Kindergarten

Today was the big day....Isaac's first day of Kindergarten. There were no tears - from either Isaac or Mummy. Hurray!

Here is our big kindergartener, just before leaving for school.

And you'll notice that in traditional Seattle style, it rained for the first day of school. (You've got to set the standards, right?)

And finally, Isaac lining up...

And Isaac in the playground

Climbing up and coming down

Lizzy in the Water

Here are some photos of Lizzy, enjoying the water on Orcas Island last week.

A Grandmother's Guide to Pokemon

In order to be a "cool" grandma, you might want to study for our upcoming visit.

First the basics...

Pokemon is played on the Gameboy. OK...wasn't that easy?

Now the story line...

The main character of Pokemon is Ash. He is a 10 year old boy, training to become a Pokemon Master. He has a pokemon named PIKACHU (Pea - ka - chew). He travels around the world with his friends Brock & Misty, looking for wild pokemon to catch. When they catch a pokemon, it becomes their own and it lives in a Poke ball. The children use their pokemon to battle against other trainers with pokemon. The ulitimate goal is to get badges by beating Gym leaders, who are special pokemon trainers. There is a goofy pair of bad guys who keep on messing things up, called Team Rocket.

Now you know the story, here are some pokemon names to learn....

Pikachu (he's most important to learn!!)
Jigglypuff
Bulbasaur
Venusaur (this is Isaac's big pokemon)
Meowth (a cat pokemon)
Butterfree

This is only a small selection. However, now, when you are driving along and you are asked "Grandma, can you tell me a pokemon joke", you'll be able to say "Why did Meowth cross the road?" "Because there was some ice-cream on the other side."

Swimming Update

Just another little swimming update. Isaac is now swimming across the width of the pool all by himself. Yeah to my little man.

The Card System

Elizabeth is terrible at falling asleep. There is no other way to say it. She's had the same bedtime routine for years and it does nothing to calm her down. For Isaac, the ritual of the bedtime routine does something that strikes the sleeping trigger.

Getting Lizzy to stay in her room has been a battle since she moved out of her cot at age 2. Finally, I think I have found something that works for her. I give her two cards, which are her "get out of bed free" cards. Once she has used these she is not allowed to leave her room. She usually uses them within the first 5 minutes. Card one is usually a trip to the potty (despite the fact that she went at the beginning of bedtime) and card two is usually to tell me something.

After the first two nights though, I had to fine tune my cards. She has now been given a night-time potty trip card and a morning sun card, as well as the "get out of bed free" cards. Our first night, she wet the bed but didn't leave her room and the second morning I came into her room in the morning to see if she was awake only to find her laying on her bed. She jumped up and said "Is it morning? Can I get out of bed?"

It seems counter-intuitive, but it seems to work. I think she feels in control, because she's actually allowed to get out of bed and doesn't get in trouble for it. Hahaha. There is nothing like mother manipulation.

Excitement

Every night, at the end of bedtime, we sing "Jesus Loves Me" to Elizabeth. Tonight, as I sang, she joined in with her own words "Maddy, Maddy, Madeline. Maddy Maddy Madeline." Then at the end she held her hands together in a book-shape and I asked "What does your bible say?" Her response "Jesus loves Maddy and Everyone"

I think she is very excited about playing with Madeline in a few weeks time. I wonder where I get that idea from?

American Culture

We inducted our children into the American camping culture yesterday by making smores. Our cabin has a little fire pit outside and we all had a turn at making this googy dessert.

Our first attempt was a failure but we quickly worked out that you are supposed to toast the marshmellow first and then put it together. The hot marshmellow melts the chocolate. It's far from healthy but the kids certainly enjoyed them.

1,2,3,4,5...Once I caught a fish alive

Yes...we did let one of these fellows go again but luckily it didn't bite our little finger.

There is a daily limit of one rockfish so we threw one back again - however after throwing it back we shook our heads in dismay because we realised it was one per person, not per boat.

For those of you who are fishermen - this was a Copper Rockfish.

4th July

Yesterday was 4th July. For our children, that means Independance Day. More importantly to them it meant Fireworks!

Elizabeth has never seen fireworks and Isaac, only as a baby. However, because we are on vacation we decided to stay up late (remember that the sun sets at 10.00pm) and see the fireworks display.

We were a little apprehensive to start, waiting to see how they would react. I have memories of children screaming in terror at seeing fireworks. But there was none of that in our household. Isaac's face was a picture of delighted surprise and he applauded all the ones he liked. His favourite were the multi-coloured fireworks. Lizzy was more vocal in her appreciation. Her first response was to squeal in laughter and loud crys of "Look!" and "Ohh...that's so pretty!".

