FORTY

March 5th saw me reach a significant number.  And I have to say, it was one of my best birthdays ever.  

Special flowers from my Big Sis & her life partner, in the UK

I'm not into parties.  I'm not into being the 'centre of attention', a party of any kind was never on the cards.  MrL suggested a couple of weeks beforehand that we could all perhaps spend the night at a hotel.  I quite liked that idea.  So he went ahead and booked a room at The Shangri-La on the Marina in Cairns.  

The weather might have taken a bad turn that afternoon....

We had a big storm in the afternoon of my birthday.

...but it didn't worry me.

The view from our room was just beautiful.  I've said it before and I will say it again, I love me a marina.

A nice champagne was the order of the afternoon for me.

MrL and the girls bought me a lovely bangle for my 40th.

The girls had a great time in the pool and convinced MrL to get in there too...

...whilst I sipped a cocktail or two.

We had a sensational dinner eating at The Salt House, which is part of the Yacht Club at the Marina.

The next day it was great to get up early, enjoy the view and have a family swim in the massive rooftop pool at the Hotel.  We walked along the Esplanade to a popular Cairns restaurant for breakfast before biding MrL on his way off to work.

Monet still had school to attend so after packing up our room (who knew that four bodies could make so much mess over the course of one night) Lily and I went home via school.

The Marina view at 6am

Breakfast view

A fantastic birthday.  Definitely what I wanted and definitely one to remember.  Awesome.

Our Girls love the pool...

...just like I used to when I was a young girl.  I remember spending four weeks in a complex in Coffs Harbour when I was around Monet's age and spending as long as possible in the pool there.  Our girls are fortunate because they have assess to a pool every day of the year.  It's just not a holiday thing.

Lily has become very confident in the pool now.  She's recently gone from wearing her swim vest, to floaties and the last time I was in the pool with her, there was an absence of any floating equipment attached to her body!  However, if I am not in the pool with her, it is swim vest all the way.

The girls do all kind of games in the pool together which is nice to see.  Above is a photo of their 'circus trick' where they would be both underwater (with Lily on Monet's shoulders) and when Monet stands Lily yells out 'Ta-da!'

Monet has gotten quite good at doing underwater handstands with legs very straight and Lily's latest trick is doing awesome proper water somersaults!  Very amusing to watch.

If this hot humid weather continues, I can see us all getting quite a bit more use out of the pool....

A Must

A few weeks back MrL took a well deserved break from work and headed down to our home state of Victoria for 4 nights.  It had been close to three years since he had been to see family and friends and so it was a must.  

Monet was on her last few days of school holidays so we went to the cinema to see 'Tinkerbell' which Lily just adored, ate McDonald's, had a picnic party on a rug in the lounge room, had toasted sandwiches for dinner and went shopping along other things.  One thing we did too was drive up to Port Douglas for lunch.  

Both girls insisted on an ice cream from a certain ice cream parlour we hadn't had one from ever.  They certainly won't be our last ice creams from there either - ohh they were delicious and thoroughly enjoyed to say the least.   Can't you tell?

After a walk up and down the main drag and browsing in a few stores, we settled on the Central Pub for lunch.  It ended up being a wise choice as it was enjoyed by the three of us.  I indulged in a serving of Barramundi Spring Rolls with a mandatory schooner of XXXX Gold.

Monet surprised me with her choice for lunch; steamed veggies served with a dollop of mash.  It made a nice change from chicken nuggets and chips which was Miss Lily's typical choice.

No visit (ever) is complete to Port Douglas without visiting The Point.  We always end up there, with good reason - it is picturesque, even if it had been raining on and off.

And there is a playground.  In the girl's book, it is therefore a must to visit.

Late Afternoon Beach Fun

I really should update this blog more often!  Sheesh, where does the time go?  Monet has already been back at school for final term for two weeks now and I haven't even blogged about little things we did.  I will get there eventually.

So....

Quite a few Sunday evenings ago (three weeks ago in fact), MrL and I decided that instead of having a beer or two on our balcony at home that we'd venture down the beach and have a couple there....as you do in Queensland.  It was a perfect evening, busy with tourists still splashing in the water, people chatting and grouped together on the beach and two little sisters besotted with one another.

It's times like that, that makes me appreciate where we live.

