Hmmmm?

Amelia's favourite thing at the moment are her beloved keys. Well, she's always loved keys and has to have a set with her everywhere she she goes. We usually just give her an old set, but she always seems to lose them so we are slowly running out. But the other day she found this tiny little set in the car that are from a little travellers pad lock for your suitcase, and they have been her favourite! They are only tiny but she always has them with her, she even has to take them to bed. I don't know what it is with them, but she is very cute when she has her little "teys"!

She also has this other funny habit. She hates it when I respond to her with "Mmmm or Hmmm". She always says "Not say mmmmm, Mummy! Talk to me!" And she is always very polite when she wants my attention, saying "Estuse me Mummy!" But of course, if I don't answer her right away or if I say "Mmmmm", she gets very upset and starts yelling "Stuse me, MUMMY!" with a very whiny, loud frustrated voice. It was quite funny!

washing powder....

We have had a bit of a sick house for the past week. Last week Annabel kept complaining that she had sore tummy and felt sick, but otherwise she seemed normal, she stilled played and ran around, but would just stop occasionally and grab her tummy. This went on for a few days so I kept an eye on her.

Then one night I was tucking her into bed I asked her how she was feeling and she said:
"A bit sick, but I'm okay Mum. I think it was just the washing powder I ate the other day."
Me: "What??!!" What did you eat????!!!"
Of course I panicked. Every cleaning product or household good has strong warning label "Keep out of reach of children" and a poisons information line to call in case it has been ingested.

Annabel just about fell out of bed with my sudden surge of panic. She thought she was in really big trouble so she was to scared to tell me anything. I managed to calm down though and I took her out to the laundry so she could show me what she had eaten and how much.
She told me that the other day she had tasted some that had fallen on the ground, thinking it was some sort of lollie. It was the day that Amelia had tried to do the washing for me and pulled a chair over to the bench top and started scooping out the powder. She is always wanting to help me! So then of course I felt terrible because I had not put the powder back in the cupboard away from little hands.

So then I called the poisons line and they were great. They basically said that she should be fine if she only ate a little bit and that if she hasn't been complaining of a burning mouth or throat she should be okay. Relief!

So we tucked her back into bed, and everything was fine, until 10 minutes later Annabel came running out and vomited all over the floor (hard floors though, thank goodness!). So it was then that I realised that she probably had a bit of a stomach bug as well, and that was probably more what was making her feel sick.

So all night and the next day I was up with her. She is quite a messy sick patient! I don't know how many times I had to mop the floors (even though she had a bucket next to her), and how many loads of washing I had to do that night but it was a lot! I was so scared that the rest of us were going to get it I over cleaned everything.

So that was an interesting week! Amelia managed to just get a bit of diarrhea, but not as bad as Annabel. So now we are all nearly back to good health, except now the girls both have runny noses and a cough, but I can handle that!

Today we are off to a birthday party for one of Annabel's little friends so the girls are very excited. I'll have pictures to post later today!

Annabel with my Grandparents

It seems that every time I go to write a blog something comes (usually something to do with the kids), and I never get arouund to writing anything. I hate falling behind with anything, and I feel like I have fallen way behind in my blogging. So now I have to try and wrap up a whole month in a few paragraphs (thats probably all the time I'll get!).

So I have been doing Creative Memories and I LOVE it! I have been having fun srapbooking and organizing parties and the like. Two Weeks ago I flew back to my Dad's with the girls to spend a week with the family, and while we were there I did 3 successful parties which was great! The girls had fun seeing all the family and being spoilt as usual.

We were down for Mother's Day which was also really nice seeing as though it was our first Mother's Day without Mum. We all went down the beach first thing in the morning on Mother's Day to look over the water and remember Mum. I was always like to just picture her realxing in the water as she always loved to do. We went down to the waters edge and Annabel threw a flower into the water. The wet sand was so pretty and it sparkled in the sun. Annabel looked at the sand and said "I think thats Margie making it sparkle Mum!". It was a nice morning, sad, but beautiful.