Overall - it was a very enjoyable evening with two little exhausted bears by the end of the evening.

My style

We were driving home today and Isaac was asking what he could do when he got home. I suggested that he could either ride his bike or play outside.

He paused for a moment and said "Playing with trains is more my style"

Isn't it great to know that your five year old has his own personal style of play?

Riding Along on My Push Bike Honey

We have a new bike. Or is it half a bike? Our new bike is an attachment that I can put on the back of my bike, turning it into a tandem bike for the kids. It's lots of fun, and alot of work for me.

We tried it out today, riding up our drive way and up to the top of the hill. Despite Isaac weighing more than Lizzy, it's much easier to ride with Isaac as he actually pushes on the peddles. With Lizzy, it's hit or miss whether she's actually pushing.

I have certainly done my exercise for today.

Spider

Ben & I were chatting when suddenly we hear:

"Look Mummy! A spider!"

Lizzy holds out her hands and proudly displays her spider to us. "What do spiders like to eat?"

"They like to eat insects, Lizzy. But did you know, if you find a spider you shouldn't pick it up. It's better to leave it where it is. Or if you have to move it, move it back to somewhere it would like to live."

"Where do spiders live?"

"Outside." Although this one is a house spider, I'd much rather see it outside.

So Lizzy takes the spider outside, and as we close the door she puts on her best mummy voice.

"Now don't come back inside."

A Day Early

Lizzy has been begging me to bake a birthday cake for the past few weeks. We have a wonderful kids cookbook, and each day she finds the picture of the birthday cake and asks if we can make it.

Today I finally gave in, and looked for an excuse to have a birthday cake.

First of all we sang...

"Happy Half Birthday's to us....".

It's 6 months to all of our birthdays - give or take a number of days.

Then I realised we could sing Happy Birthday to Emma - just a day early.

So we all sang "Happy Birthday Dear Aunty Emma" and then enjoyed a slice of cake on your behalf Em!

Happy Birthday!

Sports Confusion

I love watching Isaac playing the Wii. Today he was playing Tennis, and I could not help chuckling. In the time it took for the ball to go from his end of the court, to the other and then back again, he managed to swing his racquet about 5 times in fast little swings.

Then to top it all off, as one of these little swings managed to connect with the ball, his right leg would suddenly kick out, as though he was kicking a ball.

He certainly managed to get some exercise in whilst playing his own version of tennis-soccer. That was the point of the Wii, right?

When I grow up...

Lizzy has a new goal in life.

When she grows up she wants to be a boy.

I suspect that we have a little bit of big brother hero worship happening.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. The Australian equivalent would be ANZAC Day.

As we drove past the cemetery yesterday, Isaac noticed all the American flags in the ground and asked us why they were there.

I told him "Memorial Day is a day which we remember the people who have fought for our country." Pause. "Well, actually, for your country. Because it's not my country. Memorial Day is an Amerian day."

I really should have just stopped after the first explaination. Explaining Memorial Day to a five year old is hard enough, without the added confusion of nationality.

Appearances

Isaac is such a boy these days. He's starting to like boy things, he's starting to get rough in a playful way. He also couldn't care less how he looked. Present him with clothes and shoes, and he'll put them on without a care.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, cares. Not only does she care, but she knows exactly how she wants to look. Heaven forbid if you suggest something she doesn't want to wear. However, when it comes to shoes she is very particular. She knows the shoes she wants to wear, and they must be clean.

As we were putting on her fairly new shoes yesterday morning, she starting saying "No, no no! I need new shoes."

"But Lizzy, these shoes are new."

"No - they are old. I need new shoes."

At this point I turned to Ben and said "I think we have a cronic shoe shopper on our hands."

Ben rolls his eyes and Lizzy says very seriously "Yes, I think so too."

Leatherback Sea Turtles

Our bed has somehow become an "imagination" spot in our house. It often is a boat, although sometimes it is a train or even a plane. Sometimes, when nobody can agree, it is both a boat and a train at the same time.

The other day it was a rescue boat. Elizabeth had tossed all our pillows off our bed and they were Leatherback Sea Turtles. She would then swim out and rescue the turtles and bring them safely back to the boat.

It's fun to see how a child's imgaination can grow - and it constantly amazes me how much they pickup about the world around us without us even knowing.

What is a Friend?

The other day, Isaac and I were talking about preschool. I asked him if Jackson was his friend. The answer was "No". I then asked him "What about Joshua?".

"No, but I like playing with Joshua. Can he come over and play with Daddy and I?"

After a quick shake of my head I had to announce the news: "Isaac if you like playing with someone, they are your friend."

"Ohhh." And the light comes on.

