Happy Valentines Day

I've never been a huge fan of valentines (maybe because I was usually the one without a date? hmmm) but it was fun this year because Ben is old enough to get excited about the cookies and candy. It was also a milestone for Matt and I because we celebrated our first valentines together ten years ago at Messina Hof...how time flies!

I hosted our Friday playgroup this past week and we did it up for the holiday. I wanted to make heart-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them but it turned out to be more of an undertaking than I'd realized. First, couldn't find any refrigerated cookie dough here so I had to make it myself from scratch. Then I realized I have no idea where my cookie cutters are because I haven't seen them in years (probably in storage somewhere) so I made a desperate search for heart-shaped cutters in a country that doesn't care much about Hallmark holidays. Thankfully a friend came through with one at the last minute so I didn't have to try my hand at freestyle hearts. My last big challenge was inviting Ben to do it with me. He was really excited about the process but help was not the word I'd use to describe his efforts.

His attention drifted after I'd used some flour and a minute later I realized he'd been spooning water into the flour canister. Damage done...I let him keep playing.

Next he dropped a sugar-coated lemon in there, too. At least the lemon was still very useful for the icing.

Ben was terrific at using the cookie cutter and we managed to get a few dozen hearts cooked and several colors of icing made. That was also a challenge because the confectioners sugar here is not powdered so the consistency was totally different. Baking familiar things in another country is such a challenge that I vow never to do it again but forget several months later and try something else.

I had to give Ben his own counter for decorating because our styles are quite different. He got the cracked cookies to ice and cover in sprinkles.

A few minutes later I noticed I'd been hearing lots of sprinkling but didn't see much on the cookies...turns out they're pretty tasty!

Meanwhile, Alex was busy throwing things down the stairs and I had to draw the line at the big car. Enough baking for the year at our house!

Playgroup was great fun with a dozen moms and lots of kids running around wired on sugar. I saw Ben with 4 different cookies! But it was hard to scold him because every time he got one for himself he also got one for Alex so he was at least being thoughtful in his gluttony. And he had been really patient to make so many cookies and wait until the next day to eat them.

We decorated valentines cards and had a little exchange. Since the kids are 4 and younger, I guess it was more work on the moms' parts but it was still fun.

The mornings here have been gorgeous lately. It's usually right around 70 when Alex and I get up (some days 5:30, better days around 6) and I enjoy some coffee while he has a snack out on the balcony. It's the quiet before the day really begins. I also love to wrap up my day with a glass of wine at sunset out there after the kids have gone to bed.

And then a few minutes later Ben is up and the circus resumes for another day!

Alex learned the word cookie very quickly after our baking afternoon and the boys invented a game with the word.

Every morning now, we wake up to a tiny person standing next to the bed staring at me. Alex is up with the birds, out of bed, and ready to see Mama, but I'm not quite so excited to be getting up. I've tried books, toys, games, and snacks in his room to distract him but he's out the door first thing. If he can't open the door he screams and ends up waking Ben, who gets up to open the door for him and doesn't go back to sleep. Any moms out there have advice on early risers and morning greeters? Please leave a comment. Or at least tell me he'll grow out of this eventually!

Fun Week

We had lots of animal adventures this week. Our Friday playgroup met at a little aquarium discovery center and the kids got to feel the creatures in the exploration pool. Ben liked the starfish and sea urchins but had nothing to do with the little shark.

Alex, on the other hand, would have gone head first into the pool after that shark and pretty much anything else. He's at such a fearless age right now so I have to watch him like a hawk.

The aquarium was smaller and not quite as entertaining for little ones as we'd hoped (but a great deal at $7) so we took all the kids out to the playground next door. Ben and Becca, the little girl right in front of him, had a great time getting sand all over each other. It's fun to watch Ben talking and interacting with other kids after so many years of playing next to them.

Yesterday we decided to spend the day at a nearby wildlife park and had a great time with all the animals. First we went to the farm show and learned about sheep shearing and milking cows. A few of the little kids from the crowd were chosen to bottle feed the lambs that came running out...so precious! Maybe next time Ben can do it. Their sweet little tails were wagging like puppies.