We then went back to Dad's and had a bbq lunch, a "sausage sizzle" as us Aussie's call it. Mum told us to always have a sausage sizzle for her, so it is a regualr occurance. It was a perfect Day.

The girls woke me up early in the morning that day. I could hear Annabel in the hall way talking to my Dad telling him "Grumpy, we have to let all the Mothers sleep in today, because its Mother's Day. Mummy is not allowed to get out of bed, she has to sleep in. And we have to make all the Mother's a card today!" She was very excited, so my sleep in only lasted 30 seconds. They both came bounding in and jumped into bed with me. Annabel said "Happy Mother's Day Mummy!" and she handed me my present which was some easter eggs she had gotten off my sister the day before. It was so cute! She was so excited and wanted me to eat them right then and there. Amelia just wanted to eat them herself! Which they both ended up doing about an hour later.

So Mother's Day was a nice day. Adam wasn't there though, but he made the most of the peace and quiet and did all the things that he cant always do when we're all around. He doesn't mind when I fly back home with the girls. He always makes the most of it.

Its been a while, once again, since I've updated. The last couple of weeks have been very busy. A few weeks ago I decided to take the plunge and get myself involved in some activities outside the home. So the first thing I did was join an orchestra! It is wonderful to be playing amongst other musicians again who enjoy what they do and are there simply for their love of music! It is called the Brisbane Concert Orchestra and we rehearse every Tuesday night for 2 hours. We have our first concert this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm just hoping that the girls will be well behaved and that Adam doesn't have to take them out because they are noisy.

The 2nd thing I did was I became a Creative Memories Consultant! I just love scrapbooking and anything to do with photos. Lately, I have been wanting to do 'some kind' of work but I dont want to be away from the kids much and I want to be able to work when I want, so this fits perfectly! So I have been busy learning and srapbooking and getting myself all geared up for my launch party, which is also this weekend. Its all very exciting and refreshing for me! I went to a workshop on the weekend and it was so much fun. Its great to get back into life again!

So all these new things has also shown me how slack I have become with my time management. It is pretty poor! So it has been another thing for me to work on as well!

So theres lots of new things going on and its all very exciting! I just need to stay motivated and get myself organised!

Amelia's favourite show at the moment is Playschool, she just loves it. Its on twice a day, and she will just sit there glued to the screen. Every time it starts she run and gets her favourite book and sits on the lounge waiting for the story time part of the show. She'll sit there turning her pages and mimicking the people on tv. It is so cute to watch! Then she'll be jumping up down singing all the songs. She seems to be learning so many different songs - none of which I've told taught her either!

She also loves to pray before dinner. She will sit there with her hands folded repeating everything Adam or I say. Annabel always pipes in with different prayer requests during prayer time. She always wants to pray for my Mum. She says "Mummy, we have to pray for Margie, and thank God for her". It is very sweet and brings tears to my eyes every time.

Annabel has had a lot of questions about heaven. Ever since Mum died she always asks me about heaven. Its usually at bed time that she thinks of these things. She wants to know why Mum didn't take certain things with her to heaven. She was very worried when she saw that I was wearing my Mum's ring, she just couldn't understand why Margie didn't want to take it with her. I told her that only Margie's spirit went to heaven, but then she asks me "well where is Margie's body, and eyes, and arms and legs?". That is a question I haven't quite answered yet. I just dont know how to, she's seems to little to me just yet to explain it all. And I dont really want to think about it much myself either. Kids are so innocent and honest. She still seems to think that heaven is a place you can just go to. She has already told me what she wants to take with her - her beloved stuffed puppy, her bed and pillow. But the first thing I tell her is that she doesn't have to worry about it, because she's not going to heaven until she is a really old lady!

It must be so hard for her to comprehend. It still is for me! But thankfully God gives you peace when you need it. That's the one thing I can honestly say that has gotten me through all this. God. When you lose someone so close to you so many things run through your mind, why, being the biggest. But God just kept telling me "Trust Me. That's all you have to do." And so I do. Its all in His hands.