Doggie Update

Our old visitor has been claimed and will be spending the evening at home with her owner. I am very relieved, as I did not want her to have to be taken to the pound. However, I'm not sure how the reaction will be tomorrow morning from our two children. Hopefully the ground work we laid today will lessen any disappointment tomorrow.

Before and After

We are getting our house painted - it used to be pink and now it is brown.

Before....

After....

There are a few finishing touches to be done, but I'm sure you get the general idea.

Temporary Visitor

We had an unexpected visitor turn up today.

She is a very old dog, and appears to be blind. We walked around our neighbourhood and could not find an owner, and we took her to our vet to see if she was microchipped. No luck. So we've aquired a temporary visitor. I've stressed to the kids that she's only visiting and they seem content with that. Hopefully someone will claim her soon.

Walking

One thing I love about the weather warming (and drying) up is that we have more opportunities to get out to our local nature trails. Today, we headed out to the Redmond Watershed Preserve. It was about a 45 minute (child-paced) walk, filled with lots of exciting things to see. The highlight was seeing a snake slithering off the path into the wetlands. Isaac was thrilled and has told everyone about the black snake that looked like it was cut down the middle with a yellow line. As exciting as our walk was, I'm glad we didn't have the excitement of a jogger who came off one of the longer trails. He told us to be careful if using the trail he'd been on because had nearly run into a black bear.

Here are some photos of our walk.

Isaac is my trail blazer. Normally a boy who'd rather be sitting quietly, once he's on a walk he's wanting to take off ahead of everyone.

On the other hand, Lizzy, who seems to never stop moving, is constantly stopping to touch or admire something.

Going Up

Lizzy went tree climbing again. This time Daddy was home to be the rescuer.

Tree Climbing - Part II

We picked Ben up from the airport on Thursday afternoon. He had already read my blog, and started to ask Lizzy about her tree climbing experiences.

Another voice suddenly joins in...

"I'm going to climb a tree when I am seven!"

Ahhh. That's my little planner. He might not want to climb a tree at 5, but it appears that he somehow knows that it's something that a child should do and has a definate plan to achieve it.

My response...

"Jolly Good Isaac. On your seventh birthday I'll send you up the tree - rain or shine."

Spring Afternoons

Spring has finally arrived. The weather is warming up, marginally. It feels like an Australian winter right now. The flowers are blooming. The kids are playing outside. It's great.

This afternoon Isaac and I were around the side looking for bugs, when suddenly we hear Elizabeth, "Mummy, come and look at me!"

Isaac and I walk around the back, but I don't see anyone.

"Mummy, look at me!"

I look up. Half way up the Italian Prune tree is a girl in pink.

"Wow Lizzy, you have climbed high. Can you climb back down?"

"No. I need help."

She is just high enough that when I stretch out my arm I'm a few inches away from her foot.

"Lizzy. Can you see the branch below you? Can you put your foot on it?"

"No. I need help."

Oh dear. What do I do? I could climb up myself, or I could leave her there while I get the ladder.

"Wait there Lizzy. I'm going to get the ladder"

So there I am, on this lovely spring afternoon having images of rescuing kittens from trees. Luckily this little kitten of mine was quite willing to be rescued.

California

Ben is going to California today.

I think Isaac knows that he was born in California. However, I found out Lizzy's extent of knowledge on California while at the airport this morning.

"Where are you going Daddy?"

"I'm going to California for work"

"Oh. California! That's where the Cars went"

After a moment of confusion, Ben realised she was referring to the movie "Cars".

"Yes - Lightning McQueen went to California didn't he? But Daddy is going for work, he's not going to race in a car"

Tap Dancing

Yesterday was Sunday. We go to church on Sunday, and Elizabeth chose to wear a dress and her "dancing" shoes.

As she was walking down the steps she turned to me and said:

"I'm going tap dancing with Jesus!"

Wrapping Presents

Last week I finally made a craft drawer. It has been a hit, providing hours of entertainment.

Today Lizzy discovered that she could wrap presents with the colored paper. She has been collecting books, necklaces and other little odds and ends and wrapping them.

Some have been given to me, some to Isaac but the majority have been wrapped for her preschool friends.

Let's just hope that she forgets about this before Friday, as I'm sure that quite a number of things are actually Isaac's.

Australian Words - Part 2

Today, we went to Home Depot.

Lizzy, as usual, asked me "Where are we going, Mummy?"

"Home Depot"

Isaac pipes up and asks "How do you say Home Depot in Australian?"

Without a moments hesitation both Ben & I reply:

"Bunnings!"

And both grin at each other.

Australian Words

Today, Lizzy corrected me on how I said "Hurray!" I said "Hurrah" and she told me "It's not Hurrah, it's Hurray".

