Bondi Beach

We've been bracing ourselves for a very cold winter this year but surprisingly, it hasn't been as cold as last year. It just feels like spring here now, and last Saturday, more like summer even.

So, along with the boys, we hied off to the famous Bondi Beach, our first time there since arriving in Australia. We had a lovely lunch at a resto overlooking the beach, strolled along the very looong shoreline, had ice cream, watched the surfers, took a lot of photos and just enjoyed a lazy afternoon. Vince also got to try bungee jumping which he loved so much.

Now that Rafa is almost 5months old, we plan to spend more time outdoors, exploring the many tourist attractions offered by NSW. Hopefully, we'll have more sunny weekends in the coming days.

The Veggie Man

Every Friday is "show-and-tell" day at Vince's school. The kids are given a topic which they are to expound in front of the class and the classmates are encouraged to ask questions.

One Friday a few weeks back, they were told to bring vegetable people and explain how they made it. After a very serious discussion, father and son came up with this funny little fellow:

The body and limbs are carrots, the eyes and ears are corn bits, the nose is a nut and the mouth is a slice of sultana.

Vince said this guy was well-applauded in class. What remained of this went into our yummy stir fry that night.

One Year

Yesterday marked our first anniversary in Australia and we had a simple celebration at home with A preparing steamed tilapia with mayo dip and creamy macaroni soup. The latter, something for the official first day of winter. For dessert, we had fresh avocado topped with honey, a luxury at $2 a piece. Geez! That could already buy a sackful of avocados in my hometown. And we didn't even have to buy because we had our own tree back home. Haay!

But there was really so much to celebrate about, a little spending above budget wouldn't hurt. It's been a year full of blessings and adventures for our family. It hasn't been easy, though, but we are more than pleased with how this has strengthened our marriage and made us better parents. And to top it off, we now have an adorable little Aussie at home, an endless source of joy, a concrete reminder that the best things in life are free.

Dance, boogie wonderland!

With Vince back in school and my sister going home, A and I have our hands full these days.

Although I lack sleep because Rafa is awake at dawn, I have to get up early to fix breakfast and prepare Vince for school. Then there's the endless stack of laundry that needs to be folded. Good thing A does the ironing. We barely have time to sit and then it's time again to prepare lunch then pick Vince up from school. And then it's dinner and Vince's activity sheets before I get to catch a couple of hours sleep.

Amidst all these, I should say A and I still find time to squeeze in a slice of fun into our hectic day. This morning, while I was doing the dishes and he was rocking Rafa to sleep, our favorite 80's dance tunes were playing on the Ipod. He put Rafa down and pulled me to the sala and we had a good laugh doing some crazy dance moves.

Ahhh, life's simple pleasures.

Normal

food prepared by A

Things have settled a bit at home three weeks after the birth of Rafa. We have established our routines quite well...or until my sister C is here.

C is in charge of Vince for now, dropping him off at school, fetching him in the afternoon and bringing him to his after school classes so that I can concentrate on Rafa. Yeah, i know, Vince does have a classy yaya- a lawyer no less! Haha A, meanwhile is in charge of the kitchen when he's not working. L, our friend who's temporarily staying with us does the dishes from morning till night. I am so blessed to have all these support for now.

Mealtimes are big events in our home specially when A is cooking. He's experimenting all the time so I always look forward to the next dish. I am just worried, though, that I will be putting on weight. Haaaay!

I am loving time spent at home and am now seriously thinking of resigning from work if I can't arrange to work part-time. Let's wait and see...

A lawyer in the family...

My sister, C, who is currently with us in Sydney to help us with the recent birth just passed the 2008 Bar Exams released last Friday.

The entire family is very proud of her specially our parents who have finally seen the last of their three daughters hurdle a licensure exam. I can just imagine how happy and fulfilled they are now, having produced 2 CPAs and a lawyer- not a mean feat considering the scarce resources :)

To our dear Papa and Mama, CONGRATULATIONS! We know you are very proud of what you have achieved.

And to my little sister, C, Congratulations! The hardwork really paid off! :) Vince is sad, though, that you are leaving soon. He's suggesting you just work in a construction company to be able to stay in Aus. Hehe I wonder where he got that idea :-)

Mommy Again...

On March 13 which was supposed to be my last day at work, I woke up to find that I had passed blood in my urine. A and I hurriedly went to the hospital but after being strapped to the contractions monitoring equipment (not sure what it's called) and having a vaginal exam, we were sent home because i haven't started dilating, yet.



I decided not to report for work anymore, afraid that I might give birth in the office and scare the wits out of my boss! haha At about 5pm, i began having 10-minute contractions and then it progressed to 3-5 minutes at 12mn. I called the doula and the hospital but I was told to just sleep as these contractions could still last up to 2 days! at 2am though, I was in so much pain that I told the hospital staff I was coming in whether they like it or not. I must have sounded really miserable so they allowed me to come over. I hurriedly called our doula to meet us at the hospital.



At the hospital, I was again strapped to the contractions monitor for about an hour and when asked if they can do a vaginal exam to see if I have dilated, I had to refuse because I was in so much pain. I was then transferred to the birthing room.



The birthing room was huge. A week before, I joined a maternity tour around the hospital to check the facilities with my doula and my sister. It turned out to be very informative and very helpful specially since this is the first time I am giving birth in Australia and I was expecting they could have a different process from what we had back in Pinas. During the tour, the whole birthing process was explained and I already had an idea which "pain relievers" I wanted. But come D' Day, I was in so much pain all I could think about was to get the epidural as soon as I can, the same way I had Vince back then. But the doula reminded me of my birthing plan which we finalized a week before and suggested I try the hot shower first. So A and the doula, Sara, moved me to the huge bathroom, placed a mattress on the floor, put a chair where I clung for dear life and A proceeded to aim the shower at me. I was in that position for more than an hour, screaming my lungs out, huffing and puffing and feeling like a pig about to be butchered. Haha!

As soon as I have fully dilated, I asked to be transferred to the bed since I was more comfortable lying down while pushing. By this time, I was hanging on to A who was encouraging me to push and giving me water to keep me hydrated. On March 14,at 6:20am, the little one was already out and was immediately placed on my tummy. He immediatelysucked on my breast and stayed there for almost an hour.

This was a totally different experience from when I had Vince. I was "drugged" that time and everything happened like a blur but this time, I was very aware of what was going on. Except for the pain, this birthing experience was better than the first and I am specially proud of the fact that I did not have epidural. I was also confident that I was in good hands, this being Australia with all the technology and of course, we hired a doula to assist us.

A couple of hours after giving birth, Vince joined us along with my sister. Kuya was obviously smitten with his little brother as he was constantly kissing him. Until now, we have yet to see him being jealous of his brother and I can only pray that it stays that way forever.