And with the sun setting, it was time to enjoy some (perfectly grilled) fish and chips on the foreshore.  I'm not sure of the photo below (lol) with the girl's expressions (lol) but we had a pleasant evening together.

Giggles

I *know* how many times I have blogged before about dress ups but my girls love to dive into the dress up box at least once a week.  I'm not sure who has the most fan, but I would put my money on Monet who loves to dress up her younger sister.  

Part of Lily's birthday parent from MrL's parents was a Dora dress up outfit.  Lily was not too sure at first but lately it has been getting a good run.  I laugh when I see her wear the Dora wig as I imagine that's what she would look like as a brunette. 

Monet does like to get involved too.  However she's growing up so much and those legs of hers are getting longer and longer.  It's getting harder to find outfits to fit such a tall girl...

I am pretty sure that's part of the reason why Monet likes to play 'schools' with her younger sister.  Meet Monet's alter-ego, Miss Lulu.  (A glimpse of the future I imagine...)

And here's a giggle for you all.  My Hawaiian hula girls, cross with a clown...

Cairns Show

Last week I had the misfortune opportunity to visit the Cairns Show.  This show runs for three days and is the largest regional show in Australia.  Monet's school sent home a letter, saying that if your child was in the Ukulele Club (ahem.  Which Monet is.), then parents could meet with the club at the entrance and gain free access.  You little ripper.  

Even though Monet's school had already entered the Show (me not knowing) I just asked if her school had entered to the gate attendant and was told to go on through.  Bonus.  

I guess the payment was sitting for an hour, listening to another school's choir, then Monet's Ukulele Club play five or six songs (all in the Chord G) on those annoying little guitars...  

Considering Monet's only been playing for a couple of months she did really well.  She did look bored after about two songs but at least she was up there on stage, strumming along.

As soon as we could escape, we went for a stroll around.  Being opening day it was relatively quiet, but I forgot how many bogans and carnie folk there would be.  Belch.  The girls had a couple of rides (rip off) and then I let them pick out a Show Bag each.  (At $26 a pop!!! Heck!!)

I must say, even though the Show Bags cost a small fortune, there were squeals of delight coming from the back seat on the drive home, as they peered in their bags.  That, my friends, was worth it. =)

Good For A Giggle

I think one of Monet's favourite activities is dressing up her little sister.  Lily loves it just as much.  

The other day, Lily came out dressed in Monet's old Abu Dhabi school uniform, complete with cap and not one, but two backpacks.  It is a wonder she didn't topple backwards.  Oh yes, that's right, she did (in a fit of giggles!)

Monet pulled out her old school swimmers/bathers/togs.  We laughed for ages over that as Lily's nappy was sitting out of the back cutout.  She could get away with wearing them (size 8) if she wasn't actually half that size.

Olympic swimmer in the making perhaps? 

Mother's Day 2012

Hard to believe sometimes that these two little faces below belong to two little humans I helped make.  Weird.  

We had a pretty lovely day yesterday, celebrating Mother's Day.  MrL went and bought McDonald's for breakfast which I really appreciated.  (I usually cook us a breakfast every Sunday here in Australia and in Abu Dhabi I cooked breakfast every Friday.)

I did well with the Mother's Day present loot.  Perfume, a cook book and Monet chose well at the school Mother's Day stall.   She even gave me a present they had put together in her classroom.  "It's meant to be a joke Mum", Monet kept saying as I tried my hardest to compose myself and not cry.  lol.  (I spoke to a couple of other mothers at school today and they all said the same!)

Lunch time saw the four of go to one of my favourite spots in Cairns, to Mondo's.  There is something about this place I just enjoy.  I think the rest of Cairns thought the same with the number of people there!

Monet got a couple of comments from a couple of 20-something girls, who had taken their mother out for lunch.  I saw them looking at the four of us as we sat at the table next to them.  When they got up to leave about twenty minutes later, they came over to Monet and said that they seriously "loved" Monet's look, especially the frames.  "Keep wearing them, they are very, very cool and stylish..."  Such a giggle!  And then the mum piped in and said "Cool!" and gave Monet the big thumbs up.  Funny.

We wandered back to the car and enjoyed the stroll along the boardwalk and down towards the Lagoon.  The girls walked hand in hand and chatted away about such silly things, it made me smile.

