Happy Holidays

This year's Christmas holidays is really nice. The best Christmas present I received was the news that my mum is recovering well after her surgery to remove fibroids and that the fibroids were not cancerous. I was holding my breath for the initial few days after the ops and only breathed easier after dad informed that she is awake and I spoke to her on the phone. With this thought that the worst is over, I happily left for a short holiday to the Grampians over Christmas and Boxing Day.

It was our 2nd visit to the area, this time accompanied by a different family. The Seahs had 2 girls, aged 6 and 5, and they got along very well with my 2 boys. While parts of Australia and the world had to battle serious climate issues such as storms, floods, bush fires and snow blizzards, we were really blessed this Christmas with good weather at the Grampians. We did hiking on different tracks to see waterfalls, pinnacles and lakes. KK is always walking ahead of us and enjoyed the challenging climbs over rocky surfaces most. My only worry is for his safety as he gets reckless and over enthusiastic sometimes. XX also did very well. Given his age and size, I'm impressed that he was able to walk and climbed on his own for 80% of the way. The other 20%, he got a ride on Papa's shoulders. The trails are not all smooth and flat, many parts requires us to climb upwards over boulders and rocky terrain. I find it ok but I don't think Granddad or Grandma could do it. After lots of exercises during the day, the children were hungry like wolves. We prepared picnic lunches and took turns to prepare dinner in our self-contained log cabin. We were totally well fed during that 3 days.

This year's Christmas holiday is an exceptionally long one. Because 25th and 26th fell on Saturday and Sunday, the following Monday and Tuesday were public holidays as well. We arrived home on Monday and on Tuesday, we slept late and decided after breakfast to bring the children swimming. Again, another lazy relaxed day. I think the rest of the week is gonna be like this. Even though the public holidays are over, many people are still on leave, forced or otherwise. Many offices shut down or have skeleton staff. My husband's boss has asked him to work from home this week as most likely no one gonna be around anyway. Even if anyone is physically at work, don't expect anyone in Australia to be really 'working' during the week between Christmas and New Year.

It's strange but I am enjoying this Christmas holiday a lot this year. I think it is because of Hubby's full time office bound job. For the past 2 years, he worked from home, so public holidays makes no difference to us. He's around all the time. But this year, I feel the difference. During a holiday, I don't have to wake up on time to get KK ready for school. Husband is around at home the whole day, spending time with us, doing activities together. There's no school or cirriculum for the children to rush to. We can drive somewhere, spend a few days there and enjoy the great outdoors. We go to a few friends' place to catch up, eat, drink and be merry. Hmm...this is life.   

A Year of Changes & Decisions

OMG, there's about 8 more days left to 2010. I say this every year but I can't help but want to say it again: How time flies! Looking back, we welcomed 2010 at our previous house with our friend Steven & his family from Singapore. Since then, it has been a busy year for our family. One thing happening after another. An eventful year with many changes and important decisions made.

Here's a recap:

We went back to visit Singapore in January. Upon returning to Melbourne, we decided to switch KK's school. (See story here.) By March, he started at his current school and soon after we moved into another property nearer to the school. Besides having to adjust to a slightly smaller and older house, we had to adjust to a new neighbourhood. Over the year, we familiarised ourselves with the road conditions, found regular places to shop, explored the local libraries and made a few new friends in the vicinity. The boys now have regular swimming lessons 10 mins away and XX was enrolled for kindergarten next year at the community hub nearby. Slowly, we got settled and more comfortable in our new environment.

This year, around June, Hubby started a new job as well. It means a change in the lifestyle we have gotten used to for the past 2 years. For Hubby, he no longer can work from home and has to commute to work, like many locals, every morning. It's win and lose for him. Though he no longer have the flexibility to sleep late or work in his pyjamas, at least now he doesn't have conference calls at 4am in the morning. He's also getting the local experience and network which is good in the long term. But for me, I can no longer count on his help around the house during the day. We rarely have breakfast and lunch together anymore on weekdays and I became the designated chaffauer for the kids, ferrying them to school, swiming lessons and medical/dental appointments. Hubby like to say I've had it good for the last 2 years, so now my holiday is over. Sigh, he's right.

My sister and brother-in-law came over to visit us in July. It was their first time visiting us since we moved to Melbourne. It was also World Cup season then and I had fond memories of watching soccer at 2am in the dark living room, wrapped up in blankets, eating nachos and drinking coke with them. 

After my sis' visit, we decided to start house hunting. We'd found a good school for the kids and Hubby has got a stable job to secure finance. The time was right for us to settle down and have a place to call our own. From July till September, we focused our weekends searching the nearby suburbs for a suitable house. I spent a lot of time looking at real estate websites, shortlisting houses to inspect over the weekend.  

Late into winter (September), we went on our first skiing holiday. It was not the first time we tried to ski but it was the first time that the whole holiday was dedicated to nothing but skiing. All of us took lessons, got into ski gears and had our first taste of skiing down the slopes of Mount Hotam, except for XX, who is still a bit too young.

Three quarters of the year had passed and I was wondering if I could move into a new house before the end of it. The search had not been successful. I didn't know it can be so difficult finding a house you like. But we were getting closer. By Oct, we were only searching in 2 specific suburbs. Then, a plot of land came to my attention. It was in the right suburb, had the right orientation and the price was alright. We decided on it within 2 days and our fate is set. We will be building our dream home from scratch instead. It will take longer but it's probably better, since we can't seem to find a right one yet.

Due to the changes in routines and focus on finding a house, I find myself having less time and less inspiration to do my patchwork and creative stuff. Though I did manage to make a handbag and some mini pouchettes recently after the land was settled. I haven't been very experimentative in my baking and cooking either, preferring to make simple dishes and use tested recipes. 

