A Rule to Live By

I really need to get on here and blog more than I do. These days, it's hard to find the balance between writing, scrapbooking and being otherwise creative -- all while being a full-time mom to Makela, a part-time fundraiser with Angel Faces AND a volunteer regional officer for Delta Gamma. Whew! I'm busy, but it IS fun.

So in the interest of keeping it (relatively) short and sweet, here's a funny story from last Friday (Feb. 27th). We were walking back to the car at Nobel Park, after having great fun on the tire swing. Makela took off her fleece and started pretending to be a bumblebee, with the sleeve as her "stinger." She was buzzing and then started pretending to sting me, saying "STING! STING! STING!" Every time she did this, I would say "Ow!" It didn't take long for Makela to lose herself to the giggles.

When we got to the parking lot, Makela automatically reached up to hold my hand (my training is paying off!). She let out another "STING!" with her left hand and "stung" me, which of course resulted in my immediate response of "Ow!"

Without even pausing, Makela looked up at me and stated in a voice of complete reason and deadpan humor: "Mommy, NEVER hold on to a bumblebee's hand."

I Could Hang Here!

While much of the news from our latest Disney trip will have to wait for another blog entry, I can't possibly forget to write this little tidbit down.

We had just finished riding the Soaring Over California ride at California Adventure today -- the first time we'd ridden it, since the last time we'd been there, Makela was slightly too short to ride it (and anything else w/ a minimum height requirement of 40"). Makela absolutely loved it and couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was the whole way out -- and she immediately asked to ride it again. As she kept babbling, she said something that sounded like a quote from "Madagascar," which she received on DVD at Christmas.

So Daddy said, "Makela, did you just say 'This place is cracka-lackin!'?"

To which she replied, without missing a beat, "Yes. I could hang here. I could hang here!"

She sounded just like Chris Rock's character from the movie, Marty the Zebra. Same inflections and everything. It was hysterical.

Left to Right

Another funny conversation with Makela the other day. It went something like this.

Makela: "Mommy, we write from left to right. Why?"
Me: "Because the language we speak and write in is English, and English is written from left to right."
Makela: "But why?"
Me: "Well, some languages are written in different directions, but English is just written left to right. It's just a rule. It's been around since the language was invented a long, LONG time ago."
Makela: "Really? Before I was born?"

Questions Coming Fast & Furious

Makela has been on a roll this week. Here are some of this week's doozies:

*Why do humans have bodies?
*Why do butterflies have wings?
*Why do humans have legs?
*What happens if humans DON'T have legs?

Question of the Day

Today's question is a thought-provoking one. Over dinner, Makela asked me this:

"Why do dogs not have eyebrows?"

Hmmmmm....I'll have to get back to you on that one, kiddo.

Boys are My Favorite

Makela said two funny things pretty early on today. First, we were waiting for a bus at Bondi Junction, when one pulled up nearby. Although it wasn't the bus we wanted, Makela said, "Oh -- it's a boy today. My favorite!" As in the driver. She's been noting whether a man or woman ("boy" or "girl" in her lingo) is the driver, the checkout clerk, etc. Sometimes she's asked why it's a boy or a girl this time. But this is the first time she's indicated that boys are her favorite.

"Hmmmmmm..." I thought to myself. So I asked her, "Makela, why are boys your favorite?" To which she replied, "Because I like the way they look."

Okay. Fair enough. At least we can probably rule out her being a lesbian at this point. Not that it would matter, but she seems to have indicated her preference early on in life.

The other funny thing that Makela asked is what I'd call today's "Question of the Day." We were at lunch, and we were discussing her potential Halloween costume. She's indicated Tigger until today, when she said she'd like to be a koala instead. She made the mental leap from koalas to kangaroos, and asked, "Why do kangaroos bounce all around?"

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Now on to today's adventures. We decided to visit one of our favorite spots -- Bondi Beach. We took the City Rail to Bondi Junction, then a bus from there to the beach. Makela just loves riding public transit -- it must be the sheer novelty of it all for a SoCal girl.

It was a cool day all around, but it was really windy by the water. The sand was blasting off the beach, so we steered clear, walking on the path closer to the street and across the parking lot from the actual beach path. Still, we did find a great playground next to the Bondi Beach Pavilion -- and Makela had a blast. That is, until she ripped open her scab from a boo-boo she earned earlier this week. It started bleeding pretty badly, although it wasn't nearly as awful as it first looked.

I grabbed the only towel I had brought, just in case Makela decided to wander into the water (thank you, Westin Sydney). Meanwhile, Joe went to look for some paper towels, ice, and/or band-aids. A few minutes later, I see him returning with none other than a member of the Bondi Beach Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club -- a professional lifeguard.
Turns out his name was Adriel, and he was a cutie -- and you'd think Makela would have appreciated it more, given her earlier comment about boys. However, she was in full meltdown mode and was flipping out about having her scrape washed out with antiseptic and then putting on a band-aid. ARGH. Adriel was just laughing, telling us that he'd been the same way when he was little. After Makela finally acquiesced, we went on our way again, snapping pictures of the gorgeous Bondi views and scenery.

