Hump Day Random Ramble.

I had planned to do a lot of errands yesterday and unsurprisingly I only achieved a couple on the list. I thought after Bubby's breakfast I'd pack him in the pram for a long walk to the various places I needed to go to while he slept instead of bundling him in the car and waking him up every 15 minutes. First stop was my Wednesday decaf mocha, then stroll to the post office to pick up a parcel, stop en route at the park to say a quick hi to my mummy posse. From the post office I will walk past Hong Ha Bakery to grab a chicken roll for brunch, then walk to the early childhood clinic to get him weighed since we missed last week's weigh in because of his disease. From there walk to Rosebery laundry to get a couple of outfits altered, then walk home with a possible stop over at the Bourke Street bakery to see if they had any macadamia and honey sticky buns. Home for lunch and Bubby's afternoon nap and then head to the storage place to buy some boxes for packing. It all sounded like a good plan.

After breakfast I let Bubby have a bit of playtime so he can fall asleep faster. He did a bit of exploring and got himself into a bit of trouble, as usual.

Don't worry, when he couldn't figure out how to get himself out I did help him. He looked quite happy when he figured out how to crawl under there but not so much once he realised he's stuck.

We got dressed and we were off. I got my decaf mocha and while waiting for it I could smell something not so pleasant and sure enough Bubby did a number 2. So we had to head back home to change him. We made it to the park but when we got there there was only one mum and bub so we stayed for a little bit to keep them company. Bubby was still awake. The other mums and bubs arrived after a while then we headed for the post office by then the skies were already a dark grey. Got the parcel plus bought a Dr Seuss book and a nursery rhymes book. Unfortunately, the heavens opened up just as we left the post office. I rushed for shelter at the bakery and lined up for my chicken roll. I realised quickly that we won't be going anywhere for a while so I got Bubby a bread roll which was fresh out of the oven (crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside and still hot. Yum, I ate half of it). Bubby was still not asleep by this time it's already 11.30. What was forecast as scattered showers in the afternoon turned out to be heavy rain in the late morning.

I walked up and the down the shopping strip looking for a discount store that sold umbrellas and the only one I could find only sold Australian flag brollies. They all looked a bit post-Cronulla 'Aussie Pride' to me and only acceptable to be used on Australia Day so I passed. There was no way we'd make it to the clinic and the laundry so I thought I'd just brave the rain and walk home before Bubby gets hungry. On the way home I found another discount store that sold nicer brollies so I ended up buying a nice silver umbrella with navy inner lining (and we just have a love affair with navy. It even matched our outfits.) for 7 bucks. It's good too that it has a plastic tip so I don't have to be scared that I'd get hit by lightning every time I used it unlike my other umbrellas. Naturally, as soon as I had an umbrella the rain stopped. Bubby was still awake and it's already past noon. We were 5 minutes from home when he eventually fell asleep. Why is it always the case?

The umbrella even matches the aluminium frame of the pram.

We managed to have lunch and Bubby had his late afternoon nap. Hubby came home early and didn't want me to get the boxes because he wanted to spend some family time. On the other hand, he was quite happy to send me out to get some honeycomb and vanilla ice cream. Oh well, I ended my day by taking some antioxidants.

It's now Thursday, it's all downhill from here. Looking forward to the weekend!

SOLD! What I Will/Won't Miss About Apartment Living.

We sold our flat two weeks ago now after two weeks on the market. It's nice to not have to clean like a mad woman everyday just in case someone wanted to inspect the house on short notice. Actually, the one day I let the house go a bit because I thought we were just about sold (we were in the haggling process with a potential buyer), someone did want to inspect leaving me with only a couple of hours to clean. Twenty minutes before the impending arrival (and I still needed to mop the floors) hubby calls me to say that the buyers have made another offer and wanted to know if I was happy with it. I wanted more but I also didn't feel like mopping so I settled.

I am quite proud of how spotless the flat is was.

It now looks like this with Bubby's Yellow Plastic Crap all over the place.

What I won't miss about apartment living.

