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.