On Friday I took Annabel to get her 4 year needles. I actually nearly forgot about it! For some reason I was thinking that it was 5 years and not 4. But thankfully my friends reminded and we also got a letter in the mail reminding me. So Friday morning we walked down to the doctors to have a "check up". I didn't tell Annabel exactly what she was going to have, but I did take an Easter egg along with us and told her that if she was really good during her "check up" she could eat the Easter egg.

So after arriving she became suspicious, she told me " I don't want to get a noodle like Margy, Mummy!", she always calls them noodles for some reason. She also remembers my Mum having to have a lot of them. I didn't tell her either way, I just reminded her of the reward afterwards.

So in the doctors surgery she was good. She sat on my lap very still. The doctor gave her her needle and she screamed! She cried out how much it hurt and how terrible it was. And then it was time for needle number 2 in the other arm. Boy did she carry on. But she didn't wriggle to much which I was thankful for, she just screamed and cried. Even when it was all over she was so upset she refused to take a jelly bean off the doctor. Amelia found it all very entertaining. She just sat there in her stroller staring, and was very pleased that she got a jelly bean without having to go through any trauma.

Annabel sulked for a little while after but was happy once she got her chocolate egg. I then told her she didn't have to have a needle for a long time. But then later that day I realised that a lot of people were getting the swine flu vaccine for their kids. So maybe it wont be the last.....

This past week the girls and I went down to my Dad's for 5 days to catch up with the family and so I could go to my friends wedding. Adam wasn't able to get any time off so it was just the girls and I. We flew down and it was so nice because this time Amelia had her own seat. I didn't really like the idea of paying for another seat but fortunately I found cheap tickets, and boy was it worth it! The girls were great! I didn't realise that it had been that long since I flew down last time. It has been like 8 months because the past 2 times we all drove down. So the flights went well and fast. A one hour flight sure is nice!

So once at my Dad's house we caught up with everyone. It was such a great trip down, I was busy everyday but I was still able to keep the girls in their normal routine. So everyday Amelia had her nap and they were both in bed at their usual bed time without much fussing. It was awesome! I just love routine and that feeling of being in control of my children (as most mothers do I am sure!).

So the first night my sister Jo and partner Steve came over and we ordered Indian. I just love Indian food! The girls were excited to see them, they had a play and ate, but it wasn't too long before they were bathed and in bed asleep. The following days everybody came over or I went to see them. I caught up with different friends which was lovely as I haven't seen many of my friends down there for ages. The wedding was an awesome time! I got to see all my friends from uni and it was great to catch up. It was a shame that Adam wasn't able to be there, but needless to say I still had a great time. My sister Jo baby sat the girls for me at my Dad's, so I had a night to myself which was lovely.

We had a bbq on the Sunday and on Monday I went shopping with my 2 other sisters, Kathy and Peta, and sister-in-law Richelle and niece Sarah. And of course little Hamish who is 9 months old and ever so cute! I was able to see all my friends from my mothers group on Tuesday and let the girls play with all their little friends that they hadn't seen in ages!

It was a great trip, I really enjoyed myself. It has been so long since I've had time to go and do things when I'm down there. And not only that, I was able to keep the girls in their normal routine. we had a few dramas, but nothing to bad. Amelia woke up vomiting one night but it must have been something she ate because she was fine after. But the strange thing was that she did the same thing 2 days later but in the morning. I don't know what it was, but I do know that sometimes when she coughs she seems to make herself sick. I'm not sure, but she seemed fine afterwards. It was gross, but she was fine.

So anyways, it was a great trip, much needed and refreshing! So now we are home and Annabel is at preschool and Amelia is taking a nap. So I think I will finish the housework an enjoy the lovely peace and quiet.

I think Amelia has been watching Finding Nemo way to much! Last night at 4am she was yelling out "my watch Nemo Mummy! Watch Nemo on the lounge Mummy!". She was yelling and crying out in desperation. She really wanted to get up and watch Nemo. What must have started out as a dream and talking in her sleep, turned into her waking herself and really wanting to get up and watch her favourite movie. Even though I didn't appreciate being woken up at 4am I had to laugh. I knew she loved Nemo, but I didn't realize that she wanted to get up through the night and watch it!