1. My filthy, lazy and disgusting neighbours who have turned this place into a bit of a ghetto (my brother joked that we should market our flat as Ghetto Vogue). I'm sick of finding rubbish everywhere:

- on top of the intercom box going into and coming out of the car park and the lift. Seriously, If you're on your way in why don't you just bring your rubbish with you and place it in a bin in your flat and if you're on your way out then why didn't you put your rubbish in the bin before heading out? It defies logic.

- on the garbage room floor. FFS! There is a garbage chute, you pull the handle, drop your rubbish in and close. I know it takes an extra 5 seconds but it takes less time than it would to kill the cockroaches that move in, not to mention the stench that wafts into the hallways. 

- in the stairwells. You're keen enough to take the stairs instead of the lift but too lazy to take your rubbish into the garbage room

- cigarette butts in my car space when we are a non-smoking household. Apartment !$^ you're an ass.

2. Cigarette smoke entering my living room from neighbours smoking on their balconies. Keep your lung cancer/emphysema/heart attack/stroke to yourself, thank you very much.

3. Intercom video that hasn't worked for several months probably even over a year. Sometimes it doesn't work altogether like that time it was broken for over a month and I had to go down to the car park or lobby to let people in. Not fun at all when you're 34+ weeks pregnant and could barely walk from hip pain, Braxton Hicks or pre-labour contractions and later when Bubby was only days/weeks old and I'm recovering from a C-section. Building manager's response at the time was "the executive committee is having a meeting about it" meetings ain't gonna fix it buddy, it's been broken for over a month. Just ring up the damn company and get them to come and fix. I'd even do it for you.

4. The noise from the construction next door. This one is probably the least annoying of them all as it's not really the result of idiotic neighbours or incompetence.

5. Idiot drivers driving in the wrong direction on our one way street. 

6. Having to go to the post office to pick up parcels when I'm home most of the time simply because the packages don't fit in the mailbox and I guess it's too time consuming for the postman to figure out which building I'm in, walk up the stairs, walk across the courtyard and ring my intercom (if it's working) to see if anyone's home. I don't blame them, I wouldn't do it either. There is a post office just a short 5 minute walk down the road but my parcel always ends up in the one that is a 15-30 minute walk depending on if I'm solo or with Bubby in the pram. 

7. The idiot who leaves his dog on the balcony and lets it bark all night.

8. My moronic neighbours (the same ones who drop their cigarette butts in my car space) who let their toddler run around late at night. Like what is a little child doing up and running around at 12.30 AM. Put your child to bed! 

9. Inconsiderate neighbours who let their kids run noisily in the hallway. Kids will be kids, I get it, but there shouldn't be kids running around past 10 PM. I sound like a grouch but to be honest I don't really like kids. Babies are okay, kids aren't.

10. Having to take the lift to get to and from the car. It takes so long. When one lift isn't working I don't bother waiting for the other one as it's quicker to go down the stairs even if I'm on the top floor. Of course, I can't do that with a pram.

Just so you don't think I'm all about whining...

What I will miss about apartment living

1. My actual flat. It is spacious, airy and bright. It is a bit odd that the bedrooms are downstairs but the living area is upstairs but I love the space. I love the skylight, I love the 12 foot floor to ceiling window (I hated washing it though and you can clearly see how high I could reach as only the bottom half is spotless). Of course, we are moving to a much bigger place since it feels cramped now that Bubby is here. It's also special since it's our first home and we moved in on our wedding day exactly five years ago on Saturday.

2. There's no lawn to mow and water and no plants I can kill. There is a pool but someone else cleans it and keeps it from turning green.

That's pretty much all I'm going to miss about apartment living the rest are things I'll miss about the area.

3. It's close to the city, work, the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, Centennial Park, the Children's Hospital, the beach and the airport. It's so conveniently located.

