Finally got to it!

After many years of contemplating to get it done, I finally took Master 6 to a Naturopath to get allergy tested.
Without waffling on, he is intolerant to eggs, yeast, wheat, cows milk, rye, oat, gluten, beef, shellfish, peppers, legumes, peanuts, strawberry, tomato, and ginger.

So, I want to ask you, if there are any recipes floating about could you send them my way please? Life is going to get hard quickly, trying to feed my hungry Little Man.
I have already stocked up on the grains, buckwheat, quinoa, chia, nuts, seeds, and a few others now easily available at the supermarket. If there are any online healthfood shops which deliver, please send me a link. Living in our location, it is not easy to source a lot of stuff, and I find the freshness of groceries questionable at times.

So, in the meantime, I am pigging out on the rest of the junk (with the help of Little Miss 5), to eliminate it from the household! This means a lot more thought on my behalf to keep the diet varied (there is only so many times I can feed the family fish and salad!), and a lot more exercise!!!

I am hoping this will eliminate Master 6's reflux issues, as well as the eczema he gets when eating certain foods. We were also told, if nothing was done, his immune system would decline, so I am super keen to get on top of this issue.

I can officially say I am not a paranoid parent, my concerns all these years have now been justified, and as much as it will be difficult, I am happy to finally know what to do to help my son!

Helping or hindering??

How do you know when to step in for your kids?

For me, today, a moment came when Master 6 had lined up for about half an hour to get on a duel jumping castle (where you challenge other people off a podium). All of a sudden he came over to me in tears, because the other kids wouldnt let him have a go because he didnt have someone to challenge him.
So, using my best kind Mummy voice, I told those kids they were not being fair. Just beacuse they didnt really know Master 6, didnt mean he had to miss out. I mentioned how I had seen him waiting while other pairs of children just pushed their way past Master 6, and he watched them waiting for his turn. So then I mentioned if anyone would go on with him, and the boys at the front just stared, and a girl half way down the line stepped up and agreed to go on. And because they had pushed past Master 6 and made him wait so long, I also made the kids let Master 6 go on next. I dont think they were too happy about my interruption of their dictatorship, but as the ride was a free one and being monitored by juniors, something had to be said.
I was so happy this girl was mature enough to give up her spot in line with her friend, to help my son get his turn, and we made sure she was thanked at the end, Master 6 shaking her hand for a good game.
I am proud of my son for his patience to wait so long, and I think he learnt a big lesson too. He didnt get angry, he was patient and waited his turn (never giving up his spot at the front of the line!), and when, eventually, things got beyond his control (older kids can be intimidating), he came and asked for help, albeit upset.

There are no rules to say when you should help your kids, or let them learn the lesson coming, but I believe as a parent, you know when your child needs help, and it is our responsibility to show them the right way to do things. I know we cant always be there for them, but just sometimes, it is good to show them we have their back!

Obstacles!!!

When we did tough mudder earlier in the year, Master 6 was jealous and wanted to participate also. Unfortunately he was way too young.
Since then I have learnt of several OCR's he can participate in, so on the weekend I enrolled him into a 5klm mud run obstacle, being held in february next year. Initially he was excited to hear all about it and wanted to do the event, but he does not want to train. 
It will be a family event, so we will do it together (hopefully DH can get some time off to join us), but I do want the kids to train a little bit, even just to be able to go the distance without hurtung.
So today after picking Master 6 up from school, it was just the two of us, I enticed him for a run around the block. Dont get me wrong, I am not expecting marathons out of him, god knows I cant even go that far, but I am at a point now, where he tells me something then backs out of it. I usually follow through with everything I tell my children, and now I want them to see how their words have consequences. If they tell me they want to do something, I am going to do my best to follow through with their requests!

Smiles all round!

Today marked the junior golf end of season in our small town, which means family day at our club. We played two holes then had a small presentation session. All the kids got a little something from the club, and they were so happy. We did not play many games this year, but I plan to make more of an effort next year for the kids.

Party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wow, we have had a big weekend.

You see, it all started when I planned a trip to the big town (2hours away), for some school holiday fun, detouring about 3hours round trip to pick up a mates daughter so she could come visit for the weekend. I ended up booking in to the dentist and optometrist for the children, extending out day in town. We left home at 5am, and got back at 730pm. A long but good day.

So, the next day we were supposed to go to the other big town (an hour in the other direction), to meet someone, but they had to cancel as did DH. Instead, I took my kids to town for some more fun and playing, and a quick shop before everything closed for the long weekend.

Sunday was footy finals day. A big party was planned by some friends, which began not long after lunch. As Little Miss 4 was tired, I took her for a sleep before heading out, where we met DH and Master 6. After a lot of fun and no sleep from the kids, I decided to take the kids home. DH had had his share of fun too so we set off home around midnight.

Which brought us to today. No sleep in for my little trouble maker (aka. Little Miss 4), and as such we were up at 7. Today was the day of Little Miss 4's party, so my morning began with baking the cake (as I was a little busy last night!). As the day drew on, I felt like I had not left the kitchen, so it was a welcome relief when party time arrived!

Our guests came through the gate, and it was time to start (as unprepared as I felt), it turned out to be a great party, with the slip 'n' slide a huge hit (it was a little warm this arvo), most of the snacks gone, and the party cake devoured, the kids laughed and played the afternoon away.

Tomorrow, Little Miss 4 officially becomes Little Miss 5, and she can't wait to start school. Brings a tear to my eye! Oh well, off to wrap her present from her Mum and Dad!

 

Pleasantly surprised!

A little while ago I entered a competition to win a tefal opti grill. I thought, I never win but there is no harm in trying, right? So, I put in my entry, and a few days later when I was going through my emails, I nearly deleted the one from some stranger thinking it was spam, but it was tefal asking for my postal address as I had won. Wow, still thinking it was a scam, I sent my postal address off.
A few weeks later, I had not gotten anything,  but after seeing the pics of the other winners using their grills, I emailed tefal telling them I had not gotten anything.

Guess what arrived yesterday?

I was stoked when it finally arrived, so much so that it is all I have cooked on since! Dont get me wrong, I still love my thermomix, but this grill will hopefully eliminate the inadequacies of my small stove, and I will be able to cook those kebabs in one hit!

Work it!

Having recently discovered the source of my back/leg pain, I am on a mission to improve my core muscles, which in turn helps out with whole body fitness. Bonus, right?!

