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled water. Last year, the sale of bottled water increased by 10 percent.
Producing and delivering a litre of bottled water can emit hundreds of times moregreenhouse gases than a litre of tap water.
According to British research, drinking one bottle of water has the sameenvironmental impact as driving a car for a kilometre.
In many cases, a litre of bottled water is more expensive than a litre of petrol.
Department of Environment and Climate Change estimates that 200ml of oil is used to produce, package, transport and refrigerate each litre bottle of bottled water. As a result, at least 50 million litres of oil is used in the manufacture and distribution of bottled water in Australia every year.
Australia recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles.
In South Australia, which has Container Deposit Legislation, the plastic bottle recycling rate is 74%. A 2007 national Newspoll commissioned by Clean Up Australia found that those polled 82% support a CDL scheme of 10c on bottles.
Australia’s annual use of bottled water generates more than 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions - the same amount that 13,000 cars generate over the course of a year.

Source

So, I have decided to make a promise, and by putting it out here I hope to be made accountable to it. I am not going to buy any more bottled water, if at the end of the month I have kept my promise I am going to treat myself to a swanky bottle so that I can continue on and hopefully make this a bottle free house.

Will anyone join me?

Summer

2010-11-13T00:02:00.000+10:00

I have such lovely memories of running through the sprinkler as a child on a hot summer afternoon. Now I get to enjoy them all over again with Otto.

God I love summer.

A new member of the family.

2010-11-11T19:17:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was a shocking day. One of those days that you just know from the moment you get up it just isn't going to go your way.

I think the 4:30am start may have been the soul of the issue.

My husband, a loving and caring man, but really a bit shit in the romance department outshone himself and delivered me the mother load of all surprises and gifts.

I know have a new to us, DSLR for the first time, a 400D Cannon, with a tripod and two lenses, a 28-80mm and a 75-300. I have a lot of work to do getting to know this new friend, but so far the journey has been fun. I have taken a few practice shots trying to work out the particulars and thought this one was a winner, sadly when I uploaded it a lot more was out of focus than I originally thought, but there is still just something about it. I tell you, this child of mine has some amazing eyes.

I have a feeling this new family member and I are going to get along really well.

Independent spirit.

2010-11-09T19:53:00.000+10:00

For some reason I have so much to say on this subject but don't seem to be able to put it into words, so instead I will try and put it together with words and pictures.

We here in the developed world worry, I am absolutely at fault for this. I worry that maybe Otto doesn't have enough stimulating toys, isn't getting enough to eat, doesn't have enough of anything that he should, but over the last few days as my mind has gone backwards through my life, it has dawned on me that worries such as these are the curse of a wealthy nation.

I have lived in South Africa and traveled throughout the area, I volunteered in squatter camps of people displaced by civil unrest and torture. I have carried and fed their babies, helped them to paint and draw for the first time, seen joy on their faces as I gave them a banana,

watched them make toys out of the simplest roadside items.

Children have followed Han and I when we went hiking and we loved their gorgeous shy smiles as they chatted about us in their own language.

These children, even when living in orphanages, without family of their own, still have the courage and love to give us a big wave and a gorgeous smile.

These children are lovely, smart, exuberant, resilient and cherished, they have all different personalities that are embraced by a culture of acceptance even through the toughest times. Their parents also have worries, where the next meal will come from, if it rains tonight will the house survive, where will the next paycheck come from.

It kind of puts my worries and grievances in perspective. Does Otto eat enough, have enough toys, enough love? He has Han and I, a roof and three meals a day. He is exhausting, independent, lives life fiercely and wholly, maybe instead of sometimes feeling exasperated by the small things, it is time for me to give thanks and realise that my life, no matter how hard it seems sometimes is a wonderful amazing gift.

I hope.

2010-11-02T21:02:00.000+10:00

A while ago I read this touching post on Marvelous Kiddo and when I saw this photo from our weekend I was reminded of it again. I hope that I too have the strength and the insight to know when it is time for me to let go of Otto's hand.

Sometimes motherhood really pulls on those heartstrings.

The newest craze!

2010-11-01T20:04:00.000+10:00

Otto must have heard it on the baby grapevine, but the newest craze in the one year old age group just has to be......................

Naked gardening!

Ok, so it isn't 100% naked, but oh my, that little bottom is just the cutest!

Date night.

2010-10-31T12:15:00.000+10:00

Last night Han and I were lucky enough to head out to the movies and dinner at a local boutique cinema while the grandparents watched Otto.

We went to see 'life as we know it', what a movie, I thought it was meant to be a comedy, but for a couple who have a one year old, sometimes it was a bit close to home and had ~~both Han and~~ I in tears.

The best thing though, is spending the time, just the two of us, no real worries or concerns, to hold hands, sneak a kiss and talk without interruptions. Bliss!

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Independence.

2010-10-29T17:25:00.000+10:00

Otto has decided that the only way he will eat is if he can spoon feed himself, peel the banana himself or have complete control over the situation. Unfortunately often this means that lately he isn't eating a lot as he lacks these skills even though we are trying to teach him, and often he ends up looking like this or worse at the end of a meal.

Part of me is so happy to see his fiercely independent spirit shining through, what Mumma wouldn't be, but to also see the struggle within himself between wanting to do it himself and needing to eat is difficult. I know this will soon pass, and he will master the skills needed but in the meantime I will worry just a little bit at each mealtime that this gorgeous little boy of mine isn't getting enough.

What to do in the rain?

2010-10-15T17:38:00.000+10:00

Why not put on a raincoat and gumboots and have fun!

Walking in gumboots is still a bit challenging, so he looks like a very cute robot doing it!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

What I am listening too.

2010-10-11T21:24:00.000+10:00

I have no idea how I found this artist, but lately I am enjoying listening to her newest album, and of course, my favourite song at the moment has to be 'Hourglass'.

Check her out, she has such a great voice.

Measles and painting!

2010-10-08T17:16:00.000+10:00

Well, since I last posted things have been eventful around here. Otto seems to have come down with the baby measles, which isn't really that bad as far as diseases go (it is different from normal measles), but it did give this Mama one very scary day when I couldn't get him temp down from 39.6! We seem to be over the worst of it, just a few spots to clear up.

Today after nap time I decided to see if Otto was ready to try painting, unfortunately the answer to that was a definite NO! Hopefully soon I will try it again with a different answer, he just wasn't interested in it at all, and ended up covered in paint, getting it everywhere.

He did look pretty gorgeous though in an old shirt of mine.

And no, I can't get all the green paint out of his ear. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

2010-10-06T13:08:00.000+10:00

I just love spring! The last few days have been fantastic here and we have been out soaking up every moment.

It is so nice to see those little legs again after winter.

Tuesday.

2010-10-05T13:21:00.000+10:00

Don't you just love an impromptu cup of coffee with a good friend?

Otto and I headed into Rosalie this morning with my delightful friend Becca, grabbed a coffee and headed to the park, nothing better for the soul then a good chat and lovely bright sunshine.

We then came home and had our first go at peanut butter, I think someone might be a fan.

Now I have one very tired boy asleep in bed and some yummy cinnamon and sultana muffins in the oven, days like this make all the other hard days worth it.