PBC Expo 2011

I said last year that we'd make the Pregnancy, Babies & Children's Expo at the Convention Centre an annual event, especially for the joy of the animal farm. For a trip down memory lane, here's last year's post and photos. 

SP & I made the trip (on the bus!) on Friday, and had another great time. We spontaneously met up with a friend from church and her kids, and a very dear friend with her gorgeous adopted son whom I hadn't previously met - hooray!

The animal farm was a hit again. SP was very excited to tell Uncle Phil about the 'little piggy' on the phone this afternoon.

Dorothy the Dinosaur wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be. Captain Feathersword's impersonation of Incey Wincey Spider falling down was quite traumatic; Sam LOVES Incey Wincey and I think he was quite concerned for his dear friend's safety. Plus, the absence of the actual Wiggles was keenly felt. 

So while Dorothy continued, we headed over to the Red Nose Day Traffic School. He's always been into riding cars, and he's currently into parking them as well. Bobby Cars look fantastic, but we really don't need more ride-ons at this point!

We didn't see much of the actual stalls, but we went for the entertainment and got what we were looking for. We'll be heading there again next year, I suspect.

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A new ticker

Creative sparks

I've been working on Isaiah sunday school material all year. It's been hard slog. 

Finally (a few weeks before it's due to be used) I've got some creative presentation ideas. Now my brain's running a mile a minute. Bring it on!!

Airport Lookout

Thanks to a friend, we've discovered a new favourite place to go - the lookout just past the domestic terminal at the airport.

Parking, grass for running, a concrete platform to stand on and lots of planes to watch. And a whole lot of new words for SP's burgeoning vocabulary.

We got the finer details from here: http://www.jetspotter.com/forum/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=42 - it's the first one on the list.

Anybody need an airport pick up?

Dear SP

I'm very happy that you're excited about another airport run tomorrow, and it's very cute that you can say 'pick up airy (area)', but I'd really prefer that you spent naptime asleep. Trust me, we'll all have a happier afternoon if you do.

Love Mummy

Boy or Girl

A conversation with SP this afternoon. 

SP: Sam boy.

Me: What's Mummy?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Daddy?

SP: Boy

Me: What's Nana?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Grandma?

SP: Girl. 

Me: What's Aunty Rachel?

SP: Girl.

Me: What's Uncle Phil?

SP: Man. 

Right. 

Pastitsio Love

I cooked an old favourite last night, that I'm so glad I remembered after a year or so of absence. I have no idea why it fell out of use, but it's back now. It tasted so good that I just had to share the recipe and share the love. No photo unfortunately, it was eaten before I thought of that. I'll put one up next time I make it. 

Pastitsio is a bit like a greek version of lasagna. I have no idea how authentic our recipe is, but it's all we know. It originally came from a book called 'Cooking with Herbs and Spices', whose author I didn't record. And it really is the herbs and spices that make the dish - if you don't have cinnamon, cumin & mint, buy them! Do not substitute or it just won't be the same :(

2 cups macaroni (I used pasta spirals because that's what we had)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

450g mince (I used a bit less mince and some beans, because I often do)

300mL beef stock (or water if you're out of stock powder, as we were yesterday)

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp mint

50g butter

1/4 cup plain flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup natural yoghurt

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

- Cook pasta & drain

- In frying pan, heat oil & cook onion & garlic for 8-10 mins until soft

- Add mince, stir until browned

- Stir in stock, tomato paste, cinnamon, cumin & mint

- Cook gently for 10-15 mins until sauce is thick and flavoursome.

- Melt butter in saucepan

- Stir in flour, cook 1 min

- Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk & yoghurt

- Cook gently 5 minutes

- Stir in half the cheese & all the pasta

- To Assemble: Spread half the pasta mixture in the base of your dish. Cover with meat sauce and top with remaining pasta. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. 

- Bake 45 mins or until golden brown. 

Yum!!!  

A is for Up

Imagine SP and I discussing the letters on my shirt, as we often seem to these days. On this occasion, the 'A' in 'Istanbul' is of particular importance to him, but there's some confusion.

