Wildlife encounter

Yesterday the kids and I ventured out to Serendip Sanctuary, a wildlife reserve not too far from home. Had to take them out for the day to help Louie get maximum uninterrupted sleep after his night shift. He says he never hears anything but I doubt it. It gets so loud here sometimes. Anyway, back to Serendip: there were lots of animals to see. I only have a few pics but we saw emus, kangaroos, wallabies and a whole lot of bird life. It was sooooo cold though! Hard to believe spring is only a couple of days away. Melbourne weather - what else can i say?

 

See that Joshy of mine? That kid purposely acts up on photos. He makes faces and does the complete opposite that I ask him to do. He cracks me up - most of the time. He had his first school excursion this week. The preps got to go on a massive bus for a 15' ride to the local zoo. He had fun, even if he had to endure an earache. His most memorable moment: when one of his classmates threw up after the safari bus ride.

Awesome shot huh? That's Joshy in the bus just before they left.

Just now Michael and Jacob have come into bed. It's 6:25am. They're such early birds. Maybe by some miracle I can convince them to go back to sleep.

Joshua turns 6

Joshua is now 6! How fast time flies. I can't believe 6 years have gone since we welcomed this little bundle of unstoppable energy into the world.

This year we decided that we are not going to celebrate with big parties, but with special family outings. And, upon the birthday boy's request, we visited the Melbourne Aquarium. My parents (Abuela  and Abuelo) tagged along which made the experience all the more memorable. 

I will have to add more pics soon. This one though, is an absolute classic. Who can resist my mum's convincing terrified expression as she finds herself inside the jaws of a long extinct giant shark?? I love it!

I think I might fill you in on the other happy and fun things that have been happening around here recently: 

That's of course US. How I love my husband. He is my absolute best friend, my everything. Life is not always easy and parenting is sometimes hard, but together we are strong. And having each other and our children is my greatest joy.

There's little Jacob who will soon turn 3. Really happy with that kid sized trolley from Bunnings. As my brother would say "small solutions for a small planet"😉

              TIME OUT for WOMEN

Recently I went to Time Out for Women, a one day inspirational event for women. It was held in Sydney earlier this month. I was away for three nights (longest away from my little family) and it was just fabulous. I travelled with awesome long time friends Jess and Llyly, and made more friends along the way. It was my annual leave from motherhood duties and though I missed Louie and the kids, I still managed to have a blast! 

I absolutely loved the talent, inspiration and encouragement from the speakers. Loved David Archuleta. I envisage my boys one day growing up be like this great young man. 

Just for fun

The weekend was wonderful. Extremely busy, but really great. During breakfast on Saturday I told everyone that if we were to visit the Melbourne Zoo AND the local festival on the same day, we all needed to get the house in ship shape before we left. After an hour of power, we were ready. I was impressed! It is amazing how much little hands can do when you give them a good incentive. 
Here are a couple of videos from the zoo visit. And, no. They do not include zoo animals. Just my very own, little monkeys (and a big monkey mum and dad :)

The festival was fun too. Both sets of grandparents went with us. The kids went on rides with Nonno, Nonna, Abuela and Abuelo. It was so much fun to watch them all.

On Sunday after church, we ate nuggets and chips. And then off I went to choir practice. Sienna came along with me again. She sat next to her Nonna, who is a soprano like her. I love choir, not because I have a great voice (no, definitely not), but because I'm not too bad at following the person next to me. I'm trying to learn how to read the notes too, but since I am not naturally musical, I still depend on the altos next to me to start on the right note.

Driveway Blitz

They make it look so easy on Better Homes and Gardens (one of my favourite shows and magazines). They seem to rip a room apart in minutes and magically, effortlessly transform it into something spectacular. Now with this BHG inspiration, we had decided that our 40 year old bluestone driveway was no longer safe to walk on (a number of people had accidentally tripped on the now bumpy surface). So, we decided to excavate all 800 or so bluestone pitchers and re-do our driveway in a way that was environmentally responsible ( ie cheap). Now, those bluestone blocks are the definition of HEAVY. Prying them out and moving them out of the way took Louie and I many hours (over several weeks, whenever we had the chance). Once excavated, it was time for the driveway. Last Saturday we were so fortunate to have some amazing family members and friends with willing, strong hands to help us out. The driveway is complete! But not without the help of some awesome people.