This all led to a discussion on how different words can be said in different ways - and that Mummy often says words the Australian way while they say them the American way.

This is where the confusion began. Lately Isaac has been asking "How do you say 'x' in Spanish?" We had been talking about tomato sauce being the same word as ketchup when suddenly Isaac pipes up and asks:

"Mummy, how do you say tomato sauce in Spanish in Australia?"

Questions could be asked forever at this age.

Daddies are amazing!

Daddies are amazing. Did you know they can make apple spaghetti? Well, according to Lizzy her daddy can make it.

We have an apple corer, which peels the skin off the apple as it cores. It becomes one long twisty piece of apple skin. The result is apple spaghetti and a very happy Lizzy.

We love...

We love lots of things, but maybe instead I should be calling this post "Wii Love".

Yes...we finally have our Wii. We've been trying to get one since prior to Christmas, and finally we managed to get our hands on one last week. It arrived late yesterday afternoon.

Last night Ben & I were playing, and this morning Lizzy was introduced to the Wii. Isaac will find out about the Wii today after preschool.

Both Lizzy & I love boxing. It's definately the easiest game for a 3 year old and the most active game for me. Lizzy loves to knock her opponent down and at the end yells "I won, I won!".

I can't wait to see Isaac play.

Blatant Advertising

Ben's book gets released today. Go on - I know you want to buy a copy.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Microsoft-Virtual-Server-2005/dp/0470109173/ref=sr_1_1/102-7077579-5168937?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176133589&sr=8-1

Just look at that smiling face...don't you want it to be on your shelf?

And if that doesn't convince you....I'll use "the force" in recognition of Isaac's milestone.

"You will buy the book".

Milestones

When our children are babies it seems like they hit milestones every week. As they grow, the milestones seem to space out. Therefore it was a big weekend for us as both Elizabeth & Isaac hit milestones that we just had to write about.

Lizzy's milestone is that she worked out how to swim! Yeah! It was quite funny to watch. She has always loved the water, but all she wanted to do was float on her back. She was flat out refusing to put her head under the water. However, last week at swimming lessons she suddenly discovered putting her head under was fun. This week she discovered that she could float on her belly, kick her legs and put her head under at the same time - and wala - she could move. You would think that she had found the cure for all the world's ills with the amount of excitement this caused her.

And Isaac's milestone.....

He watched Star Wars for the first time. Yes, I know some of you may not think of this as a milestone but Ben & I thought it was worthy of note. Our boy was entraced. We watched Episode 1. You could tell he was a little bored when there were serious or sappy moments, but his eyes were alight when ever there was action.

I've been trying to work out when Owen first watched Star Wars - I'm not sure which episode - but he must of been of a similar age. I remember that Mum took me to see Humphrey the Bear Live while Dad took Owen to the movies. I also remember feeling at little sad that my big brother was going to see Star Wars (although I have to admit that Humphrey was a pretty exciting alternative). I think Elizabeth felt much the same way when we told her she needed to wait until she was five too. She excepted with good grace - however, unlike me, she missed out on a fun alternative. Instead she went to bed.

Conversations

It is funny how sitting in the car seems to be the place for "deep and meaningful" conversations.

Yesterday, as we were driving along Isaac suddenly asked me "How many birthdays do you need to be dead?"

Wow....where did that one come from?

I responded somewhere along the lines of that we hope to have enough birthdays so that we can be mummies and daddies, then grandmas and grandad's and maybe even great grandparents.

That seemed to satisfy him, but then he started chatting about being a daddy one day. I explained that if he or Elizabeth had a baby, then I would be a grandma and grandma would be a great grandma.

At 5 years old, however, you are full of knowledge and know exactly how the world works. So when he told me that he was going to have 2 children, one a girl and one a boy, I decided that he really didn't need to know that he had no control over that. So I just replied "That's wonderful Isaac. I'm sure I'll love being their grandma."

Baking

I have always enjoyed baking. I remember many happy hours as a child, baking cookies with mum and as a teenager, baking for my family. Ginger nuts, ANZAC cookies, chocolate cake and the such were my favourites. Still today, spending some time in the kitchen will lift my mood. It's not surprising then, that my children love to cook already. I hope too, that they will have wonderful memories of spending time in the kitchen making cookies and cakes and other delights.

Both come running at the suggestion of cooking. Isaac loves to measure and Lizzy loves to tip. They take turns stiring, and generally manage to create a big but fun mess. However, I think for both of them their favourite time is at the end when they are allowed to lick the bowl.


Today we made chocolate cookies.

School

Lizzy has been having a tough week, and many things have brought tears to her eyes. But her saddest moments have been when Isaac has been going to school.

