The Nandies

Chickens strike back

2012-01-20T20:46:00.002+11:00

We always feel a little guilty that we keep our chickens caged in a back corner of the yard, while ourselves, the dog and the magpies are free to roam. At least Nat feels guilty, while I'm a bit ambivalent. Anyway, this week the chickens got their revenge and it all fell on Ella's shoulders.

It was Wednesday evening, and we had just finished an early dinner because Annwen, Ashley and Nathan, as well as Annwen's mum Jan, were leaving at 6pm to catch the flight home to Perth. Gareth, Kelly and Jessica were also over, and we were relaxing in the garden as the kids, who had spent a fantastic week playing together, ran around. Ella and Ashley decided to have one last look for chicken eggs when disaster struck.

Our chicken house is a somewhat ingenious invention -- nothing to do with our ingenuity as it came with the chickens. The chickens creep in from their side to lay eggs or go to sleep, while we can lift the lid to access the eggs without needing go into the coop. The lid, however, is both heavy and covered with sharp corrugated iron. An accident waiting to happen with 4-5 year olds, and it did. The two girls lifted the lid as a team, and seemed to think that the other would hold it aloft. They let it go simultaneously, and it came falling down, slashing both of Ella's thumbs and one of Ashley's. Luckily, Ashley's wasn't too bad, but Ella's was bleeding profusely. We had no option but to flee to the hospital (Nat sitting in the back trying to staunch blood flow, Katy with us so that she didn't get taken to Perth by mistake) and leave Annwen and Co to clean up our dinner before they caught their flight.

The wound turned out to be less serious than it might have been. It needed a pretty hefty bandage and will be re-dressed several times over the next week, but hopefully no permanent damage. We were back home within an hour or so, but not in time to say goodbye to our visitors...

Fairies Visit Aston Cres

2012-01-17T21:18:00.004+11:00

Ashley and Ella have been doing lots of crafty stuff including making a fairy house. They put it outside hoping the fairies would visit and Ashley had written clearly on the top of the house 'onle feris alawd' (translation only fairies allowed).

So after a few days of the girls waking up and sprinting out of the house to check if the fairies had visited, Annwen and I decided to leave a note with a treasure hunt. The first picture was of the fridge and Ashley's reaction was 'the fairies have left the chocolate in the fridge!' With a little bit of guidance, they discovered the second picture on the fridge and they were off. Eventually finding the freddo frogs in the toybox which was very exciting.

The next day Ashley who is a little more clued up, wrote another note - dear feris pes can you leave to lole bags (translation dear fairies please can you leave two lolly bags)! How cheeky!!

Tidbinbilla

2012-01-17T20:36:00.004+11:00

The great things about having visitors is going to the Canberra sights, so last Thursday we went off to Tidbinbilla, a nature reserve about 40mins south of canberra. We met up with Annwen's brother Gareth, his wife Kelly, their 16 months old daughter Jessica and Annwen's mum Jan for a bbq lunch.

While the sausages were cooking, the kids were exploring the adventure playground.

Our post lunch activities included visiting the resident koala, Mo, walking around the koala enclosure trying to spot the other 3 koalas and jumping around with the kangaroos at the Flints. A really enjoyable afternoon and an area that I'll definitely visit again soon.

The gang Katy, Kelly, Ashley, Ella, Nathan, Annwen and Jessica

Visitors

2012-01-17T20:14:00.005+11:00

Our good friend Annwen and her two children Ashley and Nathan came over from Perth to stay with us for 9 days. It has been fun having them around.

We've made and played with goop together...

We went orienteering together...

And of course played together!

Caterpillar Alert

2012-01-06T21:47:00.003+11:00

With Andy at home this week coinciding with me working at the same site for two consecutive days, I was able to run to work minus a backpack full of work clothes! It was bliss and a beautiful morning with loads of wanderer butterflies flitting about. I was enjoying the moment when I literally was stopped in my tracks by this humongous caterpillar. After taking a photo, I continued on with my run contemplating it's size and if it was in fact a caterpillar? If so how big would the butterfly be???

Luckily the internet has the answer...

White-stemmed Gum Moth

The White-stemmed Gum Moth is one of the largest common moths found in Sydney. With females reaching a size of 16 cm, they have sometimes been mistaken for bats.

Alternative Name/s

Prickly Gum Moth

Identification

The wings of the female White-stemmed Gum Moth are attractively patterned with soft grays and browns. The male is slightly smaller and is darker, with more strongly contrasted markings. Both sexes are active at night. They sometimes fly to lights where the large females have been compared to bats as they move around the light source. As in many moth species, the males have large bipinnate (feathery) antennae, while the females have narrow, simple antennae.

The large, thick caterpillars are grey-black with yellow bands and are covered with tufts of reddish-brown spiky bristles. The bristles can penetrate human skin and cause painful skin irritations, even after the larvae have been preserved in alcohol.

Size range

Adults: 16 cm wingspan; larvae: 12 cm length

Life cycle

The White-stemmed Gum Moth has an annual life cycle. The pupal stage lasts over late summer and most of autumn before the adult moths emerge in May.

The females lay eggs that hatch into small caterpillars. The caterpillars feed on eucalypt leaves and grow throughout the rest of the year until they reach their maximum size before pupation.

In summer, when the caterpillars are fully grown and are ready to pupate, they spin cocoons. As the caterpillar changes into a pupa, the bristles from its skin are pushed through the walls of the cocoon from the inside. The projecting bristles protect the pupa inside the cocoon in the same way that they protect the caterpillar. Pupation usually takes place under the loose bark of trees.

Adults are short-lived (two to three days) and mate soon after emerging. They do not feed because none of the anthelids have functional mouthparts as adults.

Boogles Goes Boogieboarding

2012-01-06T21:16:00.005+11:00

The little beach was a perfect place for our family catering for all our needs. There were shells on the beach to fossick through, shade to retreat to providing relief from the sun, and most importantly, the waves were small enough for Katy not to be scared and big enough for Ella to try out her new boogie board.

Andy taught Ella about the waves helping her to gain confidence in the water. It wasn't long before she was riding the waves into the shore. Ella looked so happy in the surf!

Christmas Afternoon

2012-01-03T22:39:00.003+11:00

What is there to do post christmas lunch? Pre kids routine would have been something like lie on the couch/nap, check out presents, read a book... However relaxation is not a term most young children are familiar with so for our household, we took the opportunity to test out Makhaya and Luca's christmas present - a slip n slide! The steep grassy backyard proved to be the perfect place.

Santa Comes to Malua Bay

2012-01-02T21:00:00.007+11:00

Even though we weren't at home, Santa and his reindeers did manage to find us at 4 Nerang Place, Malua Bay! As per tradition, we used a piece of the local flora for our christmas tree.

As Christmas morning dawned, the cousins found their santa sacks on the end of their beds. Ella was up quickly (6am) and quietly (hence there are no photos of her) discovered the contents of her santa sack - a rope ladder (just as she had asked Santa for), craft, books, dress...off she went to show the rest of the gang. Usually the first to wake, Katy slept in until 6.30am and then had to be helped to look through her sack which contained a princess castle tent, jigsaw, sticker books, dress....

Next on the agenda was a quick jog for most of the adults concluding with a dip in the ocean. Nice! On returning home it was decided to take the children down to the little beach prior to main present opening session which also allowed lunch preparations to begin.

The little beach was located on the southside of the headland which out house was positioned. Katy warmed up to this beach with the small waves. Soon she was swimming and jumping around in the water.

Then down to some serious business...opening presents! The cousins had all been so patient!!

Once all the excitement had worn off, it was time to sit down and enjoy xmas lunch - roast lamb, duck, chicken with an assortment of vegies. It was just a pity that the sea breeze had come in cooling off our roast lunch a little too quickly.

Seachange

2012-01-02T20:32:00.003+11:00

This year for christmas, the Hogg Clan ventured to the coast, more specifically Malua Bay. Located 10mins south of Batemans Bay, we (9 adults and 6 kids) rented a house for a week arriving on christmas eve. The house itself was certainly not luxurious as advertised on the web but had ample room for everyone.

After a dream drive down without much traffic and unpacking of the car, we were off to the check out the main Malua Beach - about 500m away down a very steep hill. Ella was back in her element loving the waves, Katy on the otherhand was slightly disturbed by the noise of the waves breaking and spent most of her time playing in the sand.

Daddy Holiday

2011-12-23T21:01:00.002+11:00

I decided this year I would try to take a few solid weeks off work around Christmas, and that started last Monday. I had two kid-free days, and then (with Nat working full-time this week) spent the remaining three days running around after Katy & Ella. Wednesday was mostly occupied by going swimming at CISAC, while today I had some Xmas food to buy. But crunch-time came on Thursday when we had to go buy presents for Mummy.

Ella & Katy had the option of riding down to the Mall, or catching the bus to town with the added bonus of a promised ride on the famous old Canberra merry-go-round. The vote was unanimous for town, with only abstention, and so we piled into the bus and soon found ourselves wandering around the Canberra Centre. The trip was mostly successful, and the merry-go-round was saved until the end.

Now, the last expedition to the merry-go-round (with Granddad while I was away) ended with Katy refusing to go on and Ella enjoying herself; this time around Katy was full of bravado all morning, but when the time came she would only get on her little horse if I sat there with her. Even then, there was trepidation in the air when we started up, and it was only in the last part of the ride that she began to warm up. After we stopped at last (I was feeling a little dizzy, to be honest, by this stage) I thought I would try to get a picture of the happy monkeys -- but as soon as I let go of Katy the floodgates open. So, readers, you will have to accept my assertion that Katy now enjoys the merry-go-round, although the photographic evidence doesn't really back me up...

JMCSWASH Xmas Party

2011-12-16T22:37:00.006+11:00

Each year we gather a special group of close friends together to celebrate christmas. Over the years the group has expanded with new additions and this year was no different with Jackson and Alma experiencing their first christmas.

To kick off the festivities the children had a xmas treasure hunt...running around the front and back yards before discovering the treasure - bubble wands and chocolate. This kept them entertained until lunch was ready!

Treasure Hunt Abby and Zoe (above) Katy and Ella (below)

Mica and the treasure!

Under the beautiful shade of the pistashio tree out the front we enjoyed a bbq followed by opening of the secret santa presents, complimented by delicious desserts and a very relaxing afternoon. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a saturday.

Yummy food - Jackson, Max & Mira, Ella

The gang patiently waiting for presents

More playing...Abby, Mira

Swinging around - Max & Zoe

Bouncing around - Katy, Mira, Sophia & Mica

Nice One Daddy

2011-12-16T22:26:00.002+11:00

The Australian Academy of Science recognises and supports the outstanding contributions to the advancement of science. The honorific awards were recently announced. These are divided in two categories: awards of medals and prizes are made to early career scientists under the age of 40, and the prestigious career awards are made to scientists for life-long achievement.

Andy was awarded the Frederick White Prize which recognises the achievements of scientists in Australia who are engaged in research of intrinsic scientific merit which has an actual or potential contribution to community interests, to rural or industrial progress or to the understanding of natural phenomena. As part of the award Andy will be giving a lecture at the Shine Dome in May 2012.

Santa Second Time Around

2011-12-16T22:02:00.004+11:00

We were at the mall yesterday finishing off xmas shopping and posting presents when we spotted Santa there again!! Ella was super excited and Katy still wasn't quite sure. However I managed to talk Katy into having Iggle Piggle take the photo of Santa, Ella and herself. There were a few tears but somehow they stopped long enough to get one decent shot.

One year on

2011-12-05T22:23:00.004+11:00

Last week we had a very impressive storm which included 4 bouts of hail. The girls thought this was exciting. Pippa on the other hand wasn't so impressed. During the late afternoon she could sense the approaching storm and while we were all at work and school, she managed to scratch the laundry door to bits and them lock herself in the toilet!