So, as most of you are aware, we are a fan of Tony Hortons P90 workouts. I recently discovered P90X2 and started on it today. A big focus of this program is core stability, so perfect for my current fitness goals. I have just finished the X2Core session, and I can say I am hooked! What a workout! And I am now a huge fan of form rollers, you basically roll over a foam log which in turn gives your muscles a 'massage'. Might just have to put that in the living room for when I am being lazy and watching the Tv! 

Something to know, I guess!

So, most weekends when we go to bed, we usually set the tv up for the kids for the next morning to ABC2 or ABC3.

Tonight, I changed channels. As I switched the tv off, I noticed something I would never expect from ABC2. I mean, Octonaughts and Playschool should set the scene, and popularly, Mister Maker. What I caught a glimpse of made me turn the tv back on and double check what I was setting my children up for!

I checked the channel, and then looked up the tv guide. It was definitely on ABC2, but not what I expected. The title of the show was: Can have sex, Will have sex, and must I say, good on the disabled population within the UK, but ABC2???!!!

So, if you are planning a late night with the kids watching tv, PLEASE CHECK THE GUIDE!

New Shoes!

Never have I been more excited to get a new pair of joggers than last week! My other 'new' joggers fell apart and went back to the shop, but they had to be sent away to get either fixed or money refunded so no joggers for just over a week. This meant no workouts, runs, or anything of the kind, which felt strange as that is what I have done most of the year.

So, last week when I went to big town, I got a quality pair of shoes, and I couldn't be happier. The day after I got home I did my first workout in 2 weeks and it felt great! Unfortunately the next day I came down with Little Miss 4's tummy bug and am still on the mend.

Even worse, just as I am typing this, Master 6 runs to the toilet to have a vomit. Bugger, looks like another lazy day. Thankfully, after Little Miss 4 had a reoccurrence yesterday, she has woken up happy as today, which tells me she should be better.

While the painkillers are working, I should go feed the puppy and take out the rubbish.

Slower pace? Lets think about that.

After tough mudder, we threw out our mud laden shoes. Unfortunately I did not yet have a replacement pair, but that was ok as we should have had plenty of shopping time in the following days. But that never happened, so I purchased a cheaper pair of running shoes until I could get properly fitted. Today (after 2 weeks) I had to return those shoes as the soles had come 'flappy', for want of a better narrative!
So I am now left without any form of joggers. I guess the world is trying to tell me to slow down with the exercise? Ok, I guess I can deal with the slower pace for a few weeks, but summer is coming up??!!!! Gotta get moving seriously again soon, especially if I want to be able to run the next obstacle course.

Thankfully I am off to town next week, so I will get my joggers, and a pair of hiking boots in time for our next camping adventure, stay tuned for updates!

A sad day.

We have kind of been preparing the family for this for a few weeks now. Tiger had damaged his knees a little while ago, the vet said surgery was not an option for a dog his size and age, so we tried the medication with no success.

Today we said good-bye to our much loved family pet, and best friend to Master 6. We have so many stories to share about Tiger, but above all he was loyal and devoted to our son. At 7 years old, he has had a fantastic life, and Master 6 will truly miss him, as will we all.

I have a tough afternoon ahead of me, seeing DH off to work just before school pick up, when I will have to break the news to Master 6. I am hoping the offer of pizza (a favourite for Master 6), for dinner tonight will help distract his thoughts!

RIP Tiger.

A little relief.

Last monday, I had a wisdom tooth removed, a few stitches in and had to take antibiotics for infection.

Yesterday I finished those antibiotics (yay, no more remembering to take medication!).

Today, I had the stitches removed.

Which means tonight, with DH home for the first night since our weekend away, I get to have a few glasses of wine!

And I might even go for a run tomorrow!

Our weekend in pictures.

A picture before we left, thanks for looking after us Oma.

Little Miss 4 wearing our new Super Mamma skirts (we have matching ones).

Little Miss 4, fishing.

Helping Daddy eat some crabs!

Master 6 fishing.

Chilling in the sunshine.

Tough! Mudders!

So the time has come and gone, the pain has subsided, more pain has come (in the form of a infected wisdom tooth which was extracted), and I am now waiting to get back into an exercise routine!

The next few weeks will focus on recovery. Even though I feel 'recovered' from our event on the weekend, I have to rebuild muscle strength, get over the pain of the tooth, and still have a few scabs healing from the obstacle course.

It was an awesome experience and I will do it again, but I know I need to put in a lot more work for next time.



And mud, wow there was some mud! At the end of the event, after a shower, I was still wiping mud from my eyes, nose and behind my ears! It took 3 days for my knees to look clean, and I washed our clothes about 4 times before giving up and putting them aside until we got home and I could soak them! Half way through the event it felt like I had put on all the weight I had lost this year. Thankfully there were a few water obstacles to aid in dissolving some of the dried up mud off the skin, but it was still everywhere. Our socks and shoes went to Tough Mudder heaven, may they RIP.

A LOT more work.

A few days ago I went for a quick jog around town, just 3klms to keep me going. Unfortunately halfway through I was almost in tears with pain. I did finish my run, but after consulting with my Husband I booked a massage and an appointment with the local Physio.

The massage was painful but great. It did leave me bruised, but the masseuse did a number on my sore spot (which happens to be my glutes muscle), and it gave me some relief for a few days.

At the same time I booked into the physio but I had to wait a few days for that appointment. When I finally got to see her, she saw straight away what my problem was, given my history. I described my injury (which occurred approximately 4years ago), and after a quick examination, the physio described my gluteus maximus as a piece of soggy cardboard!

All I could think of was, I am not crazy, the pain I have had all this time was real! No matter what my previous physicians had told me (I am sure they thought I was imagining my pain), it was real. And I finally had someone who believed me and knew what to do about it.

Unfortunately, she is not so keen on my participating in the Tough Mudder event on the weekend. We will see what happens with that one!

So, armed with a lot of strapping tape, a crash course on how to strap my butt, and a few stick on heat pads, we journey off tomorrow for the event we have been training for all year. If nothing else, I will get a few solid nights sleep!

See you all on the other side! (and I am still undecided about that damned artic enema).

Stinky gross stuff, be warned!

So I was going to write this blog about how good my alone time was toda, but I think this is better.

Today I farted in the car. I got out and when I came back it was still in there!

Times a' ticking!

Wow, only 12 days till our massive Tough Mudder event. Don't know if I will ever feel ready for it, but we are attempting it all the same!

There is so much happening lately.