As the year closes, I find myself looking forward to the next one with excitment. Next year, XX will go to kindergarten for 2 days a week. It's not a big change but I'm eager to see him take that first step into formal schooling. I'll probably get him to take Chinese lessons like KK as well on Saturdays. For KK, I'm looking forward to him having a fresh start with a new class next year. I hope it will be a good year of learning for him. As for Hubby and I, we'll be busy working on our new house. There's gonna be lots of decisions and pain (judging from some of our friends who built their houses as well) working with the builders to get the house up. I only hope there won't be any major delays and hopefully we can shift in by midyear.

So my new year resolution for 2011 is gonna be "manage my time better". Next year, I know I'll be even more busy. Besides the usual chores and routine, I'll have to drop by our new place every other day to check on the building process. If I hope to write more and learn more, maybe something new, I'll definitely need to manage my time better.  
  
  

XX Turns 4!

After being haunted by "Is it my birthday yet?" questions every other day for the last 3 weeks, the day finally arrived when I can say, "YES, it's your birthday today!" Happy Birthday to my dearest XX!



The pirates landed on Marshmellows
Chocolate island



We had a little party yesterday for the little boy. I wanted to have it at the coastal park nearby, where I envisaged the kids running around, playing at the playgrounds and we adults have a beer and BBQ chicken wings in the midst of nature. Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't very cooperative yesterday. After a whole week of monitoring weather reports, I still couldn't really tell if it was going to be a fine day. On the day itself, I gazed at the sky and couldn't find any blue amidst the thick clouds. Well, it'll probably be cold, but maybe it won't rain. I was still holding hope one hour before the party is supposed to start. Then it started to rain. We decided to hold it at our house instead.

So it was a mad rush as we unpacked the things that we had already packed from the car and set up the BBQ at home. All the guests were informed and luckily it wasn't a problem as our home not much further. Despite the last minute decision, it turned out to be a wise one. The weather was freaky that day. At times it was cold and windy, then it poured, then sunshine for about 10 mins, then it poured for 5 mins and stopped. It stayed like that for the whole day. What kind of summer is that? Then again, 2 years ago, when we celebrated XX's 2nd birthday, it was also pouring cats and dogs. That was the wettest day of December 08.

Regardless, XX had a great time. Compared to 2 years ago, he is now much more aware of what's going on. He knows it's his party and he looks forward to it. He has also associated "birthday = presents". He knows he's getting a birthday cake and he knows to blow the candles right after the birthday song. He even knows how to make a "V" sign when posing in front of the cake. And it didn't take him too long to tear open the gift wrappers (with help from a few friends) and start playing his presents.

I managed to keep the tradition of making a birthday cake for him for the 3rd year. It wasn't by choice though :p. Because of the anticipated summer heat and outdoor venue initially planned, I suggested having a pyramid of donuts instead to substitute a birthday cake. We even bought a half dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts to sample. In the end, due to a lack of planning, we were delayed in ordering so dear o'mummy became the back up plan. And I'm happy I did it. XX gave me the idea for the decoration as I was grocery shopping. He loves marshmellows. As I eyed a pack of disposable decorating nozzles and piping bags, he haggled me into buying him a packet of multi-coloured marshmellows. A bright idea came to my head and I put the nozzles back to the shelf.



XX playing with one of his birthday gifts.

 The chocolate frosted butter cake recipe came from a baking book I bought recently called "Easy Home Baking". One of the cake turned out a little burnt at the bottom and sides and I wished they were taller. But after I cut off the brown parts, the inside was buttery and soft. The cake also 'grew' taller after I combined the two layers and sandwiched some marshmellows inside. Coupled with the chocolate frosting and the colourful marshmellows on top, I think I scrapped through this time in terms of presentation and taste. There wasn't any cake left overnight.

Mini-golf set from us

My only apologies were to the little guests who may have been pretty bored at my house. Besides a big green backyard, which they cannot use because of the on-off rain, there was little space inside the house for them to play. There was only 1 television and on that day, the Wii handsets decided be low on batteries. Especially the girls. One of them asked me if I have Barbie dolls.... err...I have Transformers, Bionicles and Bakugans though. The older girls entertained themselves watching movies and the boys were happy chasing each other and gate crashing the girls' pretend tea party. Yet, somehow, none of them asked their parents to go home early. The party started at 11am and ended around 5.30pm. 

KK and XX's favourite gift - the Nerf gun from Bradley

To all our friends who came, hope you all had a good time. XX and us certainly enjoyed the company. Thanks for your presence and presents!

Is it time to change school yet?

I think we have been moving around too much. Our 8 year old seemed to think that changing schools IS the norm! He has been bringing up the subject of changing school next year several times already and what are some of his reasons? It's been 1 year already! I'm bored of the school's playgrounds. I want to make new friends.

Come to think of it, since he was 4 years old, his average duration of stay in any one school was about two years.

• K1 - K2 (S'pore): 2006 - 2008
• Prep - Grade 1 in Cairnlea (Australia): 2008 - 2010
• Grade 1 - Grade 2 in Seabrook (Australia): 2010 - present

Each time he changed his school environment, he had adjusted really fast and really well. But did it give him an impression that he is supposed to go to a new school every year or two? I remarked to Hubby I think we better settle down soon before our son develops a "school-trotting" mindset. Hopefully we'll be able to stay long in this current school until he finishes his primary years.

What Colour Bricks?

I know bricks can give you a headache if you hit your head with it, but I didn't know thinking about them can have the same effects too. Since we've decided to build our own home, I've been paying attention to the look of houses when I'm driving (I know, it's dangerous :p) What colour bricks did they have? What colour roof goes with what colour bricks? And more recently, I started noticing rendered and weatherboard facades as well.

It's never been like that before for my first 2 properties in S'pore. Buying HDB flats and condominiums, the building facade is the job of the developer and I only had to worry about the look of the interior. Now, we have to dig deep and think about details that most people walking past your house would not even notice. Like roof pitch, colour and type of roofing. There are 2 general types of roofing - Colourbond or cement tiles. Each has its range of colours to choose from and the cement tiles also comes with different patterns. The permutations on its own is endless.

