Aussie! oi! oi! oi!

this one ...., to the books!
on the 16th of March 2017, we are finally citizens of Australia. A country that never occurred in my dream. I have never dreamt of working or staying abroad. Thought I would stay through in Pinas and be the Karen that I want my life to be. But GOD had bigger , bolder plans for me. Actually, all my life I tread through the waves of Ups and Downs keeping God in the center , always trusting him.

Oh, next in line --- PASSPORTS!
Cheyenne's school camp coincides with the oath taking ceremony and missed this event.  However, since she is a minor, Chuck accepted the certificate on her behalf.

and just like that, Autumn.

the weather is playing up , wet weekends , cold and hot that sometimes planning for it is a challenge.

BUT, i don't let it stop me from getting out with my kids amidst the fact that I can't drive and Chuck in most Saturdays are not available. Simple, do it on Sundays! Therefore, Saturdays for grocery shopping which I could do on my own and planning for the week's meal. Blah Blah Blah , the story of my weekends will never be OVER. Add to that the ironing and the playing with Kylene and the cleaning a messy place because , toddler. But, I don't mind how messy our place is----it actually is good that Kylene explores stuffs, and keep her interest with toys than gadgets.  Although , the bad mom in me would sometimes hope she stays a bit longer on ipad so that there is peace and quiet home on weekends, I tend to succeed sometimes and that is why, if I am lucky I could stay 3 hours in the kitchen.  Like last weekend. I have prepared 3 kinds of food, and marinated the chicken for Chuck's pack lunch. I love how productive  I was!

So, Sunday when it was supposed to be cold came very HOT HOT HOT even in Bilpin! It is the part in NSW where I was expecting it to be cooler.

and we were picking fresh apples supporting the local farmers and listening intently to their instructions when it comes to picking the fruits. Sadly though, a few comer ignored it and just did whatever they wanted in the farm not putting into consideration the hardwork of the owners. It annoys me . I like visiting farms and be one with the hands of the food I eat and I feel it when they are not respected at all!

That is supposed to be easy to follow. When a row has a 'Check' , then that is good to harvest. Even my 3-year old can follow that!

here's my happy folks! My sis, amidst her " busy" social life joined us today!
To tell you frankly, I am happy when her social life is active!

all i want is a Happy Life.
Amidst the odds, the uncertainties and the anything that comes in Between. (  how gorg my mom is, her lipstick is always on point)

in the yellow fields  of  Bilpin Spring Orchard.

i believe is the worst summer

2017 marks the worst summer ever! How worse? Never a week passes by without a temp that goes as high as 40 degrees! It is mercury rising! Like last weekend was awful. We insisted to visit the Blue Mountains, skipped the Echo Point ( popular among tourists and is accessible) and visited the vintage Leura village. I am charmed by its beauty and OMG! the weather up there in the mountains was absolutely cool. The town actually reminded me of Bowral ( Southern Highlands).

It is about an hour drive from our place which is not bad actually. Had lunch and just relaxed in this slow-paced region of NSW. Hubby told me he is getting old now that he actually appreciates less crowded places. I bet we both are.  Peace , quiet and nothing touristy. I don't even want to get into the hassle of queuing for this popular restaurant.  I couldn't be bothered! There are heaps to explore.

A few second after the car is parked is this lovely mural worth a photo. My mom too obligated to take this seriously.

even this restaurant we randomly stopped by at the corner of the village has its unique charm. My eyes were too quick to pick it up this 3d mural in the walls!

and this shop that the kids took seriously. Told me this should have been the first we visited! We spent $11, that was the budget.

and before heading home, we went to the sublime point look-out that is rarely visited until trip advisor got it published , thankfully!

and finally, the cheekiness of Kylene stands out!so adorbs though.

Roots.

I have ended this year with turmoil and despair of an incident that provoked me to act in full on emotion.  I remembered how the same surge of emotion happened to me 5 years ago while I was in Singapore.

I really wanted to fix my eyes on the culmination of the beautiful 2016 and the the promise of 2017 but I am glad the incident happened for it opened my eyes to basically my ROOTS.  How I was raised and that no matter where  you are in this world----it is not fine to see injustices happening in front of you and not doing anything about it. I have my non-negotiables.  I have done my share in this issue and I have considered this CLOSED. And I know the kind of people I should associate with----i cannot spend more time to this kind. NO, NEVER for you'll never know when they are going to bite back with the mindset they have, whoah! I have never been too critical on a friend like  this.

So----2017!!! We are going to be more passionate of what we believe in. We will be more GENEROUS, we are going to show more examples of KINDNESS,  JUSTICE and our world has no place for SELFISH bitches!


Anyway------------pause from all the nega emo here.  Focus on what matters.  Christmas and New Year that was.  Importantly,  F A M I L Y.

I didn't get a break from work, it feels like I was partying and yet working harder. At least I didn't get to deal with headaches from too much alcohol.  I was very sober! But I couldn't' wait to be in vacay mode again ( i want it soon please!!!)

Here' s to celebrating LIFE to the LIVED Choosing to be always GRATEFUL and  HAPPY no matter what!

That chaos after the gifts were opened! 