Then we went for lunch at Nick's, right in the pavilion. I had the special -- grilled kangaroo over a pumpkin ricotta lasagna, and it was DELICIOUS. Joe had the king prawns and knew to order the cocktail sauce on the side this time (he'd ordered the same at our hotel earlier in the week, only to learn that cocktail sauce means some kind of Thousand Island-like dressing poured over the top -- NOT our American version of ketchup spiced up with horseradish). Makela was delighted with her fish & chips and her "lemonade" -- aka, Sprite. And her kids meal came with ice cream for dessert, which was a special treat for her.

The last part of our visit to Bondi was rather quick, since the clouds had rolled in while we were at lunch and the wind had picked up even more. But we walked south along Campbell Parade, the street fronting the ocean, and ducked into a couple of stores. One of them is a touristy sort of spot, called Between the Flags, but their products are good quality and partial proceeds go to support the surf life saving clubs throughout Australia. We were able to shop a bit, since they had a mini sandbox right in the store, which Makela did not want to leave. I just love stores like this -- nothing like having to drag your kid out after you're done shopping!

After we got back to our hotel, Joe took some time for himself, while Makela and I ventured down to the pool. Joe took her a few times earlier this week, and they'd both told me how complicated it was to find, given its location within an urban healthy club. But honestly -- you'd think a major hotel would NOT want to actually HIDE its pool! So here's how to get there from our room (I'm writing this down just for the sheer ridiculousness of finding it):

Take the elevator down to the 3rd floor.
Walk through the glass doors and across the "bridge" into the old wing of the hotel, located in Sydney's heritage building General Post Office, or GPO.
Meander through the old wing until you go through another set of double doors -- these are equipped with an electronic eye to let you through on this side (hotel key card required on return trip).
Take the stairs down one level, where you actually find the front entrance of the health club.
Sign in at the front desk before you do anything else.
Walk past the desk and take ANOTHER flight of stairs up one level.
Walk through the big open workout room (looks like they probably hold classes here).
Go through yet ANOTHER set of glass doors.
Make an immediate left and go through another glass door.
Take one last stinking flight of stairs up to where you finally find yourself at the pool -- all two lanes and 25 yards of it.

And did I mention it's not even heated??? *sigh*

Anyway, Makela doesn't care, and it's not really a big deal. But it IS kind of comical, especially since every trip that Joe and I have taken to the pool has included an encounter with other hotel guests wondering why they weren't given a map and a compass to find said pool....

Flying Foxes, Finger Wharf & Fishy Eats

Today was Joe's first day off from work, and since Makela and I had done touristy things all week long, we took the day to relax and stay low-key. After breakfast (Makela had two of them -- one with Daddy, then later with me), we walked over to the Royal Botanical Gardens and just meandered around, enjoying the gorgeous weather and surroundings. We really didn't have an agenda, so Makela took the opportunity to mug with some of the statues and to play pretend games (we stopped at one point to play "shopkeeper," one of her favorites where she sells us items from her store).

We stopped for a cold drink at the restaurant in the center of the gardens and looked up to find THOUSANDS of "flying foxes" in the trees above us. Translated from Aussie, that means bats! Big ones. And many were even flying around, looking for a nice branch from which to hang. So much for bats only being nocturnal creatures! Actually, it was pretty interesting, although a bit later we walked underneath some shorter trees filled with more bats, and let me tell you -- it smelled like guano! At least I'm attributing the pungent odor to that....

It was also fun to see all the spring flowers in bloom, given that it's fall back in San Diego. Tulips, cherry blossoms, azaleas -- you name it.

We made our way across the Botanical Gardens into an area of Sydney called Woolloomooloo. It used to be really run-down and seedy, but it's been undergoing a 20-year revitalization, and now it's home to an upscale hotel, harbourview condos, and trendy restaurants -- mostly on the "Finger Wharf." In fact, apparently Russell Crowe calls this home, as the owner of a penthouse condo on said wharf. We decided to eat there, having had several recommendations to try a seafood restaurant called Manta (and knowing that we wouldn't be dining there in the evenings with an exhausted preschooler in tow). It was good, but not the be-all, end-all that Joe and I had built up in our minds. Frankly, it was more pretentious than it needed to be. The hostess (Marie -- she sounded French) fell in love with Makela, calling her "the princess" and making sure she had two pillows on her chair to help her reach the table properly. However, our waiter was clearly annoyed with having to serve us -- the only family in the restaurant during what appeared to be a frenetic business lunch hour. If anyone is interested, their web site is http://www.mantarestaurant.com.au/.

After lunch, we made our way back to the Westin. I left Makela and Joe to venture down to the indoor pool, while I went out shopping. I ended up just looking, but it was nice just to be kid-free for a few hours.

Later, we tucked Makela in bed around 6:45, and again, Joe sent me out for a nice dinner. At least nicer than the Pizza Hut I had last night. We're taking turns going out on our own -- last night, Joe had what he called a "fantastic meal" at an Italian restaurant called Machiavelli. Yes, we could hire a babysitting service to watch Makela. But call us old-fashioned or maybe just plain old overprotective, but we just don't want to leave her with a stranger.

Anyway, I ate at Sushi Tei, which Joe had tried for lunch earlier this week. It's a chain throughout southeast Asia, and this is their first location in Australia. It was fresh, the menu was vast, and the prices were unbeatable. I was feeling a little adventurous, so I tried my first eel roll. I've never wanted to try it until now, and it was delicious.

So now I'm back in our room, and Joe and Makela are both sound asleep. I should probably join them, so good night for now!