So I had to get up and go to her, and then of course she wanted milk as well, but I managed to coax back into going sleep. But what was the first thing she asked for this morning when she came toddling into our room, besides milk? To watch Nemo of course!

Bed shopping

Today we took the girls bed shopping. Fun! Well not really, but they weren't to terribly naughty, just at the end of the day when Annabel was tired and lost it. They had a good incentive though - MacDonald's, or as Annabel calls it "Old MacDonald's". I don't know what it is about MacDonald's but kids seem to love it. My kids seem to love the play ground the most. They hardly eat any of the food, the only thing they'll eat are the fries. And Annabel always requests a special Old MacDonalds water - just tap water in a cup with ice and a straw. She loves it! Its so funny, I never thought a kid could get so excited over water, but thats all she will drink, that or plain milk. So we journeyed around a few different stores lying on beds, pricing and so forth before we we went to MacDonald's. The girls continually tried to climb up all the bunk beds, Amelia was the worst, but the sales people didn't seem to mind, I am sure they are used to it!

So our aim is to get Amelia a bed. She is still sleeping in her cot (crib), so we really need to get her in a bed! We are thinking one with a trundle so that theres always an extra bed for any little friends that might stay over eventually. Hmmmm, we have one is mind so we'll see if that works.

So anyways, nearing the end of the day we decided to pop into Ikea (I love Ikea!), and check their beds out. Amelia had already fallen asleep in the stroller so that was good, and Annabel seemed to be ok until Adam wouldn't let her have one of those little pencil's ikea provides for you to write all your notes down. Normally we let her have one, but this time she marked a bit of furniture with one so Adam took it off her. Well, that was it! She lost it! She screamed and carried on. Mind you Ikea was packed and here was Annabel yelling and spluttering everywhere. Normally we give the "wait til we get home" threats, but this time she was not listening at all, so Adam had to drag her to the parents room and give her a smack on the bottom. It worked. She was calmer when she got back, and realized that Mum and Dad were serious. But it didn't last long. She started all over again when we wouldn't let her have an icecream. So to the car it was, this time we could clearly see that she was over tired so we chose to ignore her and get in the car as soon as possible. Meanwhile Amelia is still sleeping soundly. Thank goodness! So to the car we go, and not long after more arguing and crying Annabel was sound asleep.

So now we are home and the girls are watching TV. Amelia is watching her favourite movie, Finding Nemo for the 100th time. She loves that movie! I remember Annabel loving it just as much about a year ago. Its a wonder the DVD is still working! So its nice they are quiet. I think we'll try and get them to bed a little earlier tonight. I think I'll need to as well!

sound sleep

Last night was the best nights sleep I've had in a long time! Amelia didn't wake up once! I know it sounds ridiculous considering she is 2. She should have been sleeping through a long time ago. But with all the craziness over the last 7 months, we developed some bad habits as I have already mentioned. But now I am feeling back in control and ready to tackle anything.

I forgot to mention that Amelia also went backwards with her toilet training just before Christmas. But we are starting it all again, and she is picking it back up quite well. She is really proud of herself when she uses her potty, and I am actually remembering to remind her to go!

I'm also excited about getting back into my blogging. My scrap booking also needs some much needed attention and updating, so maybe that will be my project for today. Again, I love motivation!

On Tuesday all our visitors went home. It had been nearly 7 weeks that we had visitors staying with us so it feels kind of strange now that everybody has gone. We had such a great time with everyone, but we are happy being our own little family again. The last couple of days we have been working on getting the kids back into their routine, and I was actually surprised at how quickly they slipped back into it! They've been having their normal meals at the normal time, playing happily together and they have both been in bed and asleep by 7.30pm! I am stoked!

