My Birthday, His Bucket List

For my birthday a few months ago, M gave me a seaplane trip that took us from Rose Bay over Sydney Harbor and up the coast of the Northern Beaches to Palm Beach with Sydney Seaplanes. When I opened it I thought, "hmm...kinda cool but also kinda funny b/c that is sooo something he would like way more than me, whatev!"  Then I found out you stop at Jonah's Whale Beach for lunch and I was a bit more interested, but still not a believer. When we had to cancel a few times for weather I was mildly but not wildly disappointed. Finally, our third rebook was a charm.

This was the best day ever. If this is not on your Sydney/LIFE bucket list it needs to be. NOW. I am a believer. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The people at Sydney Seaplane are so nice and professional. They acted like they run their business to cater to our needs only. I felt like a contestant on a fantasy reality dating show being whisked from one glamour destination to another, all except for the part where I have to make out on national television with a stranger.

On the boat transfer from the seaplane to the mini bus that was waiting to whisk us up to Jonah's.

Jonah's Whale Beach, an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING meal. 

Another view from Jonah's

Barrenjoey Lighthouse Palm Beach

If you need more than a postcard worthy sunshine day seaplane flight over beautiful lush beaches and iconic architecture with a gourmet lunch in between. Then we can also offer... WHALES!!! WHALES!!! WHALES!!! We saw 5 whales on the trip back to Sydney!

Humpback whales migrating from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef. This sighting took my breath away. Funny...I worried I may not see these beautiful 52' 30-50 ton animals, that I would somehow miss these petite little creatures! Their heart alone weights 430lbs. No binoculars needed when these beauties surface. Keep in mind we had no time to zoom and these pics were taken from a little less than 1000'.

If 2 is company, then 3 is a party!

The boys had their first playdate today where the other Mommy did not stay. Their friend just became a big brother to a sweet baby sister and needed some "guy time." Shockingly, it was calmer at my house with three than it usually is with just the two usual suspects. Group dynamics are a mystery.

Downing a coldie with the fellas after a hard day scootering and cozy couping

This sweet little girl is the newest edition to the club

Showing their friend "the ropes" 

Burn Baby Burn

Sometimes God speaks to people in prayer, for some it happens in church, for others in meditation or while communing with nature and sometimes if you are really hard headed He lights fire to your barbeque to get your attention.

Last weekend we had the busted lip incident. This weekend CH fell off a bench and gave himself a nasty golf ball size welt complete with road rash mark on his forward, a tad harder and he would have eclipsed his brothers injury and would have surely needed stitches. Then, that night our BBQ grill caught fire. I don't mean a flare up as M initially thought I was telling him. I mean our grill was completely engulfed in flames. Again, panic set in. Where is the fire extinguisher? It has to be here in the pantry! We do not have a fire extinguisher, we were looking for the one we had in Denver, which is still in Denver. I gave our address incorrectly to the Fire Dept. More Panic as they drove by. Will the propane tank set our building a blaze? Should I move the kids to an interior room in case it blows? Where is that d&*n fire extinguisher? Will the garden hose help? YES! The garden hose helped, it could not extinguish the flames as they had a steady source of food via the propane tank but it did keep the grill just a bit cooler and we avoided having to cash in that renters policy. We think we annoy our neighbors now, just think if we blew up the joint?

The firemen were pretty surprised that a new grill would be in this situation. They think it was a faulty connection line to the propane or a leak in one of the lines. 

Comment Fix

I have heard the comments section is not working. I was suspicious that only Rachel would tell me her real thoughts on the last post.

 Try this. If it works make a comment. If not...suffer in silence.

When you click Post Comment and it takes you to the Google login page, uncheck the box that says “stay logged in” (or something to that effect) right under the password entry box. 

From my point of view...

Last week, a group of about 14 ladies and me went to see Bridesmaids at The Event Cinema for Chicks at the Flicks. This movie is absolutely hilarious. You must see it. It is not just a Chick Flick and it is not just a girls answer to Hangover. It is so much more. I would go again to see it if you need a plus one! The movie stars Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. This is important because I was told about 5 times after the movie that Maya Rudolph and I could be twins. I don't think that is a bad thing but I just don't see it. At All.  Now, to be fair, some comments were made about mannerisms and acting alike but it is still a bit of a stretch, but if 5 people say it, maybe it is true? I IMDB'd her and found out she was born in Gainesville, Fl which is near my neck of the woods. Who knows maybe she is my long lost rich and famous and funny relative? Jackpot!

I just don't see it???(okay maybe in these pics a little) If you do/don't comment below!

