mildura day 1

At the risk of me losing my mind I have decided to post 'Mildura' in stages.  I don't think I could cope with another bX-kzyqj6!

We travelled miles and miles of these beautiful roads.

We left for Mildura to be with our friends early on Saturday morning. The forecast was for 39C!! It's a 6 1/2 - 7 hour drive there so we were well stocked with food, DVD's on the new player - thanks to Momo and Booboo and the smart new car for a luxurious journey.

A quick stop for muffins, fabulous bread stick and toasties at the famously good bakery in Malmsbury - oh what a pretty and historic town (we won't talk about the little prison there though).

We arrived into Mildura on Halloween afternoon and everyone settled in very quickly. The big boys, the little boys, the big girls and the little ones too. We have shared such an extraordinary journey to our children, particularly the girls. 

Although Halloween tends not to be celebrated in Mildura Tigs was super excited about it having been to the most wonderful Halloween party last year which really set the benchmark high.  So we couldn't let it slide and Robyn had prepared with bags of her favourite sweeties which we hid around the front garden.  As you can see in the distance the house is surrounded by acres and acres of vineyards which are stunningly beautiful but not really Halloween friendly as neighbours are not exactly next door!

Happy lads with pails full of loot. 

They were so sweet and tipped out their pails onto the bed and sorted the lollies out even-Stevens!  It set the scene for the most wonderful long weekend of friendship and camaraderie between these two chin-gu's (Korean for friends!).

bX-kzyqj6 or in other words b@**#y blogger

I know it's better to not say anything if you can only think of unpleasant things to say. 

But ... Blogger you are a royal pain in the deriere and I'm extremely cross with you. 

Thank you very much (more, much more, than a hint of sarcasm applied, read that through gritted teeth) for letting me stay up until midnight, writing the blog post to end all and then ... nothing, and then, even worse: 

Blogger apologises but we cannot upload your post.  Please quote bX-kzyqj6 if you would like to talk to support or to discuss it on the forum.  Click here to chat with others who have received the bX-kzyqj6 error.

I dread to think what the fellow bX-kzyqj6-ers have to say but something tells me that they are not all sharing cyber cookies and tea now, are they?

So, I will not be defeated.  I will forget about cleaning, ironing, cooking or caring for children (okay I'll still do that) but today I will get the 'post to end all' up.  Really it's just a lot of photos and I think therein lies the problem.  But it will be up today friends and family - particularly Mummy and Tena who read my nonsence regularly and although Tena hasn't asked for an updated post Ma has!

Thank you for listening.  Transmission ended - oh but I can't go with out something nice to say.

  These were growing wild on the Murray River.  Just beautiful.

Calm breaths now, iiiiiin and ooooout!  That's better.

very special

A very special baby is about to make a very special couple become a very special family.

Last weekend a group gathered to celebrate the imminent arrival of Baby J.

Robert Gordon Lanterns

here

This precious baby boy holds a very special place in the hearts of all who attended the extremely elegant and impossibly delicious "Ladies Afternoon Tea" at our friend Rose's lovely house. 

In truth this was a fabulously decadent baby shower.  But in the world of intercountry adoption one finds it hard to believe that the angel-baby-wonder-child that has been allocated to you will ever really materialise.  There are so many - too many - unknowns, variables and twists of fate that leave us slightly in doubt that our beloved children will ever make it into our arms. 

Although I loathe the comparisons of adoption to pregnancy  I do think that once you have successfully adopted a child most (but never all) of the pain of the journey and the constant fear that it will all go 'wrong' disipates as does the pain of labour (so I'm told) so that from my perspective at least, Baby J is definitely coming home - SOON.  Kim on the other hand is still in the the last agonising and thrilling moments of labour!

Baby J's Mummy and Daddy have endured more than most to become his parents. Changes to the Korean intercountry adoption program, that ultimately led us to Taiwan, meant that Kim & Mick waited a torturously long 4+ years to hear the news they have waited so long for.  As the huge changes were drip-fed to a desperate group of hopeful applicants to the Korean program I knew that for us we would have to dance across the world to find our baby.  I remember though, with crystal clarity, Kim saying, "Not going to Korea for our baby is NOT an option for me".  I have to say that her conviction, determination, strength, grit, patience and optimism is way beyond admirable.  I couldn't have coped, just couldn't.  I'm not sure how she managed but I have a strong sense that Baby J holds the answer.

Just look at the happy smile of this expectant Mummy.  Holding the brilliantly illustrated Charley Harper baby board books.  One of the many lovely presents given to the wee man. 

I had hoped (as had Kim & Mick, I'm sure) that the call would have come this week summonsing them to Korea to hold their baby boy for the first time and forever but alas we they wait on ...

So in the meantime please feast your eyes on the most magnificent food prepared by Kim's friends Rose and Angela.  Angela works in the food and catering industry, and it showed.  The attention to detail was flawless and the taste of it all, oh, how I would love you to have tasted the weeny strawberry and blueberry topped citrus tartlets. 

Aren't these pretty?  And I figured out just how you make them with some careful examination and savouring.  Seems to me that you don't ruin the paper case by cooking in it.  Which is what I did for Woo's birthday!  The caterers trick is to bake a sponge and cookie-cutter it to just the right diameter before dropping it into the case and icing it with scrumptious butter icing.  Clever hey?

Bubbles

Pick-me-up, anyone?  Tiramisu.

Oh these are the tartlets I was talking about.  Tart and sweet in just the right proportions!

And the sweetest baby bootie to take home. 

Off to bed now to dream of those tartlets and a Happy Ever After for Kim, Mick and Sweet Baby J.  But first I have to pack.  We're off for a few days to our dear friends in Mildura.  I may post from there, Robyn's a blogger too so she won't be offended if I hop on the 'puter.

Toodles!

Apologies if there are typos it's late and there is no spellcheck in this updated blogpost thingo.

my boys

Seeing them working together makes me feel content and happy.

I love that Tiggy is so focused on trying to be every bit as quick as his Daddy. Competitive or aspirational? Both I think. Either way it's just him, and I love him and his Daddy to bits.

let's go walking

amble

ramble

jaunt

march

stroll

traipse

saunter

safely back to Tiggy's care!

Anyway you look at it my baby is bipedal!

Is she still a baby? Not really, sniff, she's a toddler now isn't she? Oh, I'm so happy and proud of her but that's it, the baby has left the building

Note: This happened while we were in the bush, 3/10/09 to be exact.

Just slack in reporting it, typical for the second child though, poor love.

caramel baby & child

Tuesday's are often our 'drift-along' or 'pyjama' days. They make Tiggy, Woo and me happy. I cherish them because I know that as of next year these days will become less frequent.

We cook, we clean, we papier-mache, we draw, we craft, we LEGO, we hide-&-seek. We live very much in the moment.

Now with Woo in bed and Tiggy busying himself I found a 'moment' and stumbled upon a shop that made me positively purr.

And this 'smocked frock' is on sale. I really, really love it in the pink, the black dot, the pink, the black dot. I give in. They're both adorable.

my mummy made it

Look what my clever Mummy made for Woo. It's just lovely and the knitting is flawless. I on the other hand, know my limitations and in previous attempts everything has ended up looking like a string bag!



This lovely cardigan has been worn and worn and Woo's only had it for a week or so. The colour is that perfect shade of dusty pink that works well with almost anything. It's in cotton (yes Ma?), the perfect trans-seasonal weight and I have no idea what the pattern is (Ma?). Let's test her tech-saviness and see if she can provide the answers in a message down below!

Thanks Mummy, Woo and I love it.