Today Little Miss 4 had a Mini School event where she got to go to a school and meet and play with other distance ed children in her program. I was a little sad when I walked away cause she kinda gave me a goodbye kiss (which I had to ask for), turned her back and did not once look back to me. To make up for this, when I picked her up she had the biggest grin on her face which showed me she was so proud of everything she had done today.

The one thing Little Miss 4 did tell me about her day was she made two pasta necklaces, one for her and one for Rusty, go figure!
She has one more day of Mini School tomorrow, then back to normal days at home, well as normal as we busy people could possibly get!

I am pretty excited because on Wednesday I am meeting with my 'boss' to sort out some details of the Kindysport programme I am implementing in our community. I will start that next term, after a trail day during the next school holidays, in all that spare time I currently have! I really can't wait to get this started, it will help to keep me occupied next year when I have both of my children at school.

I also have to consider planning Little Miss 4's next birthday coming up in a few months. She reminds me every day it is only 2 weeks away! Not far off, only 9 weeks to go, but if I am to do a party, planning is key out here!

With all that happening, the weather will warm up soon and we will start camping again, not that the temperature has stopped us, we have been a tad pre occupied with training to worry about camping, and DH was sick, amongst the silly roster his company maintains, and we have to remember Master 6 is still required to go to school (even though he had today off because he was a little weary from our weekend, and will have a week off soon for our tough mudder event).

Add to our list, jazz lessons, music classes, touch footy, golf, Master 6 wants to do Martial Arts, homework, my personal studies, the eKindy program I am trying to run, and housework. No wonder my house looks like a bomb hit most days! And thank goodness for my slow cooker, thermomix and fantastic Husband. I am going to relish my time off tomorrow (to do the grocery shopping alone over a period of 5 hours ALONE)!

Dessert, and our busy life.

Going through my handwritten recipe book recently I found a list of ingredients for some kind of pudding (desert), but it had no method to go with it. So, when DH asked for something sweet tonight, I decided to 'interpret' this list of ingredients!

And what we ended up with was pretty yummie! I would describe it like a choc-banana caramel-sauce self saucing pudding.

It had a perfectly crisp top (from where the caramel sauce ran over and 'caramelised' over the edges of the cake), lovely chunks of banana throughout and that all favourite chocolate flavour!

The only thing I didn't like, is that I did not know the caramelised sauce had dripped to the bottom of the oven where it has now dried and set hard.


On another note, when I picked up Master 6 from school, I came home to finish the mowing (I earned my desert tonight - I used the push mower). Master 6 quickly asked if he could mow for me, so once he finished his homework I let him loose on the yard (I had left one side of the house yard for him to finish). I must say he did a fantastic job, zigging and zagging about, but he managed to cover almost every long piece of grass in his section. I am very proud of the effort he put in, it took one hour for him to finish, and I had to tell him to stop (he was looking to keep going!).

Master 6 and I had a discussion about what we got up to today, I told him I went for a run and did the mowing and his response was 'so not that much then'. I had to laugh. Sometimes it feels like we don't do that much, but reality says we do way more than we think! I know I don't do as much as I should at the moment, but I do the essentials (laundry, kitchen, and I feed everyone - most of the time!). I only have 6months left with Little Miss 4 until she starts school, so the windows and walls can wait until then I think, I am having way too much fun playing with leggo, dolls and board games!

Addicted? Not anymore!

Not a bad addiction, but just a time consuming one. Yup - that stupid game called Candy Crush.

I would say I was addicted, but now I am at a level I can't complete, and I really just could not be bothered trying anymore! It is such a good feeling (not that I have gotten much else accomplished this week), to not want to play that game anymore!

Now I might be able to concerntrate on more productive things, like the laundry and cooking a good dinner more often than I have been !-)

A slave to my kitchen.

It feels like today has been all about food.

The moment I wake, I have breakfast.

On school days, I eat my breakfast whilst preparing the days lunchboxes, and the kids eat breakfast at the table.

Today, while packing the lunchboxes, I packed a picnic morning tea for Little Miss 4 and I to take to the park.

When we got back from the park, Little Miss 4 was asking for lunch straight away (an hour and a half before our usual lunch time). I managed to distract her for a period of time, by making four different coloured bowls of playdough. Once I cleaned up the playdough mess, I sat down with a cup of tea and some bikkies.

After that it was time for Little Miss 4 to have lunch, so more food. Whilst preparing her lunch I put on a batch of strawberry jam (love my thermomix!). While the jam is cooking I prepared dinner (casserole chicken cause I wont be home most of the afternoon). I am waiting for Little Miss 4 to have a sleep so I can make a banana and cinnamon swirl loaf I have been drooling over!

And all that before Noon!

I am looking forward to a Nanna nap today.

That's next!

Just when I thought we had had the worst day of the month, it continued the next morning, with Master 6 having a massive stack at the end of golf, taking a chunk out of his knee, by falling over on some cement. Ouch, an absolute massive ouch. He was checking it out tonight, and underneath the 'flap' of skin looks like creamy vomit, eewwww!

So, he busted his hip (torso), scratched his arm, had a bang on his back, I told him after we left the park the other day he just needed to do something to his head and his leg then he would have covered his whole body, I guess I jinxed myself!

And to top things off, Little Miss 4 has had a cough/cold for about 3 weeks now, and last night came out in a rash which has gotten worse throughout today - things are going good round here!

What next?......

This afternoon the kids asked to go to the park for a play after school. Perfect, I thought, so I packed a few supplies and off we went.

A few of the kids friends were there also. Playing as kids do, Master 6 came to complain about a scratch he got on his arm. After explaining about his rough play with the other kids, I was not going to do anything about his scratch, he went of to play some more, in exactly the same manner. After a little while, he came screaming and crying, oh dear, what has he done now? A bump from another child. Oh well, another cuddle and another warning about rough play, off he goes again.

After some more time, the kids sliding down the skate ramps on their bottoms and having lots of fun as they usually do. This time, Little Miss 4 is heard crying. I go and check out the situation and she has fallen somehow down the ramp and bumped her cheek and chin. A cuddle and kiss and all is good.

Somehow I was thinking we should head home now, but I was not quiet ready for the tantrum which that conversation would bring, so I left the kids playing. Not long after, Master 6 comes running/jumping/skipping and crying. Aaarrrggghhhh. Time to go before anyone breaks anything! Master 6 had borrowed a 2 wheel scooter and was bravely attempting to go down the ramps (this was the first time he had tried this). First go, good. But then something went wrong and he ended up with a big bruise on his hip.