Then there're the bricks. Different colour bricks can give different effects to the look of your house. And there are like about 60 types of bricks available for us to choose, with fancy names like "Canterbury", "Blackwood" or "Red Trevallyn" to confuse. Not just that, you can also add fancy details to the facade. Like rendering some surfaces to give a different texture and coloured finish. Attractive stones and tiles has also been used to make the facade stand out and be more attractive

We never used to notice before when we drove around the residential estates. But now, when I drive down our street, I'm checking out every house, all different cominations of bricks and roof, all with its unique look and character. I'm also checking out the types of windows, colour of window frames, colour of doors and garage doors. Should I render the facade? Or half-render? What colour window frames will go with the bricks? I have experienced colour coordination when I do patchwork and have to decide which fabric to use but this is way more stressful. In patchwork, the worst that can happen is you unstitch and start again or you just chuck it aside and never let it see the daylight. But for my house, what if I get it wrong and it turned out not as I'd imagined? A bad combination of ALL these can make your house a very ugly, sore thumb in the neighbourhood. Not just that, it will haunt you everyday you come back to the house. So I must get it right. And that is why I'm having a headache.

The worst part is, I have no way of visualising how my house will look like with this roof and that bricks. All I have is one black and white 2-D drawing of my future house and I can only use my imagination to colour on the bricks, window frames and doors. My husband, being a typical man, has never paid attention to small details. To him, every house looks pretty similar and pretty good. But me, being a typical woman, likes to think about those things that men never bothers. Maybe I should just take a step back and look at the big picture. Just pick a brick colour that is soothing to my eye and ta-dah, let it be. 

I Bought My Own Cake

KK's school organised a fete yesterday. Here's another new word I learnt in Australia: fete. According to the dictionary, a fete is "an outdoor event where there are competitions and things to eat or drink, usually organised to get money". I don't even know how to pronounce 'fete'. Is it pronounced as "fe-teh" or "fat"? I decided to follow KK, who pronounced it as "feit". 

All I know is, for the fete, the school were asking for parent volunteers to help out at the stalls and they were also selling "unlimited rides" bracelets for $20 each. I did neither, though I did consider helping out. However, with no one to look after XX, I can't. As for the rides, I figured the queues might be so long that the "unlimited" bracelets might not makes sense. And if I get KK one, I will have to get XX one as well. I will just buy them individual rides (@$5/ride) on that day.

What I did help was to bake a cake for the school. The school sent home a letter asking each family to bring a cake to the school on the day of the fete. They even attached a recipe of a cake for us to use. Apparently they were setting up some cake and tea stall on that day. I'm not comfortable with the idea actually. I was telling Hubby, how can the school be assured that the parents who baked the cakes baked it hygienically? Parents were asked to list the ingredients used but how do people know if they were fresh or if anything else was added and not declared? There could be serious sabotage potential and who should be responsible if anyone consumed the cakes and fall ill? Maybe I watched too many conspiracy movies or perhaps Australians are more trusting but I will not buy any of those cakes. Regardless, I will do my bit to bake the cake. 



My cheap and good cake, half eaten



On the day of the fete, I walked into the gym, curious to check out their cake & tea stall. I found on this long table all sorts of cakes that the parents had baked or bought. They were selling the cakes for a price of between $1 and $5. And then I saw my cake. It was priced at $2!

Honestly, I felt a bit insulted at first. The ingredients alone would have cost more than that! What about the effort? Then again, my cake did not look very impressive. It was perfectly round but a little short and the top of the cake was a little chipped off when I turned the cake out from the pan. The people there could only judge the cake by its presentation but I know the cake taste good and it's the only one I will trust to eat. I should have waited till the end to see if anyone bought my cake but I was quite hungry then. So I bought my own cake back! Then I kind of felt lucky that they priced it only $2 and I had gotten a really good deal....really weird.

KK couldn't understand why I had to bake a cake to give to the school and then pay money to buy it back. I told him that it was a form of donation to help them raise funds. Besides that, we also spent money on buying food and drinks at the fete but not for the rides. KK was a little gumpy that his friends had the unlimited bracelets and he didn't. Looking at the long queues, I refused to get it for him and offered him individual rides instead. He didn't want it. Luckily, he just sulked a little and did not throw a big tantrum like another son of my friend.  



A dejected KK playing with XX at the playground



Almost Four

XX is less than a month to being 4 years old! To me, that's officially the age my Baby X can no longer be called a toddler. Next year, he begins official schooling. Right, not playschool, not nursery but kindergarten. It will be a significant milestone.

Looking at XX nowadays, I just can't help but notice the changes in him. Not just physically taller, his face has changed too. Well, he's still very adorable but his face seemed to become more boyish. Or maybe it was his facial expressions, gestures, language and behaviour that have matured so much.



A most recent photo of XX



Of course, I'm happy. My job as carer is getting easier. He feeds himself, on most days. He sleeps now in a separate room, with his brother. He doesn't have to hold my thumb anymore to sleep but I need to spend at least 5 mins in bed with him before he sleeps. He doesn't wake up in the middle of the night anymore but reports to my bed at first light.

I can no longer keep up with his progress in my blog as he surprises me everyday with his abilities. In the area of toilet training, he's almost completely independent. He goes to the loo like a big kid and did away with the training toilet seat some time ago. I even taught him to climb onto the toilet himself using a step stool and I only had to help him with the cleaning of backside. One day, he went all the way and even cleaned his backside himself! I am amazed at his independence but I'm not sure about his ability to do a good job. To be safe, I wiped his backside again.

In the linguistics department, the four year age gap between KK and him has almost vanished. Now the two of them can have very engaging conversations, about their favourite topics like LEGO, Spongebob, Iron Man and Ben 10. XX even have very engaging conversations with me, telling me what he saw in the cartoons and how he wished he can have this toy on the advertisement. His volcabury is still limited but I can understand him perfectly. Recently XX's learnt to express his wishes and desires using "oh, I wish..." If you tell him no, he'll even ask you "why?" He's no longer the 'gong gong' baby you can safely bring to the toy department and hope not to spend a cent.