May the new year be filled with more memries', more blessings to enjoy and share with!

#BaquialSaletreroChristmas2016

Sorry, I can't get enough of our family photos. Where all of us are COMPLETE! Rarely happens!

PANADOL- FREE, finally!

So, for 10 days after her surgery, we were in pain killers.  Panadol plus Oxynorm ( the stronger version of it).  This surgery is something we didn't plan this year but willingly took on because of her very erratic sleeping patterns. She is snoring loudly and keeps on tossing and turning at night , finding the right position to go back to sleep. It breaks my heart. And couldn't wait to put an end of her suffering.

And there you go, we did her adenotonsillectomy and turbinate reduction on the 17th November with so much anxiety in my heart. I was very much concerned of her recovery, I was imagining it to be a painful process but fortunately, the worst didn't happen. She took her medicines ( pain killers and antibiotic) and eat normally.  She is my little champ! Amazing girl she is.

The fasting requirements.
She was scheduled at 11 am on Thursday, 17th of November.   She is required to do 7-hour fasting and only allowed to drink water until 9.  Totally no intake 2 hours before her surgery. We woke her up at 4 and let her last 200ml of milk before the surgery , she slept through till 9am and gave her last doze of water. And next is heaps of entertainment strategy to keep her busy. Calling God that she doesn't get hungry in the next few hours before the operation.  We did lots of singing that day, puzzles and play!

So here we are checked in at 11 but the surgery didn't start until midday.  This girl, she has no idea what she will have to go through. At almost 12, she is beginning to feel hungry and at 12.40, we were inside the operating theater and Dr. Lim put her to sleep.

My little girl after crying frantic in the recovery room. I gave her lots of cuddles and she calmed down. She is very groggy at this stage and she already had her first ice pops to keep the throat from drying up.

Here we are inside the ward and she still continues to ask for ice pops and egg surprise! She had two huge vomits after this as her reaction from anesthetics.  The nurses in Norwest Hospital are very helpful of a worried mum like me.  One nurse had to educate me on the preference of Panadol over Nurofen post surgery because it is blood thinning effect. I am glad we have chosen this hospital where we stayed for  a night but I didn't sleep at all. How can I? I was anxious she will cry out for pain and I can't look at her that way. I guess I was expecting the worse for her and thank God, He made our journey manageable.

The day after the surgery. She was very hungry, she was looking for rice and I gave her some corn flakes! Rice is not staple in Australia, unfortunately.  I told her to wait till we arrived home.

While her wounds are still swelling, her voice got distorted which is kinda funny to hear for a while. She is totally healed now. No sleep apnea, she still is a light sleeper but I think she is getting the sufficient number of hours of sleep now. More rested, healthier and better!


Here's a throwback pre-surgery and her singing career at home. Click the link!
Kylene@3 Sings Let It Go

Call that a Spring-ender 2016

When you are itching to go out of your home, so you pick a place out of random.

That is what I like of Australia get-away, anywhere is an adventure. You just keep your eyes in awe of anything new and your heart that of a child!

We had this get -away planned 2 months ago for mama's birthday, I knew we wanted somewhere near as this is only an overnight trip so I don't want us to spend most time in the road. And so, this place , Nord's Wharf that I haven't heard before. All I know that it is part of Central Coast , short drive to the beach, lake front and you can do kayaking.

We certainly love this #airbnb find! A short drive to Caves Beach and Catho Beach ( which is not as dashing as the Southern beach anyway) but it is beautiful on it's own. Huge waves for the surfers and Kylene loved chasing it! Our trips are kids- dominated even our restaurant choices, much needed just because Kylene is too anxious to stay put. How is she so active? There she is wanting to do the kayak so, I tried to push the boat to keep it sailing, but she is not impressed!

When I was little, i remembered burying papa in the sand keeping his head visible. And I keep on jumping over the waves!

Cheyenne and dada early Sunday morning kayak. She is very stoked of this experience and how she has become here in Australia. She is more adventurous and definitely more scars on her legs from the bruises she gets from new found love in sports and anything adventure! I am so happy of her transformation by the way! Sky is the limit for this girl!

                                                 Mama is enjoying her experience too!

                                                          always the "tres marias"

                     This is how our cottage looked like. Sunset that I will never get tired of.

That huge waves at Caves Beach! Kylene were never afraid of it! I am.

Day 2---because Kylene demanded for it, we were back to the ocean, yes she calls it Ocean , not beach and technically , she is right! This is the closest from our accommodation, the Catherine Bay Hall Beach or Cathos Beach as the local would say. There she is ready to seize the day!

and there is me.
in the same "pata legs" who cares?

Thank you for the spirit of adventure.
Thank you for the money and health to afford it.
Thank you for family.
Thank you for this beautiful EARTH I promise to take care of it. I am one with Leonardo de Caprio on this one.  Watch while it's free >>>>  Before the Flood Movie

i love days like this-----

when you speak to me like your Friend.
I treasure it with all my Heart!
this is the scene this morning when I asked her 'what do you want for Christmas' and she doesn't know the answer.

And this message from the school Principal came. How timely and appropriate. How relevant this message is of today's happenings!