Adieu Tropicana...

Woohoooo!!! only 2 more nights in this house! I'm so over this moving and packing and cleaning thing! If i ever get that butterfly feeling again, please remind me of this part, i tend to forget...
Mixed feelings as usual about leaving, but the joy part far outweighs any fleeting nostalgia for this lifestyle. I miss the Baha'i world sooooo much! Its been waaaay too quiet on that front for what I'm used to.
All roads lead to Sydney now, where over 5000 Baha'is have registered for one of the 41 conferences called for by the House of Justice. Talk about a sea change, from a tiny community of like 10 people here, to that! The ultimate meet and greet of just about everyone i know in planet Baha'i!!! I'm just thrilled beyond measure at how it all worked out for us to slot this trip right into our interstate move, sheer coincidence. Will be posting more about that from Adelaide.

May's visit

My sister in law May came to visit for a week, alone. Her hubby Derek stayed home in Canberra to look after their 3 gorgeous kids. A much needed break for a hard working mama, first time in 9 years she had a real 'break', or shall we say, 'therapy'! Having 'Aunty May' here was a good excuse to do the tourist route again, and for the kids to get to know their aunt, whom they don't see often due to distance.
Leila, the eldest is a calisthenics champ and very mature for her age, the boys Jalal and Rowhan keep mom and dad VERY busy.
Doesn't Rowhan look soo much like cousin Danny? You'd think they're related!

Soaking in last of tropical summer

Baby turtle, dead. Its nesting time all along the beaches here, lots of turtle nests.

Kookaburra sits on an ol gum tree,

Merry merry king of the bush is he, laugh kookaburra laugh, kookaburra gayor life must be... so goes the rhyme....

This year has been a very eventful one for us, and full of blessings. We moved to Mackay in January, had a difficult month when the town flooded, hardly knew anyone here, everything went mouldy, then in March it was off to Adelaide and Haifa. The highlight of the year would undoubtedly be the trip of a lifetime to Haifa, Israel. What a precious time, just Vahid and I, in that Most Holy Spot… mom and dad looking after the children in Adelaide made it all possible, even though they had a very hard time with sleepless nights. Another special memory for me is Lessan’s visit to Mackay. I miss him dearly and that one week was so special, going back to Townsville with him, having time for long conversations while driving, and the amazing bonding between the kids and Dai Lessan, whom they still talk about fondly.
Two trips back to Adelaide made us realize just how much we missed home, and the family there missed us, especially the children. These last two years of being away from home have been a huge learning experience for me on many levels, but growth comes with some form of sacrifice, and missing home was certainly the ouch factor. Having no form of support in terms of babysitting, no one to show unconditional love to the kids, no comfort zone as such meant that I’ve had to learn to foster friendships with others far more than I normally would, that I’ve learnt to squeeze the most joy out of time spent with my precious ones, and make the best of the ‘can’t take it any more’ days. As they both grow, things get easier, and spending time with them is becoming far more enjoyable.
My resolutions for the coming year (made significant by the relocation to Adelaide) are:
1. Stick to the simpler lifestyle and values that the experience of the last 2 years has given.
2. Plan to have at least one day of the week where I don’t go out and have ‘down time’ with the kids – that’s were incredible bonding and learning happens.
3. Keep the TV out of the house. We’ve all done really well with a self-imposed year without the box. (we have a tv antenna on the computer with which the kids watch some shows, but that’s about it).
4. Keep on crafting – gives me so much fulfilment, and the kids just thrive on it too.
5. Malls and shopping to a minimum.
6. Pray more, eat less, give more, and be thankful for it all!

Fruitopia

If there's one thing i'll miss about life in tropical oz, its the FRUITS!!! I'm a fruit freak, and mangoes and pineapples top my list of all-time favourites, due in no small part to growing up with them. These are the real deal, not the gassed, tasteless, flavoureless stuff sold in supermarkets. So here's my tribute to my good friends from the plant kingdom, who knows when we'll meet again....

Meet the Papaya (paw-paw) - entire books have been written about the health benefits of this fruit, and especially the seeds. A slice before breakfast, and my system is sorted for the day. They're even better than prunes and pears for you know what...

The green prickly strange looking thing is a fruit called sour sop. It's just that, sour and sweet, creamy white juice with an aromatic tropical flavour. This is the first time in years that i've had sour sop, and as with many of these tropical fruits, its as much about the childhood memories they evoke. I remember my parents getting the juice (can't think how) and freezing it - voila healthy troppo icecream! Turns pink when cooked. Just thought you needed that bit of useful info. Getting carried away here...

Bucket of mangoes from the local market - $6!! Juicy, you can smell them as you walk in the kitchen. The kids have been feasting on about 4 each a day, more if i let them. They grow all over Mackay, dropping onto the street, locals not interested. These are not a sought after variety as they are a bit fibrous.