On our way home, the kids were asking if we were still having our bonfire tonight? Um, I don't think I want to risk it tonight!

Found!

Master 6's name is spelt in a unique manner, though it is not outrageous or one of those names you have trouble pronouncing.

For a little while he has been asking me if we could find out how he could become a contestant on a particular kids show. So, this evening we had a look, unfortunately for Master 6, he is about 7years too young, but in researching the information we found something I thought we would never see.

One of the hosts of the show has the exact same spelling for his name, as Master 6!

Visiting (another photo blog).

Well, it is holiday time, so I thought we should start visiting people. So the other night I asked the kids if they wanted to go and see Opa, they agreed so here is what we got up to in the past 36hours!
It was a little under a 5hour drive to get there, so a lot of our time was spent travelling and sleeping. But it was great to spend a little bit of time with my Dad. We looked out over the ocean, used some binoculars to try and spot some whales, played a little on the beach (the cold water was a bit of a shock!), and met Opa's bird.

Cold?

Apparently not! I already have 3 layers on and they say it is going to get colder yet, I guess they are right cause winter has only just begun!

I couldn't tell you the temperature, all I know is I am cold. I had organised a tennis morning with some friends but it rained last night, and drizzled on and off this morning so tennis was off, thank goodness cause I don't think my fingers would have been able to hold onto the racket!

Luckily I had that unexpected trip down to Victoria a few weeks ago and purchased new winter coats for us whilst there, so hopefully my three layers and the coat will see me through.

And I do have to say, where has the day gone?? It feels like we only just got home from school pick up and it is already dinner time! Just because it is the shortest day of the year does not mean the clock ticks slower!??

Enjoy your winter everyone, I wish you well to survive it! (or you could wish me well, come visit my comfortably heated home where there is always something baking in the oven - no wonder people put on more weight over winter!).

Porgress!

Wow! I am impressed. DH needed to sleep this arvo in preparation for his 1am start, so I took the kids to the park after school.

The past few weeks have been a little hectic, and I have not found much time to study, but I usually have my resources on me just in case an opportunity arises, and this afternoon at the park was one of those opportune moments!

Usually someone pops in to join you down at the local park, but today I had it all to myself (asides from a few other older school children whom managed to keep my kids entertained for me, the local children are great at interacting and including the 'little kids'!). And today, I got in an hour and a half of study, getting most of my module answers I had been looking for.

Don't get me wrong, if someone had rocked up, I would have been more than happy to chat, but as it so happens that was not on the books today, and I managed to make that absentminded progress with my studies!

And, this morning I went for a jog, but as DH was busy, Little Miss 4 joined me and I pushed the jogging pram. Now, the pram is lightweight and all, and I did not realise until I was pushing the pram and my 15kg daughter up 'boot hill' how hard that specific task would be! Wow! That was a workout in itself, I will aim to do my jogs in the future when DH is home! But if that is not the case, it will be good practice for our Tough Mudder event in just over 8 weeks!

Photo Blog!!

Time to just show you what we have been up to lately!

Practicing penmanship.

Balloon fun, the pump means Mummy gets a little break!

Facepaintings, at a local outing.

Dancing at the school disco!

Homemade snow fun in the sun!



Hhhmmm, I think the dog might like to eat some of that snow!
 

Just a few of our endeavours. We are very busy doing lots of things lately, it will be good to have school holidays and some time to take it a little slower, although slowly and kids, in my opinion is a bit of a contradiction!

Feeling a little slow.

We have just had the school sports day, and the other week I got an email from Little Miss 4's eKindy teacher saying they are having one too, so I put the date in my diary.

Last week, we packed up and travelled the hour to go to her sports day. When we got there, I went to the admin to find out where to go, and embarrassingly discovered I had the wrong day. Wow I felt silly! I had misread my diary, and the sports day was for Master 6's school for the 'regional' type competitions (which the junior school does not attend).

So after getting over my embarrassment, I now had an opportunity to do some 'window' shopping, with Little Miss 4 in tow! We ended up having a nice relaxing time, and even discovered a new coffee shop had opened up in the new shopping complex (a welcomed break after walking around for a while). And my stress of doing what we needed to do in town, before having to leave for the school pick up was totally alleviated! But that did not stop me feeling a little silly!

So, her sports day is this week (Thursday to be precise!), and we are still looking forward to attending, albeit a little more informed about where to go!

Emotions.

After my Opa passed away, Little Miss 4 understood what had happened but it still made her extremely upset. He is a very treasured man for many people in many different ways, and for her to have been so emotionally distraught really upset me.
My children and I lived with my Mum when the Little Miss 4 was only a few months old, and at the same time my Grandparents were staying on holiday, so we lived with them too, all in the one cosy little house. We stayed for a few months until we found our own house.
The following year (or so, but not much further away than that) my Grandparents were up at Mums' place for the warm queensland winter (trust me, it is sooooo much better than Victoria, in my opinion!), and this time we only lived a few kilometers away so we did get to spend a LOT of time with them again.
Now, I am not sure why Little Miss 4's emotions about Opa are so strong, or what her memories are of him, because she was only (and still is) so little, but she sure as hell remembers him. That was the kind of love he shared with you - everlasting.

Since we got back from the funeral, Little Miss 4 still got emotional, until wednesday. I am so proud of her, because talking about Opa was done at her emotional peril.
We were driving home from town and it began raining. In the car she spoke up and was concerned for Opa Out that he would get wet in heaven! Explaining he would be ok, we got through our conversation without any tears (nearly, mine were tears of joy that we could move past the sad part of grieving, kinda). That afternoon she mentioned Opa Out one more time, again maintaining her composure and walking away from the conversation with a smile.

And here I was worried a few days ago as to how long a 4year old would grieve for. The answer to that is simple - as long as they need to.

Her next emotional hurdle is dealing with separation from her Oma! Whenever she gets in trouble and cries, she ALWAYS asks for her Oma. I must say, Mum, you have the same warm hearted spirit as your Father (my Opa) did. Love you Mum.

Cold, and sleep deprived? All in a weeks work!

Wow, what a week!
The ride (all 4 of them), was an absolute hit with the kids. Though, the last plane on the way home had some ears hurting from the pressure. I think the colds we had coming home did not help either. But the kids were very well behaved the whole (mostly) way.

It was fantastic to catch up with some of my cousins, my kids thought they were lots of fun (even Great Horrible Uncle Frank was a hit!).