We've been trying to tackle Amelia's nightly milk cravings and it hasn't gone to bad. She woke up the first night wanting milk and I told her "no". She got upset but when I told her I was going to close her door if she didn't stop crying, she quickly rolled over and cuddled her blanket. She woke up a couple more times but didn't cry for long. She is starting to realise that now that everybody has gone, Im not going to give into her every little whim or wham through the night.
So its all going pretty well. She even took a nap today without arguing! YES! I am one happy Mummy! Annabel's at preschool today so I have a lovely quiet house. Nice.

I have also been busy sorting through the house and throwing out everything. I love throwing things out. I find it hard when I first start, but once I see how smooth and organised everything looks and feels, its a great feeling! I am also on a bit of a health kick. I am just craving healthy food and regular exercise. I feel as though the new year has just started for me and I want to get myself organised and into gear. We'll see how it goes.....

My independant husky little princess

Amelia isn't your typical little 2 year old girl with a cute squeaky voice. In fact she is quite the opposite! Mind you her voice is extremely cute but it is quite husky! She is hilarious! Her range of tones change quite often and she is very expressive. She loves being a monster, but at the same time she loves singing pretty songs. She is quite the chatacter. She has been thriving on all the attention she's been getting and is quite the performer.

She has also become very independant. She is constantly saying "My do it!" or "My help me!". It has gotten to the point where she wont let me dress her or even pick her clothes. She has to do it! But of course I dont let her. Well, sometimes I let her pick out her clothes, or at least give her a couple of options. And her attempts to dress herself, almost always end up in a frustrated tantrum as she cant work out why she cant walk properly with both legs in one leg hole of her shorts.

She has also decided that she doesn't need a nap anymore. And if she does, she needs gallons of milk to help her go to sleep! Its ridiculous! She will even wake up in the night several times and will refuse to go back to sleep unless I give her milk. What have I done! I have on my hands an independant husky little show off who is a milkaholic that refuses to sleep properly! But she is very cute and knows it! But I have to admit that my girls have not had a "normal" 6months or more. There has been so much going on and so much to deal with that it has been hard to get them back on track. I need a good month I think to get them properly sorted out. And now I am in a better frame of mind I can do it. It has been tough since Mum passed, but I am now ready to tackle this lack of routine and get some structure back into our lives! I love motivation!

Holidays....

Wow, what a busy month it has been! I have hardly had time to blog and I know that there is so much I need to catch up on! So I will try and start from the beginning....

Four weeks ago Andy arrived and and then 5 days later Amye and Tyler arrived. For a couple of days we all just hung out at our place, the kids loved all the attention they were getting from their new visitors and we were all getting exited about going away for the next 2 weeks.

2 days later Adam's parents arrived. We picked them up from the airport and headed straight up to Caloundra to the beach side apartments. It was stinking hot when we arrived, but by the time we got settled we were all ready to hit the beach and go swimming. Our friends Jody and Mark came up and stayed with us for 2 nights with their 2 little ones, Mia and Bella. It was great, the kids were all hyped up (not sure if that is great) and they had a blast. The following day we had a joint birthday party for Annabel and Amelia. It was so much fun! The weather was awful though, it rained all day so our beach side party had to be held in the apartment, but that was ok, the kids didn't care.

I was so excited getting ready for their party, I had ordered some Little Mermaid party settings because both my girls are mermaid obsessed! The guys had taken the girls out shopping in the morning so we could set up for the party. They were both so excited when they came back from shopping to see all the decorations.

They were both terribly spoilt! They got so many things from everyone else, that Adam and I needn't have got them anything! We had lunch and the cake, and then I had 2 very tired girls on my hands. I cant remember if they went to bed early or not, but I do know that Amelia has been sleeping terribly for far to long now and I so desperately need to get her back into some kind of routine, and help her with her terrible milk addiction.

The day after the party Andy's girlfriend Chung Yi, flew over to join us all. The girls just loved her as well and hung off her for most of the first day.

So the rest of our time in Caloundra we just hung out, went swimming, shopping, ate and ate some more. The others went on a couple of day trips, but I just stayed back with the girls. It was easier for me to have a quiet day with them once in awhile.