A really nice Mother's Day.  2013 has big shoes to fill.

Clowning Around...

...Not me.  The girls.  They love to dress up.  Monet especially loves to dress up her younger sister and we all get a good giggle!  I think Lily loves the attention and loves to role play.  

The girls had me in tears when Lily came out dressed a few weeks ago in an el'cheapo Kaftan I had bought in Abu Dhabi (for dress ups), a lei and a prayer hat.  When she came out she immediately got down on her knees and began to pray - which is actually quite strange as we are not a praying family!

On the weekend, Monet dressed up Lily in some United Arab Emirate gear.  How could I resist?  And how could Lily not pose?  (Not sure what this face is all about!)

Monet too, is not one to miss out.  She would blend in rather wonderfully in the UAE - I think this girl has seen one too many labourers in the past few years.

Friday Morning Snippet...

Our working week here (in case you didn't know) is Sunday to Thursday, but MrL is under the pump at his work (hand-over to the client is coming up) so today, being Friday, he had to go to work.  Ho hum.  As I have a head cold (which I am blaming on the change in the weather), I sat on the couch with iPad in hand watching the 2nd episode of the Aussie series 'The Slap'.

The girls were off playing happily.  Imagine my surprise when I saw the scene behind me going on.

It was very sweet, Monet and Lily playing 'Mummies' with their 'babies' and all sitting around the table having a mid-morning snack.

It was one of those moments I had to capture.  And I had to blog about.

Monet had prepared them all snack food and arranged them on four (!) individual plates.  Her plate presentation seems rather familiar... (See here and here)

Two Birthdays In Two Days.

The week just past was pretty full on - hence the lack of blogging (most unusual of me!)

Three major things happened. First thing -  Monet returned to school after her summer break of close to 11 weeks.  ELEVEN WEEKS!  She was more than ready to return to school; a new school year (hello Grade 2), a new teacher, a new classroom, new school friends.  And for Lily and I, a new routine.  Second and third thing - Miss Lily turned 2 on the 6th (the day Monet returned to school) and Miss Monet turned 7 on the 7th.  If that's not full-on, then I don't know what is.

Tuesday, when the littlest family member, turned 2, we had decided to hold a small party for her with a few neighbour friends.  And since we were already holding a party, Monet suggested that we should celebrate her birthday too.  So we did.  On Monday I baked and decorated two birthday cakes.  No wonder I was exhausted this weekend.   In the photo below, that's a #7, not a letter L.  Lily's cake was the #2.

Lily was taken back a bit with us singing Happy Birthday to her, which you wouldn't believe an hour later when she kept wandering around singing the tune to herself.  I love this photo below of an unsure Lily (in new 'Lola' apron which she wouldn't take off), neighbour Jahli and myself.

Monet was thrilled with her cake.  I might not cut it on 'Cake Boss', but in Monet's eyes I would.  Ain't children grand?

The girls both had a great afternoon.  It was rather exhausting come bedtime, with our first day of returning to school plus a birthday plus a party.

Monet's birthday the following day (yes, the girls are born five years minus one day apart), in which we went out for dinner as a family with a couple of good friends here.  These friends are like an Aunt and Uncle to the girls and Monet invited them to join us.

I can't believe that the girls are now 7 and 2.  Makes you stop and think.

We've done so much since Monet was born seven years ago in Frankston, Victoria.  Sometimes I still see Monet as my baby but now she's this big seven year old who is intelligent, pretty, (moody), a teacher, amusing, crafty, shy, well traveled, pretty switched-on kind of girl.  I see her maturing, just about daily, just by what she does, what she says, what she watches on television.  Sometimes she needs reminding that she's not 4 or 5 any more, but then I too have to take a step back and remember that she is still 'a kid'.

Lily is one of those children that you can't remember and could never think of life without her in it.  And oh how two children born of the same parents, be so different.  She has a big personality once she lets you know her (it can take time for her to warm to you, but once she does, oh are you in trouble!), she's funny and cute, loves her dummy, loves her teddies/dolls, knows exactly what she wants and tries her best to communicate and get her point across.

In the meanwhile, I will enjoy my two girls aged 2 and 7.  Before I know it they'll be 12 and 17.  Slow down life, slow down.

Happy Birthday girls.  You both are my world. =)