4. My mothers' group. I love my mummies' group. Before I gave birth I wondered if I would join one. I was worried that the other mums will be competitive or stuck up or just not nice in general but I'm glad I was wrong. It was great that I have them to share the ups and downs of motherhood with. Most of us are first time mums and we pretty much didn't know what we were doing. I can complain about lots of things and they just get it. It's great to have others who understand, who are going through the same things as I am. They are supportive, strong, smart, inspirational and fun. I learnt a lot from them. They listen, give good advice and tight hugs when I really needed it. I think I'm really lucky there. I'm not just saying this either because some of them read my blog. There's also the babies. It's been fun watching them grow and reach milestones. I will miss watching Bubby interact with them. I don't know what I'll be doing with my Wednesdays. Actually, I have a pretty good idea how I'll be spending my Wednesdays as I'll be back at work. Thank goodness for Facebook.

I like to support local businesses and there are a few I will miss.

5. Bourke Street Bakery. I will miss their macadamia and honey sticky bun (Yummm!) plus they make a pretty good decaf mocha (I'm sure they make a good caffeinated mocha too).

6. Hong Ha Bakery. They make really good banh mi and there's usually a very long line at lunchtime. Their chicken roll is pretty popular and cheap too. I used to go for a walk there on Saturdays just to get a chicken roll, then run back so it's still warm, good exercise. I don't know if it's as good as what you'll get from Cabramatta or Ashfield but around these parts it's awesome. 

7. I8noodles. The best Chinese takeaway ever. If you're ever in this neck of the woods you must try their Special Fried Rice, Salt and Pepper Squid and stir fry with the I8 Special Sauce or Chilli Garlic sauce. Absolutely delicious. They're also very generous with their portions. Their large takeaway containers are really large and they're never stingy with the squid, they fill it up to the top that they can't even fit the lid on and unlike other Asian takeaways that sell salt and pepper squid they don't put the squid on a bed of lettuce (What's up with that anyway? Is it for presentation? It's in a plastic takeaway container no amount of leaves is going to make that any more presentable). Best Salt and Pepper squid I've ever tasted. It's salty, peppery, garlicky and spicy from the chillis. We definitely have to have a last meal of 18noodles before we move and maybe have some for the road. The only problem with this place is it's closed on a Sunday and they close at 8 PM. What kind of a Chinese takeaway is closed on a Sunday or close that early?

8. Rosebery Laundry and Cleaning. Nothing to do with food, I know but they are such lovely and hardworking people. They're open from 7 AM, 7 days a week. Often they are open till 7 PM. Even if I arrive after they've closed the sweet lady (I really must ask her name) will let me in. I went there to pick up some clothes I had altered (she's also a seamstress) on Sunday afternoon and they've already closed but she let me in when she saw me. I'm actually glad when I drive past and see that they're closed. They deserve to have some rest. They're also very quick and your dry cleaning, laundry or alterations are done by the following day. I'm sure if you drop in early they can do a same day service. I might even still go here after we've moved even if it means crossing The Bridge certainly for alteration as I trust she'd do a good job.

And there you have it. There are a few things I'll miss but for the most part it is adios apartment living! I'm sure once I'm in my new home I'll soon forget about you except for the bits I'll miss.

House Hunting Part 5

We haven't looked at any new houses since two weekends ago. We had a look at House 8 again and had a building inspection done and got rough quote on how much it will cost to bring this Ugly Duckling/Cinderella back to it's full Fairy Tale glory. The quote was $A LOT. The auction is this coming Saturday and assuming that the price is right it will be worth it. You just hope that there isn't an idiot who hasn't done enough research (ie the house is heritage listed but the agents are saying it's not and there are a lot of constraints and heritage impact report from an expert and council approval needed just to even get rid of the filthy carpet that I wouldn't even allow a mangy dog to sleep on, all of which will cost a lot of time and more money) or a bozo who miscalculates the amount of money needed to fix the place (removal of asbestos fibro garage, anyone?), who pushes the price up. We went to an auction on Saturday to get a feel for what it's like and it was interesting. It's also a bit scary to think that someone would pay the amount of money they did on a tiny 3 bedroom single storey Federation matchbox with barely a backyard. What would people be prepared to pay for a 5 bedroom 2-storey manor on a big block even if it is a mess inside?