After a week in Caloundra we headed down to the Gold Coast for a week. It was so nice having so much holiday time. We stayed in Surfers Paradise, though not right on the beach, but only a 1 minute walk so that was fine. We ate and shopped again, and swam and went for big long walks on the beach. We treated ourselved to a manicure and pedicure while the guys watched the kids. It was lovely being pampered!

The kids were relatively good for the 2 weeks we were away. They were always very excited which led to them being pretty cranky some nights, but all in all it was a fun and relaxing get away.

We are all now back at our place, enjoying all the rain. I cant believe how much it has rained since everybody has been here! It usually never rains, and now we are having record rain falls! Its crazy! But I must admit I have been enjoying it since we've been home. Before everybody came the days were so hot and humid and the sun felt as though it was burning holes in my skin. So this cooler weather is a nice change, not mention that the grass needed a good water!

So we have been back for a week now, Andy and Chung Yi are already back in Beijing and back to work. The others are here for another week. We've all just been hanging out and relaxing. Today I think we are going out for lunch and are going to do some shopping. Then we will back here for dinner and no doubt a nice bottle of wine! Cheers!

So its raining! It is wonderful! After all the stinking hot humid days, we finally have some relief! Its funny though because usually rainy overcast weather is depressing, but not at the moment. But I am hoping that it is over by the weekend, because we are going away for 2 weeks! Adam's brother, Andy, arrived here on Saturday morning. It was so exciting! The girls just love their fun Uncle Andy! The day we arrived we decided to take him up into the city and do the usual thing up there. We went swimming at Southbank and then walked over into the city and then through the botanical gardens. It was a nice day, not to hot (although I still managed to get sun burnt even though I had many layers of sunscreen that were reapplied through out the day!), and there was a beautiful breeze.

We then walked over to kangaroo point where there is a great cliff face that stretches across for about 200 metres and is right on the river with picnic tables and grassy areas for the kids to play. It is the place to go climbing and is always filled with people. Adam and Andy took their climbing gear and headed up the rock face. Andy made it all the way up, but poor 'ol Adam was hurting a bit and couldn't quite make it. He is not as fit as he used to be! I like to say that he has settled into the family role and is enjoying the many different "comforts" that come with that. Exercising being at the bottom of the list. But needless to say they both had a great time, and the girls loved watching them. I was annoyed though, because yet again I didn't have my camera with me, so I couldn't take any photos. The girls both wanted to climb as well. Annabel put on Adam's climbing shoes and helmet and attempted to climb. She really wanted to climb to the top but changed her mind when she realized just how hard and scary it was being only 3 feet above the ground. All in all it was a good day!

Annabel is so desperate for it to be her birthday. Thankfully her is only 2 weeks after Amelia's, so the wait isn't too long for her. The morning of Amelia's birthday Annabel woke up early and proceeded to get all the balloons out of the cupboard and started blowing them up. She has just learned last week how to blow up a balloon and is now constantly wanting to have the house full of them! So once she had blown them all up she proceeded to stick them all on the wall with sticky tape. A fine decorator she is! She keeps asking me "Is my birthday starting now Mummy?". There were a few fights when Amelia got some gifts in the mail. Annabel couldn't understand why she couldn't play with them when she wanted. Oh dear! But not to worry, yesterday my sister sent them both a gift in the mail so I let Annabel open hers 2 weeks early, and she was very happy.

So along with blowing up balloons Annabel has also learned to whistle and hang up side down on the monkey bar with no hands! She is so excited, especially about the whole whistling thing. She had been practising for so long and finally mastered it a few weeks ago. I wonder what the next trick will be?

Today was SO stinking hot! But for some reason I didn't turn the AC on. I dont know why, but I have been reluctant to ever since we got solar panels on our roof. Adam, being the accountant and all, has been calculating all our savings and it is pretty exciting seeing how much we are saving on our energy bills. But at the same time it is pretty silly because now we are cutting back on things, like I only run the dishwasher after 8pm because its off peak and cheaper. Crazy stuff! But I am sure the novelty will wear off and I will succumb to comfort instead.