Back to the hail - the stones were actually quite large and I was able to retrieve some before they melted in my hand. We discussed with the girls about water freezing to become ice and thus rain freezes and becomes hail. As the clouds became darker and rain began to fall the following day, Ella wanted to know when it was going to hail so the ice blocks could fall down!!

We shouldn't complain about all the rain. It's great for the garden. In fact it's almost a year since the large eucalypt out the front fell over in a storm. It's amazing to see how much our front garden has changed in that time.

Santa

2011-12-02T20:44:00.002+11:00

We were at the mall yesterday when a christmas elf came along handing out stickers. Ella was instantly memorised! 'Where is santa, Mum?" she asked looking around. Sometime later as we passed the main stage area but were one floor up, Ella peered down and spotted Santa! Watching other children climb into his sleigh Ella excited said "I want to ask Santa for some lego." Hmm I'm thinking...what a difference 12 months make. Obviously santa and christmas is a hot topic at childcare because we haven't discussed any of this at home.

Off we go down the lift to meet up with Santa. Both Ella and Katy have only ever had 1 santa photo taken - both when they were 8 months old. So I thought it would be nice to have one with them together. Despite being only 3rd in line it took sometime before it was our turn.

Ella happily climbs into Santa's sleigh and chats away to him. Meanwhile Katy burst into tears as soon as we walked up the ramp!! No amount of distraction (even ella's teddy taking the photo - which got a smile) could make santa seem less scary! So no photo this time. We may try again if the opportunity arises.

Luckily for Katy, Ella informed us that not only did she ask for lego and a cinderella doll for herself but she also asked santa to bring Katy an ariel doll. What a lovely big sister :)

Sneaky

2011-11-24T20:53:00.002+11:00

You got to love how little minds think and how things evolve sometimes especially when it comes to making parenting easier. It all started about a month ago....

Our normalish bathtime routine involves the girls having a bath - with one adult supervising while the other adult does packing lunches, cleaning up dinner dishes, has a shower, work stuff or whatever... then once the girls are out of the bath the other adult comes to give a hand with teeth cleaning and getting them into their pj's.

More often than not this process in not a smooth one - there is either lots of resistance ie more time in bath, running around in the nude/jumping on the bed to avoid putting on pj's...or there is tears usually from tiredness.

So one night while I was in the supervising role and Andy was having a shower, I whispered in Ella's ear that we'd play a trick on Daddy and perhaps we could get dressed before he got out of the shower. Very quietly I helped the girls out of the bath, brushed their teeth while telling Daddy that we'd need his help in a few minutes (I should mention Andy could see exactly what was going on through the frosted glass of the shower.) We disappeared to the bedroom and in a record time had pj's and nappies on! The whole time Andy was playing along "Just washing my toes then I'll be able to help you girls get in your pj's... "

So when Daddy eventually opened the shower door, the two girls were dressed ready for bed without any protests or tears! Ella thought it was hilarious and Katy copied her big sister reactions.

With Andy is in Tokyo for work conference this week, I've discovered I can be just as sneaky. The one parent scenario goes something like - girls get into bath, a few minutes I hop into the shower, then after awhile I call out " Just need to wash my hair then I'll get you both out OK?" Ella replies "OK mummy" then whispers (loudly) to Katy "Quick Katy lets get out and trick Mummy!" They both climb out with Ella helping Katy into her towel, then brush their teeth (as I've left the toothpaste and brushes conveniently on the basin as well as prompt them with a "We'll brush your teeth too once I'm out") and head off to the bedroom.

I emerge from the shower surprised that they are no longer in the bath. Down to the bedroom I go to find Ella in her dry nite and pj's and Katy patiently waiting in the nude!!

Just wonder how long this is going to last....

New Beginnings

2011-11-19T22:36:00.003+11:00

We waited this year until November to ensure the last of the frost had been before planting vegies. Although the vegie patch looks bare, there are zucchini's, tomatoes, pumpkin, lettuce, snow peas, corn, and basil seedlings which have so far survived being eaten by the possums and snails.

Katy Snippets

2011-11-19T22:03:00.005+11:00

Katy said goodbye to the Lilli Pilli's and hello to Sundews at childcare last week. Her transition into the toddler room was much smoother than Ella's probably because she is older but also being a Lilli Pilli allowed more exposure to the big kids without actually being one. She prefers to wear undies to childcare but often ends up coming home in a nappy - we still haven't crack the weeing in the toilet part despite her amazing ability to hold on until around lunchtime.

Not sure if it's linked to the recent move at childcare but Katy has decided that using scissors is fun. In fact her favourite current pastime is to cut up a piece of paper into as many small pieces as possible!

Sleeps during the day for Katy have disappeared. She still can't manage

to stay awake for the whole afternoon though hence Katy's cat nap does the trick - that is a 10- 20mins sleep usually in the car on the way home from somewhere.

Fan-fairy-tastic

2011-11-09T22:17:00.008+11:00

It was a wonderful wednesday today as between gymnastics and swimming, we headed off to see The Fairies in concert at the Canberra Playhouse. Ella was disappointed that we (meaning Katy and herself) weren't wearing any fairy paraphernalia like half of the girls there.

Barnaby the Bizzy Buzzy Bee, Wizzy the Wizard, Princess Minuet, Elf the Fairy Cake Maker together with fairies Harmony and Rhapsody sang and danced with some Christmas cheer. Ella was memorised for the hour. Katy on the otherhand began to get distracted halfway though when I think tiredness sent in!

Overall the production was enjoyable, I was slightly annoyed that both Harmony and Rhapsody weren't the original cast members although Ella didn't seem to notice. It will be interesting to hear what the girls say to others about their fairy concert experience.

Dickson Pool

2011-11-06T22:13:00.003+11:00

Trundled over to Dickson Pool with friends - Jase, Abby & Zoe and Al, Rob, Max & Mira. The day started out quite warm (well for Canberra that is) but by mid afternoon it was overcast with a light breeze.

Dickson Pool is an outdoor pool with loads of nice grass and shady trees as well as three differing depth pools as well as a water play area. We spent most of our time in the mid depth pool (Katy can almost touch the bottom at the deepest part). Ella as per normal spent most of the time under water while Katy, Abby and Zoe were a little more cautious.

Soon the little ones began to shiver so we opted for warmth of the towels and renewed their energy levels with food. It wasn't long before they all headed off to the water play area. The best part was a series of water fountains evenly spaced to make a tunnel which was perfect to run through. This tunnel however would randomly come on and off which meant they would all stand and shiver while waiting, then run and squeal with laughter when the fountains eventually came on - meanwhile there wasn't the usually high level of adult intervention or assistance required so we got to relax, chat and observe!

Splash

2011-11-06T22:06:00.003+11:00

Saturday was warm enough to brush off the cobwebs from the paddling pool and make a splash. Our nextdoor neighbour, Sophia was a little hesitant at first but soon joined in the fun.

One for Katy

2011-11-04T22:00:00.002+11:00

After my successful skirt making for Ella, it was time to make one for Katy. Again I made up the design myself but the first attempt, which she wore to childcare was very long and tent like! After a little unpicking, cutting and resewing this was the final product. Katy was happy with it too!

Happy Birthday Andy

2011-10-23T22:07:00.004+11:00

Celebrations for Andy's 38th birthday started last night with a family BBQ at Susie and Patrick's house. The cousins were having a great time playing together.

The festivities continued on today - the girls let Andy sleep in by not waking up until 7.30am (worn out from previous nights activities perhaps?) followed by presents and lunch out.

On the spur of the moment a few friends gathered at our place for afternoon tea - thanks Stace for the delicious tart! Again it was lovely to sit and chat while the kids entertained themselves.

The evening was then topped off with pizza and beer with the boys while watching the world cup rugby.

Getting to Know the Neighbours

2011-10-23T21:52:00.004+11:00

At the beginning of the year, our neighbours Karen and Nathan returned from spending nearly 3 yrs in Jakarta for work. While they were over there, their daughter Sophia was born - Sophia is the same age as Katy. In July this year, their son Louie arrived and now that Karen is on maternity leave, we have been trying to have a play date on Thursdays. Last Thursday was the first time we actually managed it. Anyway the girls played away on the trampoline, swings and slides, rode the various assortment of things with wheels, and dug in the sandpit - but nothing compares to getting wet and naked!!

New Things

2011-10-23T21:37:00.004+11:00

Some orienteering friends children had outgrown their tag along bike and wondered if we would like to have it. As we'd been thinking about getting one, we gladly accepted. Ella was thrilled with the idea of riding a big bike fast and took to it straight away.

Next was a sewing project inspired by various people who had made stuff for their children. So I thought about making a patchwork skirt for Ella. With a rough idea of a pattern (care of the internet) and a few pieces of material I went from this...

to this....

The sewing part didn't take that long although according to Andy I spent more time unpicking than actually sewing! I'm very happy with the result so much so that I've bought some material to make something similar for Katy.

Excitement Plus

2011-10-12T22:10:00.003+11:00

The kids were almost excited as Andy was about our new tent!

Toughening Them Up

2011-10-11T22:11:00.006+11:00

Saturday was the Australian Long Distance Champs which for Andy was a 13km course in thick granite forest which translated into about 1hr40mins of running. So to keep the kids entertained Al and I decided to enter the easiest course. The only catch was that it wasn't that easy.......

The gang consisted of Makhaya (5), Ella (4.5), Max (4), Luca (3.75), Abby (3.5), Zoe (3.5), Katy (2.25) and Mira (1.75) and Al (who is 37 weeks pregnant) and myself. With Katy and Mira in backpacks, the plan was the rest of the kids to ride their bike around the course.

Ella, Abby, Max, Zoe, Luca, Makhaya

All set to go!

Now like I said, there were a few things which made this course challenging. First one was the fact the start was located just over 1km from the assembly area and mostly uphill. So it took us approximately 45mins to get there (an average length of time usually taken to complete a blue course!) On arrival we decided to remove some of the warm layers, have a drink and nibble as well as a toilet stop. Then we were off....

downhill straight to the first control.

We were about one third the way around when our course deviated from the bumpy track to follow along a fenceline. With the adjacent track overgrown in bracken the going got tough. We had no option of taking any short cuts with the lack of tracks and dense forest and so we forged on. The kids were great taking it all in their strides.

With the next third of the course following this fenceline, we came across a bare rock surface positioned about halfway along this tricky section- the perfect place for a picnic and rest (oh and another toilet stop - we were starting to contemplate and appreciate the carers at our childcare centre!!)

We had started to rotate carrying bikes giving the kids a break from trying to negoitate the rocks, bumps and bracken. It was obvious with several falls and some tears that they were all getting tired. The final third of the course was in relative friendly bush again adjacent to a fence but his time following a little sheep track so the riding became easier. We also came across several hay bale crossing and although we didn't need to cross them, the kids were keen to test them out!

As we approached our 12th control (we only had 13), some familiar faces appeared. Apparently several of the parents and our loved ones were concerned with our absence (we'd been gone for over 2hrs!). They'd whipped themselves into a worried state thinking that I was delivering Al's baby with 8 kids looking on!! Thankfully that wasn't the case.

Dinosaur Hunters

2011-10-11T22:04:00.003+11:00

The second weekend of the Oceania Carnival was based in Cooma only 2hrs from Canberra. First event was the Oceania Sprint Champs on the Friday afternoon. While Andy and Cathy were out, Makhaya, Luca, Ella and Katy went hunting dinosaur bones (commonly known as sheep bones!)

Packing Again

2011-10-11T21:51:00.006+11:00

Thursday saw another day of organising and packing for the second weekend away. While I was busy, the girls were also busy too - building a cubbyhouse in the corner of the loungeroom. Armed with a torch, this little structure kept them entertain for quite sometime only to be abandoned when I brought out the sleeping bags to show them what they would be sleeping in over the weekend as we were camping. These also provided much entertainment to my surprise (I will definitely remember to bring them out again on a rainy day or when I need some quiet time!)

Where are they??

Oops spillage!

Quick mum's coming....