Before the movie we hit The Dip, inside the Good God Social Club. They did a great banquet meal for us including more apps than we could eat, mains and dessert for $28. You can barely get a coffee and a nibble for that in Sydney! Service was great, food was great, American style fancy bar food, pulled pork sandwiches, awesome nachos, crazy good double fry fries, salsa, corn on the cob, slaw, beans, and this cookies and creme carmely ice cream thing. The Chevy Chase pitcher of adult lemonade could have held my attention all evening.

Ace in the Hole or Stupid Stupid Mermaids!

He won't let us get near his face so there is a bit of
"chockit" on the right and chin

It turns out a baby with a bloody lip is the ace in the hole that trumps all other patients waiting at the only medical practice within 15km that is still open at 1:30pm on a Sunday on a holiday weekend.

We were getting ready to leave the very boring and very small so glad I did not pay $50 for my family to get in Manly Aquarium when the boys insisted on going upstairs where the Mermaid Show had just ended. Apparently, the mermaids like to party and were splashing around wildly as the floor was wet and slick, which we realized too late. (I will not get into how much I hate hate hate centurions, anyway) CH slipped and bumped his bottom but was no worse for the wear. Not a minute later CM slipped, fell forward and caught the corner of a wooden bench with his mouth and cheek. Blood blood and more blood cam rushing out. He was screaming, I was terrified and panicked, he fell right in front of me, I saw the whole thing happen but I could do nothing to stop it.  Plus I could not get the bleeding under control to even see where it was coming from. Some nice ladies kept handing me wipes and offering medical advice in very broken English that I could not hear over the screaming. Something about sticking toilet paper to it, I think, then they had me convinced a piece of lettuce on the ground was a tooth, not really helping me and my panic. One other lady walked by and said "holy sh*****t... can we help?" Once we saw the cut we thought stitches and were off to the car, in the rain, up 1000 slick steps, to hit the nearest hospital. Then like magic, the fountain of hemoglobin turned off. I called our Dr., they were closing and they recommend The Warringah Mall Medical Center.

We walked in and I thought Sh&^, we are going to be here until dinner. There were probably 50 people waiting, there were broken bones, black eyes, and all kinds of crazy. I had barely put my credit card away when we were told to follow/sprint behind the Dr. to the back. Even when CH broke his arm we were not back that quick. So, I said we followed the Dr back, I could not be 100% certain this man was indeed a Dr., he could have just as easily have been the curmudgeonly host/owner at your local favorite restaurant, that you put up with just because the food is so good. Same deal, we put up with him because he was the only man outside a hospital ER that had access to purple facial superglue on a Sunday afternoon. When we asked about after care, like if he could get it wet, should we use a triple antibiotic, clean it, etc? He replied..."hmm..??? maybe just no hot tea." "What? No hot tea? How will my two and a half year old wake up and start his day without a cuppa Earl Grey? This is madness, Dr.!"

He is doing great today. A little swollen and bruised, and a little grouchier at times than usual, yelling at a group of pretty ladies on the crowded monorail to not hold "his handle" and telling me to not sit on "his seat."(debatable whether we can blame the ouchy for his grouchy).

This little incident made me realize I need to toughen up and get my shiz together. I am the Mom of two very active boys and I let a fountain of blood paralyze me. I am kidding myself if I think that is the worst I am going to see, I pray it is. I pray for their safety continuously. But, I need to be prepared. A friend took a class that told her to take Saran Wrap everywhere, that would have totally not helped at all, but a little knowledge would have.

4 In Hand

The proverb is: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Meaning be grateful for a small real advantage, rather than the possibility of a greater yet uncertain one. Apparently, this phrase came about from medieval falconry, meaning better to have the falcon the predator, than the two birds he was gunning for in the bush. So I figure having 4 in Hand must really be a good thing. And boy is it evah!

I hesitated and I waited so long to go here because I thought it was an over hyped pub. Well, it is a pub on one side but it also features fine fuss-free dining adjoining but very separate from the pub. M says this is his favorite restaurant in Sydney. He picks it over est. What? Full stop. What just happened? Now I loved it, I will go back and soon, but let's not get crazy, the two are so very different it's like comparing Uggs to Hunters. Their both great when the occasion calls but one is certainly not the other. Besides, one of us could barely dine at est. for what we spent at 4 in Hand.

Not to brag, but we had great service AGAIN. What is going on in the universe? I am convinced it is because I wore my brown boots with black leggings, which is very very Sydney-siderish of me, so now I wear them every time I go out! Literally. Every time. Having people be nice to you is just too wondrous to leave to chance by not wearing my lucky boots. Our waitress was helpful, attentive, knowledgable, she recommended a great inexpensive French wine and you could tell she really enjoyed her job and that helped us enjoy the restaurant.