Right now, I'm scratching my head about how to celebrate his 4th birthday. I think this might be the last year I can get away from having a party....but there'll definitely be a celebration. XX's done well this year and his progress is worth celebrating.  

       

Mango Pudding

Mango season is here and the other day, one kind mom from school gave me 3. She got them real cheap as they were very ripe and had some blemishes. And they were so sweet! I ate one and asked Hubby if he preferred mango pudding or a mango cake. He voted to turn the last 2 mangoes into mango pudding.

I'm quite an experimentative person especially if I'm in a situation where I have to adapt. This time, a can of near expiry condensed milk in the pantry is the reason for my creation! 

Most mango pudding (the kind you find in chinese restaurants) recipes calls for evaporative milk. But as explained above, I want to use condensed milk. At the same time, I can also save on adding sugar. For added flavour, I decided to stir in a mango flavoured yogurt ice-cream as well. I didn't see any recipe that used yoghurt before so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will not affect the jelly setting.

Phew, the experiment turned out well. Creamy, smooth and full of mango sweetness.

I'm posting the recipe here for my own reference but if anyone should try it, let me know if you like it too.

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe mangoes, take out flesh and dice
• 200ml condensed milk
• 1 tbsp unflavoured gelatine
• 225 ml hot water
• 1 stick of mango yogurt ice-cream

Method:

• Puree about half the amount of mango in a blender. (If you want it yellower, add in more mango)
• Dissolve the gelatin in the hot water, stir in the condensed milk.
• Add mango puree and stir well.
• Stir in the ice-cream until it melts completely.
• Add in the last bits of diced mango.
• Pour into moulds and chill until set.

Hmm....this is a really nice dessert on a hot summer day.

Ready, Steady, Hold

I think it is a mother's natural instinct to want to protect her children but often I ask myself where the line is to being 'over' protective.

Since I started this "5 minutes" routine with the kids where I'll lie in bed with them for a while before they sleep, I've had the privilege to have a short chat with KK before he sleeps. Snuggled cosily under the quilt and in the darkness, he's more relaxed and more keen to share voluntarily about the happenings of his school and his feelings. And he had been telling me that he doesn't like school because some of his classmates in school bully him. He said some of them call him "dumb" and sometimes they also make fun of his accent and pronunciation. There were also some pushing and taunting during play time.

My heart goes out to him when he told me he felt hurt by what they said. I can fully understand how such experiences can affect his school life and learning. I was a school kid once and I know that much more than academic work, being accepted and finding friends that you can hang out with is an important aspect of their school life. It seems that in his class this year, he has not been able to find that special friend yet. And my son is very sociable in nature. He doesn't know how to play by himself. In fact, he NEEDS to play with others. So even though the other kids treat him that way and we told him countless times to leave them alone and do something else, he'll still go after them and wants to play with them.

Honestly, I felt a little anger too initially. Especially since he had given me names of some boys and girl that have been especially abusive, I felt like going to those kids and telling them to bugger off. Also, I wondered if I should write to the school to ensure that these kids don't go to the same class as him next year. Luckily I'm not an impulsive or rash person. I know that parents should refer such matters to the teachers instead and not approach the kids directly. Even then, I struggled if I should talk to his teacher about his complaints. On the one hand, I wish to help him achieve a happier school life but on the other, I'm not sure if I'm overreacting yet. Calling names is definitely rude but I believe some of the things these kids do to each other are just childish behaviour or playfulness. Being boys, they can get pretty rough too when they play, so pushing and shoving is normal and might not be bullying behaviour. I probed KK to make sure that he was not the only 'target'.

At the end of the day, I did not talk to the teacher. I decided to let my son work it out himself before I step in. Much as I wish to be there for him all the time, it is not possible that I solve everything in life for him. In his adult and working life in the future, he's gonna meet more nasty people and he needs to learn how to deal with these situations. Instead, I counselled that he doesn't have to pay any attention to their name calling as they are not true (he's definitely not dumb). I told him that by ignoring them, they'll soon get tired and move on to someone else. As for his friends, if they don't want to play with you, go find someone else. He should choose friends that are kind and good natured. I'm also considering it a good idea to let him learn some form of self-defence martial arts. Firstly, it'll toughen his scrawny body up and secondly, he knows how to protect himself in case he's attacked.

At eight years old, KK is going through some important lessons in life on socialising and human relations. These are important interpersonal skills that will build up over time and bring him into adulthood. I hope he will slowly figure his own way of adapting and fitting in. In the meantime, as a mother, I will continue to watch and listen. Ever ready to step in and rescue my children should they ever call for help. 

The South Side

Most Victorians would have heard of Werribee, probably thanks to several tourist attractions such as the Werribee Park Open Range Zoo. This suburb is where we have chosen to build our next home.

So why do we decide on this area? Approximately 35km to the southwest of Melbourne CBD, Werribee is not exactly 'prime' real estate in terms of distance to the city. It is however an established and mature town on the outer edge of the Metropolitan. You don't have to travel very far to see farmlands and countryside.

Three months ago when we first began our house search, we never thought that we would end up in Werribee. We were looking around our current area and Point Cook. Then the search expanded to Hoppers Crossing and Truganina when we found Point Cook overpriced. Once we viewed a house in Werribee that was only about 10km from KK's school. It did not advertise its selling price and we were appalled when we heard that the seller was asking for $680K-$700K. It's a beautiful house but it's in Werribee! Well, it's the "South Side", replied the agent. But that's STILL in Werribee, we argued.

And so that was our first introduction to the "south side" of Werribee. We have never heard of "the south side of Werribee". The agent tried to explain that this area of Werribee is more exclusive and in demand because of its convenient access to freeway, shops and good schools. We didn't really buy it then but soon we found that there is a significant difference to the home prices there and the rest of Werribee.