So today Annabel went to preschool, and I spent the day cleaning the house from top to bottom. Adam's brother Andy arrives here on Saturday which is very exciting! I haven't seen Andy since Annabel was 9 months old and he hasn't even met Amelia yet! So we are all really excited to see him and the rest of the family. In fact, Adam's parents are the only ones on Adam's side who have met Amelia. So it is going to be a great family holiday this year! We haven't ventured back to the US since Amelia was born, the trip seemed a little to daunting with 2 small children. But once our kids get older we will get back into it again. I'd love to take the girls over for a holiday and catch up with everyone there!

So the plan is to have a joint birthday party for the girls while everyone is here. I went online today and found the cutest Little Mermaid party stuff. My girls absolutely LOVE mermaids and Disney princesses, so I figured it would be the perfect theme especially since we are having the party at the beach. Earlier last year my Mum had made the girls a mermaid tail each, she was always sewing and making great things, so I am going to have the girls wear them. It will be really special and nice to know that Mum is apart of their birthdays.

It strange though, because Mum has been gone for 12 weeks now, and even though it has been awhile I still feel like she is going to come home. I guess it take awhile to sink in. Although I just try and be practical, and tell myself that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, so I just have to get on with it. And its true! But one thing I am grateful for is that she is not sick anymore, and I dont have to worry about her. I was always worried. I dont like worrying, so I am choosing not to, well, trying not to worry about things anyway! I am missing her though, so very much and it is hard to think that she isn't coming back, ever. But one day at a time. I mean who knows the world could end tomorrow, and Jesus Himself could be taking us all home. Too much thinking though, I wreckon!

So anyways, back to the birthday party. It should be a great day for the girls, I cant wait to see their faces! I cant wait to have everyone here, and relax and have a great time. A good holiday is definitely needed!

Happy 2nd Birthday Amelia!

Happy Birthday Meelie Moo! Yesterday was Amelia's 2nd Birthday, and also Australia Day (26/1). The lucky little munchkin will always have a public holiday on her birthday, and will never have to go to school or work! Its hard to believe that my baby is already 2, which means Annabel will be 4 in 2 weeks!!!!
So yesterday we decided to take the girls into the city to South Bank for a swim and to join in all the festivites going on. I was really bummed though because my camera's batteries were flat and I didn't get any photos while we were there. The girls had a great time though, swimming, eating, playing, and watching everything that was going on. There were so many people there, but not so many that you were overwhelmed, but enough to create a great atmosphere. Lots of families celebrating, and everyone was dressed in the red, white and blue colours of our flag and there were flags everywhere, in many different forms and shapes. Adam's parents had sent the girls a cute American outfit for Christmas, all red white and blue, so they wore that and blended in very well! Its great that both flags have the same colours!
We ended up staying in the city for 5 hours, but decided to leave after Amelia was starting to lose it, and needed a sleep.
We then came home and rocked out to Guy Sebastion and Beyonce. The girls loved having their own little disco! We didn't have a proper birthday party for Amelia yet, because we decided to wait until all of Adam's family were over and have a joint party for the girls while we are away. So we had dinner and then the birthday cake. Amelia was so excited and Annabel equally excited when we brought the cake out with its lit candles on top. Singing happy birthday is by far the most exciting part of having a birthday. I think if thats all my girls ever got they would be stoked! I would love to be a kid again!

So the last couple of weeks have been busy! I have become really slack with my blogging and need to get back into it again. I dont want to turn around one day and wish that I had kept track of all things we've done as a family. Like my scrapbooking which has been untouched for months, and many months again before that. It seems though that my kids hate it when Im on the computer, but when I have the time, there is always something else I need to do. At night I am to tired to do anything except veg on the lounge or simply go to bed! I just need to post little blogs more often I guess!



