Lollipop Playland and dad

Monday:

Today I took the kids to Lollipop Playland, the indoor playground next to the airport. It has a teacup ride:

And a big slide:

And climbing thingies:

And a couple of ball pits (this one is actually in the toddler area, there is also a bigger one):

Apart from one early incident where another boy was too rough with Aiden, they played happily together for more than two hours. I read and played with my iPhone and watched the planes take off and land outside the window. The play equipment looked really fun and I was kind of wishing I could join in, which would also be great exercise. Then as we were leaving I saw the big board of rules at the entrance and it mentioned that adults are welcome on the equipment! Maybe next time.

We had lunch at the foodcourt there before we went in. Aiden had Subway, Jasmine and I had roast chicken and hot chips (I only had about eight chips). I was still pretty hungry so I went into the supermarket and bought a banana! I was pretty proud of myself. We also got fruit as snacks for the kids to have when they needed a break from having fun, and I brought along a big bottle of water from home. When we came out of Lollipop Playland, the kids with the lollipop they give at the exit, I was really craving something... anything bad! I wavered quite a bit but then decided I would have something semi-bad at home instead of giving in and having something really bad at the shops. When we got home I had some Cruskits with vegemite and cheese. Not exactly healthy, but at least it wasn't all bad and had some protein from the cheese. And it satisfied my craving for crunch and salt.

Shortly after we got home, dad's girlfriend Wendy called. She is a very nice lady, but I find her very difficult to talk to. She talks round and round the subject and repeats herself (so many times!) and can't answer a straight question. It can be hard not to get impatient when I really want some information from her (of course I try very hard to be nice! and I think I always succeed). Today she called to say she had finally received dad's Death Certificate with his cause of death (determined by the coroner). She is sending it to my Uncle Greg, who is the executor of dad's Will, so I think I'll have to wait until then to get the full story, but what I did learn was that there was both heart disease and throat cancer. He'd had heart problems for years, and a double bypass long ago, but cancer had never been diagnosed. He did have a bad cough for a couple of months before he died, but that was put down to a chest infection. He wasn't a smoker, but I suppose you can get cancer anywhere. So that is both my parents dying of cancer.

The last couple of months, as you may have read here, money has been sprinting out of our bank account for various home repairs and minor improvements. And now I think we need a new fridge and a new car! The first two times the fridge shelves broke I was able to buy replacements. The third time, they said the model was too old and they didn't make parts any more. So we've had only two shelves in an already small fridge for a long time now. We didn't want to replace the fridge because we've been thinking about moving house for several years, and were hoping for a bigger kitchen with space for a bigger fridge. But now our fridge has turned into a giant freezer, presumably something wrong with the thermostat. Things that shouldn't be frozen are getting ruined. It's time to replace it, even if we are maybe moving soon. Who knows, we've been saying that for about five years now! Can't put essential things off forever.

The car is 13 years old and starting to feel her age. Needing repairs more often, being less reliable. It's a much bigger expense than a fridge, but at least it's not something that matters whether we move soon or not! We don't buy new, at least in the past we've always gone for a car a couple of years old. It's just a hassle researching and test driving. We've been very happy with this car.

What I really want is a new house!

Report card:
Diet: Good. Resisted lots of bad stuff while we were out.
          Breakfast: Two poached eggs. Orange. Tea.
          Lunch: Small quarter chicken in lemon sauce. Eight hot chips. Banana. Tea.
          Afternoon: Cruskits with vegemite and cheese. Tea.
          Dinner: Two trimmed lamb loin chops. Broccoli in cheese sauce. Salad. Hot chocolate.
Exercise: Poor.
Water: Good.
Sleep: Good. Kept the CPAP on until 6am then went back to sleep for another hour and a half. Best sleep for weeks.
Mental health: A bit down about dad, but otherwise ok.