Advertisement for properties on the "south side" will always highlight its 'highly demanded' location as a major plus point. We noticed that many of the Werribee real estate agents we dealt with all lived on the south side. (Even the Sales guy from Simonds who sold us the House & Land package has bought the lot next to ours.) A few of the 'south side' houses we inspected, the owners were just moving to another property also within the south side. We gathered if the real estate agents, the people who know the local area well are all living in that area and the people who lived there don't move out but move within the area, then there must be something good going on there. Another tell-tale sign is the amount of sub-division that is going on there. Many developers are buying up blocks of land there and sub-dividing them to build two or more units on each block.

There is no separate postal code to the "south side". Basically, you have to trawl through all the Werribee listings on the real estate website and look out for words such as "south side location". It is often mentioned in the headlines as it is a major selling point. From what I understand, the "south side" is the area south of the Werribee town center, separated by Princes Highway. Duncans Road runs through it and it is flanked by Princes Freeway (M1) on the other side. In the area is also a reputable secondary state college, Werribee Secondary College. The school is 'zoned', which means that it only takes in students staying within its immediate vicinity.

Even though Werribee is further away from the city, factors such as the convenient access to freeways, town center and a good school gradually changed our mind about the 'south side'. Many of the properties on the 'south side' have been around for a long time but the neighbourhood northeast of Duncans Road is rather newly developed. There are still isolated plots of vacant land and many of the houses there are newer, beautifully built, big houses. Most of the houses are owner-occupied, which is better than those areas where there are a lot of investment properties. (It is generally believed that tenants don't take care of the properties as well and so can affect the value of the neighbourhood.)

We got an exclusive tour of the area that our future house will be last Sat. It turned out that the block we are buying belonged to the mother-in-law of the developer. She is also currently staying at the 'south side'. The developer walked us around the muddy site and pointed out our lot. It feels great to imagine our house sitting there some time in the future. It is a small development and all the lots have been sold sometime in March this year. We are lucky that his MIL now wants to sell it and another earlier buyer backed out.

Some shots of the site of our future home, simply land at the moment.

Width of our lot (I think).

A laneway marked by the pegs

The road leading up. (That's me and the developer at the corner)

Choosing My Home

Choosing the location was but only the first step to getting the right home. What followed after paying the 'holding deposit' for the land was deciding what type of house to build on the land. While Simonds (the building company) had plenty of floorplans, in the end, we realised that there wasn't that many choices suitable for us.

From the start, we wanted to have a 4-bedroom and single-storey house. Double storeys are great too but that will leave us with a very big backyard. Unless we build a swimming pool, I don't know how else to use the land and I don't fancy Hubby will be mowing 200msq of grass every two weeks. In other words, I don't think we're capable to take care of a huge garden. A single-storey house that takes up about 70% of the space is ideal and cheaper to build too.

As our lot was a corner block flanked by a small lane to the right, it is not possible for the driveway and garage to be anywhere else but the left. And to take maximum advantage of the northern facing, we wanted the living/dining areas to be on the right side which is north facing. Half the designs were striked out after factoring in these two criterias.

Initially we considered houses that were narrower and long in design. This will give us more space between the fences and the windows, allowing more sunlight into the house. There were about 3 or 4 house designs suitable but I realised that NONE of them had a study area. And I really thought that a study area, for computer, books and homework, is neccesary. I became rather dismayed that out of Simonds' 32 single-storey designs, I could not find a single floorplan that suited all my requirements.

Actually Simonds is able to put a study area into the floorplan of some designs. Of course, just pay more $$$. But it also occured to me suddenly 'hey, why limit the house to narrow designs just to stay away from the fence? Why not just choose fences that allow light through and yet provide security/privacy?

With that breakthrough, we found a house design called "Marriott" that meets all our requirements above. It's around 31.62 squares (293.79sqm), has 4 bedrooms plus a study and includes a huge alfresco included under the roofline. The width is 14.66m, which makes the fence less than 2 metres from the windows. Hopefully, we'll be able to find some suitable fences in the future. We liked the open plan layout, spacious kitchen and I got a walk-in pantry!!

Unlike buying an established house, where most of the decision-making headaches should end at this stage of finding the right house, our building journey has just started. Last night, we had an appointment (the 3rd) with the sales consultant to finalise the house design and the upgrades/changes we want. They had a Big Brand "Pay $10,000 for $30,000 upgrades" promotion and one of the homework we had to do was to work out what upgrades to take. We selected about $26k worth of items initially. And we were faced with whether to select more just to make it $30k or to reduce the upgrades to $22K, in which case we only had to pay $5k. We found that we couldn't reduce much without cutting a major item (such as high ceilings). In the end, we went the extravagant way and took good-to-have items such as a 25 degree roof, better cooker, better canopy rangehood and even a Dorf Krysten veggie spray mixer tap for the kitchen.

We also paid extra (outside of the promotion) for things such as tiled shower bases, a stone kitchen benchtop, extending the overhang and a waterfall panel feature. We were seriously considering changing the aluminium sliding alfresco door to a timber bi-fold one but has decided that instead of paying $4,500 for asthestics, we should perhaps save the money for something more practical like solar panels or a water tank flushing system instead.

The quotation we signed was only an estimate of the cost of the house. There will be other sessions for colour selection and appointments with the electrician. I am quite sure there will be more things, such as extra powerpoints, that will increase our cost. And we haven't added in the cost of fencing and landscaping yet. If you ask me, there is often less value to building your house versus buying an established one. There is actually an established house currently for sale just a few streets from where we bought. The land size is slightly bigger and the house looks pretty good from the pictures. Curtains, lightings and landscaping are all nicely done. And it's only asking for $445k - $465k. I believe my final cost of land + building cannot be lower than that amount. Honestly, I wavered for a moment. But Hubby is not tempted. He's advocated building our home from the beginning as that's the way to get exactly what we want. And after so many months of searching and not finding, I must agree he is right. It might cost more in the end, but it's 100% your creation. This time round, I trust my other half is the better half.

With all the upgrades, I can imagine our house is gonna be a good one. Especially the kitchen, it's a homemaker's dream kitchen, with a giant pantry, lots of countertop space and some of the most sleek, modern and useful appliances. I noticed that Hubby has been espcially generous when it comes to the kitchen upgrades. I know that's his way of indulging me....for sure there's no more excuse now not to cook better! And I can't wait to move in already!