"I want to go to school" has been said numerous this week. On Thursday, Isaac had a teddy bears picnic, and had packed his favourite bear into his school bag. Lizzy was so excited and went searching for her bag and teddy. I was told "I love my teddy so much" as he was stuffed into her backpack. The disappointment was great when I told her that only Isaac was going to school.

Today was Lizzy's preschool day. The smiles lit the room when she realised it was Friday and her day for preschool. Luckily, Teddy had been forgotten as she happily skipped off to class.

As Overheard in the Backseat

You may remember the other day I posted that Isaac wanted to be a race car driver. As a continuation - this is what was overheard in our backseat.

We had all been talking about the moon, and Isaac starts out with a well known fact.

"I don't want to be an astronaut. I want to be a race car driver and drive really fast on a race track."

Then Elizabeth joins in: "I want to fly in a space ship."

"You want to be an astronaut?"

"Yes. That would be very fun."

So it looks like we may have an astronaut after all. Well, at least for this week anyway.

Emotions

You would think, being female, that I would have anticipated the sensitive, emotional response a little girl might have to daily situations. However, I was quite unprepared for today's emotional outburst.

We were at Mommy & Me - when suddenly Lizzy ran over to me crying. As I hug her, I ask what is wrong.

"Nobody wants to play me with."

Ahhh. I have to admit I didn't anticipate that one for another year or two.

I quickly glance at where she'd come from, and realise that "nobody" are the 5 & 8 year old sisters who are happily playing together and appear to uninterested in the play of a 3 year old. It was not really surprising they didn't want to play with her, as they were doing "big kid" stuff.

As I bumble over an answer, I point her in the direction of another little girl, closer to her age. She happily heads off, emotions in control. For now.

Girls only

Lizzy refused to give Ben a goodbye hug and kiss today. She refused with great charm and sweetness. So naturally Ben pounted and said "I'm sad".

"No Daddy. Only girls can be sad".

Ummm...I'm not sure on how well this reflects on her & I.

When I Grow Up....

Today, Isaac & I were looking at his Atlas of the Universe book, reading about space probes. It's one of his favourite books right now. I decide to cast noble thoughts about his future. "One day Isaac, perhaps you'll be an astronaut." Then I remember he's told us that he wouldn't like to be an astronaut, so I add "Or maybe a scientist who makes those space probes?"

"No. When I grow up I'm going to be a race car driver because I want to drive really fast".

So for now my super cautious boy want to drive fast.

My Favourite Man

Ben rarely gets a mention, let alone a whole post here. So I thought I'd share my favourite man with you.

Praise

Who ever said that being a mother was a thankless job never had Elizabeth as a daughter.

Her latest saying is "Great job Mummy". Today's praise was because I managed to find her pirate patch and helped her put it on.

It's those little moments which make you think that you are doing something right.

I Spy

We often play the game "I Spy" with Isaac and Lizzy. We usually play it with colors (eg "I spy something yellow"). Today I upped the stakes and used letters.

"I spy something beginning with B. What starts with a b sound"

"Table" shouts Lizzy.

Ben & I grin at each other, but when I grin a flood of memories come back.

I remember driving in the car, when Anita was Lizzy or Isaac's age, playing the same game. She would say "I spy with my little eye something starting with B". We would reply with words like "bird", "balloon", "book" and so on. Finally we'd start saying "tree", "road", "flower" - to which she would exciting laugh and say "Yes, it's a flower" or we'd give up and she'd tell us it was a mailbox or some other object which definately did not start with B.

I loved having a little sister. Now it seems strange to be playing those same games and seeing the same responses from my own daughter.

Quote of the Day

"My hungry tummy could eat as much as an eleven year old hippo."

Wisdom

Isaac's friend from preschool came over to play today. They come each Wednesday but today she was feeling a little out of sorts, and pushed Elizabeth a couple of times. As a result my friend took her daughter home.

Isaac was very sad that his friend was going home, and decided to dispense his wisdom...

"Lizzy, when (my friend) tries to push you, you should just lay down on the floor, like I do. Then she can't push you because you're already laying down."

Smart boy.

Voices

"Lizzy, who do you want to read books with tonight? Mummy or Daddy?"

"Daddy."

(Ben is madly pointing at me)

"Are you sure you don't want Mummy to read books? She loves reading you books."

"No. I want Daddy. He has a nice voice."

Well - you got me there. Who can resist that deep voice :)

Nuts II

Today Isaac had his allergy test. And the verdict...

Cashews. He didn't react to any other nuts or peanuts. However, cashews was pretty severe. We have been told to avoid all tree nuts but he can have peanuts.