All toys tucked too.

Catch Up

2011-10-11T21:40:00.003+11:00

Monday we enjoyed being back at home except for the mountain of unpacking and washing. In the afternoon we were joined by Perth friends Ceri and Graham along with their crew - Kate, Lachlan and Rohan. They were over for the Oceania Carnival and en route to Cooma (where the next part of the carnival was taking place). We had a lovely few hours of playing, chatting and eating pizza.

Orienteering Fun and Friends

2011-10-11T21:00:00.004+11:00

The last two weekends have been jammed pack with packing, driving and orienteering. After work on Friday 30th September, we drove to Wangaratta which is about 4.5hr south of Canberra for the first part of the Oceania Carnival. The Oceania Long Distance Champs were held on Saturday in drizzly conditions making the forest at least look quite beautiful (from a non runners perspective!)

Thankfully Sunday dawned with lovely sunshine. The new map Yackandandah was perfect for the Oceania Middle Distance Champs as the gold mining terrain provided no relief during the race. Andy enjoyed the challenge and finished mid field in elites. I certainly wasn't ready for such a technical map, taking me 30mins for the first 3 controls before actually realising this wasn't a map for running fast!

Meanwhile for the girls the weekend was a wet and muddy one with the raingear being an essential item. Luckily there were loads of orienteering friends to play with, splash in the mud with, run up and down hills with, play on the podium with, roll around in a tarpoline with.....

Anyone seen our mum? She is taking a looong time...

Thoughts of a Pre-Schooler

2011-09-25T22:24:00.002+10:00

Andy has a colleague from Holland who recently arrived in Canberra for a 4 months sabbatical. To welcome Henk and his wife Julia, we decided to have them over for dinner during the week. Ella, Katy and Pippa to an instant liking to them.

Ella was quite chatty over dinner especially to Julia. At one point she began talking about the chickens. So Julia asked various questions about where they lived, slept and did they lay eggs. The conversions went something like this -

Ella - Did you know that one day we went to look for the eggs and they weren't in the laying spot. Do you know where the egg was?

Julia - No

Ella - It was in the poo!!

Julia - puzzled look

Ella - Yes (beginning to become quite animated) It was in their sleeping side in the poo. I think the chicken went to do a poo and out popped the egg!

We all laughed as we hadn't heard this version :) Ella looked slightly confused - I think she thought we were laughing at her for a moment.

Then the following conversation occurred today in the car when Andy gave half a banana to each girl for morning tea.

Ella - Did you know you can't share germs as you'll get sick? (germs is a recent idea obviously spoken about at childcare)

Daddy - Right

Ella - Do you know we have different germs because we have different names.

Daddy - So if we had the same name we have the same germs and we could share them?

Ella - Yes

Hmmm......

Adore Tea

2011-09-25T22:13:00.003+10:00

Caught up with the girls for some quality kid free time! The destination was a new cafe called Adore Tea. The menu for tea was very impressive and long - I didn't realise that there were so many different types of tea. The tea lovers amongst us (I'm not one of them) were in heaven. Cherry Ripe, Heavenly Earl Grey and Queen Mary were the chosen teas, while the non tea drinkers opted for cinnamon and mint slice hot chocolates. Of course you couldn't have afternoon tea with out something nice to accompany the hot drinks so apple and rhubarb crumble, citrus tart, scones and sticky date pudding were ordered.

A Feast for the Senses!

2011-09-24T22:40:00.008+10:00

Commonwealth Park comes alive for the next month with Floriade. This year the theme is 'A Feast for the Senses' uses more than 1 million bulbs and annulas to provide a kaleidoscope of colour. Flowers including tulips, irises, daffodils, hyacinths, violas, chrysanthemums, ranunculus and daisies are arranged in garden beds that represent a drop of wine, cheese platter, cupcake, ice cream swirl, watermelon wedge, chocolate paradise, citrus basket, spice market, red hot chill pepper, bento boxes to name a few...

But it's not all about flowers. On the walk to floriade, we couldn't help stopping at the rock castle for a play! Then it was straight to Matilda's Farm - a free animal farm. A really popular place which meant we had to line up for a few minutes. There were rabbits, sheep, goats, ducks, piglets, a calf and geese. No handling animals this year meant there was lots of patting going on. Katy's favourite was a very fluffy and funny eared rabbit while Ella was happy patting everything.

Next was lots of playing in the kids tent which is run by the Tafe childcare students. A wide range of activities kept the girls entertained for nearly an hour. By which stage it was time for a rest and picnic!

Once lunch was devoured we wandered between the many garden beds admiring the flowers. Ella commandeered the camera and with it on the flower setting began happily snapping away. It wasn't until the photos were downloaded that we realised she had actually taken some excellent shots.

With the beautiful weather and fun morning there was nothing better to do than top it off with an ice cream! It's a pity that we couldn't share it with Nana or Grandad who usually visit us while Floriade is on.

Sunday Orienteering

2011-09-19T20:20:00.004+10:00

An absolutely stunning day on Sunday spent orienteering at Stromlo West. First it was a warm up setting up the string course with Abby & Zoe's Grandma, then doing the string courses and finally onto bigger things - the blue course! With Katy in the backpack, Ella and Abby on bikes we were off.

Our adventure tested out the girls strength, endurance and patience. It was a tough, not so bike friendly course right from the beginning with the first 2 controls along a fence line slightly up hill. I was amazed this first bit didn't dent Abby and Ella enthusiasm.

We picked up Zoe and Belinda en route to#3 but the union lasted only a few controls before they headed back to the assembly area. At control #6 we had morning tea and a much earned rest. From #7 it was a taped route to the final two controls. Katy was out of the backpack by now which was in one way was quite helpful as I only had to carry the 2 bikes, however the terrain was very rough for a wobbly 2yr old. As luck had it we were rescued by Andy on the approach to #8.

I was hugely impressed with the girls efforts. They were real troopers and finished the 2.1km course in 85mins only 45mins behind first place! Despite numerous falls from bikes, logs and rocks there were no major injuries but I will need to remember to bring a larger stash of bandaids for next time!

Katy on the string course

Falling over in the grass

Ella, Belinda, Zoe and Abby

Snack time

Wait for me Ella!

It's over here guys!

Almost there

Katy's Dilemmas

2011-09-15T21:55:00.004+10:00

Recently, Katy has become interested in everything related to the toilet - undies, wees, poos and bottom burps. Some mornings like this morning, she stubbornly insists on wearing undies. The problem here is that she freaks out when the smallest drop of wee wets her undies. So off we charge to the toilet where she is happy to sit, however if the tiniest drop happens to drip into the bowl, it sends her into another frenzy at which point she wants a 'muppy*'. I can see toilet training is going to be interesting...

Another dilemma has been swimming lessons. Unfortunately we forgot about re-enrolling the girls and subsequently missed out on our regular 'same time for both lessons thursday morning' spot. The only two options we were offered were thursday morning with one lesson at 10.30 and the other at 11.30 or otherwise both lessons at the same time on wednesday at 5.30pm. As I didn't want to hang around the swimming pool for 2+ hours on a thursday morning, we opted for the witching hour of 5.30pm!

For a girl who normally loves swimming, Katy's first lesson was a disaster - she was inconsolable halfway through the class and ended up getting out. The second lesson was slightly better - we stayed in for the whole lesson but there were tears for the last 10mins. And as for last night her confidence returned and she decided she could swim! Great except she can't!! She'd struggle to get free from my grip then sink like a stone! Funny to watch but at least there were no tears :)

On the food front, macaroni cheese - which I would say up until recently, was an essential staple food is slowly being replaced by pasta with stir through basil pesto.

*Katy's word for nappy

Beginnings

2011-09-15T21:42:00.004+10:00

....hopefully of our vegie patch. Today in the beautiful sunshine, the girls planted butternut pumpkin seeds. Now we just have to remember to water them...

Together with the pansies and snapdragons we planted on the weekend, our garden should be soon blooming with flowers and vegies just in time for a visit from grandad.

Families

2011-09-09T22:32:00.003+10:00

A snippet from yesterday morning.

Ella - Mum can you play families with us?

Mum - Sure. Who am I?

Ella - You can be the mum, I'll be the sister and Katy can be the baby.

A few minutes later...

Ella - Mum lets play a different game.

Mum - Ok

Ella - Let's play rabbit families. You be the mummy rabbit, I'll be the sister rabbit and Katy can be the baby rabbit.

A few minutes later...

Mum - I'm just going to go and get the washing so I can fold it up.

Mum leaves the room and returns several minutes later...

Ella (to Katy) - Ok Katy lets play wombat families - you be the baby wombat and crawl around and I'll be the sister wombat.

Mum quietly chuckles to herself!!

A Change is as Good as a Holiday

2011-09-09T21:53:00.004+10:00

It all began in mid June while Andy was holidaying in the US (sorry typo there...working in the US) and Dad was visiting, the washing machine broke flooding the house resulting in the floorboards warping. After investigating our house insurance we decided to pay $250 (saving ourselves $4750) to have the entire house sanded and resealed.

The downside was the floor guy giving us 3 days notice to start the job. So with Andy arriving home from holidaying (oops working) in Rome on Saturday morning we had exactly 48 hours to move house! Floorboards are throughout the house except for the bathroom, laundry and toilet so it was going to be a massive job shifting. We packed as much as we could into the bathroom and laundry with everything else going into the double garage.

Sunday night saw us settle into Andy's parents house for the week. It was really lovely staying with them. Having dinner cooked, washing done as well as playing with the girls. On one day cousins Mia and Josh came over for a play resulting in Nana whipping up some beanbags!!

The floorboards were completed by Thursday and the painter came in on Friday to paint the skirting boards. In my wisdom I decided that while the furniture was out it was a good time to paint the lounge which I've wanted to do since moving in 4 yrs ago! Andy then suggested that perhaps the dining room oh and the hallway could be done!!!

For 8 hours on Saturday it was all systems go - tape, paint and clean - enjoyable but tiring. We also managed to move the majority of stuff back into the house once the girls were asleep. With the gym extravaganza on Sunday morning, the afternoon was taken up with more shifting, unpacking and reorganising. The finishing touches were complete on Monday night.

The floorboards were sealed with a different finish than before which allows the variation of colour in the pine to show through. It is also much lighter resulting in an airier feel to the house. So we're really happy with the change but boy do we need a holiday to recover!!

Father's Day

2011-09-09T21:38:00.004+10:00

For Father's Day this year Andy's was treated to watching the girls displaying their newly acquired gymnastics skills in the gymnastics extravaganza! It was chaotic with lots of kids and just as many adults. Ella and Katy enjoyed completing the 6 circuits which involved balancing on many beams, swinging on bars as well as the rings, jumping on the trampoline and into the foam pit with lots of other fun stuff in between....however the gold medals at the end of the day were pretty special too!

Haircut Happenings

2011-09-09T21:33:00.003+10:00

As requested a photo of Ella's own haircut followed by the hairdresser's 'fix up' haircut.

That Will Teach Ya Mum!

2011-08-24T14:35:00.002+10:00

Ok if we all read any parenting book - it all seems pretty straight forward and simple. Then you apply these principles to real life and well it seems I have had my first (and probably not last) parenting backfire lesson.

And it all started over desert - specifically me serving up some peaches! Ella's response was yuck (which is becoming an increasingly standard response to food) - fine Ella either eat it or go hungry. Ella sits and begins to stew...chewing the end of her hair at the same time. Now I this is where I made my first mistake by adding 'And stop chewing your hair!!!' Yep my patience being a sole parent was wearing thin. I mean really what was I thinking - Ella hair chewing is becoming a habit and I wasn't going to stop it there and then.

However next mistake was a threat and we all know that you have to follow through. 'Do you want me to get the scissors and cut it off so you can't chew it?' That worked for a whole 20 seconds before laughingly she put her hair back in her mouth. So snip off comes the end bit of the offending piece of hair. It goes straight back into the mouth - snip more comes off. Again straight back into her mouth. By now I was thinking can't go on forever and she doesn't seemed to be too phased. Ok snipping stopped. Hmm that didn't work at all.