Ben tried his hand at milking the cow.

Alex just went up front to say hello.

We pet some goats, sheep, and deer and Alex of course wanted to chase the chickens. Something about him and birds.

We met Big Bub the wombat and got to pet him a little as well.

Then it was on to the kangaroo and wallaby field to make some new friends. (the real irony about this place was that we saw a bunch of wild kangaroos just outside the entrance but paid to go inside and feed the ones in the park...ha!)


This albino kangaroo had not a care in the world! Kangaroos are perfect Aussies....they kick back during the day and know how to relax.

This guy was tugging on my shirt to let me know I wasn't handing out the goods fast enough.

Alex figured out the process quickly and only tried one piece of food himself. Once he decided it didn't taste good enough to eat personally, he'd very insistently feed the roo of his choosing, whether that one wanted it or not.

Ben spent a lot of time talking and petting all of them he could reach.

They even fed this guy together.

This little mama had a joey in her pouch. I didn't get to see him but could tell that he was crawling around in there.

And this joey looked a bit large to still be in there. And I'm wondering how he could breathe with his head in the pouch?

Ben's friendly reputation spread and he had a line of friends waiting for a snack and a cuddle.

This one got several hugs...although this resembles more of a loving choke hold.

We met some of the koalas and got to pet this little guy while he was snoozing.



I thought this was interesting - the eucalyptus leaves provide so little nutrition that the koalas have to sleep about 20 hours a day to conserve energy. It would be like humans subsisting on lettuce.

One of the tasmanian devils. Ugly little buggers!

We had a little picnic lunch and the kids made some friends with the other little ones running around.

Back at home we had a fun morning with slippers. Never know what they're going to bring out of their rooms when they wake up!

We've also had some fun with the play-doh. It's great that Alex is old enough now to enjoy a lot of the same things with Ben.

All in a Day's Work

Two little men were very busy today. Alex figured out how to open his bedroom door so he happily let himself out, quietly slipped right past Daddy, and came banging on my door to wake me up first thing this morning. That was quite a surprise to me because in my 3+ years of motherhood that's the first time a child has come to my door...Ben still waits to be let free in the mornings, either by one of us or his clock radio turning on. During naptime (or rest time for Ben) I heard a door handle but thought it was Ben going to the bathroom, but it turns out it was the little man again waking up from his nap and coming to say hello. That would be heart attack #2 for the day! I guess tomorrow I'll be more prepared for the sudden arrival of my tiny buddy.

And Ben's great discovery was that he can open the car doors. He had shut his puppy inside and apparently decided to rescue him at some point while I was making lunch. The garage is entirely closed off to the street but open to the back of the house so I'm used to the kids playing around my car, dumping dirt on it, and generally making it as dirty as possible. I am not used to kids wandering around inside unattended. Only it wasn't Ben that got inside...he must have left the door open and Alex crawled in and one of them closed the door. A few minutes later I called them in for lunch but of course couldn't find Alex. Not to worry because he can't escape the two gates but I did get concerned that I didn't hear anything. Then I started to hear a muffled "hi mama!" and looked in the store room and laundry room, then finally noticed the little hand waving from the car. He had climbed up into his carseat and was relaxing by himself, so proud of his huge feat. Guess I'll be locking the doors from now on!

Couple of other funnies I don't want to forget:
Alex has learned the timeless male gesture of leaning to the side to let out a poot and laughs like crazy when he's done. *sigh* Men.
Ben said he couldn't get a time-out while we were at the beach one day because "there aren't any corners".
Alex has learned to clean off an entire ear of corn faster than anyone I've seen. Last night he ate his and part of mine as well.
Ben doesn't ask "why" all the time but loves to ask "Why'd you say ____??" over and over, especially when I'm on the phone.
Now that Alex can get in bed himself, as soon as we finish a book he drops his blankies, slides off my lap with the book, and runs into bed so he can flip the pages before he goes to sleep.
Ben has started the stalling techniques at bedtime of calling me back into his room for anything he can think of and I do my best to discourage it, but when he tells me he just wants one more kiss my heart melts a little.