The Holy Sheep and Cow

The good thing is, kids learn fast and they quickly pick up new words from what they hear around them. The bad thing is, even though we don't speak them at home, they will still get to learn some bad words from friends, TV and whoever. Fortunately for XX, his innocence has saved him getting corrupted too early.

From I don't know where, the expression "Holy S**t!" was heard up by XX. His older brother had used a similar "holy cow!" expression before, so straightaway, my 3.5 yr old son made an association and started saying "holy sheep!"

There you go. Suddenly the cow and sheep attained sainthood in my household but I'm happy to let them be for now.

Tesselaar Tulip Festival

About 2 Sundays ago, we went to the Tesselaar Tulip Festival at Dandenong. Spring was here and it was a great sunny day to go see the flowers in all their blooming glory. The kids went in free but adults have to pay $18 each.






Inside, you would be forgiven to think that you are in Amsterdam. Dutch ladies and men, in their wooden clogs and traditional costume, welcome you and provide directions. Immediately beyond the gates, stalls selling crafts, flower seedlings and food, beckon you to approach. But what really grabbed our attention was the vast field of colours on our right. Rows and rows of colourful tulips swaying in the breeze and looking refreshingly cool under the hot glare of the afternoon sun. I was wearing a hot pink colour t-shirt that day, but that paled in comparison to the natural bright hues of the tulips.






While the flowers were beautiful to look at, it didn't take very long before the kids got bored. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't much else to do and beginning to think that the entry fees are not too worth it. After posing with all the different colour tulips, there wasn't much left to see at the tulip patch. The weather was also extremely hot and the children began to get irritated. We ventured to the stalls, searching for shade and explored the other side of the festival grounds. There were more tulips and also a performing band playing the blues. We relaxed and enjoyed the music for a while while the kids cooled off with an ice-cream.

KK holding his "sweet prize"

Later, KK found out about a little contest and busied himself by searching for the names of the 7 gnomes hidden amongst the flowers. The prize? A handful of candies. And with the help of Papa, he really found them all.

I think the organisers should incorporate more activities for children during the festival. Like have a playground or some craft activities. While I had a pleasant time, I don't think I'll go back again next year. Well maybe, if they lower their entry fees to less than $10...:-)

The Search Ends

After almost 3 months, I think I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. We've found it - our next home.







Actually to be more accurate, we've found the land and we're gonna be building a new home on it! No, it's not this one above. But hopefully something similar.



Despite what I've previously said in my previous post about building, it turned out that this might be a better option for us. Although buying an established house often has more value, finding one that meets all our criteria turned out not as easy as I thought. Ok, I admit, we're not easy to please as we've got lots of requirements.



After living in 2 rented properties and so many viewings of houses, we gradually formed a clearer picture of where and what we wanted our home to be. We have been dilligently looking at every house on the market for the last couple of months and still hasn't successfully found anything yet.



We were quite close 3 times but each attempt failed. I believed that was God's intervention, telling us it wasn't the right one. The first one failed as someone else made a better offer. On hindsight, I'm glad we didn't get it as we later felt the suburb is overpriced from too many investors. The 2nd offer was kind of impulsive. We liked the suburb and the interior of the house a lot and we made the offer after 1 viewing on the same night. But after cooling off, we pulled out after we felt that the offer we made was really stretching our budget. Naturally, the agent wasn't too happy. But again, I'm glad we didn't go through. As for the 3rd offer, that house is actually pretty bare and there are several improvements and repairs that has to be done before we can live in it. However, that house has potential to be nice, we liked the location and the north-facing of the living area is fantastic. The only problem is agreeing on the price. The vendor felt the price was too low but we refused to up our price. If the vendor cannot find a better offer, he might lower his expectation with time. However in the meantime, we found this piece of land, in a location that we really liked, for a reasonable price on the market.



I went down to see the agent on Tuesday, without much expectations, as I initially thought the land orientation was wrong. However I realised I had looked at the wrong plot of land on Google map and in fact, it had a Southeast facing, which means if we choose the correct floorplan, the living and backyard area will be facing North/Northwest. This is a good orientation for maximum daylight exposure and offers maximum potential for energy efficiency. I strongly believe that sustainable and energy efficient homes is the way to go for the future. Also, this land is a highly sought after area of the suburb, with potential for capital gains, it is near a good secondary school and has easy freeway access. The land size of 610msq is also big enough to build a house that has lots of room for the boys. It is a regular shape and has a 16.5m width, which means it can fit majority of the house designs. Most importantly, the price is reasonable. I knew immediately that such a plot of land does not come by too often.





Building your own home is a long process and the house probably won't be ready until middle of next year. During the process, we will have to make lots of decisions starting from the floor plan to the colour of the carpets and tiles. There will be plenty of interactions with the builders/subcontractors on site to make sure that everything is in order. But the good think about starting from scratch, you have a blank canvas and you are free to choose a house design that fits your needs. This probably is the best way for us as many of the older houses we've inspected do not meet our requirements for a modern energy efficient home.



The only catch is, I have no choice when it comes to the builder. This plot of land is for sale under a "House & Land" package. Which means I buy the house together and am tied to the builder that sells it. This practice where land developers 'reserve' and give builders the exclusive rights to sell blocks of land for them is pretty common in Melbourne and if you ask me, it's BAD for the consumers! Consumers should be free to choose the builder they want. Instead, these big guys, through their connections and whatever means, are hoarding up land and forcing you to build with them. Smaller builders are disadvantaged and consumers rights are compromised. It's ANTI-COMPETITION and it's not fair but the situation is as such.





I don't like it but there is no choice if I really like the land. We can only comfort ourseleves that this is a reputable builder and so far, we have not heard anyone we know who had a bad experience with them. We also managed to find a floor plan we like and were quite happy with what we saw when we visited their display house. Click here to go to the builder's website.



Wish us luck and I'll keep posting about the developments as it goes along!

I Can Ski!

