Who needs a pasta drying rack?

It is really dreadful living with someone who loves to cook and who is also a perfectionist. For years now Will has been making pasta. And just getting better and better at it. Seriously yummy - you haven't eaten pasta until you've had some so fresh that it takes only 2 minutes to cook. Amazing stuff! (He is his own harshest critique and if it doesn't turn out just right apologises as if he is forcing us to eat poo for dinner or something! Of course, his idea of pasta-failure is our idea of Yum. Even poorly made handmade pasta is better than the dried packet variety).

All this perfect pasta does have it downsides though. We went to Buon Ricordo a few weeks ago on one of our date nights and I ordered their signature fettuccine dish - recommended by none other than Tetsuya. It was pretty yummy, the overall flavour of the dish not bad but not blow me down gob smackingly delish like I expected. The actual fettuccine was, well, rather like store bought stuff from a packet. I've been spoilt.

Will always gets the boys involved in the process and so luckily for them they'll grow up taking for granted this fine culinary skill. Though Hugo sometimes decides that being a pasta rack is over rated - look at his face in the second photo! I had to make a quick rescue of the pasta before he dropped it a moment after this photo - his arms got too tired.

this moment

In the tradition of Soulemama, here's this weeks moment. No words, just a moment from our week that we'd like to remember...

Space + Little Lego = Dexter's Heaven

I enjoyed a special one on one day on Wednesday with my firstborn. Isn't it wonderful to have that time with one child and be all theirs? We didn't do anything extraordinary. A very chilly wet wander through the park, visit to the toy shop (not to buy anything, purely to look at Lego), sushi for lunch, stopping off at the library on the way home.

Dex talked non stop about space stuff. More specifically Space Lego. No, he calls it Little Lego - just to be sure we're not talking about that toddler Duplo stuff. He has been carrying around a Lego instruction booklet (for his space shuttle) for weeks, goes to bed with it under his pillow - where only his most precious things go. For a few weeks now he's been talking endlessly, ENDLESSLY, about how he built his space shuttle all by himself and the space centre that he hopes to acquire one day in the not too distant future.

He lay down in the toy store and studied boxes of Lego for 40 minutes (the fire station got a look in but at least 35 mins of that time was spent gazing at the space centre)! After such close studying of the pictures on the box he told me he has already decided the order in which he will assemble the parts, explaining carefully how he will stop after each part to play with it before starting on the next. Poor kid, we're not ones for going out and buying every toy our children obsess after but it's hard not to think of an excuse to get him this - his 6th birthday seems so far away! In the past few weeks we've watched, again, his DVD's Hubble - 15 Years Of Discovery and Spaceflight. Computer time is usually spent playing games and watching short video's on NASA kids. And of course, he can not get enough of the space section at the Powerhouse Museum, which we visit often.

Yesterday we made another visit to the Powerhouse museum, because really how could we stay away from the place after a day spent talking obsessively about space themed little Lego and the evening spent looking at his chosen library books which were of course all about space! Dexter wore his astronaut suit as usual. I was sure I blogged about one visit we made to the museum last year when Dexter was aghast at having a staff member say he must be Buzz Lightyear when he was of course actually pretending to be Buzz Aldrin of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission! But for the life of me I can not find the post. Oh well. He has had the suit since his 3rd birthday and it has seen a lot of wearing, so much that I've had to in fact make repairs to it several times.

We took my 4 yr. old nephew with us, who had never been to the PHM. Boy oh boy was Dexter overjoyed. He was so excited to show and explain everything to his cousin, I think the poor kid was overwhelmed!

Life size model of the Shuttle's nose.

Life size replica of one of the rooms inside the International Space Station.

And lastly - the Zero Gravity Simulator, in which we met another homeschooling family visiting Sydney from Canberra*! How about that?

*Because obviously they're not getting their museum fix in our nations capitol!

this moment

In the tradition of soulemama, here's this weeks moment. No words, just a moment from our week that we'd like to remember...

Bike wanderings - where our wheels take us!

Welcome to our first Bike Wanderings post. I reckon we'll make this a once weekly thing. We get around by bike whenever possible. It's far too much fun. The kids love it and I love it even more. I want to share the cycling love - because it fills me up so big some days that I'm near bursting point! Time we started celebrating how awesome a part of our lives this ole cycling thing is. So, where did our wheels take us today?

Being silly with timer-shots

Is it possible that I have fallen in love with cycling EVEN MORE? I had forgotten how wonderful cycling in this city is during winter. It's a few years since I regularly did so and as I only got back on my bike in a serious way last November at the beginning of summer, it has come as a bit of a surprise as to just how pleasant it is to be out and about in this cold weather.