We still have House 9 on our minds which is now our first choice. When we arrived there on Saturday the only sound you could hear was the rustling of the leaves on the trees in the wind which sounded very much like that scene in the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon when they were fighting among the bamboo grass. The only thing standing in our way there is the price we'll see what happens this week. I think that we will have a house by Saturday, our fifth wedding anniversary! Just trying not to get too excited.

Someone Forgot to Tell Bubby He's Sick.

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for an entire week! It's a bit old news but since I bothered to type it I may as well publish it.

Apart from conjunctivitis at 2 weeks, Bubby has not been sick in his entire life. Never even had so much as a sniffle. On Sunday (like Sunday a week ago, not Sunday yesterday) morning I first noticed what I thought were mosquito bites on his hand then after lunch I noticed some red dots on his foot when I took off his sock. I thought they were just marks from his socks. By 5 PM he felt very warm and sure enough he had a fever. I tried to give him Panadol but he vomited it along with his lunch. I think it was more a reaction to the awful taste of the Panadol. Hubby tasted it and he nearly threw up himself, poor big baby. According to the NSW Health Fever Fact Sheet. You should take your child to the doctor if they have have a fever, rash and vomiting among other symptoms. Fever + rash = panicky parents and for good reason. By then it was 6 PM and there's only one place where you can find a doctor on a Sunday night so it would be a trip to the Children's Hospital. Apart from the rash and the fever you wouldn't guess that he was sick especially compared to the other miserable looking children in emergency. I really hate being surrounded by sick people, even if they are cute little children. I don't like the thought of germs hovering in the air. I really don't know why I thought I'd ever work in the medical field. The thought of infectious diseases gives me panic attacks. I'm not exaggerating. I don't know how I got through Medical Microbiology at uni (and did very well at that) when I would be studying one minute and the next I'd be curled up into a tight ball in the corner of my room hyperventilating because I was reading about Mycobacterium tuberculosis and I had convinced myself I had TB. Oh and while having a panic attack I thought I was having a heart attack. Ah the joys of being taken by your parents to emergency because of a panic attack. Lovely times, third year uni. I'm mostly over the hypochondria now but I still hold my breath and cover my nose and mouth every time someone coughs near me. But at least I no longer think I'm going to die of some exotic disease.

Anyway, back to germy little kids. Every time a kid would cough my insides would freeze and I tried to cover Bubby with my body, yeah because that's how you stop germs. Then we had to take a urine sample. Do you know how to make a 9 month old go? You wait and wait and wait just don't blink and miss it because you'll be waiting another hour. We got there in the end and I don't think Bubby wants to see another bottle of water for a while. In the usual Bubby fashion he was being very loud especially once we were finally seen by a doctor. Every time she asked us a question Bubby would answer. He was very vocal about it. I think he was complaining about having to wait in triage for so long and the indignity of having to sit in front of everyone without his pants on. He would even slam the desk to get his point across. Anyway, it turns out he had hand foot and mouth disease. Such an awful name for something that isn't actually serious. I don't even know where or how he caught it as he doesn't go to daycare. I thought maybe mothers' group but nobody has been sick and none of the other babies go to daycare either. Maybe because I let him touch the elevator buttons, hubby reckons it's because we went to Chinatown which is a lot more crowded than what Bubby's used to, who knows. I don't think it's something you catch from being sneezed or coughed on. Maybe I touched something that a germy infected kid has touched. Which is just fantastic as I already try to not touch lift buttons, door handles, buttons at the stop light etc. I can't wait for winter so I can wear my leather gloves and not look like a lunatic. So we're keeping away from people for a while to make sure we don't pass it on. It's really sad because we're missing out on mothers' group and we're only here for another couple of weeks before we have to move but that's another post coming up.

Despite the nasty looking rash and some blisters:

he's been pretty much unbothered by being sick. Occasionally he'd cry out for no apparent reason I'm guessing because he popped a blister and it's painful. But all in all he's been up to his usual antics such as:

Playing under the dining table so he can chew on the remaining plastic cover on the chair. I really must get rid of it.

Watching the washing machine in action.

'Helping' unload the washing machine, except that it's dirty clothes he's pulling out. He also tried to climb in there. He 'helps' me unload the dishwasher too.