First Week of School (Again)

After a very long hiatus from school (over 6 months), Ben is finally starting back to preschool this week! The school situation here has been incredibly frustrating to me because there is very little offered for preschoolers and virtually nothing besides daycare for under-3's. There are some good schools and people put their kids on the waiting lists as soon as they're born so there isn't much chance of a newly relocated family to get in to any of those places. I tried several montessori places and anything that looked like it may offer fun and education for Ben and finally, after checking into about 30 places, I found this school that had space available since it was still under construction. Thank goodness it was completed on time, but their license has been delayed and Ben didn't start today as planned. He'll go a half-day on Wednesday (I hope) and then start full days on Mondays and Wednesdays next week. I can't wait for him to get some socialization with kids his age again and have some fun without me around...two things he's been severely lacking since we moved here and it shows.

The facilities are very nice and look terrific since they're all brand new! We went for an orientation and meet-the-teacher day last week.

It's officially a 4-year kindy class (as in the kids will all turn 4 over the year) and Ben is in the Emu group. It will follow the local school calendar so he'll attend 4 terms and then hopefully start full-time kindy at the local primary school next year. It's optional for kids as well so he isn't guaranteed a spot.

Cute little classroom with some great new toys. I would have loved to be the one shopping with all the money for new stuff!

And what did Ben do the entire time? Play in the car, of course. At least he's excited to go back to the "car school". I hope he realizes his time there will encompass more than pretend driving.

Back home we never seem to run short of entertainment ourselves and somehow it always entails a lengthy clean-up. I didn't bother with much paper this time and let them paint all over the windows. The crayola paint is easy to wash off....the finger paints, not so much. Live and learn. I have learned to strip them down first thing since washable doesn't apply to all fabrics.

Good thing it all washes straight off skin, though!

There was a trail of tiny handprints all the way around the house.

And oddly enough on little backs, too. (see above picture if you have any doubt as to where that come from)

Luckily they have just as much fun at the faucet rinsing off. We spent a fun afternoon a couple of days later washing the windows and they loved it, too.

For cleaner fun, we've enjoyed the latest toy from the library - a huge kitchen. They've been cooking up a storm.

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous weather-wise (highs in the 80's, lows in the 60's) but actually a little chilly for the beach. Instead we hit the lotterywest playground for some afternoon fun.

All the little boys loved this airplane because it made some kind of noise and there were kids all over it the entire time.

Today we got a box of treats and books from Grandma Kirkham and Alex determinedly worked at getting every last Pez out of his dispenser. It kept him quiet and completely occupied for at least 10 minutes so I'm looking forward to giving him more tomorrow!

Ben's were gone before I could even get the package completely opened...no surprise there! He was proud of his pink tongue, though. Thanks, Grandma, for the treats!!

And then back to the dirty fun again....looks like we'll have to paint these windows and wash them again.

I thought this was a picture worth sharing. On Australia Day last week I wandered down to the beach with the boys for a play and some lunch. I have never seen so many people there before! And such a diverse crowd...a few people there made me wonder if I was seeing a People of Wal-Mart image. Like the one old lady who didn't bother with a swimsuit but didn't need a shirt over her stained bra. Eww. The cool part was that Havianas was selling inflatable flip flops and they made a chain of over 1,300 people in the water. I don't think it's exactly a Guinness record or anything but it looked pretty neat that day.

Update on the toddler bed: Alex has done great! We've only had one terrible naptime where he cried and cried and kept coming to the door, but otherwise he's going to sleep just as well as usual. And the nice thing now is that when he wakes up he goes to his bookshelves for entertainment and then starts banging at the door when he's ready for some company. No more screaming for a rescue from the crib! But now I can't believe that we're really done with cribs in this house. He's growing up so fast.