Monday

Yesterday was pretty good. Went in to work with Justy - he dropped me at Bowen Hills station and Jazmin and I got the train to the city. Did lots of shopping and went to see "Miss Potter" at the movies (yes with Jazmin - she was very good) After that she had a snooze while I was in Borders and the Gloria Jeans there. It was the first sleep she had all day and it was almost 4pm by that stage. When she woke up we went to the playground at the botanical gardens. She played on the equipment while I read my book (and played with her a bit - but I was pretty tired!) Justin picked us up from the gardens when he was finished work. Jazmin did not even go to sleep in the car on the way home, so I think she may be close to dropping one of her daytime sleeps soon.

Amanda Roy has invited Margy and I over for lunch today, so I am making some bread to take. Hopefully it turns out!

Friday/Saturday

We went up to the Glasshouse Mountains as planned, but it looked like it might rain so we just drove around and checked the place out. The rental inspection went fine. Later on we went to get Chinese Takeaway for dinner and saw the landlords!

Today we went up to Maroochydore. We had to get the documents sorted for Jazmin's passport and all the local post offices required an appointment and are booked or unavailable for a number of weeks. The one at Sunshine Plaza does not need a booking, so we got it all done finally. Hopefully they will be lenient about the photo due to Jazmin's age, coz the pic is meant to be with mouth closed.

After that we went shopping at Morayfield. I bought some herb seeds - I am going to try and grow the herbs I like.
Justin got his hair cut and I bought him "Everest" - the IMAX film on DVD.

Thursday.

OK, my blog titles are getting boring.

Not doing too much. Watched Grease last night. It's funny to laugh at the hairdo's and that old (gross) brylcream...yuck.

Still havent got the camera fixed: it is just going to have to wait for now.

Haven't got much planned for tomorrow, we tought we might put Jazmin in the backpack and go for a short hike in the Glasshouse Mountains - or at least take a picnic up there. We had a bit of a look round the other Sunday when we were coming back from Woodford, and of course we've been there before - Justin several times before we met, and we went there together the first week when we met. I started climbing Mt Beerwah and got about 2/3 of the way up but then it was getting to dark to be able to get down safely. I don't think I'll finish it this time...and to quote Shrek.. "it's on my to-do list!"

Got rental inspection tomorrow morning- the agent and the owners - so got to make the place look ok!






Got the jam off the wall so I suppose that's a start!!!

Jazmin's Eyes

Went to the appointment today. The doctor said that yes it's true that she doesn't focus as well with her left eye but that it is just a developmental thing, and no action needs to be taken at the moment. He said it will either get better or worse (not stay the same) over the next 6 months or so and we have booked an appointment for July at which time it will be decided if anything further needs doing. Long story short: Don't worry about it at the moment, as it is not severe and does not need treatment at this time. That was a big weight off our minds.

Went and got the renewal paperwork done for Justin's passport, and sent off some stuff for mine. Will have to get Jazmin's photo signed again because it was signed and marked horizontally - it needs to be vertically! Picky, picky picky! And we forgot to take Justin's Birth Certificate to prove that one of Jazmin's parents is an Australian too. More paperwork....yawn.

Also made some bread and it finally came out right. Haven't tasted it yet, and it rose properly so that's a good start!

On this day in 1997 I came to Brisbane, Australia. (Was also there today!) I've been in Australia for 10 years!
Enjoy a celebratory drink for me!

Weekend

Friday had a great night with Jono & Emma. Saturday enjoyed having Denise, Chantelle, Rebecca & David up for dinner. Sunday went and got passport photos done, went to the meeting, went back to the shops to return a frypan that did'nt even cook one meal: the coating came off in the dishwasher. Looked around a few other shops - looking for a lawn mower, our one has broken and it's pretty old. We'll see how much to get it fixed, but it may be better in the long term to get a new (or newer at least) mower. We've got rental inspection coming up soon, so gotta do it!

Was clearing out my really old e-mail folder. Found this. Thought it was worth posting up, thus allowing me to keep it and delete the e-mail to free up space.

Dear Help Desk,

One of our clients has upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed that the new program began making unexpected changes to the accounting modules, limiting access to flower and jewellery applications that had operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.9 but installed undesirable programs such as AFL 5.0 and NRL 3.0. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and HouseCleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.
I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.
Please help!


Dear Client,

Please keep in mind that Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Try to enter the command: C:/I-THOUGHT-YOU-LOVED-ME and then install Tears 6.2. Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications: Guilty 3.0 and Flowers 7.0. But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, HappyHour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.

Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create "Snoring Loudly" WAV sound files. DO NOT install MotherInLaw 1.0 or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. Consider buying additional software to improve performance.

I personally recommend HotFood 3.0 and Lingerie 5.3
--Help Desk

Tuesday

Yesterday I drove down to the Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane. I got a bit lost (Took the wrong bridge) and ended up in the city. Found my way out again anyway. Went there to meet mum and James and Ken because he had appointments there. I found this great play area out the front that I thought was corporate art, - Jazmin loved it and was very happy to have Uncle James chasing her around for 3 hours or so! Justin got the train to South Bank and met us there and came home with us which was really nice.

What's so good about being a dad? (Part 2)

OK, one year on - what's so great about being a daddy...
Jazmin is so much more fun now, since she is much more mobile and eloquent. Those are the two main positives - the sight of her little body running around after the cat, or playing studiously with sand and water in the sandpit. She pipes up with the funniest sayings like "Shrek Donkey" and "mummy" (when looking at me).