The amazing thing with Isaac is that he giggles through the allergy testing and doesn't even try to itch. I asked him if the welt was itchy. He said it was a little but it was OK. If that was me, I'd probably be wanting to rip the skin off my back.

Nuts

After spending a pleasant morning with Lizzy at playgroup, I come home and notice that I have a message on my answering machine.

"We have Isaac in our health room. We believe he is having a reaction to peanuts. We have called 911..."

Have you ever seen a mother in panic mode? Well that was me. (And Ben tells me that he drove to the school in record time, so I don't think I was the only one!)

When I arrived, Ben was already there and Isaac was doing well. He was quite happy because three firemen had been to see HIM but was still feeling a bit uncomfortable.

We now have an epi-pen which we are to carry with us at all time, and an anxious son.

Today, I asked Isaac if he wanted to have something from the bakery. He didn't. He wanted to go home and eat something at home. My jaw drops. My kids never refuse a treat from the bakery.

"Isaac - are you scared to eat something from the bakery?"

"Yes. It might have nuts in it."

"Maybe we could ask them if they have nuts in them?"

"No - I want to go home and eat."

I start feeling concerned. I don't want him to fear having an allergy and want to teach him that he can have the freedom to eat what he wants, all he has to do is ask first.

"Isaac, will you be brave with mummy and we can ask the bakery which foods have nuts in them. I'll need you to hold my hand."

"OK Mummy"

So we go in, and we ask. She pulls out a nutrition book with allergy information. And Isaac is grinning from ear to ear when we find out that plain bagels with cream cheese do not contain nuts.

"Thank you for holding my hand Isaac. We were brave together and now we know we can eat here."

Pain

Today, Lizzy got a splinter in her hand. Getting it out involved much crying. Her reward for surviving the ordeal was that she got to choose her band-aid. She chose the big Dora band-aid for her big owie.

Fast forward to bedtime. Each night we read a story from the bible to Lizzy. She wanted the "grape story" which is the story of Job. (It has a picture of grapes hence the name). Ben was reading the story....

"Once there was a man named Job. He loved God very much. But God let him get sick. Job hurt all over..."

And a little voice pipes up with "Just like me!"

The final line in the story is "But Job still loved God"

Ben then asked "Do you still love God?"

"Yes".

So despite the fact that Lizzy hurt, just like Job, she still loves God. And for now we'll let her think that Job just had a splinter in his hand.

Conscience

I have a conscience. It talks to me, usually from the back seat. My conscience is 5 years old.

My Australianess comes out strongest in moments of stress, hence why my conscience is usually heard from the back seat.

As I yell "Come on mate! What do you think you're doing?", my conscience begins to talk....

"Mummy, why did you say that?".

Ah. Because the car in front of me is being an idiot! No - I can't say that.

"The car infront of me, didn't notice that the light was green and now we are waiting at the red light again. Mummy talks to the other cars alot, doesn't she?"

"Yes."

Our Family

Lizzy drew a picture of our family last night. She conveniently left Isaac out - I'm not sure if there is a hidden meaning in this.

It's quite obviously which one is Cleo (our cat). Lizzy is next, in the red. I'm the leggy one on the right. And yes - she's already recognised the fact that she has a hairy daddy.

Grandad's Yucky Yogurt

My kids love yogurt. If they had their choice, they would probably choose to eat yogurt at least 3 times a day.

Right now one of their favourite flavours is called "Boston Cream Pie". However, it took me some time to discover that, according to Lizzy, it's also known as "Grandad's Yucky Yogurt". The only thing I can think of is that Dad did not like this flavour when they visited us, and that he said that it was yucky. Hence we now have regular requests for "Grandad's Yucky Yogurt".

Sharing

We are a sharing family. We've obviously have taught our children well, by example. Lizzy has kindly shared her bug with me, I've shared with Isaac and now he's shared it with Ben.

I've got to say though - when Ben gets sick he gets sick with flair.

Tonight he tells me that he's feeling queazy - not the news I wanted to hear. Within half an hour he tells me that he needs to go to the bathroom because he's going to be sick. Delightful.

I follow him, and ask if he would like company while being sick. He's not sure, so I decide to follow. Lucky for him I'm a caring wife, who's seen so much vomit this week that I'm feeling pretty immune. Next moment he sits on the footstool and annouces that he's going to faint - and promptly does so.

It was a new experience for me - to catch someone fainting. And of course he had to fall backwards. I have a secret to share with you - this husband of mine is no lightweight.

He's not been sick yet - he's just a ticking timebomb.

Adventures in Reading

Lizzy read Ben & I a book tonight. It was called "Can you Cuddle Like a Koala?" by John Butler. It's a lovely book, which was given to Isaac by Jan & Joe.

It goes like this...