Lady finger bananas, as they are sometimes called. Tiny, sour sweet and light.

Well, as i sit here avoiding the endless cleanup job and watch baby frogs hopping around the room, thanks to the storm we just had, here's a warm invitation to keep Queensland on your list of places to check out sometime!

Tropical summer

Amy comfortably slides into a split. Doing flips and sommersaults with her is a treat in her book.
Need a tree, maybe some gymnastic lessons....


















This little bastard sums up the season. The rains are here, and so are the hordes of mosquitoes, literally arrived overnight. It is INSANE!!!! Its like living in a beehive! I was crazy enough to go outside today to do some weeding (must do things before vacating this house), i covered up from head to foot, only my face exposed, and that too covered in repellant. Well, after 20 mins of sweltering work in the beehive, i ran indoors for shelter, jumped in the shower, and felt itchy all over. Hubby nearly had a fit when he saw my back, there were about 30-50 bites all over- through clothing. One bite on my leg through jeans!! Honestly, this is one aspect of the tropics i can't wait to leave behind!

Meantime, got a new camera today, so very snap happy! Will be doing a post on the more yummy aspect of the troppo lifestyle - fruits!!!!

A little bit of lipstick

When getting home and contents insurance, i wish there was a clause in there to cover 'toddler incidents', such as the scene i was greeted with today. After a hectic weekend of a wedding and house guests, i was just getting a handle on the endless clean up job, when i realized i hadn't heard Amy for quite a while. Hmmm, we all know what that means.... Enter bedroom, into wardrobe ,and there she is, perched on a foam cube to reach the shelf where mommy's oh so tempting make-up lives, where she knows little fingers are not allowed.... I saw red.... and then pink. Little missy was covered from hair to foot in 2 entire tubes of lipstick, the rest of which was smeared all over the shelves, onto folded clothes, on doors, on the cube, and to top it off, engrossed as she was, she peed all over the red and pink mess.
Unfortunately my camera broke yesterday so no pics, but i'm sure you get the picture. By the way, any questions on stain removal of any sort, send them my way.... i think i've scored a degree by now in that department. Many hours later, all the stains came off.
This brand new lovely rental property we currently live in has been lovingly blessed by the creative endeavors of my two darlings, in ways which defy every chemical known to man. And yes, we will be vacating this property in a few short weeks, by which time it must return to its former spotless glory. Wish me luck, and lots of elbow grease. I've spent countless hours researching, shopping for and scrubbing away at out concrete garage floor which functions as the family/playroom. To no avail. And every day, new embellishments are added.
Sometimes i feel like Mr Mess is the culprit for most of the outbursts i have with the kids.

Grocery math

Spontaneous math lesson: looking through junk mail, Danny starts picking out numbers, so i asked him to cut out three thinks he would buy. Glued them and wrote down price, added manipulatives (shells) and got him to count the shells for how much money we need to go shopping.
I try to incorporate basic math concepts in every day situations, to make it as 'real life' as possible at this stage. With preschool only 2 months away, I'm getting more formal with the abc and 123 stuff, and hoping that school will not steal the incredible curiosity and creativity in this little homegrown kiddo.

Change is the only stable thing....

The past 2 years has seen our family make a few big moves and trips - from Adelaide to Townsville, then a transfer to Mackay, and now we're on the move again, back to Adelaide.
A lot of thought and prayer went into this decision, but i'm sure we're doing the right thing, everything is falling into place like it does when we trust a Higher Power to guide our actions.
Many reasons for the move, Mackay could never have been a long term place, not with the center of gravity being in Adelaide. So when a job offer came up a year earlier, we had to decide. Chasing butterflies around the country is great, making new freinds, enriching life experiences, but at some point, there comes a need to settle. To be near people who love the children 100%, who will be there if something happens, who really care... I had to leave that to truly appreciate it.
We leave Mackay on 22nd Jan, via Sydney for the big Baha'i conference, and back to Adelaide to look for a house... :)

Fishy birthday...

Here's some pics from a big day out to the Great Barrier Reef, 90mins drive from where we live. The great barrier reef is one of the 7 wonders of the world (according to tourist guides...), the Whitsundays is a section of the reef composed of 94 islands, a number of which are inhabited and set up for big time tourism. We did a one day cruise of three islands - Hook, Daydream and Whitehaven beach. This was a treat for my 30th birthday - and what a treat!!!

Coral covered beach. The coral pieces are broken off by some type of fish and washed ashore.

Whitehaven beach - pure quartz, white, fine, cold sand. Among top 10 beach in the world. (fishing for visitors here...)

More pics on facebook, blogger is such a pain to work with...