What I wasn't prepared for was what happened next when Ella disappeared into the lounge room. When she reappeared in the kitchen about 1 minute later, she had her scissors in one hand and a big clump of hair in the other!! OMG. The tears started to flow when I took her into the bathroom to show her what she had done. At least I can just get it up into a small ponytail on top so the damage isn't too noticeable but I think a trip to Bernie, our hairdresser is on the cards...

Appointments

2011-08-23T10:15:00.002+10:00

On my last days of enforced sick leave, I have had numerous appointments - follow up with the surgeon, routine post surgery physio stuff, haircut.... However yesterday Katy had to visit the dentist. What I had originally mistake as weetbix on her front left tooth was in fact the tooth becoming grey. It's been a few weeks since her face plant which resulted in a very big fat lip (see Falling Apart) and with the change in colour I was concerned that the tooth was dying. The paediatric dentist was fabulous although Katy didn't really want him to come too close. He ended up getting a good look in when she started crying!! All good news with the tooth. He believes she has bruised the tooth and like a bruise anywhere else on the body will resolve, resulting in the tooth changing back to it's original colour. We'll head back for another check up in 3 months - hopefully Katy won't be as scared next time.

Resting Up

2011-08-23T09:53:00.004+10:00

It's been a week since I had a knee arthroscope which went well. Dr cut out the torn section of the meniscus and commented that the rest of the knee looked great. Post surgery the knee has recovered well. To keep swelling to a minimum, the first few days required loads of icing and keeping it elevated (ie lying on the couch).

Bandaid sympathy party!

By Thursday I was up and about limping around which was just as well as Andy flew out that night to Rome for 10 days - another conference! With Friday a school day for the girls and Nana doing the drop off/pick up, I enjoyed quite time at home creating photo books from our old photos.

Needless the weekend activities were quite ones and with the crap weather what could be better than building a princess palace! As you can see the princess clothes could all be hung up and even morning tea could be served inside!

When the sun finally came out for the briefest moment the girls decided to make Wombat Stew.

Skiing!!

2011-08-09T22:53:00.007+10:00

I've been wanting to teach Ella how to ski ever since she started walking, but practical considerations have always prevailed. Last weekend we put practicalities aside and headed to Mt Selwyn for a family day-trip on a cold, wet, foggy, rainy day; we also managed to drag Cath, Eoin, Aoife and Lily (Aoife's cousin) with us.

The drive up was a little harrowing -- we picked up skis for the girls in Cooma (as well as two toboggans) and drove through the driving rain to Selwyn. All Nat could think about was how wet and cold we would be after a few hours in the elements, so she was relieved to find Katy asleep when we arrived, and magnanimously volunteered to stay in the car with her so Katy could get a proper rest. Meanwhile, the remainder of the team braved the elements...

First up, we skied with varying degrees of success. Ella travelled a total of about 25 m in 30 attempts over the day, but wasn't remotely phased by the amount of time she spent on the white snow. And in recounting her adventures various friends have been given the distinct impression that she is now some sort of slalom wizard, which isn't strictly accurate.

Next up, we tobogganed. Katy wasn't particularly enamoured by the whole experience. She was so rugged up that she literally couldn't move, and the toboggan motion took a bit of getting used to. When Nat finally took her back to the car, Katy remarked mournfully: "Don't like 'no' - like car"!

The bigger girls, on the other hand, loved the toboggans in general and toboggan racing in particular (not to mention the Dads).

Wealth of information

2011-08-09T19:29:00.002+10:00

Our 4 yr old Ella has become a sponge - absorbing loads of interesting facts all learnt at childcare. A few recent examples are-

1. In the bath making animal noises, Ella croaked and I asked if she was a tadpole. 'No mum I'm a frog' she replied 'But do you know mum a tadpole becomes a frog?' And then went to explain how the tadpole grows legs and eventually jumps around.

2. While doing the food shopping, I put some flour in the trolley only to be asked if I knew where flour came from. Of course I played dumb, encouraging Ella to explain. She informed me about the process of growing wheat, milling it then using the flour to make bread and pasta. Apparently at childcare the children were learning about 'From garden to plate.' This involved actually making pasta, cooking it and of course eating it!

3. Out of the blue Ella exclaimed 'Do you know how the dinosaurs died.' I must say dinosaurs isn't one of my strongest topics however I was told how a big thing came down, CRASH and all the dinosaurs died.

4. Tonight at the dinner table it was Japanese - Konnichiwa (hello) and ichi, ni, san (1,2,3).

I just wonder what tomorrow will bring.....

Falling Apart

2011-07-30T22:24:00.003+10:00

After recently falling off my bike scrapping some skin off my knee and winding myself in the process, all was going well in the healing process until my breathing became increasingly painful. By Thursday it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to work the next day and needed to return to the doctor. She sent me off for an xray which showed I had in fact broken my 7th rib! Some strong painkillers and a few more days off work did wonders. First day back at work was yesterday and the rib held up well, a little achy by the end of the day.

On the topic of falling apart, I have a degenerative tear of my medial meniscus in my left knee and although it is mostly unsymptomatic, I decided to seek a surgical opinion. From this meeting it seems as though sometime in the not so distant future I will need to have an arthroscope to remove the damaged section.

Little Katy is in the wars too - just look at the fat lip she got the other day. As we walked out of the library, Katy discovered the pockets in her jacket and had proudly put her hands in them. Then as we usually do once leaving the library, the girls run up and down a concrete ramp and stairs. It was on the first race down the ramp that Katy face planted and with her hands still in her pockets, her lip bore the brunt of the fall. Needless to say there were lots of tears and a lot of blood....

Weekend in Sydney

2011-07-30T21:17:00.009+10:00

Recently Ella received an invitation in the post for Aoife's 4th birthday party and was instantly excited! We decided to make a long weekend of it which fitted in really well with my inability to work. So last weekend finally arrived and off we drove to Sydney.

Saturday morning was party morning and everyone was excited except for perhaps first time party organiser mum Cath who was slightly nervous/stressed. However once the food was organised, balloons blown up, cake done and the kids began to arrive all was forgotten as chatting and giggling filled the room. First it was painting, followed by pass the parcel, then the much anticipated treasure hunt with the beautiful butterfly cake and very impressive rainbow jellies to top it off. Perfection...what more could a four year wish for??

Saturday afternoon was spent mostly recovering from such an effort. We did headed out on a small bush adventure with Aoife showing us her childcare centre. Following this all the girls were tired so they had some down time watching Charlie & Lola while Andy and Cath went out running.

It was off to Orienteering on Sunday morning at Pennant Hills. Aoife, Ella, Katy and I managed to lose pram bound Becky, Amy and Cath on the blue course. The weather was beautiful and course interesting enough to keep the girls entertained the whole way around. Back at the assembly area it was time to play and read with all the other children and have some more birthday cake!

We left Cath, Eoin and Aoife at the orienteering to venture into the choas of Ikea. What a mad place. The scene was set as we became stuck in a traffic jam on entering the underground parking area! And even though we knew exactly what we wanted it was still a stressful experience - there were so many people it felt like christmas shopping.

The afternoon continued by meeting up with friends from our Perth days in the local park. We chatted while our girls played with their boys. An ice cream van arrived which Ella quickly noticed. Luckily for her it also sold expresso coffee.

Monday Aoife turned 4! After coffee at Cath and Eoin's local, Eoin headed off to work and we drove to Blenhiem Park (the original spot for Aoife's party). The girls dodged the crocodiles and negotiated the wobbly bridge before swinging on the swings and flying fox then finished off with climbing, sliding and see sawing. A fantastic way to finish a great weekend with wonderful friends :) We look forward to playing with Aoife next weekend hopefully in the snow.

Gruffalo's Child

2011-07-30T21:02:00.003+10:00

The Gruffalo said that no gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood...

But one wild and windy night the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warning and tiptoes out into the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist... does she?

The Gruffalo's Child is a sequel to one of our favourite book's The Gruffalo. Luckily for Ella and cousins Mia, Josh & Makhaya, it came to the Canberra Theatre. Last year we saw the Gruffalo which Ella thoroughly enjoyed despite the Gruffalo sitting next to her and scaring her half to death. No such incidents this time around. Again the performance involved only three actors, two of which I remember from last year, and again it was vey entertaining not only for Ella but for me too!

Bunnings You Beauty

2011-07-30T20:19:00.004+10:00

While Andy was away in the US, I decided one Satuurday morning to head down to Bunnings with the girls in tow to buy a few plants and generally kill some time. On entering the store, a Bunnings team member politely informed me that there was kids craft activities in the DIY section. So on our way out I thought we'd pass by to see what these activities actually entailed.

We were pleasantly surprised as Bunnings was celebrating National Fairy Day!! After donning their Bunnings aprons, the girls spent the next 45 mins having their face painted, decorating wands and butterfly wings and all for free! While the girls were busy, I got chatting to one of the ladies coordinating the activities who told me that every weekend Bunnings has some sort of free kids activity. Definitely something worth remembering for the future.

Now the above activity happened about 4 weeks ago so imagine my surprise last week when I suggested to the girls that they could help me with the cleaning, Ella said she wanted to use her Bunnings things which I took as she wanted her wand or wings. No no no not those things, you know mummy the thing you put over your head and tie up at the back - eventually a frustrated Ella finally got me to realise that she wanted to put on the Bunnings apron!

Bike Smash

2011-07-17T21:16:00.004+10:00

Nat has been complaining she doesn't get enough exercise these days, so decided on Friday that she would ride to her work at Gungahlin (for those who don't know Canberra, Gungahlin is the northern extrema of Canberra, about 15km from Cook). I came home with Ella & Katy just in time to make dinner, when Natalie arrived at the bottom of the driveway, and staggered up from the mailbox like a drunken sailor. Turned out that she'd dropped her chain on Redfern St, and her pedalling inertia caused her to crash onto the road, right where passing cars would have been driving if they had been around. So, it clearly could have been worse, although Nat was too preoccupied about whether she had torn her brand new fluoro yellow cycling jacket (she hadn't) to worry about the physical trauma.

Nonetheless, Nat has struggled with her injuries since the crash, and there have been 3 distinct phases. The first phase, once the jacket had been checked, was dealing with the blood on her right knee, which hit the ground hardest. I made an emergency dash to a late-night chemist to buy the biggest bandages they sold and we put them on. It continued to bleed, but at least she could go to work on Saturday. Phase 2 was the bruising on her knee which, strangely enough, seemed to be exacerbated by digging the entire vegetable garden through with compost on Saturday afternoon. But the most intriguing has been phase 3, which occurred suddenly in Belconnen Mall this afternoon -- Nat picked Katy up, and suddenly discovered that her chest (which was a bit bruised from the crash) was so painful she could hardly breathe, let alone stand up. Since then she's been a little subdued; I think if she was riding the Tour de France she might have pulled out by now... We shall await the doctor's verdict tomorrow.

Icyteering

2011-07-15T21:05:00.005+10:00

Although we were only 40min out of Canberra just past Bungedore, it was absolutely freezing and I'm sure we could have been in Antartica. Orienteering last Sunday was at Timbertops. Andy and I both ran short courses fearing that the girls wouldn't last in the blustery cold conditions. However they mostly enjoyed being outside and playing with the other little people.

All rugged up the girls headed off on their string course together with Abby and a-sick-and-not-so-happy Zoe. The chocolate freddo at the completion of their course certainly improved the situation for about 10mins!

Bill, Andy's US colleague who is in Canberra for 2 weeks, joined us finishing his first ever orienteering course even enjoying it so much he did the course again backwards!! Coffee and lunch at a new cafe in Bungedore was wonderfully warm!! Andy took Bill into the famous Bungedore Woodworks which seems to have increased it's prices even more - I mean who buys a table worth $50,000?