She is still pretty violent with Odie, pulling him around by his hair and pushing him off chairs that she wants to sit in. Each time we catch her being rough we tell her to be gentle, sometimes even practising the gentle stroking motions with her but it needs some more practice, I think. Odie doesn't seem to mind, but we are trying to teach her to share and be nice when playing.
She often breaks out in peals of laughter when I hold her up in the air and then lower her tummy onto my shaking head. The motion or the feeling of my head on her tummy must be exciting, because she cackles the most enjoyable and happy laughs.

One of the challenges we weren't facing before is the flexibility of nappies. Jazmin has discovered how to take her nappy off and regularly greets us in the morning by handing her nappy to us while standing stark naked in her cot. We have gone past the "scolding" stage, the "praising good behaviour" stage, the "ignoring it" stage and now we are in the sticky tape stage. Every night we tape the nappy tags so she can't open them. Nappy stays on and the bed stays dry.
Her language seems to be deveoping exponentially. I know I'm going to fondly remember the times when we didnt have a little miss chatterbox, but the words she is putting together are really impressive. The most recent one is "bling bling" whenever she sees jewelry - usually accompanied by an outstretched hand to grab it! It's extremely fun and entertaining to see her practising new words and babbling away with a commentary as she plays with her toys.

She's really getting into saying "Daddy" and "Mummy" - usually when pointing to the wrong person just for laughs. We are also enjoying the personality development - where she gives us a defiant look before doing something she knows we don't like, as if to say "I dare you to stop me". We stop her anyway and explain why she can't do what she was trying to do, but the facial expressions she makes are better than anything we could have imagined.

Her personality also shows in other ways - insisting on heping take out the garbage, pushing the shopping trolley with us and walking through the shops with a parent holding each hand! Efforts to stop her are met with indignant protests and a look that says "just what do you think you're doing? Don't you know my way is the only way?"

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Congrats!

To Luke and Lal Tappouras - Rocco Gabriel was born at 7.50pm 9 Jan. 07 weighing 4.37kg

Also I put my mobile through the wash - don't I feel clever! So now I have to use Justy's old dinosaur of a handset. What that means is that I may not have your phone numbers any more, so I'll add it next time you send me a text or e-mail it to me. Thanks.

The Toddler Diet

This is also off the same site (I've had more time to read it lately with Justy having been home!). I'll put this story on, and I'll add the link to the bar on the screen so you can get to this site for yourself :)

Flabby Americans are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), or you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet), or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days, or go right back to stuffing their faces after it is all over. Is there nothing you can do but give up and tell your friends you have a gland problem? Or is there a slim hope?

Such is the new Toddler Miracle Diet! Over the years you may have noticed,as I have, that most two-year-olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of black coffee and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After consultation with pediatricians, X-ray technicians, and distraught moms, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive, offering great variety and sufficient quantity. Before embarking on this diet, however, be sure to check with your doctor ... otherwise you might have to see him afterward. Good luck!

DAY ONE
Breakfast - One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.
Lunch - Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).
Dinner - A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, 4 sips of stale soda.
Bedtime Snack - Toast piece of bread and toss it on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO
Breakfast - Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vegetable dye.
Lunch - Half a tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick ). One ice cube, if desired.
Afternoon Snack - Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again. Then bring inside and drop on the rug.
Dinner - A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes; eat with a spoon.

DAY THREE
Breakfast - Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk: drink half, stuff pancakes in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, and put it on the cushion of your best chair.
Lunch - Three matches, peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.
Dinner - Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some coffee.

FINAL DAY
Breakfast - A quarter-tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add a half-cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.
Lunch - Eat crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.
Dinner - A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate. Stick of mascara for dessert.

You Know you need a budget when:

This is off a really awesome site that I have been frequenting for years. It is mostly about saving money, but has some great ideas for more natural living - no artificial chemical cleaning products etc. http://www.stretcher.com

Here we are in the month of "lists." There are the "to do's," "party preparation lists," "invitation lists," "the who's naughty and nice list," and of course the great "shopping lists!"
To take a break from this, and just for a smile, I thought I'd share a "budgeting list." Here are...The Top Ten List of Reasons Why You MIGHT Need to Budget! :)
10. If you think your checkbook register is a good place to play tic-tac-toe.
9. If your cat mistakes the clutter of bills on your desktop for a litter box.
8. If your credit card debt and your blood pressure are both over 300.
7. If your idea of achieving your dreams is taking a nap.
6. If at the end of a telephone conversation your friend says "Bye now," and you unconsciously answer with "Pay later!"
5. If you carry enough credit cards to shingle the roof of a reasonably sized suburban dwelling.
4. If you think checkbook balancing is an unusual circus act performed by skilled acrobats of the Ukraine.
3. If your credit counselor is on speed dial.
2. If your local catalog order department is on speed dial.
And the number one reason you might need to be on a budget:
1. If your annual spending is equal to Microsoft's Bill Gates' earnings!

Yay!

Ok this is just a quick celebratory post to say: Dr Phil has been returned to his rightful place on the TV schedule and the sodding cricket is almost gone!

Jaz and I have both got bad colds so having a quiet one today. Justin is at his new office, waiting for the furniture to arrive. Maybe he'll post about that later :)

Our camera got wet on Thursday - it is supposedly class 8 waterproof but it doesn't work...have to try and get it fixed as we really don't want to have to buy another one!!