"Out in the wild, what can you be? Can you copy these creatures? Are you ready? Let's see. Can you cuddle like a koala, holding on tight? Can you creep like a mouse in the pale moonlight? .... Can you wink like an owl, hiding in the leaves?" and so on.

Lizzy's version went like this...

"Can you do all these things? Can you hug mummy? (the koala...we usually cuddle for this page) Can you do that? (the mouse) It's the owl! Can you close one eye?"

It was very cute to see how a 3 year old translates a book into her own language.

Energy

The sickies have arrived at our house. Lizzy has a stomach bug and is unable to hold down anything.

This morning she had a nap with me. When she woke up, I asked her if she would like to go downstairs and sit in the playroom. She said something in reply but I wasn't quite sure if I caught the statement correctly, so I repeated.

"You have no energy?"

She confirmed with a yes - and then gave me more information.

"All my energy is in the bucket"

Swimming

For over 6 months now Isaac has been having swimming lessons. He loves to swim, but to be honest the learning part was going very slowly.

He's been able to put his head under the water for a while, but just hadn't got the idea of kicking, blowing bubbles and moving his arms at the same time. Last week I watched him at his lessons, and he had almost got it but kept on curling up instead of stretching out long under the water.

However, on Friday - he did it! It was so sudden. He just went under, stretched out, kicked his legs and moved his arms. He swam all by himself for about 2 metres! Whoo Hoo Isaac!

And then there was no stopping him. While he was waiting for his turn with the teacher, under he'd go and swim, swim, swim.

He's growing up so quickly.

5.30pm

It's 5.28pm. The house is relatively peaceful. Children appear content and happy, playing their own games or eating their dinner.


Suddenly, with what seems to be little warning, we are in chaos.

Elizabeth is in tears and screaming. Isaac is getting mad at his sister.

And what, you ask, causes this to occur?

The answer....Angelina Ballerina.

The moment Angelina Ballerina comes on TV, Elizabeth runs to the television screaming "Not yet, not yet" and turns it off. Isaac begins yelling at his sister for turning off the TV. Then Lizzy madly looks for her ballerina shoes and tutu. Surely everyone knows that a 3 year old needs to be dressed and ready to dance with the opening music of Angelina Ballerina?

You would think by now I'd have it all down pat, but no. Each night, it seems that I have managed to push this memory into the back of my mind like something I don't want to visit again. But once again 5.30pm comes around and I am not ready.


Here is the ballerina...just not of the mouse kind.

Snow Days

As all of you back home have fun in the sun, you can look at our photos and think cooling thoughts.

We've made snowmen...



Had make-shift sled rides....

And made snow angels...

Now you've all cooled down, you can send some heat our way.

Chains...

It snowed again last Wednesday afternoon. Since then the temperatures have not been past freezing (0 or 32 depending on where you're reading this from!) so the snow has stuck.

It snowed again yesterday.

Both Ben & I went driving on Friday in the snow - our street was quite icy but the main roads had been plowed and driving was like normal. (Well...it was normal in most places except for this little patch of ice down near the walking trail where we did a little swirl on the road.) However, after another fresh coat of snow yesterday we decided that we should put chains on our car to go to church. It was mainly so we could get up our hill, to the main road.

Isaac was quite interested in the process of putting chains on the car wheels. Smart boy that he is worked out that chains were a pretty good idea.

"Daddy, I need chains for my bike so I can go riding".

Who Am I?

From the day I found out I was pregnant with Isaac, I knew my new name.

However, it's taken quite some time for him to discover my name.

Around the age of 2, I was quite worried because Isaac did not have a name for me. Ben was "da" but there was no "ma" for me. Soon afterwards, we realised that I was "a-ya". We joked that he was saying "hey you!". I could just picture it: "Hey you there, get me my toy" or "hey you, I need some food"

Soon we progressed onto "ma ya" and a number of different names until finally we settled into a long period of "munny". I knew this was my name for now, but I longed for the day when I would hear the name I knew at just 6 weeks past conception.

Two weeks ago, our speech therapy word was "mummy". It was a good word for practicing "M" and it was a very common word in Isaac's vocabulary, so it was a logical choice. Everytime he said my name, I would quickly give my lips a quick squeeze with my fingers. Isaac would stop and try it again, doing the same action.

Tonight, as we were playing downstairs, he looked at me and paused. With just a moment's thought he said "Mummy - can you help me build a train track".

I heard my name. It's been five years to get here but I heard my name. No prompts, no corrections - just plain and simple "Mummy".

I'm so proud of him.

Reading

In Elizabeth's world view, if Isaac is learning to read that means Elizabeth must be too.

Tonight we were reading an animal picture book. It's a very basic book, with a picture of an animal and the word underneath.