"A. Up."

I gently correct. "A is for aeroplane."

"A. Up."

He usually knows this one. I try again. "A is for apple. A is for ant."

SP remains adamant. "A. Up."

I try a different tack. "U is for up."

A pause, and a confused little face.

"Me?"

Mothers Day is looking good

I'm banned from the kitchen while Dave cooks up a storm.

Mums-don't-cook-on-mothers-day is one family tradition that I've been very happy to adopt :)

The cuteness of toddler speech

SP's speech isn't his strongest point, but it's getting there. 

He's had proper nouns for some time: Mum, Dad, and other extended family members (including Nana's dogs - very important). 

Other nouns he generally signs. Except barber - Grandma taught him to say that one and it comes out a lot, especially as he's desperately in need of a hair cut. 

Verbs he also signs, or imitates. It surprises me how accurately he can reproduce an action that he's only seen a small number of times. 

SP's favourite part of speech at the moment: prepositions! Up, in, out & on mostly. Useful for almost any situation. I never realised how many different phrases and contexts include 'up' until it became SP's favourite word to imitate. Apart from the obvious directional meaning, there's clean up, pack up, fix up, tie up, makeup,  and many more that I can't think of right now. 

Here's SP yesterday, reading up on local news and events...

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Royal wedding

Yes, I watched last night. And felt a little voyeuristic, but I guess that's ok for the royals. 

I agree with Simone that Jerusalem was a low point. High point for me: 2 billion people all heard the Bible. 

And now the furore is over, maybe we can all get back to our lives. And normal TV programming. 

God Answers Prayer

About a month ago, our best drummer, Pete, left the church. And left a big hole in Dave's music roster. 

We found out today that a new guy plays drums. His first Sunday with us was Pete's last. 

Thank you, God. 

Easter Calendar Finished

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was thinking of doing an Easter Calendar with SP this year. We did it, and it's done!

It was inspired by the material we used for Church4Kids in term 4 last year, which went through Matthew. 

The top row of pictures were the 6 Sundays of Lent - Jesus' life & ministry up to Palm Sunday. 

The middle row is Monday-Thursday of Easter Week, following what happened in that week. 

Then bottom row is Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

Once I'd picked the passages it was actually really easy to organise - I just printed & coloured clip art (except for the upturned table which Dave drew), we read straight from Dave's bible, did a quick SP-language summary and sang a related kids song together. 

I wasn't expecting too much understanding from SP, although he always takes in more than we realise. Just wanted to get the system up and running while the idea was fresh. In future years we'll add memory verses, reading from other gospels etc etc. I like to think long-term :)

I think that reading from the grown-up bible was a key to our success this year. SP loved it! On Easter Sunday he got the bible by himself and sat down waiting for us to join him...

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I pray that he'll always be so willing to learn about Jesus. 

What we're reading: The Book Thief

Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is the next book club book. I borrowed it from the library on Wednesday and I'm nearly finished. So much easier (and smaller) than Wolf Hall!

Can I please be in 2 places at once?

Found my next super-fun, perfectly me-shaped choral opportunity. I was SO excited, then I realised it's the same day as my high school reunion. 

The two events are about 500m apart, but I can't exactly skip out halfway through a concert for a quick chat with friends...

What would you do?

We're on You Tube!

The Hallelujah Chorus from last night's Sing It Yourself Messiah. Not bad for 2 hours rehearsal!

Boys night in, Girls night out

I'm going to a sing-it-yourself Messiah this afternoon, with my mum and mum-in-law. Dave & SP staying home. I see lots of Duplo in their future, and lots of lovely harmonies in ours.

I suspect it's only going to increase my desire to get back into choral singing... 

Obligatory photos of SP

I know this is what you out-of-towners come here for.

Balloon family

We got the balloons out this afternoon intending to make plant pot drums. But the balloons were way too small, so we made our family instead. 

Can you guess who is who?

Tip of the Day

How do you fix a failing car remote?

Put it through the washing machine. 

Yes, really.