So you can't live on service alone. But you could on their bread and butter, oh so soft in the middle with a crunchy crust and delicious fresh butter. They serve an amuse bouche which was a soup in a cute teacup that was outstanding, no idea what kind of soup, just know it was great! We had the scallops with bone marrow. To die for. I have always been scared of marrow, not sure why, maybe because it is the inside of a bone? But on fancy thick toast, I say bring on the bones baby. For our main we had the suckling pig shoulder, served on a cutting board, to share. OMG, out of this world. It could have fed 3 maybe 4 people(unheard of to have a large portion in Sydney) and every bite was delicious, including the crackling. I never got the whole pork crackling thing, people here are wild about it and they go on and on about it on all the food shows. I thought, no biggie, it is in essence a fancy pork rind or chicharrones? Right? Wrong. I get it now. After eating it. I get it now. I am converted. I am sold. It was crispy fatty piggy heaven. If you think we could not have possibly had room for dessert, you underestimate us/me! M said "no way I am way too full for dessert," but I paced myself as I can not leave a good dessert alone and I had stalked out my choice before I set foot in the restaurant. I ordered the deconstructed Snickers and M ate at least half despite his protests, it was so decadent and so good. So, after 8 years of marriage and 10 years together, the fact he said no way and made a big fuss about being full and still ate half did not even phase me, it was expected, kind of like how you know which side of the bed your going to sleep on no matter the bed. It did in fact register interest in the table next to us, where the lady called him out! That opened up the conversation and we chatted it up and found that her customer is one of M's customers, what a small world. Then the table next to them starting chatting with us. It was truly shocking. I think that was the largest number of Australians that have ever acknowledged and spoken to me at one time. I loved it. I owe it all to my brown boot black legging combo and the brilliant 4 in Hand.

You may not recognize me with my blond "hairdid" and my skinny legs, but I tell you brown boots and leggings can make anything possible! Do not doubt the power!
DO! NOT! DOUBT! THE! POWA! 

Green Chartreuse

Isn't Green Chartreuse tautolgy (add tautolgy to the list of things I just learnt of, e.g of tautology, very unique, PIN Number, joint cooperation, etc)? Nope, it is not tautology it is in fact an incredibly delicious alcohol that I just had for the first time at Low 302 in Surry Hills. In the past I would say, "I discovered great this blah blah blah." But after being called Christopher Columbus, I have dropped that phraseology.

Low 302 describes itself as: A comfortable, cozy and welcoming Cocktail Bar & Restaurant. (Atmospheric comfort by means of soft lounges, low lights, entertaining music and fresh food in combination with excellent drinks & cocktails). I agree with all of the above! We had great service here. Really. Great. Service. I know, I know, it sounds far fetched to have all of this great service in Sydney but it is true...don't call it a comeback! 


We had a cocktail that I am still thinking/fantasizing about and a liquor that I had to look up straight away! Green Chartreuse. The drink is the Vodka Thing: it is like a mojito, no rum, vodka instead, sparkling wine and dry ginger instead of club soda and Green Chartreuse. I wish I had the words to describe how light and refreshing and special this made the cocktail and exactly how it changed the drink. I think I may need to have it again, just for research sake! What the experts on the web say: Proprietary potent classic French high proof multi-herbal monastic liqueur of the green variety. Only three Carthusian monks know the formula of 130 herbs and flowers for the 110 proof Chartreuse at any given time. It is still produced today (now in Voiron) on monastery property as it has been since 1764. It was spawned by the more concentrated and intense Elixir Vegetal, and has itself since spawned a yellow variety (in 1838). Called for in many cocktails, notably the Widow's Kiss. 


I will say, in the light of a 5:30 pm first cocktail it looks like it could use a little loofah on the furnishings, but that is being very very nit picky. Oh, and they charged me $24 for a dirty martini that was not so good. They justified the cost saying it was 2 shots. OK. Whatevah! Nonetheless, I do not have the patience to try and duplicate their precise cocktail engineering work so I will be back very soon for that thing, that thing...that Vodka Thing. 

Not tuna lunch on my picnic rug...

This is not a food blog, by reading this blog you may think I only troll Sydney for the best in playground life, but occasionally I break free from picnic lunches and go out on the town. My table will be for two or maybe more but never ever does my booking include a request for highchairs. More obsessed than I am with finding the best playgrounds, I am obsessed with food(and drinky). I am discovering I am REALLY really obsessed with good food, I am always looking for an excellent restaurant, cool cafe, dive bar, fancy bar, family restaurant to fine dining, authentic ethnic food and everything in between. I have considered spinning off a food blog but I have limited babysitter time and painfully slow metabolism so it would be terribly sparse as a stand alone blog! So, if your like me, you have to fit your eating fantasy life into your regular life this could be the place for you!