Wee! I can ski! And it's not Wii!

More than 15 years ago, on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, I was a student backpacker visiting Europe and the snowy alps for the first time and watching interestingly as colourful skiiers, carrying their skis, clomp their heavy boots into ski lifts. Back then I made a mental note that skiing is one of those things that I should try in my lifetime.

I had a short skiing lesson of 1 hr in Canada about 4 years ago. But it was just an impromptu activity and I wasn't dressed correctly. The jeans I wore and which I mistakenly tucked into my boot left me with blister scars on my ankles that took a year to disappear.

Our 3rd year living in Australia, we decided that with the ski slopes right at our doorstep, the time is right to check out the sport again. We had wanted to go early in the season, probably with my sister when she came visiting, but as our timings don't match, we cancelled the trip. Then late into the season, Hubby found some really good off-peak rates at Mt. Hotam and suddenly we're going again!

And finally, this time, I got to be dressed properly! We managed to get our ski attire for very reasonable prices at Aldi. Being beginners, we don't want to spend too much on gears but a proper set of water-proof jacket, pants and gloves is essential and I must say they served us well, keeping out wind and ice. We got KK a pair of goggles as well. Otherwise, sunglasses will do. Our skis and boots were rented and the kids had to wear helmets too. To prevent blisters, it is better if the socks can be worn high. There should be nothing in the boots except your feet and the socks.

The boys were very thrilled with their "Iron Man" boots but putting them on is torturous. After you struggle through the buckles, you will weigh at least 5 kilos heavier and you walk like a droid in Star Wars. Then try tugging a pair of skis and poles and walking up slope at the same time. Walking with the skis on is no better either if you're climbing upslope. During the first lesson, we practised on gentle slopes and we had to walk up the slope each time after we ski down. God, I perspired! The slope is only a few metres up but that took up 90% of my time and energy. When we finally graduated to use the Platter lifts, I was so happy. It felt so good to be towed up slope. From then on, skiing became a breeze.

At Level 2, we were brought higher up the mountain on the chairlifts. Actually the day before, I'd already gotten some coaching on how to get on and off the chairlift from KK. Surprisingly, KK was a very good teacher. His instructions were very clear and he spoke in a no-nonsense manner, very much unlike his usual clown persona. Despite the awsome view, I don't really enjoy the chairlift rides very much. The wind is so cold and it's blowing directly at you! In between clutching my poles and making sure it doesn't fall off my hands into the white wilderness below, I'm also catching hold of my ear muffs/hat and trying to mop up the rain/snow/ice that was landing on my sunglasses. I had wanted to take some video or photos when I'm riding up on the chairlift but I figured taking out my gloves and holding my camera, trying to aim and focus would be risking it. My other fear is always when I'm getting off, I"m not skiing away fast enough and will get hit by the moving chairlift. Luckily it didn't happen but KK ever got a slight knock on his helmet by the chair and I've seen many people tumble when their skis got tangled.

There are many types of skiiers and I think I belong to the "grandmas" group. Well, maybe even some grandmas are faster than me. I'm not used to the speed at all and I tend to slow down when I feel I'm gonna lose control going too fast. KK on the other hand, is a speed monster. He rushes down the slope, straight. After lessons, I managed to go up and ski down together with him and I found that he can control his skis very well. A few times, I fell down and he managed to stop and climb back up to wait for me. When he falls down, he gets up very quickly. But when I fall, it's another struggle to stand up. Often I find I have to disconnect the skis in order for me to stand up again. Kids are far more agile and flexible than adults in this sport. They learn so much faster and really put us to shame.

On this trip, all of us, including Hubby, managed to go for some lessons and got some basic instructions on skiing. The first 3 days were especially tiring but there was also the sense of satisfaction of acquiring a new skill. Hubby and I took turns going up the slopes to practise and babysitting XX as he's not good enough to ski down yet. Though we signed him up for lessons as well, XX didn't do as well. This is likely due to his reluctance to leave us and probably he's more timid as well. But at least he got his first exposure to skiing.

The other good thing about this trip was the opportunity for the family to be doing things together. Really closer. Usually at home, even though we are physically together under the same roof, each of us are busy doing different things. Like the kids will be playing their games, the adults are surfing the internet or busy with chores etc. But during this trip, we didn't have our computer, Wii or movies with us. All of us watched the same TV programs at night and talked about our skiing experiences during meal times. We all had the same bedtimes, woke up at the same time and have breakfast together, something we don't usually do during normal days.

Unlike 15 years ago, where all I could do was stand around, do some snow play and envy the skiiers, this time round, we were out on the slopes enjoying the snow to the fullest. It was a great experience and more so because it wasn't just the kids who had fun but the adults as well.

(More Pictures in Facebook!)

Holiday Fun - Royal Melbourne Show

Whoosh, that's how time felt when you're having fun. The school holidays came and we started by going to the Royal Melbourne Show last Tuesday. Then the next day, it was a 5-hour drive to Mount Hotam for a 6-day ski holiday. We've only just gotten back to normal life and as I catch my breath, I'll blog about the Royal Melbourne Show first.

I've heard about the Royal Melbourne Show when I first came here but have not the slightest idea what it's about. First discovery: It's not a circus show. The Royal Melbourne Show, despite its fanciful name, is actually just a huge carnival. There seems to be animal rides, showbags and lots of fun for kiddos. The chance came for us to go this year when Hubby's company sponsored an animal nursery at the show and he was recruited (involuntary) as one of the 'volunteers'. With it came an extra complimentary ticket and a '2 for 1' voucher, so we decided to bring the kids along and follow him there.

Second discovery: I thought that with the entry ticket, everything there would be included, much like the theme parks. Thus I didn't prepare much cash along. Turned out, the entry ticket is just for ENTRY. Well, there were some free entertainment, like the Animal Nursery and some performances, but all of the kiddy rides and games there cost money. Great thing they had ATMs there.

Sure enough, money can buy lots of fun. While Hubby 'worked' at the animal nursery, I brought the boys around, buying food, rides, entertainment and showbags for them. They had a great time choosing their showbags.