Anyhoo! This past weekend we went up to friends Mark and Jody's place.They have Mia and Bella. Annabel and Mia are best friends. They haven't seen each other for ages, as we have been away and they have been away, so we the girls (and us adults!) were so excited to have a good catch up! It was great! We went out for Thai and we stayed the night, so it gave us plenty of time to chat away once the kids were all asleep without the need for babysitters. Mind you though, we didn't end up getting to bed til 3am! I have no idea where the time went, nor how I managed to stay up that late! Im lucky if Im still awake at 9.30pm! So we had a great catch up and the kids were so good.



Annabel however has been a bit difficult lately. Listening seems to be a real struggle for her and a constant battle for me! I thought "maybe she has something wrong with her ears?", but no. Mention the word chocolate and she tunes in quick smart! I just feel like Im yelling at her all the time and sending her to her room. Im make her stand in from of me and look me straight in the eye when I speak to her to make sure she is listening. She does all that except listen! GRRRR!!!! I get so frustrated! So now I have to make her repeat everything I say. Her mind is always wandering, and I realised that that concentrated look on her face was her listening hard to hear the TV to see which one of her shows was on! If only she would listen so closely to me! I guess my constant nagging is not working! So anyways, we are working on this "listening thing" now, and hopefully I can bring her attention back to me.

Camping trip

So christmas was over and it was time to get ready for the New Year! We had decided that we were going camping with my sister Jo and Steve and Nic on the way back for a little holiday and break the 10hr trip up. We left early on New Years Eve, and made it up to Stewarts Point by late morning. The 4 hour trip was alot easier! My sister had all the campsite set up and all we had to do was blow up our airbed and put it in the tent! It was great! The campsite was right on the water exactly 1 meter from the water's edge. It was a river connected to the beach, which was just over the other side of the mangroves. We camped there once before when Annabel was a baby. Camping is a huge Australian tradition. Every year, mainly at Christmas, families will go camping for a week or 2 to camping grounds (usually the same one) with friends and family. This camp ground was really nice as it had nice ementites and powered sited if you wanted them. There are camp grounds all up the coast, and we hope to get into the swing of camping as our kids get older. I always loved it as a kid.

Annabel and Amelia loved it. Annabel is a real little camper, she just lived in her swimmers and collected shells and both girls did alot of fishing. Because we were right on the water we would just cast a line out and the girls sat there on there chairs waiting for a fish to bite, and one did! Annabel caught herself a decent sized breem! It was actually quite big! The funny part though was that the hook wasn't in its mouth, she somehow managed to catch it with the hook in its back. Not funny for the fish though, but I have never seen a fish caught like that. She was very proud of herself!

My brothers and brother-in-law, all love fishing. My youngest brother Tim came camping aswell, and he and my Brother-in-law Steve and nephew Nic, all went out in the boat everyday catching alot of fish. It was great! We had an awesome fish fry for New Years Eve. They would catch everything from big fish to small fish for live bait, and nippers and pippies and they had crab traps out to catch all the big mud crabs which they did. Annabel and Amelia loved looking at all the different things they caught.

We only stayed for 2 nights, I could have stayed longer but we had to get back because Adam had to go back to work. But we are keen to go again next year!

Amelia sat there for ages waiting

for a fish to bite

The campsite

2 little camping munchkins

swimming at the little beach

The fish that Annabel caught

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was different but it was still a great day. We all had a huge breakfast on the BBQ of bacon, eggs and some croissants and bread rolls and so on. Needless to say we were all stuffed, an lunch was still to come! The weather was perfect, it was hot but not to hot. The girls had fun opening all their presents from everyone. We had a simple lunch with salads, chicken, ham and bread rolls. It was hot so we didn't want to do to much cooking. I made some mini pavlovas for desert and we had an assortment of slices and things. The girls ran around all day and there were toys spread from one end of the house to the other. Because it was hot we turned the hose on and the kids all ran through it to cool off and have fun. By the end of the day we were all tired and full to the brim. I was very happy to go to bed and catch up on all the lost sleep from the night before!

~Happy Birthday Jesus~

All tinseled up!

Playing hungry hippo!

My Dad with the girls

Very pleased!

The girls eagerly unwrapping

their Christmas presents