just testing...

let me know what you think of my brand new signature

picture this....

Woman comes home & lets dog in the house, but although the front screen door is closed it is not locked & the dog somehow instictively knows this & seizes this opportunity to make a run for it. Right out the front door and door the road, on the hunt for only he knows what. The woman is right behind him calling his name, yelling STOP, BAH, SIT, STAY & anything else that she thinks may momentarily distract him from his goal, long enough to just get a hold of his collar. Behind the running woman & the disobedient dog is a crying, screaming 3 year old & inside the house is a 4 month old who has been unceremoniously dumped on the couch (probably should have been the floor).

The woman thinks she is in luck on 2 seperate occasions when someone stops to pat the dog, but to her amazement neither of them take hold of the dogs collar despite the obvious chase that is ongoing. Halfway down the road the woman starts to think about the impact of just letting the dog run without being chased *would he just stop & come home on his own* *if he didnt come home would his real family mind too much* *surely they havent grown attached to him in 5 years*, but no she decides to continue despite the image in the back of her mind of the 2 screaming children.

So across roads, down the street & around the corner the chase continues until they reach a small "park" where the woman decides to change her tack & pretends to have a "treat" for the dog (hey, it works when she wants the 3 year old on her side).

Finally the dog heads towards the woman & she is able to take hold of his collar. From that moment on the treat is forgotten and the dog is lead home by his collar. Every now & then he decides to rebel and get away but there is no way that the woman is letting him get away now. They are almost home & she can hear the children still crying just around the corner when the clip on the collar gives in, this is the last straw, she picks up the dog & carries him the rest of the way, glad that he was put on a diet recently.

Once they get home the dog is sent out into the back yard & the woman then turns her attention to recovering. She is unable to talk when her mother calls & needs to strip off her t-shirt & lay on her bed with the ceiling fan on full blast to try & cool down & get her breath back. Water, she needs water!!!

Awww, but I cant stay mad at little Jetty Boy.


ps: incase there was any doubt.... a maternity bra is NOT appropriate attire for running

i can just feel the excitement, can't you?

This is the closest that either Poppy or Lolly got to cracking a smile when the firetruck came to visit us at Playgroup. Neither of them were very impressed!!!

we love him as if he were our own

Yesterday we took in a temporarily homeless Beagle. Jetty is his name & tracking down food is his game. He is my sister, Kristie's dog and we are looking after him for a little bit while they go on holiday, personally I wish I was going on holiday instead of having Jet but he really is the next best thing.

Olivia is just beside herself with excitement everytime he walks into the room (i hope she gets over that soon) & has already mastered "BAH" to tell him off. But hasnt quite figured out when to say it, she says it when he is snuffling through the dirty clothes on the floor in the laundry but happily stood by & watched him eat the wafer sticks in a container in the lounge room without saying a word. Maybe she was just in awe of his bravado cause she never thought to just take one without asking......

We do love you Jet. But dont expect to see Amy for the next couple of weeks.

oh my poor baby

Xander had his 4 month immunisations yesterday & I am blaming this event for his mood this afternoon & his runny nose. After a great day with friends, he woke up from his afternoon sleep & was beside himself everytime I put him down. He worked himself up so much that he was able to produce his first ever big fat tear. Being the loving, doting mother that I am, do i pick him up to comfort my 2nd born.... oh no, I run for the camera to record this historic moment.

For these things I am thankful

• being surrounded by great family & friends all year round
• 2 fantastic, loving & lovable children
• a husband who I adore, cherish & love
• a home that we feel safe & secure in
• being able to spend the first years of my childrens lives with them, without interruption
• the freedom to live my life as I choose
• being able to try my hand at a crockembouche and being slightly proud of the result
• my first ever thanksgiving dinner
• Nana's pumpkin pie

I can feel Christmas coming

So this year we made our own advent calendar, now I cant wait for 1st Dec.

how time flies when you are having fun

I cant believe that Xander is 3 months old. Its feels like the little man has always been a part of our lives. Whatever did we do without his giggles and unconditional love...

& then there were 6

Introducing (L to R) Darcy & Noah, Olivia & Xander, Huon & Sascha.



I met 2 great women at mothers group some 3 years ago who at the time each had 1 great child the same age as Olivia. Maddie & Melissa have since become great friends of mine.

3 years on & we have each had our second child within 6 months of each other. Whenever I think about this too much it blows my mind (doesnt take much I know), but what are the chances of meeting 2 fantastic women at the same time who then go on to have children at the same time as me a second time round.

I know a lot has happened in that 3 years & it hasnt always been easy but I know that these 6 children will go on to be great friends & enjoy the comfort & effortless friendship of people that have known each other, effectively, since birth.

Heres to great friends, the ones we have as children & the ones we have as adults!

the lollipop fairy went a visiting

But I have no idea who was responsible, her disguise looks too good!!!

A Public Apology

Last night Neil was away at a seminar and my sister Kristie invited myself & my 2 sometimes trying children over for dinner so that I wouldnt go crazy by myself. Well it worked & I appreciated the company of family & the fantastic meal. However, it wasnt till during the night after Olivia had woken me up & I couldnt get back to sleep, that I realised what a terrible dinner guest myself & my children had been, these are just a few of the reasons why:

1. I brought potentially day old cake for dessert.

2. I walked in, proceeded to play with kids & read magazines without offering to help right till dinner was almost ready.

3. My child was the one that didnt eat her dinner & caused a scene at the table.

4. I never cleared away my dinner dishes or that of my childs.

5. I never offered to do the dishes or clean a single item of crockery.

6. I made my sister change my childs nappy & get him in his pyjamas.

7. I brought the plague into their house (sorry Ewan).

8. I used all their medication & I dont remember putting the themometor back in the cupboard.

For all these things (& for anything that I cant remember) I am sorry. But I love you & thanks.

and the winner is.....