Third discovery: Showbags are basically goodie bags and they are not free! There is a whole pavilion dedicated to it and it is a big money making business. Inside the pavilion are dozens of stalls displaying all sorts of candy/chocolate (Cabury, M&Ms, Hubba Bubba etc) combos in plastic bags for you to buy. Some of them also include a small toy and the more expensive ones comes in a real backpack. The prices range from $3 to $25 each. It's a dentist's nightmare and I normally don't encourage candies but with everyone walking around holding multiple showbags, it would be hard to get through the day if I don't give them any. So I gave KK a budget of $15 and in the end, with my careful guidance, I managed to spend only $15 to get 3 showbags and a long marshmellow to satisfy both of them. As expected, the kids just like to have the thrill of getting a showbag and the toy inside. Most of the candies are still untouched.

We managed to last till 5pm when Hubby's duty is over. By then, the boys were exhausted but they both enjoyed themselves so much. I lost track of how much I'd spent that day. Much better not to think too much. Like Hubby's advice, we probably won't go to the Royal Melbourne Show every year, so this is a once in a long long time kind of extravagance.

On to Spring

Officially, Spring is here. But in Melbourne, you're never really sure. The weather's still pretty cold and wet but on some days there have been bursts of sunshine, warmth and blue skies. Anyway forget about weather reports and thermometers. The most telling sign of Spring can be seen in the gardens and fields. Nature has a way of knowing.

The canola fields next to the highway has turned into a sea of yellow. The sight is so amazing, many times I'm tempted to just stop the car along the highway and take some photos. Daisies are in full bloom and wild flowers are sprouting up at our front and backyard, together with the flourishing weeds. New rocket leaves are growing and new shoots are appearing on our rose branches. It's like everything is now waking up from their winter slumber and getting ready for Nature's beauty contest to begin. The prettiest thing in our premises now are the white lillies along our driveway that have bloomed over the last weekend. During the whole of autumn and winter, they were just a bunch of leaves. Now suddenly, the smooth white petals of 4 elegant lillies farewell me as I reverse my car out and welcome me back as I drive in.







During the coldest days of winter, I have largely left the garden alone. However, there have been some vegetable harvest from what we had planted earlier. We had some chillies and a few capsicums. The chillies were great but the capsicums were not as big nor tasty as those sold in the stores.











We grew lettuce too in a box and they were growing so well we couldn't eat them fast enough. It went into our stomachs as cruncy salads.

Radish just uprooted from the soil.

We uprooted our 3 radishes too. They were outgrowing the soil and had started to pop out and grow sideways, the leaves turning into an enormous bush. The radish roots were really deformed looking but they were gigantic. The biggest one weighed about 2 kg. I used them in soups and made radish cake and they were the juciest and sweetest radishes I had tasted. I also planted broccoli and chinese cabbage (wong bok) but somehow their growth were really slow. I'm not sure if it's due to the winter or maybe I planted them too low in a box, they couldn't get enough sunlight. Hopefully, with Spring, they will start bearing results.

After it's washed and cleaned.

Like A Pratha

The Indian pratha is one of KK's favourite food. Even here in Melbourne, we always have a pack of frozen prathas in our freezer and he has them regularly, usually as a snack after school.

The other day, KK used the pratha as a metaphor to describe himself. Crispy and even a little "chow ta" (burnt) on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.

Here's the story: KK had a sleepover in school last Friday. It was organised for the Grade Twos to help them transit and prepare for overnight camping when they go to Grade Three. On Wednesday and Thursday, he fell ill with a bad stomach flu and skipped classes for two days. He went back to school on Friday and was alright the whole day. He even went for his usual swimming lesson after school. When I sent him to school at 6pm for the transition camp programme, he was happy and enthusiastic. But at mid-night, the school called, informing us that he's unwell and wants to come home.

The next night, we talked about it and I asked him what happened that night in school. I believed he probably had a bad digestion, given his still weak stomach. The school gave them a greasy sauage sizzle dinner and popcorn and he probably had too much running around with his friends. He then felt unwell, uncomfortable and that's when he really misses his mum. But KK claimed that it was the other way round. He missed me at night, causing him to feel like he wanted to vomit. My big baby stated that he can't be away from his family for more than 7 hours or he'll feel like crying. He also declared that he doesn't want any sleepovers anymore unless I'm around.

"So how come you're alright at school normally and when I come and pick you up, you don't show that you're happy and even seemed reluctant to go home?" I teased. That when he said he doesn't show it, like a pratha.

Hair & Style

Getting my kids to agree with me and do as I say seemed to be getting more and more challenging these days. Even XX, halfway through his "terrible threes", is determined to make Mummy's life difficult by challenging, with newly learned phrases (from who else but the older one) such as "that's not true", on issues such as what spread to put on his bread to TV/Wii/Computer time limits.

I just had one such disagreement with KK this morning about hair style and fashion. Yes, I accept that they are unique individuals with their own minds and are entitled to their opinions, but I just didn't expect the resistance to come so early. Already, we had to bribe him with bubble tea to get his hair cut yesterday. Today, it was another round of arguing about how to comb that hair. I don't really care usually how he combs his hair or even if he combs it for that matter. But today, it was his school's photo taking session! I can't afford to have him looking like a nerd or hooligan in the school portraits that we paid $32 for and will keep as a remembrance for the rest of his life!

It was a fantastic haircut and I think he looks very handsome with a cleancut look but our boy insisted it was ugly. He asked why he couldn't keep his hair long like some of his other classmates. I offered some gel to help style it but he didn't like whatever I did. Instead, he plastered his fringe together and then try to make it defy gravity. I think he will end up looking like one of those Gundam or Bakkugan characters. So how can I not step in? Thus started the argument about what constitutes "cool", which leads him to talk passionately about fashion and how I don't know anything about it.

There really was no conclusion cause beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. In the end, I just pleaded with him to trust my judgement before he hops off the car. I can't wait to see the photos when they turn out.