I enjoyed introducing my children to my Aunties and Uncles, and everyone else. I know the kids were a little active most of the time, but when you are couped up indoors and your usual passtimes involve spending time outside (they are at this point in time outside doing paintings, and have not been upstairs for about an hour!), I think they survived pretty well.

The other night, I asked both children if they enjoyed visiting everyone, they asked me if we could move there! Master 6 mentioned that it would be too cold for his dog and his beloved hound would die, so we would have to leave them with friends in Brisbane! (Little Miss 4 spoke up and said next door to Milla's house, whom she speaks of so often at the moment, think it might be time to plan a visit soon!).

We have been home for most of the week, and it has been a struggle getting back into the swing of things (you spoilt me Rachel!). I have to remember to cook dinner, and get started on my studies I signed up for a few days before we flew out.

Finally, I am soooo tired. Yes, I am allowed to have a whinge, this is my blog! While we were away, given the reason behind going, the kids didn't want to sleep in a separate bedroom, so I ended up sharing a queen bed with one child while the other slept on a mattress at the foot of my bed. I slept??? 2 nights with Master6 then kicked him out cause he kept kicking me, and Little Miss 4 occupied my bed the rest of the time, but was just as disruptive with her talking and rolling in her sleep, so it is safe to say I have not had much sleep lately!

BTW, I booked our accomodation for Tough Mudder last night, getting excitedly scared!

We're going on a jet plane!

Yup, and the kids are very excited!

Like, SUPER EXCITED!!

They can't wait, so while I sit here finishing off my coffee before I get back to cleaning and packing, and procrastinating, I thought I would let you know what we are up to.

The details still make me sad, so the quick of it is my Grandfather passed away, and he lived in Victoria, so we are heading down to see the family.

Did I tell you how excited the kids are?

Well, usually any trips from here involve us departing pretty early in the day. So Little Miss 4 told me last night to wake her up early so she could get dressed before we go (we are not leaving until after lunch), and Master 6 did not really want to go to school today (don't blame him), in fear of missing the flight.

When I asked Little Miss 4 if she was excited to see her Oma tomorrow, she said no, I am excited to go on the aeroplane! I sure do hope the trip lives up to their expectations.

I have already changed from a smaller bag to my big suitcase, so I do hope I have packed everything we may need, and given the climate we are going to for the next week, I am sure I don't have enough 'warm' clothes. Oh well, opportunities!!

The things Kids say!

Today DH mentioned going skydiving whilst we are on the coast for the Tough Mudder event in August. While this is something I do want to do in my lifetime, and I was prepared for about 7+ years ago, I don't have the confidence to attempt it at this stage in my life.

So, in our discussion this evening, with Master 6 participating (we told him he had to be 18 to go), I had walked out of the room to do something. In the background I hear DH say, 'I will just buy Mummy the ticket and then she will have to do it'. (To make things clear, this is how DH got me to go bunjy jumping when we were younger - a non-refundable ticket!). As I walk back into the room, DH is laughing, and he explains to me that Master 6's response to buying the ticket was:

Puffed up chest, 'you can just give me the ticket and Dad can tell them I am 18, then I can go skydiving!'

Oh my, I am definately in for a few heart attacks with this one!

Going on.......

Wow, I can't believe it has only been a week since my last blog, it feels like so much has happened!

Well, to start, things are always busy, it just feels like we got a whole lot busier this past week! I attended a P&C meeting, and I actually committed to being the secretary, better practice my penmanship skills! I did state specifically if I couldn't handle it though, I would resign, but I am hoping I enjoy my new position as it is another job/skill I can add to my list.

The kids have gotten fully back into sport (well, kinda) since the new term began. Master 5 does tennis which only began again last week, and he also does touch footy which he loves, and both children attempt golf. I got them all ready to go to golf on saturday morning, and then had a feeling it may not be on due to the mass number of activities happening on the weekend. Luckily I have a friend taking her boy too, so I sent her a message to confirm. My suspicion was correct, which gave me a couple of hours to clean house, before heading out the the may day fair held the same day. We spent a couple of hours there before the kids threw yet another tantrum at each other and we quickly left missing out on numerous rides.

That night was a local game of footy, in which we are involved with the club (hubby trains with the team, and I do the 'partner' thing and help out with whatever the girls need done). We were asked to tend to the gate this game, and it was a different way to spend some quality time with my Man. We watched the rest of the game, DH won some money in the footy doubles competition, we had a few drinks, our team won the match, and we went home.

The previous night (sorry to do things about face!), there was a rodeo on in town. We do enjoy a good rodeo, as do the kids, and so we went and had some family time out. DH had to work all weekend too, so he did miss out on some events.

 



The kids found some of their friends at the rodeo, and all the kids enjoyed the evening, from what I could tell!

Moving on, I am starting into a new field of study. Will fill you in with more details in the not too distant future. But a lot of my time has been occupied doing research for study and an upcoming venture I am sure will keep me busy when Little Miss 4 starts school next year!

I am also helping out at the school on a rostered basis on friday mornings with the preps and 1's doing rotation work. Not sure what that entails yet, but I am looking forward to it!

We have all been recovering to some degree or another from varying ailments. So, we have been avoiding the intimate social situations lately. And just when I thought things were looking up, Master 5 has come down with a cold. The poor sod keeps telling me his nose is sick cause snot keeps falling out of it! I must say he does make me smile.

Last night I was packing away some stuff in our dining room pantry. I opened the top door and a tall glass fell out. I didn't realise it was there, and it landed rim down on my middle toe, and grazed the skin open on the next toe near my toenail. It hurt so much I had to contain myself from letting out any profanities in front of my children. Instead, I nearly ended up in tears. The kids felt so bad for me, Master 5 even gave me his favourite teddy (he always sleeps with), to keep me company until Daddy came home!
Needless to say, I did my workout this morning then went for a walk (which I was hoping to speed up to a jog), but ended up almost limping home cause my toe was hurting. I just hope that it heals quickly so I can fully get back to serious workouts! Only 16 weeks to go until the big event -_-

I mentioned earlier, the kids attitudes towards each other has been less than desirable lately. Well, it got to the point, I am forcing them to co-operate. Master 5 now has to share Little Miss 4's bedroom until thursday, with no access to his own room. This means they have no place to get time out from each other, no place to banish each other from and thus forcing them to co-operate. Tonight is the first night they are sharing, and I just hope they go to sleep soon, they are getting along like they used to and it is nice to hear, instead of the angry little sods they had become. I do think it is due to Master 5 being jealous of his little sister getting to spend those long school days at home, by herself, with me.