Melbourne

2011-07-09T19:37:00.006+10:00

Last weekend the girls and I flew down to Melbourne for the weekend to catch up with Andy who was at another week long conference. The plane trip saw Katy in her own seat now that she is 2!

Leaving first thing Friday morning, we eventually met Andy at Spencer St Station at lunchtime. A quick bite to eat, then dumping our bags at Andy's apartment we headed off on the train to visit Nanji (Andy's nana) for afternoon tea. All the great grandchildren love to play with Nanji's collection of singing christmas toys - there's a chicken, duck and 2 dogs all moving to different christmas tunes! Our return trip on the way back to the apartment enabled us to catch a tram. In one day we had traveled by car, plane, bus, train and tram!

Saturday morning we were off to explore the Melbourne Aquarium. On entering the first exhibit is the Gentoo and King Penguins! Cleverly designed, the penguins have an icy incline to climb up / slide down and a deep pool of water to splash around in. Fantastic stuff.

Leaving the cold behind us we were in awe of the 'frozen in time' Great Hammerhead shark 4.5 metres long caught in 2010 by fishermen. The shark, an endangered species, is currently on show at the aquarium in a bid to educate and promote shark conservation. We learnt about different types of sharks, felt their teeth and their skin.

Next it was the Weird and Wonderful - colour-changing cuttlefish, spiky lionfish, camouflaged sea dragons, weird scorpionfish, armour-carrying crabs and we even found Nemo!

Although we hadn't really traveled any great distance, the Deck Cafe was the perfect spot for morning tea. We were treated to watching turtles and catfish swim about in the river pond. Round the corner was the hands on area. Ella was fascinated with the starfish. I was impressed with the 3 types of shark eggs on display - all of which looked liked unusual seaweed to me!

Down the ramp into the Reef section. A beautiful floor to ceiling circular coral atoll was the highlight of this area. And finally on to the Oceanarium - wow! Just in time for the dive feed. Those stingrays were huge and almost covered the divers like a blanket trying to get some food!

We had a quick lunch before heading back to the apartment for a much needed Katy nap. The afternoon saw us wander down to Birrarung Marr Park. Named by the Wurundjeri people who originally inhabited this area, ‘Birrarung’ means ‘river of mists’ and ‘marr’ relates to ‘side’. A large area with a great little playground where we met up with Tania and Sophie (or Melbourne Sophie as Ella says). Once the girls worked up their appetite exploring the playground, we headed into town for pizza. A lovely way to complete our weekend trip.

Sunday morning was an early start - as the skybus wasn't running that early, we caught a taxi to the airport for our 8.30am flight back to Canberra.

Science Time

2011-07-09T17:47:00.005+10:00

One of the last things Grandad did with Ella before he left was an experiment from her '50 Science things to make and do' cards - Hanging Crystals. Seemed like an easy experiment - fill two glasses up with hot water (choosing two different colours), pour heaps of bicarb soda in, place a string from one glass to another then leave it for a week and watch the crystals grow.

So Grandad flew out, Ella waited and watched...

Day 1

Day 3

Day 4

Finally Day 6!

A simple fun experiment unfortunately I hadn't noticed that sometime after Day 4, the crystal formation on the top lip of the blue glass prevented the water from dripping down onto the plate. It was instead dribbling down the side of the glass, pooling onto the benchtop. On closer inspection, the blue food colouring soaked into our relatively newly sanded polished timber benchtop leaving a not so nice mark (see below) - doh!

Dentist

2011-06-30T20:53:00.003+10:00

Ella and I had a check up and clean with the dentist today. It was Ella's first trip to the dentist and she coped really well. Lying in the dentist chair she looked like a rabbit caught in some headlights! She hardly moved a muscle (except for opening her mouth wide like a crocodile) all the while studying the dentist very carefully. She has 20 teeth - a full baby set all beautiful and heathy.

Hogg Heavy Metal Band

2011-06-26T20:09:00.002+10:00

Fun with the Cousins

2011-06-26T19:49:00.005+10:00

I usually produce a monthly photo page for the grandies and great grandies. As was scrolling through the May photos (yes I'm a little bit late), I came across these ones. Last month while Patrick was away, cousins Joshua and Mia came over for a play so that Susie could get some 'me running time!' With the kids growing up quickly, it's fantastic that they can occupy themselves without too much adult interaction. Anyway off they went outside to play on the swings in the front garden. Soon they had made up a game - raking up the leaves into a large pile then swinging and kicking them everywhere followed by another swing which involved launching oneself off the swing and landing in the soft pile! They were enjoying themselves immensely and we adults all wished we were kids again..

Grandad's Week

2011-06-18T20:01:00.005+10:00

Grandad arrived about 12 hours after Andy left for the US. He has a few more days with us before returning back to Perth. We love having grandad here :) Our week so far...

There is always a project up my sleeve for when my parents visit. This time was no exception. In Grandad's first 24 hours we had already visited the wholesale sleeper company, ordered 1 cubic metre of river rocks and distributed them around the garden edging all the paths! The results are great.

As Monday was a public holiday, we cooked Grandad eggs (Rosie's) and bacon for breakfast then headed to the blue playground to burn it all off. That evening we celebrated Grandad's birthday (which was actually on Tuesday but as I had to work and the girls had childcare was much easier to do earlier) by cooking a lamb roast followed by birthday cake.

Tuesday was a rest day for Grandad to recover although he did have pizza ready for us when we all arrived home from work/school. The girls tomato sauce, ham and cheese pizza came with their initials on it while the basil pesto, tomato, bocconcini pizza was delicious if a bit strong (I forgot to say to Grandad to spread only a little of the pesto on the base not the whole jar!!)

Wednesday was gymnastics in the morning with the circuits based on a winter theme. Seemed pretty appropriate as it was very chilly. Back at home while Katy was sleeping, Ella wanted Grandad to play 'getting married' which involved holding hands while Ella had a baby stuffed up her dress - Grandad was having a hard time trying not to wet himself with laughter!! The afternoon saw us down at the markets picking up a few supplies.

Thursday Ella and Katy showed off their swimming skills as Grandad watched their lessons. Grandad joined us in the water after in his bathers which according to Ella were his pj's! Off to the library in the afternoon to change books.

Friday was another work/school day. Grandad went out for lunch with a friend. He also cooked us tacos for dinner.

According to Ella today has been the best (and worst) day so far. It started off with Ella riding her bike while Grandad walked the dogs around the bike path loop. Then we all caught the bus into town where Ella and Grandad had a ride on the merry-go-round. Next stop was the playground in Glebe Park followed by lunch. Perfect timing saw us back at the bus station to catch the 12.15pm bus back home. It was when I opened the front door that the fun of the day was slightly dented....

as infront of the wine rack was water!! All I can say is thank goodness we have timber floors!! I had put the washing machine on (as I usually do) when we left. The water was about 5cm deep in the hallway. The extent of the water went from the wine rack, a little trickle into the doorway of our room, up the hallway just approaching but not into the girls rooms and the worst was the kitchen although the dinning room was that wet.

The problem? Well it appears that a wire holding the seal on the door of our 10+ year old front loader washing machine came loose, wrapped itself around the clothes, pulling the seal from the door and popping the door ajar all while the cycle was in the rinse phase, trying to fill the machine with water which was just flowing out onto the floor!

So tomorrow we'll be washing machine shopping....

Happy Birthday Chicken

2011-06-18T19:40:00.003+10:00

In early June, Katy turned 2! Originally scheduled to be at the local playground, we ended up celebrating Katy's birthday at home as grey windy winter weather set in. It was a lovely morning spent with family and friends eating pancakes! The 'talking' baby from Uncle Daryl and Aunty Michelle was the biggest hit. Katy rarely goes anywhere without baby.

Back Online

2011-06-12T20:49:00.002+10:00

Sorry for the lack of posts last month - the hard drive on my computer decided to call it a day. So what been happening? Well lets see....

Sleep deprivation is still an ongoing issue! Ella is having difficulties keeping dry overnight - she sleeps too heavily and doesn't get upset when she does wet her pj's. The interrupted nights has also impacted on her behaviour (well I'm hoping that's why she has become a little more difficult to reason with recently). Combined with the almost impossible task of washing and drying sheets and pj's has seen Ella wearing drynites - nappy like pull ups. It's allowed everyone to take in a breath and recover for a little bit.

Katy meanwhile loves her new big bed however this too does pose new problems. We have now established a great bedtime routine. As for the day times sleeps well that is another story although on numerous occasions recently there has been no post lunch nap. Perhaps they are becoming a thing of the past?

I enjoyed a weekend away to Brisbane for a work conference. It was my second time ever away from the girls. Not having to be on a time schedule associated with children was lovely so to was the uninterrupted finished conversions! Brisbane was warm and sunny. I managed to go jogging both morning and can advise anyone who is interested in starting up a personal fitness business to head on up there. On the saturday morning I lost count of how many small groups of people were doing pilates, boxing ect. The conference itself was interesting and have already employed my new knowledge at work.

The next big event was Katy celebrating her 2nd birthday but I'll do a separate post for that.

We've taken up several new ventures since returning from our holiday. The girls are now involved in a sibling gymnastic class on wednesday mornings. Cathy, Makhaya and Luca have been doing this class for a while and we decided it would be fun to join them and it is. Each fortnight is a different theme and circuits. After free play and warm up activities, the older children head off with one coach to complete one circuit while the younger ones each with their adult join the other coach on the other circuit. After a few laps of the circuit we get to swap coaches and circuits.

After being injured for such a long period of time, I've finally decided to do something about it. Clinic 88, a local massage place runs pilates sessions so I signed up for the wednesday night classes. The pilates is all mat based in a very small group. I feel much better for doing it although it's a little on the expensive side. Unfortunately I am unable to go for the next 3 weeks as Andy is away.

Yep as I type he is awake at 3.30am in Spokane, Washington State for a conference. No doubt he will get over his jet lag when it's time to come back home. The bonus for Andy being away is that Grandad arrived and is staying for a week!

Hello

2011-05-16T20:37:00.003+10:00

sleep deprivation again! On return from our Perth holiday we assembled Katy's bed and said goodbye to her cot. Ella also decided she wanted to stop wearing nappies at night. Let's say it hasn't been smooth sailing - well it never was going to be right? Last week saw numerous tag team interruptions each night usually involving Ella waking up crying because she was wet followed by Katy waking up. It was almost like having a newborn again!

Katy's move into a bed is so different to Ella's transition. Although it does have it's benefits - both girls now go to bed at the same time just after 7pm. At the moment we need stay in the room until Katy is asleep otherwise there would be tears followed by footsteps.

Ella's nappy mission is going ok especially seeing though she has never had a dry overnight nappy! The last two nights have been bliss - taking Ella to the toilet when we go to bed around 10.30 - 11pm and then she has made it through to 6ish. Meanwhile Katy has been sleeping through the whole night and waking around 6am. The main challenge has been trying get the pj's and sheets washed before work and dried when the max temperature has been just over 10!

