25 Jun 2013

Yo Gabba Gabba

A few weekends ago we took the little man to his first little concert.

The whole Yo Gabba Gabba cast including DJ Lance Rock! was in town. Eli loves Yo Gabba Gabba. He loves the characters and he really gets into it when he hears their catchy songs. I guess he was exposed to it from a very early age and so the loyalty and familiarity developed. 

The concert was held under the Big Top at Luna Park, a very fitting location for the concert. Place was children friendly with rides, lots of entertainment and right by the water. Unfortunately it was extremely cold and windy that day making it a little difficult to enjoy the outdoors. However we rugged up the little guy nice and warm and made the most of the day.



At first Eli was really quiet I think he was still a little drowsy from the drugs he had that morning. He was currently on antibiotics from a bit he got. Luckily he knew all the songs the cast sang so he eventually losen up and got into it. 













13 Jun 2013

Second Child Syndrome

My second child isn't even born yet and already I'm feeling a bit of guilt.

Guilt that I havent been spending time bonding with him. I mentioned previously when I was pregnant with Eli, Ian and I would speak and rub my tummy in hopes he would hear and feel the love we had for him. This guy gets none of that.

I wanted to start writing down my what I call "prophesies" for my unborn child. Really it's just a Love Letter from us to our child. I did this with Eli and I wanted to do the same with baby number two. I met up with a friend on maternity leave who again raved on about how smart, confident, warm, cute and extensive Eli's vocabulary was at his age. Of course I thanked her and said "you think so?"  Admittedly I do hear those kind of compliments a lot and I usually shrug it off cause I just think people are being polite. But it occurred to me today that I claimed he would be confident, I claimed he would be intelligent, I claimed he would have wisdom beyond his years and already he seems to be fulfilling these prophesies therefore I shouldn't be so cavalier about hearing these kinds of comments. We shouldn't assume God's plans and grace will only be fulfilled in years to come, He could grant our every desire right at that moment.

So it got me thinking about baby man. (I've started called Eli "kuya". I explained to him today he won't be the baby soon and a new baby will be arriving in our family shortly, so he's been promoted to the title "kuya" which means older brother in tagalog). I started thinking about the Love Letter I wanted to write just for him ... and I'm coming up empty. 

I spend the whole day caring for Eli almost my every thought revolves around him. What to server for breakfast, how can I get him to eat more during the day, should I see the dr's about the skin pigmentation around his knees, what activities should we do today ... I try my best not to let ABC4Kids raise him, I try to teach him new things and get him moving as much as possible. It's hard not to want to play with Eli all day either. He's so entertaining and hilarious now I find myself recording the most smallest moments. Like how he wears my sneakers and tries to walk in them or places all his toy balls onto his high chair tray and attempts to carry it all from one side of the room to the other, or how he dances or attempts to sing along to music. 

When I start to think about what to write in my Love Letter for baby number two I notice I tend to make references to Eli in it. I guess there's nothing wrong with stating that the brothers will have a tight bond but what if we have more children they're not referenced. I want the letter to be personal for baby number two.

I'm struggling to write down the characteristics of what I think baby number two would be like without repeating what I wrote about Eli. Again, there's nothing wrong with both children being confient, intelligent and have wisdom beyond their years but they are two different people and I want two unique Love Letters.

I get so caught up nurturing Eli, which isn't a bad thing but I feel baby number two is getting neglected along the way. I'm not even thinking about buying any new baby items as I already have everything and can reuse it all, I'm in two minds about throwing a baby shower and Ian and I haven't even started talking about names yet. If anything I think Eli and bub have more of a bond. He jumps so much when he hears Eli's voice and Eli checks up on him more than I do - that's how I know they're going to be close.

I think the fact that I'm having another boy plays a factor in my neglect. Maybe it'll change once the baby is born. A newborn relies so much on the mother in the first few months that my priorities may change in October. Maybe the words for baby number two's Love Letter will come to me closer to delivery date.

It's going to be a challenge to be completely fair with two boys so close in age.  

Other mothers with same gender babies, how do ensure the second child doesn't just disappear under the first child's shadow?

6 Jun 2013

The Big Reveal


Today was our 22 week scan that meant today was the day we got to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. We knew we wanted to know, I don't do surprises.

I'm proud to announce Eli was right, we are having a .... Boy!! 

The scan examination took forever. At this scan they usually measure all different parts of the baby just to make sure there are ten toes and fingers, all key organs are there and looks to be functioning and our sonographer said everything looks perfectly healthy. She didn't ask us if we wanted to know the gender, we actually asked her to check and let us know.

She scanned across to where she needed to be and asked us both what we thought we were having. Ian replied with "A girl", I said "A boy", she said "Mum knows best, you're having a boy." She pointed out a section and said "That's his penis." 

We really didn't mind the outcome but of course one of the opposite of what you have at home would be lovely. Regardless, we're very blessed with another healthy baby boy.

Another man to love. I didn't think I could fall in love with so many men or be surround by so many men later on in life. I've always had my mum and sisters. I'm looking forward to lots of sports, smelly bedrooms, cooking for big appetites and being the only female in my home.