We got off to a couple of false starts with me grossly underestimating the wind chill factor - which for two little boys who are not peddling is high! I've overcome it now by dressing them like it's 10 degrees colder than it is.

The kids may look a bit ridiculous with their skiing headbands beneath their helmets (don't worry, Hugo can usually see - he was being a wally the other day when I snapped the above), mittens/gloves, thick puffy jackets and hoodies and for Hugo woolly ugg boots (yes, they're slippers and yes, I let him, NO - I encourage him to wear them at all times especially when we're out on the bike 'cause those things are toastie)...and guess what? They aren't complaining of the cold anymore!

Thanks Granny Kim - these are being well used and loved!

Since getting the appropriate clothing down we've been Xtracycling more than ever. Not only are we continuing to travel to our home-school activities and run errands/shopping by bike but we're actually heading out on the bike for the simple pleasure and adventure of going out on the bike.

Hugo had his first turn in the big boy position at the park today. Impressed he was!

He liked the 'driver's seat' even better.

How totally awesome is my kickback stand? Bike is completely stable when Hugo climbs on and off (insisting to do so without help of course). I don't need so much as a hand on the bike unless we're parked on a very uneven or sloped surface.

Today after music class (and lunch with our music buddies at the cafe across the road) the boys and I spent several hours meandering home via playgrounds and parks. No real plan, just following our noses - or wheels as may be the case! After a couple of playground and park visits we rode our usual route towards home through the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh.

We were invited inside an old 1940's Red Rattler train carriage there after the kids stuck their noses against a window trying to see inside. We'd passed by it before and all assumed it was empty, simply an artefact to be looked at but low and behold someone came out from inside and asked us in. It's an office inside, with half a dozen folk sitting at their desks working. Who knew?!

We then rode right inside one of the old carriage works buildings and saw the Blacksmiths workshop. The kids loved it. So did I in fact. There were people working there! Using the old machinery, sculptor's, artists and hobbyists. Too cool. What a great space to get your hands dirty. Of course we had to stay behind the safety fence but it was cool watching others making use of what was for a long time an abandoned warehouse.

Ahhh Sunday

What a gorgeous Sunday we've had. Crispy clear blue skies and blindingly bright sunshine. Good food, friends, cycling. What more does one need? It started with Will's amazing scrumptious omelettes.

Followed by very harmonious playtime between our boys and our friends children who we baby-sat for a couple of hours.

Then jumped on the bike to show our support for the recently completed Bourke Street cycleway at the WOOP rolling festival. The kids were given free hooter's (bike bells) and enjoyed choosing some bits and pieces to decorate their bikes curtesy of Cycle Chic Kids. Dexter tried out his new cycling gloves, Hugo danced to the live music, we bumped into friends,

watched Nick from Cheeky Transport - our awesome local bike shop - demonstrate the Xtracycle Blender and drank the delicious peddle powered fruit frappes.

Rode slowly home while the kids and I attempted very poorly to sing Do Re Me, in harmony, Sound Of Music style.

And then upon our return, with the kids distracted by Daddy's deck painting, I made this in a moment of pure genius. Ginger Beer Creaming Soda. With Serendipity's Peanut Butter Disaster ice cream. Might sound weird but Yum doesn't begin to describe it really. I didn't share it. I slunk away to a far corner of the house and drank it all by myself. Mmmm.

Monkey Business

Hugo and I took an afternoon stroll to the pet store today to grab some cat food for Frankie. (Mmm, I'm not sure Frankie has ever featured here in blog-land now I think about it. Poor pets, they really get out-ranked when kidlets come along don't they)?!

Anyway. Hugo wanted to bring Monkey. Monkey has been a big part of Hugo's life for a long while now but he was originally bought for Dexter, at 7 months of age, when we were visiting New York back in 2006. Monkey goes in Hugo's doll sized Ergo, is pushed around the house in the doll's stroller, tucked beside him in his car seat or toddler seat on the back of my bike and of course snuggled with in bed. He joins us for meals out and often our daily trips to Campos for a sip of Baby Cino or hot chocolate.

There's not really a story to accompany these photos. We just went to buy cat food and I snapped Hugo and his buddy Monkey along the way. Enjoying the one on one time with my youngest - not a baby anymore *sniff* - child and the wonderful cold, clear afternoon. He chatted the whole time, non stop. Which is perfectly Hugo, he does not shut up this boy!

Monkey was treated to a repetitive game of 'accidental' dropping and I was treated to a delightful 3 yr old cracking himself up over and over again.

He did his usual 'I'm asleep and snoring' routine at the front door upon our return home, something the kids have been doing without fail for months and months now.

I am loving Recently Turned Three. This is the best age isn't it? This kid is pure cuteness times one hundred and fifty percent.