How to ride a bike in 4 easy steps

2011-05-14T15:38:00.005+10:00

Sometime last summer I picked up an Aldi 12" bike on the cheap, and we had committed to giving it to Ella on her 4th birthday. Of course, since she turned 4 on our holidays, we just drew a picture of said bike, and it wasn't until after we got home that she was able to ride it. While Ella is fairly proficient on her balance bike, we weren't sure that this would translate directly to a pedal bike. But it all turned out easier than we thought, along the following lines:

1. Learn how to pedal.
Unfortunately, the only way to learn how to pedal is with training wheels, and so last Saturday I assmbled the bike complete with the training wheels. Training wheels are the most annoying invention since sliced bread. Ella can steer well on her balance bike, but training wheels have one leaning in the wrong direction and oversteering, neither of which Ella could cope with very well. To add to the confusion, training wheels get impeded by gutters, or any other obstacle, so progress was slow. Despite this, Ella thought it was great, and we even took a short trip around the block for a bit of fun.
2. Learn how to balance
On Sunday, we graduated to free riding. After 2 minutes, Ella wanted her training wheels back on, but after 5 minutes she was riding happily (albeit slightly erratically) back and forth along our road. The only catch remained starting off -- which meant she needed a push to get going each time. But once started, she was pretty much gone...
3. Learn how to start off
On Monday afternoon we got home sufficiently early to spend 20 minutes practising before we had to cook dinner. The strategy today was to learn how to start off on downhills (pretty easy in the end) and graduate to starting off on the flat. Pretty pleased with ourselves after this.
4. Learn how to brake
Turns out that this one is hardest of all. Logic would dictate we would learn this first, and believe me, I tried. But when panic sets in, she forgets all about back-pedal brakes and tries to plant her feet down. Plenty of time to learn this, I thought, as we set of this morning for a play/coffee at Jammo with Abby & Zoe. It wasn't until the way home, on a steep downhill, and despite my instructions to slow down for the corner, that Ella missed a turn and ploughed headlong into a bush! She thought it was hysterical, so obviously no damage done, but perhaps this is one lesson I need to reinforce before we hit the hills again.

Easter Egg Hunting

2011-05-08T22:30:00.004+10:00

While we were at Brookton for the Frazzle Rock Orienteering carnival, the easter bunny came to Nanna and Grandad's house. He didn't leave any chocolate eggs only glittery ones, plastic ones with little chickens inside and foam ones you could colour in as well as stick stickers on!! The best part was not the initial treasure hunt in the backgardend but the fact you could do it numerous times. It was exciting every time - even when Ella hide them herself!! I must admit I was pretty much over easter egg hunts by the end of our stay...

Decorating eggs...

Hunting the eggs...

Look at our treasures!!

Ella Turns 4!

2011-05-08T22:09:00.005+10:00

Ella celebrated her 4th birthday in Perth at the pirate ship playground with several orienteering friends as well as Nanna, Grandad and Nayne (Ella's great grandmother). The pirate ship is just a perfect place for a party and the weather was glorious. There was lots of playing, a treasure hunt followed by a cake - this year's request was a cat. The rest of the day was spent playing with Nayne back at Nanna and Grandad's house with a roast dinner to top it off.

The Final Result..

Easter in Perth

2011-05-07T15:10:00.009+10:00

We've spent the last 2 or so weeks in Perth -- this was allegedly a holiday, but I quickly discovered that having a holiday while recovering from pneumonia isn't so much fun. Nonetheless, the girls in the family had fun. Easter itself was spent orienteering (well, Nat orienteered while I tried to keep Ella & Katy in line). The highlight of the weekend was the string course at orienteering, which we did with all our friends (Sophie in the photo on the right; Aoife, Ashley and Kate on the left). Clearly, following isn't considered illegal on string courses...

Secondary highlight was Sunday morning Easter egg hunts around our B&B, organised by Annwen. Pyjamas and bare feet were mandatory (it turns out that Easter in Perth is a little warmer than Canberra), and numerous (plastic) eggs were to be found - some of them perfectly placed for the younger brigade to find, much to their surprise.

Stay tuned for news of the rest of the holiday, featuring in particular Ella's 4th birthday.

Here we come

2011-04-20T14:35:00.002+10:00

We're counting down the last few hours before we board the plane for Perth for the easter orienteering carnival although Andy definitely won't be competing (he was diagnosed with pneumonia earlier in the week) and I'm a maybe after straining my calf again *sigh* at the ACT champs. Oh well at least we'll be able to catch up with family and friends over the 2 weeks.

Growing Up

2011-04-17T21:24:00.003+10:00

If you have ever visited Andy's parents house and looked on the inside of his wardrobe door, you will see a record of various peoples heights with corresponding dates. Obviously most popular names on there are Andy's, Cathy's and Susie's starting somewhere in the late 1970's. There are also random ones like Tomoki (Andy's bear), someone's arm span and someone else standing on their head. I think I have even managed to get my name on it in the mid 1990's!

And so the tradition continues in our house. I took this photo last month. As you will note Aoife's name also appears as she towers above Ella and Katy aged 21mths is much smaller than Ella was at 23mths. The other slightly funny thing is that we record the girls heights at so called 'random' times. However if you look closely it seems that the weekend of 19/20th March is a boring one in our household as we have nothing better to do than measure heights!

Wine Tasting

2011-04-17T21:09:00.003+10:00

Yep starting the girls at a young age! A couple of weekends ago, we joined up with Andy's colleagues who were wine tasting in the Murrumbateman region. Unbeknownst to us the Wine Harvest Festival was on so there were a few out and about. We sampled Jeir Creek and McKellar Ridge wines. With the beautiful weather it was a perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon.

Yoga

2011-04-16T22:09:00.002+10:00

Unexpectedly post dinner a couple nights ago, Ella began showing us her yoga moves - dog, cat, shark, mountain, candle, peacock just to name a few all while singing a little song which goes with each pose! Just another benefit of childcare. Katy thought it looked liked great fun so before we knew it, she was down on the run copying everything Ella was doing.

Lilli Pilli

2011-04-11T21:22:00.002+10:00

Our little blossom Katy has graduated from Billy Buttons to become a Lilli Pilli. A new concept started last year at our childcare centre, the Lilli Pilli's are a group of 4 toddlers who are getting a little too big for the Billy Buttons baby room. The Lilli Pilli's have their own carer who takes them into the next room (Sundews) mid morning where they interact with the bigger kids. When the weather is warm it means playing outside in the BIG playground and for Katy that means seeing Ella. Apparently they both get very excited seeing each other. The Lilli Pilli's eat lunch with the Sundew kids before heading back into Billy Buttons for their post lunch nap. On waking up, the Lilli Pilli's once again are involved in the activities of the Sundews prior to returning to their room to prepare for home time.

Generation Z

2011-04-08T19:44:00.005+10:00

So much for good old pencils and paper! Gen Z is apparently highly connected, many having a lifelong use of communications and media technologies. Ella is definitely living in that zone - skyping her grandparents in Perth, wanting to look up Princesses on the computer, watching our GPS dot in google maps on the iphone while driving around Melbourne, loving taking photos just to list a few things....

Tonight while I was busying putting Katy to bed, I could hear Andy and Ella playing around on Andy's newest toy - his ipad. Now that both girls are in bed almost asleep and I've finished cleaning up, it was time to check my computer. My inbox contained an email titled Love from Ella. Completed on penultimate (an app that allows you to draw with your finger or a special pen on the screen) here is the attachment -

A beautiful drawing of a fairy in front of her house!

Sit

2011-04-07T21:08:00.003+10:00

Andy caught the bus home tonight so the girls, Pippa and I decided to walk to the bus stop to meet him. On the way home we stopped at the curb to cross the road - Katy was holding both our hands, Ella had Andy's while I held Pippa's lead. I said 'sit' to Pippa however both Andy and I had to giggle as Pippa wasn't the only one sitting - little Katy was pulling on our arms trying hard to sit down!!

And the Years Roll On

2011-04-02T21:25:00.003+11:00

While at Mossy Point, Andy and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary and captured the moment at where else but Pooh-bear Corner!

2011

2009

1995

Mossy Moments

2011-04-02T20:41:00.007+11:00

There are really only three main activities to keep us occupied while down at Mossy Point. Firstly, most obviously, we spend a large amount of time at the beach. Actually most of that is at Candlagan Creek, the little creek at the north end of Broulee which is perfect for toddlers and babies. Katy was obsessed about running from the edge of the grass, over the sand and into the water. There were a couple of sand stacks as well as a face plant into the water which Katy thought was all very funny. Ella joined Katy a few times running around but then was off to dig in the sand, explored the rocks and frolicked in and out of the water. Ella insisted on playing in the waves. So off we would go crossing the creek and into the beach waves. Katy was apprehensive about the waves but eventually was giggling as we jumped over the very baby waves together.

After intensive playing at the creek, next main activity involved refuelling and rehydrating at the Muffin Shop. Good coffee, milkshakes and delicious muffins. The boat and surrounding area kept the kids entertained for much longer than normal at a cafe!

Finally while at the coast it is essential to have fish'n'chips because as we all know Canberra is terrible at it! The three families ventured to Moruya, a little town south of Broulee where we had our fill of fish'n'chips at the local park. The fish'n'chips unfortunately didn't live up to expectations however the park was great - a flying fox had been installed since we were there last!

Mossy Point

2011-03-31T20:29:00.004+11:00

Off we went down to Mossy Point for our 'goodbye summer' beach long weekend. I think it can be called a tradition as it was our 4th consecutive year of going to the coast with friends. This year we were joined by Belinda, Jase, Abby & Zoe and Al, Rob, Max & Mira. My colleague's house was not available to hire so we rented a 4 bedroom place on the headland at Mossy Point. A fantastic house - lots of room for noisy kids to run around in as well as being toddler walking distance to the beach and muffin shop.

Walking to the beach

The kids were fantastic. Of course there was the occasional tantrum, sharing issue and tiredness all par for being a toddler really but on a whole the adults felt as though there was a glimpse of what life will be like in the not too distant future where the kids will be entertaining themselves :) In particular Abby and Max were hilarious - copying each other and laughing while Ella is now Mira's second mother.

Abby, Max, Katy & Ella in the bath with Mira looking in.

One for the 21st - What are you up to Abby and Max??

For Andy and I the mornings started early with little Katy ready to play around 6ish. So to prevent the whole house being woken up we would head off for a walk to the newsagents for the papers watching the sunrise.

Spring loaded

2011-03-23T22:02:00.004+11:00

Last night was one of those occasional evenings where Nat leaves me to fend by myself with the girls. This one started well -- we caught the bus home from childcare (actually two buses) without losing either of them (either girl that is, not either bus), and made it home just in time for dinner on the back patio.

Dinner was just beginning to unravel -- they were taking turns feeding their forks through the umbrella hole in the outdoor table -- when I decided to grab them more food to keep them entertained. As I was walking inside, Ella found a spring (a bit like the spring in a retractable pen, only a little large) which had mysteriously disappeared by the time I returned. It was then that Ella remarked: "Daddy, the spring hurts."
"Well, where is it, dear?"
"Here" Ella says, pointing to her neck.
I couldn't see any spring, so I fairly quickly figured out that the spring has half-way down her throat. After a few unsuccessful attempts to cough it up, we discovered that it now hurt her in the chest, and she looked distinctly uncomfortable.

I had visions of the sharp end of a spring tearing a great hole in Ella's oesophagus. There was nothing left for it; time to panic. I checked the phone book, but there was no spring-swallowing advice hotline, so I rang Nana instead. After some deliberation we decided that it was worthwhile taking her to the hospital, which meant Nana had to come over and take Katy, while I borrowed her car.

It wasn't a long trip. The nurse on the desk said the best they could do was observe her and take action if anything drastic happened, and that we could just as easily observe her at home. So, we came straight home, and since then have been assiduously pooh-sifting to see if a spring emerges. No luck yet, but it's likely to be another day or so until we find it ....

2011-03-20T13:42:00.006+11:00

As part of Canberra's 98th birthday, the Canberra Festival celebrates Canberra's sense of community spirit and vibrancy through concerts, sporting events, exhibitions, dance, art, culture and heritage, film and music. A regular feature in this festival is the Ballooning Spectacular where giant hot air balloons are launched from the lawns of Old Parliament House. As we are normally woken up by 6ish we thought it was a good opportunity to do something different. So on Thursday morning we were up in the dark piled the kids in their pj's into the car and headed off to Old Parliament House. Meeting up with Cathy, Makhaya and Luca we were treated to watching the kookaburra and strawberry balloons inflate. However due to the low cloud and wind direction there were no actual balloons flying - a real pity. As we walked back to the car, we passed the Royal Australian Air Force who were inviting people to walk inside the their balloon while it was inflating. We ventured inside - Katy wasn't too sure but Ella thought it was cool.