Although this recent news has opened Ian to a possible third child. I'm keen but we did have an agreement that the third child, if another boy would have my maiden name as his surname. My dad was the last boy to have his surname and he had all girls.

We look forward to properly meeting you little man. Your kuya has been dying for a playmate.

5 Jun 2013

Crete Greece

I'm so bad. I'm still yet to finish reviewing all the things Ian and I did during our European holiday. I recently got asked about what to do and where to stay in Italy and Greece and oddly enough these are the two countries I haven't finished (or started) reviewing.

I recently posted a review of our accommodation in Crete Greece on Trip Advisor so I figured I'd elaborate on what I wrote.

Firstly, when we started planning our Europeian holiday we knew we would go to Santorini. It was the one place that was on my bucket list and if life had taken a different turn of events would have wanted to spend my 30th birthday there. I didn't spend my 30th birthday at Santorini but I did see the place within my 30th year, something I didn't think would happen so that's pretty amazing and totally blessed to have had the experience. 

There are so many islands in Greece but you only ever hear of Mykonos and Santorini. I recently heard of Crete after watching a very funny movie called The Inbetweeners. The movie is I guess a follow up from the sitcom also called the In Betweeners and if you get British humour you'd probably find it very amusing too. 

The island is a lot bigger than Mykonos and Santorini and offers visitors an array of activities not just the beach. On our Crete itinerary some of the things I wanted to check out included The Samaria Gorge National Park, a 16km treck through mountains and gorges ending at a beach. Balos Lagoon, a massive beautiful lagoon you can swim and snorkel at. Check out some ancient ruins at Knossos and get lost or people watch around the pretty town of Ayios Nikolasos.

Crete is one of those places you need a car to get around. There are public buses which is cheap however don't offer services across the whole island and run infrequently. Crete is one of those cities that tends to start the day late say 10am and stay open until very late. As one local suggested to us, to head out into town around 9pm as that is when most places are starting to pick up. There are so many restaurants, bars and clubs in the main tourist areas and so many hotels and resorts to choose from as well.  

Deciding where to stay was really difficult as the activities we wanted to do in Crete was spread out throughout the island. Also getting from one side of the island to the other can take up to 3 hours even though the island is only 150km in length. There's actually 3 airports available at Crete across various parts of the island. Unless you're planning to stay here for a long period of time its hard to try and squeeze everything you want to see and do on the island. 

We eventually decided on staying at a resort called Candia Maris Resort & SpaWhen I booked directly with the resort we were quoted the all inclusive rates. This meant all meals, drinks, activities were included with our rate. This is actually the norm in most resorts in Europe (and I've heard in South America) and it's a much more enjoyable holiday experience in my opinion. We never once took out our wallets while at the resort as there was no more additional charges. 

Other positives of the resort include:
• Room was spacious with lots of space to move around. There was an arm chair and desk area and the balcony was very generous too.
• Rooms contained modern fixtures and had air conditioning. 
• The stocked bar fridge which was included with all in exclusive package and would be replenished when items were consumed. 



• There is a spa on site which isn't included in the inclusive package but strongly recommend getting a massage and using the spa. 

• Lots of options at the buffet however by the third day you do notice menu is on rotation especially breakfast and lunch meals. At dinner ever night there is a theme/cuisine however there is usually only one section of the buffet that has food from that country/cuisine. There is also snacks, morning and afternoon tea served between meals and a mid night snack service every night.
• If buffet is not your thing they do have 2 a la carte restaurants on site, an Italian and a Greek restaurant. However you have to book 24 hours (or more) prior to reserve a seat as they get booked out very quickly. 
• Pool bar provided canapés certain times in the day and again all included.


• Resort ran daily activities throughout the day and night such as a beach party once a week and a nightly disco! disco! for fist pumping. 
• Local staff were very friendly, spoke English and loved to have a conversation about the island and provide their recommendations on things to see and do. 
• Bar was open 24 hours a day.
• Rooms serviced everyday and free bottles of water left in the room daily which was nice since it was very warm most of the day.
• There is a gym on site and is used by locals so guest can only use gym between 9am-5pm everyday as gym gets busy with the members using it after 5pm. 
• The resort is right by the beach and there are free beach chairs, table and umbrella for guests to use.


• As mentioned there is a spa on site which is different to spa experience I’ve had back home or elsewhere. We did get a regular massage, used the hot and wet sauna but we also used the main spa pool. This pool has 12 different spots/stations, which you move around to slowly. Each spot disperses water onto you in different forms which massages different part of your body. It’s a wonderful experience we enjoyed it.
• Resort only 10 minutes by public bus and bus stops right in front of the resort.



Some of my cons are:
 The free wifi included with price only worked really well around the lobby area so lots of guests would hang around this area to be able to use the wifi.  
• The resort (the island as a whole) is mostly visited by other European tourist so resort hires activity coordinators and tour guides who speak these languages so they can communicate with guests in their native language. For example when we inquired about tours at the resort we were advised it would be in German so of course we didn't book any.  
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