Climbing the stairs. He's quite good at it now and can do it all by himself. The problem is he also tries to crawl down the stairs head first. How do you teach a baby to crawl backwards?

Stay tuned for House Hunting Part 5...

House Hunting Part 4.

House 9.
North Shore. Not sure what period this house is but it has beautiful ornate ceilings, a sandstone fireplace and a kitchen to die for. Massive block with a circular driveway. Big bedrooms and just lovely all around. Doesn't this kitchen just make you want to cook? Check out that stove!

So what's the catch? The finish on the external walls looks like it's covered in barnacles and the price. Le sigh.

House 10.

North Shore. An adorable home with a big entertainment deck and a MASSIVE backyard complete with a cubby house, a slide and a flying fox! There is also a separate indoor pool that is really more like an oversized bath tub/jacuzzi. It also has nice kitchen and lots of French doors and windows. The only problem is the bedrooms are tiny and there's no built in robe. Once you have a wardrobe in there there won't be much space for anything. Shame.

House hunting, when will it ever end?

Day Out With Bubby. Actual Shopping. Yum Cha. Ten Year Reunion.

Today we headed out with my brother's fiancee to the Chinese Gardens to scope out one of the Pavilions as a wedding ceremony venue. We came, we saw, we booked! Those two are so easy. God knows what I went through with my wedding planning. If I could do it all again I simply wouldn't. On the way there we saw what looked like a pram parking lot. It's not everyday that you see this:

Afterwards we went to Market City to kill time before checking out a reception venue. I ended up coming away with this:

It was 3 for $10 so I also got it in silver:

Hmmm, they look a bit identical, don't they? My future sister-in-law got the third one but in blue denim.

Shoe sizes are really annoying. I complained before that size 37 is now too big for me but these shoes were size 38. I also have another pair of sandals from the same brand and it's a slightly big 37. I don't get it. I also said previously that thongs aren't shoes, well they are if they're shiny. I'm not really a fan of anything that goes between the toes but they're so shiny I couldn't resist.

After our impromptu shopping we went to yum cha. My first yum cha since having a baby! Bubby slept the entire time. To be able to eat uninterrupted is bliss. We couldn't go to our favourite yum cha place as there were stairs and no lifts plus there's no room for prams and I'm not going to park my $$$$ pram at the entrance where anyone can just take it. I really need to get a baby carrier but it would be like carrying a back pack but on your front and I haven't worn a back pack since my uni days. Speaking of uni Sydney University has sent me (and hubby) an invitation for a 10 year reunion! I can't believe it's been ten years since we first graduated from uni. Since then we have both taught at uni and graduated again. I feel old.

Home Alone Dinner. Bubby the Baby Bully.

The other night hubby had to work late and as much as it's lonely without him the silver lining is I didn't have to cook. Well, I did boil some eggs to make my egg sandwich.

I even trimmed the crust off to make it more fancy. It looks tiny, doesn't it? Don't be fooled, I'm on no diet, that was my second sandwich for the night and the first one had crust. Oh and I wasn't exactly home alone, Bubby was already asleep.

Yesterday's mothers' group meet was at the park which was great for Bubby but probably not so much for the other babies. There are younger babies in our group who aren't very mobile yet. They were pretty much defenceless against Bubby's antics. While Bubby is tiny for his age the younger babies are of course smaller. Poor little A was Bubby's first target. Little A was poked a few times and Bubby even tried to bite him twice. At least he seemed to enjoy the pokes. He then moved on to Little K. Bubby tried to give her a biscuit, poor girl's not even on solids yet. Then he decided he's sick of crawling and wanted to sit and nearly sat on Little K's head. Then he wanted to stand so he used Big J as leverage. He and Big J then decided to grab a packet of arrowroot biscuits and between the two of them they opened it and spilled half its content. Then he went back to Little A who was playing with a toy and took his toy from him. I want him to play and touch other babies but he's so rough. I had to issue an apology for my little rascal. Today he bit my husband on the shoulder when we were playing chase. He still has teeth mark on his shoulder. Here he is trying to steal someone's grapes.