Unfortunately the weather this year has been pretty crappy for flying hot air balloons. Although yesterday we were treated to about 10 balloons flying over our house!!

Miss Independence

2011-03-19T20:39:00.004+11:00

Ella is surprising us with becoming more independent. Getting dressed in the morning is becoming quite a regular thing. Then the other afternoon disappearing only to be found pouring a cup of milk for herself! However during the week Ella emerged from the bathroom after 'doing' her hair. The result as seen below involved putting 16 clips into ones hair! Nice one!

More on the Weekend

2011-03-19T20:08:00.004+11:00

The rest of the weekend turned into a bit of a struggle. Andy had been sick for nearly 10 days with a mancold which he thought was getting better and decided to go running only to relapse and feel even worse. Therefore there was no orienteering for him. I entered the middle distance at Bruce Ridge/CIT - my first run in a long while and no injuries so that was good. The girls had fun running around, picking flowers and playing with Aoife and all the other little people. We finished the morning with an ice cream and headed home.

Back at home was really when the fun began. Andy was feeling terrible so he took himself off to bed. Katy went down for her normal 1.5hr post lunch nap. Ella and I watched some tv, hung out the washing, read a book or two then Ella started complaining of a sore tummy. A little while later Ella ran off to the toilet and heaved up everything thankfully it all landing in the toilet bowl! She was a little flat but felt much better. What was left of the afternoon was very low key.

As Aoife, Cath and Eoin were having dinner at Nadine's place, we got into our normal eat, bath and bed routine. Katy was asleep in no time and while I hung out more washing Ella fell asleep on Andy's chest. Both girls asleep by 7.15pm - unbelievable! Cath and Eoin returned just before 8pm with a sleepy Aoife. This night was a stark contrast to the previous one!

Sunday's orienteering event was a long distance on one of the local hills. As I'd not entered and Andy being sick we stayed at home. A good call - Andy spent all morning in bed, Ella was still a little off colour and I was beginning to struggle. Thankfully after lunch, Andy miraculously perked up and I started going downhill. Sleeping for 3 hours (which felt like 30mins) didn't feel like it made much difference. I was beginning to worry too as I had agreed to work at our Queanbeyan site the next day. It was Canberra Day (a public holiday) in ACT but Canberra Imaging Group has two sites in NSW - Goulburn and Queanbeyan and requested for volunteers to work on the public holiday. Great opportunity to earn 3 days pay in one! I shouldn't have worried - woke up the next morning feeling fine and went off to work to find the list hadn't filled up :) Always a bonus as then you don't have to squeeze urgent scans into non existent spots.

Live and Learn

2011-03-15T20:48:00.004+11:00

Last weekend was Canberra Day so yesterday was a public holiday (for some!). It just so happened that there was a mini orienteering carnival on in Canberra which meant a visit from our great friends Aoife, Cath & Eoin from Sydney.

After dinner on Friday night, Ella and Aoife got straight down to business - playing fairy princess dress ups! Then it was into a fun bubble bath and even Katy joined in on the action. Bedtime ended up being a saga! Andy and I made the fatal mistake of thinking all three girls could sleep in the one room seeing though Ella and Katy now share a room. The evening emerged something like this - Katy goes to bed and to sleep. Aoife and Ella read books in the loungeroom. On completing the books Ella exclaims "Aoife and I can go to bed by ourselves." We naively reply "Ok but remember to be quiet as Katy is asleep." We relax back on the couch looking at each other in amazement and thinking wow life is great now....needless to say that didn't last very long.

Ella and Aoife were soon giggling and carrying on waking Katy in the process. Big girls were shepherded out of the room and Katy settled back to sleep. Try 2 involves me in the room - all is quite so I headed out to the toilet only to return with Katy standing up in the cot saying poo! Try 3 involves changing Katy and settling her again however Ella insists on banging her feet on to bed head and is banished from the room. Aoife is lying there wondering what is going on!!! Katy is still crying so Aoife comes out too - a little upset that Katy is crying! Meanwhile Ella has lost the plot and is having a tantrum in our room with Andy trying to calm her down. Eventually Ella goes back to her bed with her residual sobs and Katy has fallen asleep once again. Now it's Aoife's turn - she is overtired and now doesn't want to go to bed! I think it was after 9.30 before all three girls were sleep. Next time Aoife stays I think we will have Katy in our room and the two big girls can create chaos and noise in the other room!

Go Figure

2011-03-15T20:28:00.004+11:00

On the way to swimming the other day Ella starting counting all the way to 30 (minus 15 and 26). I was impressed as I hadn't heard her count over twenty and even then numbers between 13 - 20 were sometimes missing and definitely not sequential. Ella's attention turned to arrows and so she started telling me - this one means go that way, that one goes straight...Then as we were waiting a the traffic lights, the van in front of us started to slowly creep forward. Ella exclaimed 'You've got to move forward mummy!' Great just what I need a backseat driver!

Katy loves to watching and copying anyone and everyone. She repeats words in her own language. Baby has become a favourite pastime - eating breakfast with her, pushing her in the pram, climbing with baby in and out of katy's cot (that's when the side is half down) and bathing her. Recently she has started counting - 1 & 2 are commonly used with 3 & 4 becoming more frequent. Ella and Katy are seen in the short clip below taking turns jumping on to the mattress we had out for Cath and Eoin.

A change is as good as a holiday

2011-03-05T22:30:00.003+11:00

One of the consequences stemming from our large, snoring visitor last week has been a revision to sleeping arrangements in our house. Since Grandad needed Ella's bed to sleep in we took Ella's trundle into Katy's bedroom for the week. Of course, we've had to do similar rearrangements in the past, and it's always been a nightmare -- Ella wakes Katy and Katy wakes Ella at various stages of the night, leaving nobody with any sleep. But this time around Ella was so excited with the new arrangement that ... we've taken the plunge and made it permanent.

We see a few advantages in the new regime. Our main hope is that they will help each other to sleep better, but that may just be wishful thinking. A side-effect is that we now have a play-room, which everyone is excited about, while we can also use it as a spare room. But for now, we'll just see how long it lasts...

Big Last Day

2011-03-04T21:55:00.005+11:00

Grandad departed very early this morning (6.20am flight meant 5am wake up). Why is it when you have to get up early everyone else 'chooses' to sleep in and when you think you can have a sleep in other smaller people want to get up ridiculously early??

Grandad's last day (yesterday) was a tiring one. First there were swimming lessons. We decided to go early and have a splash before lessons. I got confused with our start time so we were at the pool an hour early rather than 30mins - nevermind lots of time for splashing, jumping off the edge and dragging grandad around by his feet. Both girls are progressing well in their swimming. Ella was rolling from floating on her back then onto her front and then on to her back again by herself. She also loves to 'dive' into the water which turns out to be more of a belly flop. Katy has gained lots of confidence and now jumps in from standing position on the edge of the pool by herself. In fact she is getting to the stage where she 'thinks' she can swim!

Then it was off to the botanical gardens. Ella zoomed around on her bike while Katy was walking or riding in the pram. The gardens are such a great place to go with young children. We climbed rocks, spotted lizards, climbed trees, played in the stream, fell in the stream...

Ella decided to take some photos. The self timer worked fairly well but not fantastically focussed. Dad and I had a good chuckle when Ella who was taking a photo of us suddenly exclaimed (on the verge of a meltdown) but I'm not in it!!

It was all a bit much for grandad who had to have a nanna nap. We timed lunch perfectly - meeting at the cafe with Stacey who is now on maternity leave awaiting for pebbles to arrive.

The afternoon involved a quick shop at Bunnings followed by the fruit and vegie shop at the markets. What was left of the afternoon was spent at home - Ella downloading princess pictures on the computer with grandad while Katy played with her baby. Everyone was exhausted and as Katy had only a 20min sleep the whole day it was earlyish dinner then off to bed.

Grandad has 6 weeks to recover before the next granchildren invasion as we fly to Perth for the Easter orienteering carnival staying for 2 weeks!

Grandad Visits

2011-03-02T21:28:00.006+11:00

Grandad arrived last Thursday and we've been busy.

Saturday

Had to keep up the tradition of visiting a nursery every time dad is over. So while Andy was running we visited Yarralumla Nursery bought some more (mainly) natives and planted them in the garden. Stopped off at the Brasserie for a strawberry milkshake and fruit smoothie. The Brasserie has done loads of outdoor landscaping making it a really nice spot for coffee.

The afternoon saw us ride down to the Belconnen markets to pick up a few supplies, have a play and a coffee. I think this was the first time in 10+ years that Grandad has been on a bike. I am pleased to say he didn't fall off just ended up with a sore bum. We couldn't let him go back to Perth without something hurting!

Sunday

Hazel's 4th birthday party at Lollipops (one of Ella's childcare friends). Lollipops is an indoor play centre at Brand Depot. Lots of climbing and sliding for the girls. Grandad and I also took the opportunity to shop at Toys'r'us getting the girls a couple of gifts. Ella was happy to be given a tinkerbell fairy, while Katy who has been showing off her maternal skills received a pram for her doll (yah - no more fights!!).

The weekend was ended with Nana, Grandpa and Uncle Richie came over for a beautifully cooked roast lamb dinner (thanks Andy!)

Monday and Tuesday

Pretty quite days as the girls were at childcare and we had to go to work. It was Pippa's turn to be spoilt - long walks on both days. Grandad also showed off his culinary skills by cooking dinner for us - pizza and baked beef risotto.

Of course there is always spare time to play. Here Grandad is playing the monkey game and pull funny faces on the computer!

Today

Grandad and Ella watched Katy excel at Tiny tots. Katy showed off her jumping skills as well as her monkey ability by swinging on the single bar.

We had a birthday lunch at Nana's house for Auntie Cathy's 35th b'day. It is also cousin Josh's 6th b'day but he was at school and is having a party this weekend.

Not Big Enough

2011-02-15T20:20:00.004+11:00

All those swimming lessons are beginning to pay off as Ella practices her bubble, bubble breathe while little Katy wants to be big like her sister! Just need a bigger bath...

Out of Action

2011-02-14T20:26:00.002+11:00

Andy headed off in the car yesterday morning to the usual long run at Hackett. The girls and I were intending to ride over to a 4 year old birthday party in Kaleen. The plan was for Andy to come over after his run and join the action as well as providing us with a lift home. Everything started well...Andy off on his run and the girls in the bike trailer ready for partying!

About 15 mins into our predicted 45 min trip disaster struck. I was crossing at some lights on Hayden Drive (a fairly busy dual lane road for non canberrans) when there was a loud clunk and suddenly I couldn't move. In fact I nearly stacked it trying to unclip my bike shoe. On turning around the bike trailer was on an awful angle with one wheel detached.

Trying to move a broken bike trailer with two girls off the road was difficult. On closer inspection two bolts on the axel had sheared off resulting in dislodging the suspension from the axel and as I touched the bolts on the other side - one fell off! Luckily there were no bent bits or damaged to the rest of the trailer.

We were in a dilemma - too far from home to walk back, definitely too far from the party to continue, grandparents out of town, friends all busy doing stuff and Andy still running. The area we broke down in wasn't particularly child friendly and there were heaps of big ants! Our solution after wandering around for a bit was to have morning tea at the bus stop shelter about 100m down the road and wait for Andy to read his mobile.

50 minutes later we were rescued and proceeded to Loic's b'day party arriving fashionably late! Needless to say the trailer is out of action until we can source some new bolts.

The World Through Ella's Eyes.

2011-02-06T17:24:00.003+11:00

Ella has suddenly become interested in our camera. It looks like Ella has worked out the self timer concept (beautiful family self timer taken yesterday morning!) but needs work on focussing. It seems her feet are one of her favourite shots!

