Mothers Day

Had a nice Mothers Day - Simon has been working very long hours including all day on Mother's day, but he did manage to buy some exquisite orchids for me on Saturday evening. Marg also bought over some tulips when she came for dinner on Sunday. Harrison made a card at daycare. He drew pictures of each of his grandparents in the respective mothers day cards for Grand-mum and Grandma. He's getting quite good at drawing people - he does eyes with pupils, hair, smiles, and very long arms and legs. He takes it all very seriously.

Simon's mum arrived on Sunday afternoon, and I cooked roast pork, as it's her favourite dish. My first time at cooking roast pork (being vegetarian and all), but it seemed to work out well. Marg brought dessert over via Herdsman - the most delicious summer berry crumble and Connesieur icecream.

Funny thing happened on Sunday morning. Simon spoke to his mother before she got on the plane in Brisbane, and afterwards said to me that she seemed a bit disappointed that he was going to be working long hours during her visit. I asked if he remembered to say happy mothers day to her, and he hadn't - so he called her back. He had a 5 minute conversation, during which she said she didn't think he'd forgotten to wish her a happy mothers day. At the end of the conversation she said "bye Dan". Simon pointed out that he was her OTHER son - so she said "well in that case you did forget mothers day!". Simon calls me back to report this conversation, and gets off the phone. 5 minutes later he calls back sheepishly and says... "I might have kind of forgotten to say happy mothers day to you as well..."

And to continue the saga of Youngs working far too hard. Marg has also been working until 1am and all weekend in her new job (which is supposed to be less onerous than her old one!). I had arranged that I'd pick her mum up from the airport and drop into Marg's house for afternoon tea on the way home. We arrived at 3:30ish, and Marg comes to the door still in her pyjamas. She'd been working all weekend, and hadn't showered or eaten at all that day... After a while at her house, Mum whispers to me - "do you think we're getting a cup of tea?", so I make one. We take one mouthful of tea, and realise the milk is off! It's a week past it's used by date. But she did bring a fabulous dessert and wine that night, which more than makes up for the tea... And she gave me wonderful flowers and said beautiful things about my mothering.

New photos

I've attached photos to the entries about camping at Lake Leschenaultia and Simon's birthday.

"Surprise!"

Harrison is still not good at keeping secrets.  He told me last night that they were making something at day care for Mothers Day.  I said he'd better keep it a secret, and he agreed - but in the same breath told me it was a Mothers Day card!

 

Plus he always confesses if he's been naughty.  I picked him up the other week and the first thing he said was "Hi Mum, I wasn't listening today!".  And when I asked him what he meant, he said he was tickling Joseph when they were supposed to be listening to a story, and he kept tickling him and making him giggle even after Amber asked him to listen...

3 today

Harrision is 3 today. He had a little party yesterday (more of an afternoon tea really) with his "significant adults". Much easier to handle than a party with kids. He got thoroughly spoiled, of course. I bought gluten free lamingtons from Alternative Bites, and made a lamington train cake for his birthday. We had to replace some of the sweets that the recipe called for as couplings and cargo etc with gluten free alternatives, but it turned out pretty well. Today he has taken a GF cake in the shape of the number 3 to day care.

He's also taken all his Lego Thomas trains to daycare. Simon said that he started off well, giving trains to the other kids to play with, and being very excited to be able to share them, but then there was a bit of snatching when Harrison was distracted, and he ended up with no trains at all. Worst of all, some other kid took Toby (his birthday present), which has hardly been out of his hands since he unwrapped him. I'm sure it's all a lesson in negotiation, disappointment and compromise...

New baby for Pip

Pip and Kane had their third child on the 27th of April - a little boy called Ben. Laura and Tom seem delighted by their new brother. It took a while for blogger to decide it was going to show the text of this post, and in the meantime I had a chat to Pip. She is doing fabulously (such a calm, capable mother!), and baby Ben is an exceptionally good baby.

I'm really looking forward to seeing their expanded family when I visit Brisbane in August for Denis and Tracey's wedding.

Qantas does it again

Unbelievably, Marg had the same dramas with Qantas on Sunday as I did in January (see Day from Hell). She was a minute late at the check-in-kiosk and they wouldn't let her on the flight - she had to wait 8 hours for the next flight. Flying business class made no difference either. They are vicious!

Back moustache

No, I'm not talking about a particularly hirsute person, just Harrison-speak for back massage. If you say you have a sore back, he will offer to give you a "back moustache". Yesterday I asked what he did at daycare, and he said that he and Joseph (his partner in crime) played back moustaches. I asked who gave the massage, and he said - "I gave Joseph a back moustache, and then he gave me one, then we sang "lights, camera, action, Wiggles" in front of the TV". He has worked out that a turned off TV makes a fine mirror, so is constantly playing his guitar and singing and dancing in front of the TV. They have a TV at daycare which obviously serves the same purpose.

He's a very tactile person, loving to squeeze your arm, or your face, giving kisses, wanting you to sit close to him on the couch, or lean right over his bed when you're reading a bedtime story. He loves nothing more than a tummy tickle, and will instruct the tickler as to the appropriate method and protest if the tickle ends too soon for his liking.

Another term Harrison invented (when Leah was staying with us) is a "dark hug" - this is when you give a hug, but he buries his head in your chest and arms, and can't see out.