Well, I am sure that is enough for now, there is always more laundry to be done so I had better go do it! Stay safe everyone.

The view from up here!

There is some magnificent country out here. For some time now I have wanted to take a picture of the mountains on the other side of the highway from our town. It is a rather nice sight to see.
Today, DH and I went for a run/walk up what is locally known as 'boot hill'. Aptly named, the tree at the top of the hill holds memories of shoes lost (or mabey worn out!). On our way back down, I made DH stop so I could take this picture.

What a beautiful day to go for a run!

ANZAC Day

What a day!

DH manages proceedings in our little town for the ANZAC dawn ceremony and morning service. I must say, I am very proud of him and the effort he puts in to this day.

Last year was his first try at this, and things went rather well, except the fact he spent most of the day back and forth to our closest town to march in their proceedings, and to attend the breakfast and lunch  the RSL our here put on. Unfortunately in our little town, there were no lunches or anything, so this year we changed that.

So, instead of heading back to town, we organised (with the help of some very special people) a 'rum brekkie', as it is called, for the locals to attend. This seemed to be a big hit, and we very much enjoyed our long and busy morning.

Now that all the ceremonies and services have finished for the day, DH is enjoying a few more drinks down the pub, with Master 6 in tow, while I have a rest with Little Miss 4. You see, there are a few tummy bugs going round, and for some reason last night, while we were out to dinner, Little Miss 4 began throwing up. Once I cleaned her up, we waited for out meals, but she threw up again so we got our dinner to take away (luckily we live in a mining town, and this is common practice for the venues to do this kind of thing).

Now, it did not stop there, she had another go in her sleep on our way home, and then several times throughout the night (into a bucket thank goodness), making it one very long and restless night. She even woke once at midnight and after she settled, asked me if it was morning already! I don't think I got more than 3 hours sleep before the alarm sounded to go get ready for the dawn service :-(

I am so thankful for this hours sleep I have not long woken from, while Little Miss 4 is still down for the count. Soon it is time to go have a celebratory drink with DH for ANZAC day, because I didn't have the stomach to have one at 6am this morning over brekkie with him! So I leave you with this picture of my DH with our proud children.

Tough?

Not necessarily, just very lucky to have a supportive Husband and Family!

DH and I heard about an event last year which we wanted to enter. It was first held in Victoria and Sydney, and this year a date has been set for Queensland. It is an endurance team event covering approximately 20klms and 25 obstacles. It is called Tough Mudder.

January this year (2013), we decided it was crunch time and committed to the event. We have now paid our fees and have been in training since January. I must say, there are only 4 months to go and I am getting a little anxious!

I first saw some of the obstacles and thought I would need a great deal of upper body strength, but seeing videos of the event held in locations across the world, all I need to do is fall into the muddy water and swim to the end!
This is not a competition to see who can cross the finish line first, it is a challenge within ones self to see what you can achieve. DH and I are attempting TM as a team, and have recruited other people to join us. But even if those other people 'chicken' out, we will still attend.

This is completed in teams (unless you are a hard core competitor), because some of the obstacles are a little big to 'get over' by yourself! Needless to say, I am looking forward to facing these challenges, and seeing what I can push my mind to do, because in the end if you tell your body you can't do something, nothing will be your result.

In my training I have lost a little bit of weight, which was ultimately not my goal, but a necessary evil to achieve my desired result. My workouts consist of a variety of weight and interval training, and after this mornings upper body workout, for the first time in my life, I have started to gain definition in my arms! Hopefully, soon, people won't see me as the skinny chick! I will keep you updated with our progress, and will blog about our experience after the event.

To be continued......

Childhood indulgences.

A few days ago, Master 6 decided it was time for his teddy to have a birthday. This teddy, Harry, Master 6 got when he was born from some dear friends, so in my opinion Harry is just as old as Master 6.

Nope, master 6 believes his teddy is 8!

Which promoted Little Miss 4 to have a birthday for her 'Baby' (a soft bodied doll she sleeps with every night).

So, together they discussed when this party would happen, the gifts they would give, the party food, the party decorations etc. Oh my!!!

I value the power of imagination, and don't like to deny my children their little made up games (hence the ongoing saga of the Feather Fairy, which has not visited since I last blogged about it!).

Not one to deny my children their fantasies, I baked a cake today for afternoon tea, with which we would have some simple party food and as such their 'birthday party' for their toys. Unfortunately I forgot about a meeting I wanted to attend this afternoon, got held up on a phone call on my way out to the meeting, and had not cooked dinner before I left so the idea of an afternoon tea party quickly slipped away.

Luckily I am good at compromise and convinced my Children to have the cake for dessert (I did decorate it with sprinkles, so a little more party like!), which kept them happy. And as such, we gave the Harry and Baby their birthday party. I now pray no other teddies need a birthday just yet, I really don't need all those extra calories I get when there is a mixing bowl which needs licking!

Self talk!

I was just contemplating going to bed early because I keep telling myself it would be nice to get up early to do some stuff before the kids wake up.

Who am I kidding?

Seriously.

Me??

Get up early???

Who am I joking?

I don't know why I even waste my time thinking these stupid thoughts!

I have taught my children not to get up until 7am, so I get a decent time to get myself out of bed. And as much as I love it, if I had done things differently, mabey I might just be able to accomplish my personal mission impossible?

Well..............

I highly doubt it! So I am putting to rest any guilt I may have about thinking about getting out of bed early!!!!!

Making your own decisions!

When my daughter was born, she come ready with a head of hair an inch long. And then it got longer, and longer, and longer. Her hair has never stopped growing, and as such she has had many haircuts.

For about the past year, whenever her brother or Dad have had a hair cut, Little Miss 4 has gotten jealous. To the point where she asks for a haircut like Daddy's (short back and sides).

Well, a week ago I noticed a few funny looking hairs on top of Little Miss 4's head. Oh no! I was devestated. Somehow, somewhere, she had a 'haircut'! The more we talk about it, the more details I get of the 'incident'. But it goes something like this.....


"My best friend and I gave each other haircuts, and we cut the babies hair too"

Now, when I heard the last part I got really anxious cause Little Miss 4's best friend has a baby brother!

Luckily the babies she was talking about were pretend, phew!