This is what lazy sundays are for.................. arm wrestling?!?!?!

Surprisingly Neil was no match for the super human strength of a 3 year old

when good times go bad

Today was shaping up to be a great day, we had someone coming to fix our heater (just in time for the nice weather) so we had nothing else planned. Olivia stayed in her bed all night so, as promised, we made playdough, we even fancied it up with a bit of glitter.



We took our lunch outside for a picnic on the lawn to enjoy the nice day and then we stayed outside and played with out freshly made playdough. We opened up the sand pit and threw/kicked the ball around. It was great just to enjoy the effortless company of a contented 3 year old.

It was when we came inside to feed the little man that things turned ugly, I was feeding Xander after setting Olivia up in the same room with her beads. She was finished playing and wouldn't listen to me when I asked her to leave them for me to pack up. Of course they went flying everywhere!!!! Being the sensitive child that she is Olivia's first reaction was to drop to the ground & cry, but on the way down she hit her head on the wood of the rocking chair which of course made the situation worse. After placing Xander on the floor, giving Olivia a cuddle and finding the egg already forming on her head I ran to get a cold pack (aka frozen corn wrapped in a tea towel), only then did I grab the camera to record a terrible end to a fantastic day.

It sure is the best job in the world!!!

our royal show experience in pictures

well mainly pics of Olivia & completely out of order of actual events....

I think I need to learn how to use photobucket....

its different when its your child

I used to laugh at Rowan & Callum when i would see them engrossed & often fighting over a Toy World catalogue. Well today I busted my own child reading a Toys R Us catalogue at the kitchen table & at that moment I was grateful that she was quite content to look at all the branded merchandise (paying particular attention to Dora) without feeling the need to actually own any of it.

out with the old & in with the new

This week we finally got new carpet, YIPPEE!! We have lived in the house for 2 years now & atleast once a month Neil tells me how much he hates the carpet & wants to replace it. Although we still dont know if we are going to bulldose the house in a couple of years, the carpet is worth it just to stop groundhog day for me.

1 roll of the old carpet out the front of our house ready for Neil's mum to use as the base of her no-dig garden bed:



ahhh fresh new carpet, there are few things better in a house (new oven is higher on the list for me, I'll be sure to blog about it when/if that ever happens). This is our lounge (Kristie, can you see a bubble?):

So, whats the first thing you need to do on new carpet?? Carpet angels of course!! This is the carpet in the bedrooms:

Hoping out of bed to feed my little man at 2am has never been nicer.....

it was a B-E-A-U-tiful morning

it was such a nice morning that it would have been a shame to spend it inside, so we took to the back yard and played around with the camera...

I have come to 1 conclusion from today..... my babies are growing up WAY too fast!!!

its true...... we had a boy......

On 6th August 2009 we welcomed little Alexander into our family. He weighted 8lbs 8oz and was 54.5 cms long.

We ALL love him including Olivia. Their first kiss:

she does have other clothes, I promise

I was talking to my sister Kristie the other day & happened to mention that the dancing photo in my previous blog was taken last month, she said "thats OK, shes wearing the same top". So I thought it was just luck but then I realised that my last 3 posts with photos of Olivia in them have her in exactly the same shirt (& by pure dumb luck its the same as she is wearing today). Thinking about this I believe it is because, although she does have other shirts, she is growing so fast that I dont buy too many clothes of any particular size, so the clothes she does have are washed regularly & are in high rotation.

She is 3 and is currently wearing size 7 shirts & size 5 jeans, it blows my mind (for those without kids a general rule of thumb is that age should match clothing size or there abouts). Now I reaslise that I do need to roll up the jeans & shirts a little bit but less & less each day which makes me increasingly sad that my baby is growing up.

So here is proof that there are other clothes in her closet:

this photo was taken when her cousins came over to play & i encouraged them all to climb in a tree, Olivia went up & promptly came back down landing in the bushes (hence the scratches). Once they left we came inside & all Olivia wanted to do was lie on the couch watching Horton Hears a Who, where she fell asleep. I was a little worried about concussion but it was also around the time when we were having difficulty getting her to sleep so I was more relieved to be able to pick her up & put her straight into bed.

What else is there to do on a rainy day?

This past week saw us house bound with a couple of rainy days. I dont mind because we need the rain and it means that we have no reason to get out of our pyjamas.

These are just a couple of things (besides the TV) that we found to entertain ourselves:

Dancing....

Painting...

Beading...

ummm, drawing...

even though she sleeps I do redeem myself

we have good days and bad but every night when Olivia sleeps I tuck her in and whisper in her ear that I love her. This quite often follows the frustration that is post-bedtime. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, its the "get back to bed before I smack your bottom" repeated over & over again until her little body gives up and she falls asleep exhausted and defeated.

Some nights it lasts longer than others but each night I feel bad for losing my temper because she is only doing what a 3 year old should. But we do love her & we tell her every day as well as her subconscience every night.

I can only imagine that when this new little one arrives my temper will be shorter but I will continue to redeem myself by whispering in her ear that I love her every night.

donkey or a horse or something else?????

Its alright, I want you to tell me honestly...

I cant believe she is 3

After a rough start to the day (somebody needs to tell her that the terrible 2's are over, believe me I've tried), she finished it off as every 3 year old should, with pizza, cake, presents & lots of love & attention.

Happy birthday my baby, I love you more than you will ever know.

oh & apparently being 3 makes you allergic to pistachio nuts........