I have been to some really great places lately but have gotten so behind on sharing!

I will start with Bodega in Surry Hills. I REALLY love this place despite all the reasons I should hate it including: it is tapas which I find so Y2K and generally overpriced, it takes no bookings and is crazy cramped, one of our four had to sit on a small stool with his back on the next diner. But against all odds I am in love. We went on a Saturday night with another couple, we got there a shade past 6 right when they open the doors for the lucky first seating, we were seated immediately! Had our cab been a few seconds slower we would have been eating with the 8:30 crowd. Which would have been fine for the local bar but maybe not so good for us the next day. So, the food is so incredibly delicious. Table favorites were Sashimi Kingfish Fingers, Steamed buns(the crowd went wild for these little jewels) and the Corn Tamale. We could have all lived without the Chorizo. We had great but pricey wine and really really great service. I am dying to go back, but with so many great places in Sydney to try I will have to live on the memory alone.

More livin'

We will go to any park or playground, anywhere, any place, anytime. What draws us in time and time again is a guarantee of a wide open space, possible play equipment and the knowledge that the use of our favorite voice the "outside voice" will always be permitted. This is an area where recreating a WWF scene with your brother or best mate or just met mate is welcome, where screaming is ok, where dirt is good, where quiet and clean are bad, this is our safe place.


So, after enjoying the fruits of 100 years of Australia at Centennial Park we decided we would be remiss by not checking out what 200 years could look like at Bicentennial Park and Blackwattle Bay Park on Glebe foreshore. The playground at Bicentennial Park is so great. It is fenced and has heaps of equipment that you don't see everywhere, like diggers, crazy bridges, roller slides, boats and some moving bench that seem to be very dangerous as kid after kid toppled off in a flourish. You can walk the foreshore forever. Eventually running into another playground with a relic from the 80's a merry go round. You won't see one of the jewels on an overly sanitized you have no grounds to sue me all the equipment here is plastic and perfect American playground This one looked like you needed a tetanus shot to jump on. And of course my kids could have gone all day, lucky for them I brought my port a tetanus kit so it was no problem. If you make it off the MGR without a trip to the ER then you can keep walking and enjoy some very special waterfront architecture and eventually the Blackwattle Cafe. This place was packed, I would think bookings would be essential, also essential, being with kids who were not as we call it, "past the point of no return." If you have to ask what the point of no return is, well, you have never been there and explaining this dark scary roller coaster place would be fruitless. If "the point of no return" peaks your interest then we are always looking for sitters. 


As a side note, 200 years was apparently really something to get excited about as there are more than 3 Bicentennial Parks in Greater Sydney. To be fair, once you see where their convict ancestors were left to "give it a go" making it at all is quite an accomplishment. 

If you were thinking he is thinking of all the ways he can say, "I love you," you don't have toddlers! 

I would buy ten of these and change the family room to a sandpit if they would love them as much as they did at the park.

Ahhh...his smile melts me!

Sydney is so full of beautiful spaces

The Harbor Bridge looks so little tucked under the Anzac at this angle. What a sight, a luxury yacht, The Anzac Bridge and the Harbor Bridge.

Even doggies can get in on the action at their own doggie beach

JOY!

You thought I was exaggerating about the tetanus thing, huh? Now your thinking where can I get  one of those port a tetanus kits?

Get busy livin'

There is so much to see in Sydney and admittedly I have been in a routine rut, you know the kind where you do the same thing all the time because it is easy and sometimes you are just too tired/lazy/apathetic to make a big adventure out of every weekend. This rut and it's drawbacks were drilled into my head this weekend when we visited Centennial Park...for the first time in 9 months of living here...how LAME are we?!? Well no more! It is time to get busy livin' and not waste another minute of life down unda! I maybe too busy to blog...naaah...how will I know it happened if I don't blog it?


So...Centennial Park! What a treasure! Seriously, The "Central Park" of Sydney and I just made it here. Again, Lame! Lame LAME OF ME! You could spend all day here or all weekend although I suspect they would frown upon you sleeping here. There is so much to see and do, we ran the FLAT grand circle a couple of times, you could take a pony ride, rent a bike, rent a crazy 4 person bike where two people do the peddling and the little ones kickback in the front basket(so when you tire of pushing their combined 75lbs in the jogger you can change torture methods), play cricket, BBQ, fish, take your dog on an off leash bush walk, play on the multiple playgrounds! I could go on all day, about the things that are available to do! It was great! Crazy Bikes and Ponies are up for our next visits! And I am adding this to my tourists must see list!

So, obviously not my pictures, they are way too good to be mine, a picture from their website, but we did see their cousins, the duck family parading around and we saw horses jumping, ponies trotting, doggies swimming and all of nature frolicking! 

•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•