And today she told me they put the hair they cut off in the bin, (I would think of this as hiding the evidence!). Oh well, carrying on. I asked her what we were going to do about her hair now, and she said she could have a haircut like another little girl she knows, and have it all cut off.

Um, sorry Baby girl, NO WAY!

We talked with Daddy and decided to go with a bob cut, Daddy said shoulders, but I told her she could go a little shorter, and this is what we come out with.

Forgive the rings under her eyes, we had an early start to this day, and a lot of driving. But, she absolutely loves her new hairdo! Hopefully it is easier to maintain and she learns to brush it daily. Needless to say, the short hair is earier to clip back and hide the cut hair, which is in the middle of the top of her head.

A Big Day.

As I typed that title, the way I said it in my head reminded me of the mice announcing the chapter titles on the movie Babe!

Moving on!

Today was a big day!

My boy had his first school excursion of the year. He was not too excited earlier in the week until he was told he would get to milk a cow! I picked him up from the bus, they got back an hour later than scheduled, which put our afternoon behind just as far.

I went to town today. And you know what else? I got to go by myself! I know, what a privellage! Little Miss 4's best friends mother invited her over for the day, and she happily obliged! Mind you, as I was driving away after dropping her off, I did feel a pang of jealousy that she chose to stay instead of come shopping with her Mummy! Oh well. My trip to town flew by, and before I knew it I had to leave for school pick up.

I made it back just in time, to get told the bus was running late, so I raced home with Little Miss 4 now back in tow, unpacked the groceries, quickly packed a bag for Master 6, picked him up and drove off to town. There, Master 6 had a haircut, went straight to touch footy for the next hour, after which we came home and the kids went straight to bed (after a shower and teeth brush!).

As much as I got to sit down and eat lunch by myself (with a nice little chat with a friend I bumped into first!), it was a very busy day.

Failed plans.

Today we planned to go to a nice looking river area about 1hour from home. This is not the first time we have 'planned' to go here, but due to wet weather we have not made it to date.

Today is a beautiful day here, I even hung the washing on the line for the first time in a week, without checking the sky first! So, it should have been the perfect day to get away. Unfortunately it was not to be our day to get away just yet.

Last night, Little Miss 4 had a temperature. I thought it may have been a little heat exhaustion from the days antics, but the night turned bad. Around midnight she started vomiting (and unfortunately she is still going 16 hours later). The temperature has settled, but she still can't stomach anything. So, the days plans were foiled again.

Thankfully the past few months Little Miss 4 has been eating better and put on a little weight. I am now hoping a good sleep will see her wake up her usual self in the morning.

Time to get some dinner for Master 6 and I, DH is at work, so a quiet night of ironing I have ahead of me!

Feathers.

A few days ago one of my children said something about the Feather Fairy. Thinking it was just a game they were playing, I nodded and agreed and let them continue with their conversation.

Yesterday, Little Miss 4 was slightly disappointed cause the Feather Fairy had not come!

What the??????????????????

Ok, it was time to start asking questions!

It turns out the Feather Fairy is like the tooth fairy and she gives you a 'reward' for leaving feathers under your pillow for her.

Wow, that was a new one! So, I asked Master 6 where on earth he heard about the Feather Fairy?
The simple answer, Bugs Bunny.
Thanks Looney Tunes! I seriously have not seen that episode!

So, to keep their imaginations alive and their dreams real, the Feather Fairy collected her feather last night from Little Miss 4's pillow and left a little thankyou note.
I asked her this morning if the Fairy came last night, and she said no, almost as if she had given up hope. Not saying anything, I left her to her devices. Late this afternoon, Little Miss 4 came out so excited from her bedroom holding up her little note, which sparked a feather hunting adventure this afternoon.
There are now more feathers under the pillows...........................
Let's see how long this saga continues!

Learning for Life.

Today was a memorable occasion. Something I had never imagined I would do with my children. Especially not at their ages. But they had fun, and I loved watching them, and love that I was there for them, and I love that my Husband allows me to be a stay at home Mum to pursue these opportunities for our children.

Well, I will get to what we did in a minute. First I want to tell you what we got up to during the week.
Master 6 started playing tennis at the beginning of the school term, and he loves it. As he would! I think it is more alluring for him because he watches his Daddy go and play tennis also, so to be able to do something just like Daddy is a big hit with a little boy.

The only problem with doing after school activities is my boy wears down quickly. And gets really cranky. With everyone. So, our post tennis afternoons have been pretty horrid, until this last week. Master 6 asked to play touch football, which is an hour after his tennis lesson. I thought about it for a week before agreeing to let him do it, and I am so glad I did. He is so occupied the whole afternoon, by the time we get home, Master 6 has a shower and goes straight to bed, no more arguements! It worked out perfect, fingers crossed we can keep it up!

So, in my endeavour to keep my children occupied and have a rounded up-bringing, today they played their first ever round of golf! Nope, definately not something I would have told you 5 years ago my little children would be doing. I have nothing against the sport, it has just never been something on my agenda of things for them to do.

And they loved it! It took 2 hours to play 3 holes, and Little Miss 4 had blisters at the end (she had 3times as many mis-hits as her brother!), but they perservered and I couldn't be prouder. It was a great lesson for them both, the game requires so much concentration, for both of them to stick out all 3 holes was an achievement on their little minds. Hopefully this new sport will teach Master 6 to settle down, though I think that is a kid thing, being so excited about new things!

Growing Up!

To save money the past few years, I have been plucking my eyebrows with tweezers, or using home wax etc. The past few months though, I have managed to find time to get to a hairdresser to have my eyebrows waxed. Now, that may not seem like such a big deal, but to a mum (ie. ME!), the ability to close my eyes for 5minutes during the middle of the day is such a blessing, even if it is only once a month!

In doing such a thing to my face, I have to admit Little Miss 4 accompanies me on these outings. And I must tell you, she has picked up a thing or two....

Yesterday Little Miss 4 found a blob of blue tack. Cool, I thought. We had been talking about mediums like modelling clay and playdough to build her finger muscles and she thought this was just perfect to squish between her fingers.

Later in the afternoon however, she found a new use for her blue tack.

I found her in the dining room with her baby. She had set up her dolls high chair, sat her baby down and began to 'wax' baby's eyebrows. She was very professional, waited a minute for the wax to dry before touching it to pull it off. Upon the 'rip', she was disappointed that baby's eyebrows were still on baby's face! Oh dear, she pondered what to do next, luckily 'Mummy' was there to smooth things over or I think it might have been the first baby to meet a pen!