Summer's here

Today the temperature reached 40 degrees Celcius in Melbourne (104F). I went into Michael's class to do a Christmas craft for the kids: little snowmen made from Styrofoam balls. Not very fitting with the weather conditions, I know. But the truth is, as ridiculous as it may be to sing Christmas carols that mention sleigh rides in the snow in a place that gets hit by extremely hot weather conditions in summer, it is SO MUCH FUN!!! To even imagine 'walking in a winter wonderland' is elusive at this time of the year down under, but I think it adds to the magic of Christmas for us here and in many parts of the world (south of the Equator mainly)... One day, I tell my kids, one day, we will stop 'dreaming of a white Christmas' - and actually experience it. But for now, our Aussie Christmases will be filled with the fun of endless summer days.

 

Today, in the inflatable pool. So awesome.

 

Christmas preparations

It's beginning to look, sound and feel like Christmas! How I love this season. I've borrowed a whole lot of Christmas DVD's, storybooks and magazines from the local library and have been devouring them with the kids before bed. Decorating the house has been fun. I just wish I had more lights, more tinsel, more cute little ornaments from second hand shops. A home can never have too many Christmas decorations.

Well... maybe it CAN... yikes


Tonight the kids spent a good couple of hours writing Christmas cards for all their classmates (22 each on average). Sienna was extra thoughtful by writing down 2 things she liked about each one of her school friends. She drew and coloured in pictures. Michael got artistic too and drew awesome characters for each one. Joshy was cute too. He wrote 4 cards to his little mates from his Sunbeam class. He drew them an 'electric rock' in each card. Please do not ask me what an electric rock is. I'm guessing though that if this type of rock ever fell on somebody, it would not only seriously hurt them, but also electrocute them. Joshy has vivid, sometimes violent imagination. Like the other day when he informed me that sparrows were likely to take people to their nest and feed their chicks human brains. I honestly don't know where he gets these things from. We are peace-loving parents!!

 

 

Picnics and outings

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup Day. Hubby was at work though (sigh...), so I took the kiddies to the Melbourne Museum. Had Louie been with me, we probably would have gone somewhere more adventurous. But the kids were excited to go, so I took them.

You know, one of my favourite things ever is PICNICS. I love the idea of settling down on a cosy picnic rug with yummy food, sitting under the shade of a leafy tree and enjoying a gentle breeze. Well, that was us yesterday in the museum garden: except that the idyllic moment only lasted about 2 minutes. For when I had finally managed to finish making up tuna sandwiches for all of them (all whilst Jacob was walking on top of everything), and started eating my own sandwich (finally the mum gets a bite), Joshy loudly announced he needed to go to the toilet. Yeah. That picnic didn't last long.

After we got tired of all the stuff in the museum I took them to the Carlton Gardens playground. And we sat down again, on my cute picnic rug.  A few moments later, there was a little panic.  Sienna had unintentionally wandered off. So far off actually that she looked the size of an ant. There was some scolding (ok, there was lots of scolding). I am wary of public places. And then there was some more scolding, when Michael started chasing an injured pigeon that they had found. The poor bird. Michael has been chasing birds since he could walk. It's all on video.

So, yesterday wasn't the best day ever. My picnic dreams evaporated quickly. And I was missing Louie lots. However, I'm grateful that although sometimes I'm not a likely candidate for Melbourne's Best Mum awards, I am with them. And they with me. And we get to do lots of stuff together. At the end of the day, they often ask: Mami, is it your turn with me? Louie and I rotate tucking them in bed and staying in their rooms for a little chat, a story, a song, or in the case of Joshy and Michael, simply some company until they fall asleep. I tell myself I must not be doing too bad a job if they still want me around for the last bit of their day. Even if all they've seen or heard, has been this imperfect, sometimes crazy woman they have for their mother, for the past 14 hours.

My favourite part of the day yesterday: Icecream at home and lying in the hammock. And when Louie got home, at 8:20pm.