Expensive Foodshop

2011-02-02T13:00:00.002+11:00

This morning we met up with a work colleague (who is 35 wks pregnant with twins #4 & 5!!) and two (of her three) children at a park in Manuka. The kids entertained themselves while we chatted and drank coffee. After the play we headed to Coles in Manuka for the food shop. Shopping was as per normal - girls in trolley eating some tiny teddies, sultanas, cashews and apricots while I filled the trolley with supplies. At the checkout Katy was in the seat and playing with my wallet. I paid with a card and off to the bakery for lunch we went.

It was here when I got my wallet out to pay for our sausage rolls that I discovered the $50 note was missing....my stomach sank. We rushed back to the checkout at Coles but the guy there hadn't seen any money. It seems the family behind may have cleaned up. Very disappointing really seeing though I was very slow to actually get out of Coles so I'm sure they could have chased me down. Bummer - at least I made their day.

On another note Ella is enjoying 'making' books at the moment. She loves cutting, gluing, stapling, writing and drawing. We bought some more stationery supplies this morning so now Ella is busy generally making a paper mess. While concentrating on making things Ella exclaimed 'Mummy I'm making a present for Luca and so when she opens this up (a piece of paper folded in half) she will see some glue!" Hmmm not sure that Luca will be that excited about receiving some glue as a present but I suppose it's the thought that counts :)

Weekend in Sydney

2011-01-30T21:07:00.004+11:00

We've been meaning to get up to Sydney for a few months now, principally to see Cath & Eoin's Sydney residence, also for Ella to have another weekend playing with Aoife (while Katy tags along behind). We drove up on Friday night meaning that neither of our girls slept until after we arrived at 9:00. Despite this, both were up early as always, ready for a day with Aoife.

Saturday revolved mostly around an afternoon trip to the beach. The major novelty was getting there via both train and ferry, which had all three girls pretty excited (see photos of the ferry trip above). Sitting outside turned out to be the most fun of all. We got periodically covered in spray, were fascinated by the turbulent wake of the boat, and threw our magic wands (aka, sticks) overboard. Not to be outdone, Katy did her level best to lose her favourite toy (quack-quack the duck) over the back of the boat, but luckily Nat was on hand.

We found ourselves at Watson's Bay, which pretty much had it all: the kids could swim in the harbour, play in the playground, climb up to a lookout over the ocean and, best of all, buy fish & chips for dinner. We arrived home late in the evening, happy but tired.
Speaking of tired, after another morning of play we found ourselves driving home with two exhausted children, both of whom slept 3/4s of the way home.

Ella's Fairy Book

2011-01-27T22:53:00.004+11:00

Inspired by the Tinkerbell movie, Ella decided today to make her own book dedicated to her Daddy. First we stapled coloured paper together. I had to 'write words' as said by Ella, while she did the drawings (well nearly all of them). Titled 'Ella's Fairy Book' it was fairly predictable as to the contents - lots of fairies! As you can see, the book did veer off fairies and into butterflies, the garden and of course the chickens!! I especially love the leaf hiding page - completed after a brief stint outside. Andy was really touched when he got home to have Ella excitedly show off her book and read it to him.

Here are a few extracts -

Togetherness

2011-01-26T21:46:00.004+11:00

Ella and Katy have been spending more time 'playing' together. This often means Katy copies whatever Ella is doing. Here are some examples from the last month...

Painting

2011-01-26T21:29:00.003+11:00

The girls decided to do some painting on the weekend. We purchased a canvas each for Ella and Katy to paint and hang in their rooms. All started well - using cotton buds as paint brushes. Mess started when little fingers found the paint pots! Their painting masterpieces haven't been hung up yet but will post some photos when they are.

Disney Live!

2011-01-19T21:49:00.003+11:00

Ella joined Mia & Josh (with Susie and myself) attending Disney Live - Three Classic Fairytales at the AIS today. The three fairytales - Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Snow White were woven together by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy discovering a hidden storybook amongst treasures.

The actors were more like mimers as the voiceover was obviously prerecorded which was slightly disappointing. The costumes, music, lighting and set design were all very spectacular.

Overall it was a fun - the kids enjoyed themselves and no doubt will be talking about it for some time to come.

Finally!

2011-01-16T20:45:00.003+11:00

Some warm weather has arrived! Saturday saw us play in the paddling pool in the backgarden. Great fun when you slide into the water.

Today I rode over to Dickson with the girls to meet up at the cafe with Andy and a huge crowd who were having post long run coffee. Then it was off to the Dickson pool with Belinda, Jase, Abby and Zoe. Such a nice pool - lots of grass and shady trees. A water park as well as 3 different depth pools. The girls had the most fun in the 0.5 - 0.9m pool. Ella was a mermaid spending lots of time under the water as well as trying to float/kick on her back. Katy meanwhile was finding her feet - wandering around, occasionally going under and splashing heaps.

On a more positive note, Ella has had an icy pole 2 days in a row! Big test will be tomorrow when she's at childcare but I'll cross my fingers for her.

Take a Deep Breath

2011-01-14T20:33:00.003+11:00

Life with Ella at the moment is mostly enjoyable. She constantly surprises us - as seen in this picture where one morning all was quiet (that means trouble...) then Ella appeared sporting her new look - texta nail polish!

Most recently though our frustration levels have almost reached boiling point and it's all to do with toilet training. You see the most frustrating thing is that Ella pretty much decided to toilet train herself just before she was 2. We had very few accidents and in fact NO number 2 accidents at all. Then Katy came along and Ella decided that you got more attention when you had a nappy on so she reverted back into nappies for about 3 weeks before deciding she was a big girl again. Life was going great and I was thinking this toilet training business is easy!

Now several months after Katy was born Ella moved from the toddler room into the preschool room. She transitioned beautifully. Now for some reason unknown to us, she would occasionally bring home some wet clothes. We weren't too concerned - it's a big change moving rooms, having lots of fun and trying to keep up with the big kids! She'll sort herself out. The accidents then moved from childcare days and into days at home. Hmm not good but we're still not too worried and keep ignoring these accidents.

Late last year we thought probably after a bad day, of introducing a rewards chart. The reward for having 5 continuous dry days was a fairy outfit - wings, wand and skirt. Now things improved slightly. A few dry days here and there. Ella was even up to day 4 at one point. Then shortly after this the reward chart from her bedroom wall disappeared. In hindsight 5 days was too long.

Now Santa decided to take Ella's nighttime nappies leaving a nightie and hula hoop in return. There was hope that perhaps a dry night could help with the day stuff. After 2 weeks of listening to the washing machine do another load of sheets and mattress protectors we cracked! Ella nights were getting worse and she was tired from having interrupted sleep. Santa sent Ella a package containing a letter and 2 nappies!

In review, tactics have included ignoring/not making a fuss, lots of conversations about feeling full, who is out of nappies, being wet and smelly to a rewards system. Nothing seems to have worked so now time for a new tactic - removal of a special thing, i.e. an icy pole/ice cream which Ella is allowed a few times per week. The new rule is Ella is allowed an icy pole for dessert (every night!) but only if she has had a dry day. It's now the second day of this new plan and the icy poles have stayed in the freezer!

Looks like she is very determined (or stubborn?) wanting to do things her own way and in her own time. As far as we are concerned now, we're not reminding or prompting her but will change her when necessary and the icy pole reward will remain. Hopefully things will right themselves sooner rather than later. Suggestions are most welcome :)

Playtime with the Cousins

2011-01-14T20:17:00.004+11:00

While Cathy visited the sports doctor in an attempt to fix her hip, Makhaya and Luca came over for a play. The four kids enjoyed each others company without too many interventions from me!

In the short time Makhaya and Luca were here they played monkey business, fairy snap and ate morning tea. Makhaya played the keyboard while the girls did some cutting and sticking. A great way to keep entertained on a rainy morning.

Everyone is Going Short

2011-01-06T21:49:00.004+11:00

Pippa joins Nat and Andy as the latest member of the Nandies to get a short haircut for summer. It's just a pity summer has been only 2 days long!

Molly & Rosie

2011-01-04T08:41:00.004+11:00

The two most recent additions to our menagerie have now settled in, and I thought it was about time to provide you with an update of their progress and a proper introduction.
Above you can see Molly & Rosie as they roam the backyard, looking for bugs and snails, digging up all our mulch. Rosie (formally Ella's chicken) is the one in front -- slightly bigger and with more white tufts near her legs, while Molly (Katy's chicken) is behind. They like to hang out together as they roam around, and usually it seems to be Molly following Rosie (just as Katy follows Ella).

Now, I don't quite know why they like to roam around the yard, since we've spent such a large part of our summer holiday renovating their palacial quarters in the back corner of the yard. Here you see Katy showing off their gate (constructed from leftover scraps of wood) and coop constructed from a mixture of lattice & wire. Their little hutch (where they lay eggs and roost) is on loan from our neigbour, while we have a little Ella-sized platform on the far left so she can collect the eggs -- usually two per morning. Plan is to plant a fruit tree here to give them shade, but in the meantime we will use the shade-cloth in the corner.

While I've spent much of summer perfecting the chicken coop, Nat has got to work on other projects, most notably a new section of paving under the washing line (see above) -- a split level construction which is now all finished bar the near corner.

Oh, and in other breaking news, Katy is learning to jump and has demonstrated the utility of this skill by launching herself into the bath, head first and fully clothed, much to her own surprise.

THE Dolls House

2011-01-02T21:39:00.004+11:00

Andy and I were stuck on Christmas present ideas for Ella. Luckily an opportunity arose 10 days before Christmas where we had a 2 hour window to go shopping together minus the girls. Our main idea was some sort of dolls house as Ella has recently become more imaginative in the area of role playing. Shopping turned out well for us as we bought each others presents but unsuccessful for Ella. The dolls houses were either too big, too plastic or way too expensive. This later dolls house, a timber one made in Bathurst, got Andy thinking.

Yep so you guessed it we decided 10 days from Christmas to make a timber dolls house. A bit of a search on the internet saw us mock up a cardboard one to test for size and then it was all systems go.

Now the main problem was finding ella free time. Thankfully Bunnings was open til 9pm so getting the supplies was easy. Several nights saw me on bed duty while Andy disappeared out to the garage. I'm sure our neighbours loved the noise coming from the garage at 10pm! Anyway it all came together nicely with the finishing touches added late thursday night ready to be taken by Nana and Grandpa up to Guthega.

The house complete with wooden dolls and furniture now occupies prime position in the lounge room and receives plenty of attention from both Ella and Katy.

Christmas @ Guthega

2011-01-01T19:51:00.008+11:00

After a full week of work prior to Christmas as well as many late nights involving doll house construction and packing, it was nice to arrive at Doorack Lodge on Christmas Eve and finally relax (well after getting the kids off to bed and then unpacking).

As we arrived at the lodge just after 7pm, the cousins were all still up and very excited. Santa and his reindeers were well feed - chocolate biscuits, carrot, water, baileys and a beer being left out. Eventually the last cousin (if I can remember correctly was Josh) flaked out just before 10pm!

Christmas morning involved a fairly civilised wake up at about 6ish. Hogg family tradition saw the children discover their Santa sacks at the end of their beds which kept them entertained while some of the adults went running and others started organising the roast lunch.

Ella into her Santa sack and happily colouring in puppy.

Katy looking in her Santa sack and finding amongst the goodies a duckie cultery set which she knew what to do with and was very excited about.

By mid morning it was present time. As you can imagine with 8 adults and 6 kids this process not only took a long time with loads of chaos but was also heaps of fun.

Suspense building....all the cousins waiting to open their first present.

Showing off some of their goodies - Katy with a backpack from Nana & Grandad and Ella opening THE dolls house.

Too much excitement for little Katy so she headed off for a midday nap while the rest of us tucked into a yummy and very filling Christmas lunch. Andy lost his claim to the bone from the leg of lamb by Josh.

Katy did wake up in time to join in the feast although by that stage all of the kids were off playing with their new things.

The clouds and rain rolled into the valley in the afternoon preventing the trying out of christmas bikes and scooters but did provide the opportunity for puddle jumping!!