My children are growing up so fast, and I am proud that I can be there to witness these beautiful going-ons. But it does make me wonder how much of what we do, or they witness, impacts them???

Good food!

Yum!

I just had breakfast (I know, a little late in the day, its 11.30 already), and it was YUM!

I have started having a late breakfast cause I find it easier to work out in the mornings after school drop off, which means I don't have enough time for my food to settle before my exercise (we don't get up until 7am, and I really can't drag my butt out of bed any earlier), hence I eat later.

So, this morning I wanted some scrambled eggs. Sure I thought. We have plenty of eggs (thanks chookies), and looking in the fridge, we have heaps of mushrooms thanks to my home delivery of 'fresh stuff'. Remembering a recipe from a while ago, I decided to have sauteed mushrooms and scrambled eggs.

First, I sauteed a small onion with a clove of our favourite garlic in some olive oil, and later added a dash of worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. When that was nice and soft, I added some chopped button mushrooms until the were warmed through. Served with scrambled eggs and a dollop of creamed cottage cheese, it was the perfect way to start a good food day!

Wow!!

In my search for quality produce out here, I have come upon a few websites whom deliver.
Yes, all the way out here.
Where woolies and coles wont. Ghee, we can't even click and collect! Oh well, I think I would rather support some family companies who are 'local' anyway.

So, I logged an order the other night, thinking it was saturday and I would get my delivery this week. I woke up the next day in the right headspace and realised it was monday and I had missed the delivery deadline (saturday).

On wednesday I was in town getting some last minute things to see us through to next week when I should get my delivery. As I was going through the checkout I got a phone call which I didn't answer. I checked the message bank and it was the delivery guy with my order!

I was stoked (and a little bit of 'damn' cause I had just bought some stuff which was in my order). After unpacking all of my goodies, and they truely were goodies, my fridge was chockers! Now when I go searching for a 'snack', I have to remind myself there is so much good stuff there I want to use before it goes off. Here is the snap I took cause I was so proud of how 'fresh' it looked!

Think before you speak!

Today I had a big whoopsie moment, rather funny when you think about it but a tad embarassing at the time!

I took the kids to the park after school to test out Master 6's roller blades. Still wearing my sweaty gym clothes and after cleaning out DH's christmas present, I didn't clean myself up and looked a sight but I am not out to impress, so I was not worried, though I did bring my own seat so I could separate my stench from others who might be around.

After a small conversation with another park goer, I found myself backtracking my own words. Mentioning what I had been up to today, I said I was a mess cause DH and I had been 'smoking all day'.

OMG! I obviously did not think before I spoke, as I so often warn my children to do! Quickly retracing my words, I mentioned something about smoking ribs and cleaning the electric smoker, and I felt like such a fool!

This other park goer is someone we know so I don't think they thought anything of it, but it just makes it so much more real to think before you speak, no matter what your frame of mind!

Surprise!

This morning I got woken to:

'Mummy, there is something on the dining table, come have a look, quick!'

By my very rushed Little Miss 4. The manner in which she spoke and ran away again, I was concerned. My initial thoughts were, Oh no, I hope it is not a spider or something similar.

So, I get out of bed much quicker than expected and almost run down the hall to 'protect' my daughter from whatever it may be.

I get to the dining room and Little Miss 4 is jumping up and down next to the dining table excitedly, saying there are flowers!

With much relief, I head back to bed where DH is, and I thank him for my wonderful surprise. It was only last night we discussed how I had known the date, but at the beginning of the week thought I had another week to plan for today, silly me.
So, DH knew I had not prepared anything, but ever the wonderfully thoughtful husband, who just knows how to be sneaky, he had gotten my beautiful arrangement while we were in town together yesterday and somehow stashed it and I had absolutely NO IDEA!
I truely love my Husband, and my family, they mean the world to me.

Happy Valentines Day everyone.

My Daughters Love.

DH set off to work this afternoon for night shift, so I decided with the weekend upon us, the kids and I would have a movie night tonight. So, after an early dinner, a play under the sprinkler (I love watching my kids play, puts a smile on my face), and a tousle with the dogs we headed upstairs for a shower and cooked some popcorn.

When we sat down and began the movie, Little Miss 4 was babbling, but I was trying to listen to the movie so I just continued to agree with her (something I don't usually do). Towards the end of the movie, she occasionally continued to say something and I finally understood what she was saying (or concentrated hard enought to hear her).

She mentioned something about sitting on my lap, and I agreed.

Unfortunately this was the wrong time to agree with her.

For some reason, the question she was asking was 'will you die if I sit on your lap'?

Now, we were just watching an innocent childrens animated movie, nothing to bring on anything of the sort of thinking she was going through.

After hearing her clearly, she finally got upset, so we had to have a conversation. I rounded it out by saying 'Mummy wont die until you get really old, like 100'.
Sadly this brought on more tears, and her response 'I never want you to die'.

After lots of cuddles and me choking back tears, I promised her I would not die.
What a heartbreaking conversation to have with my 4yo. She is growing up so quickly, all I can do is be the person my children can always rely on.

After the tears, we danced the movie credits away to an awesome song (though I can't remember the name of it), cleaned up and I took my special people to bed.
My children amaze me every day, and no amount of training can prepare you for the everyday questions your own children throw at you.

More holiday time pics.

We spent a morning at the science centre in Brisbane, something I have wanted to do with my kids for a while now. They had fun enough to call the outing a success, but I would definately recommend this for older children who understand the properties of science a little more. Saying that, my children did enjoy exploring the simpler exhibits, and we got to see the 'gross' show, about messy explosions and fart cushions and stuff.
I think the bigger event of the morning for DH and I, I 'lost' the parking ticket. Uh oh!
We searched everywhere but ended up going to the parking people and checking out paying a full days fare. Expecting to have to pay about $80 (we had been parked for about 4 hours, equating to a $30 ticket according to sinage), after the guy took our details we only ended up paying $38, and he gave us a dual usb port car charger, and the kids got cars made out of the stress ball material. I think we totally scored after losing our ticket! Bonus!

Seaworld!

 

Over the holidays just gone, we had lots of fun. We spent a fair bit of time exploring the theme parks on the Gold Coast, and had an absolute blast. Seaworld currently has a dinosaur exhibit, which was exciting but so scary for the little children all at the same time! Little Miss 4's favourite attraction was the penguins (or 'Happy Feet' as she liked to call them!).