I pointed to the first animal and said "cat". Elizabeth then points to the word and says a few different sounds that sort of sound like "c" "a" "t" followed by "cat". We went through the whole book, with Lizzy pretending to sound out the words and then saying the animal name at the end.

Hey...if Isaac can do it surely she can too?

I see a ....

You would not think the words "I see a ...." would cause much fuss. They seem so simple and straight forward.

However, to Isaac they are an insult. To Isaac they mean "Look mummy! They can't spell my name properly", followed by tears.

At speech therapy we are currently working on the letter "s". He has a page of "s" pictures, and at the top our speech therapist wrote "I see a ..." as a guide to me for homework. He is supposed to say "I see a snowman" or "I see a snake". But the only thing he saw was a bad attempt at someone trying to spell his name.

The only thing that upsets him more is when someone spells his name Issac. We won't even mention the response that comes when that happens.

I think he's really going to enjoy being able to read.

Hunger

"Mummy, I'm so hungry I could eat 10 bagels."

"Wow Isaac - you must be really hungry."

"Yes. And I'm so hungry I could eat 23 000 cupcakes."

23 000? Not sure how that number popped into his head but I do know that it would make for an awful tummy ache.

Accents

We recently purchased a learn to read set called "Hooked on Phonics". Both Isaac and Elizabeth seem to really enjoy it. Elizabeth is still learning her letters, and Isaac is learning the letter sounds. He knows most of them, and I'm sure he'll have them all down pat soon.

Hooked on Phonics has also taught me a thing or two. One of them is that Isaac definately has an American accent. (Yes...grandmothers are permitted to groan).

I decided to turn off the CD and say the letter sounds together. We were saying "A", then making the "a" sound, then saying the word apple. I said the sound, when suddenly Isaac stops and says "No - it's aaah". My ears are hurting. How did that sound manage to get so butchered? But - good mother that I am I say "Yes Isaac - it's "aaah". And we move on.

I've always struggled to put on an American accent - maybe this is my chance to get it right.

Gluten Free Custard Kisses

My lovely husband rarely gets a mention here, but these were made especially for him. I thought I'd share them with you too.





Gluten Free Custard Kisses

Ingredients
1 cup Icing Sugar
2 tablespoons Sugar
8oz Butter
4 tablespoons Milk
1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour (I used a mix of 2/3 rice, 1/6 tapioca, 1/6 potato rice flour)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup custard powder (not all custard powder is GF, so check first)

Ingredients for Cream
2 oz butter
2 tablespoons custard powder
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method
1. Cream the icing sugar, sugar & butter
2. Add milk and salt. Mix.
3. Sift in GF Flour & custard powder. Mix until blended
4. Form mixture into small balls and place on cookie tray
5. Press each roll with a floured fork
6. Bake in a moderate oven for 10-12 minutes (350F or 175c)
7. Allow cookies to cool
8. Blend the ingredients for the cream together.
9. Use a knife to "butter" the cream onto a cookie, and then join.

Enjoy!!

A Christmas Letter

Last night, we asked Isaac & Lizzy to write a Christmas letter to Santa. They were both very excited about writing their letters and quickly sat down with their paper and pencils.

Within a few minutes Lizzy exclaimed "I'm finished" and proudly showed us her christmas letter.

She has been learning to write her name - and had written an "E" for Santa. It was her Christmas Letter.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side!

Yes....this is when you need to start laughing.

Isaac has started to tell jokes. Over the last few days we have heard many variations on the same theme.

My favourite has probably been "Why did the silly man climb to the top of the tree?" "So, he could be at the top".

It quite often followed by "Was that funny?" "Yes, Isaac - that was funny." "Why?"

Well dear...it's because you are so sweet and giggle the whole way through more so than actual words of the joke but we won't tell you that for a number of years to come.

Here's a photo of my jester, with a monster he made (thanks to Owen & Helen - this is a hit!).

A Star is Born

Well...actually she was born just over 3 years ago but she decided to shine last Thursday night.

Last Thursday was the infamous Christmas Concert. The pre-three preschool class was first on stage - there were only three little dears all ready to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Away in a Manger" and "Jingle Bells". Lizzy walked up with her class mates and looked at everyone in wonder and smiled.

Then the music starts. I should have known - earlier in the day she'd already told me that she was going to dance at the Christmas concert. I had confirmed with Miss Tracy that they were doing actions, so it didn't make me even blink an eye. So back to the music...the three start singing so very quietly, doing their actions when Lizzy suddenly starts to dance all over the stage. Spinning and jumping whilst doing the actions to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Everyone is laughing and I'm almost crying with laughter. The other two stoically carry on, while occasionally taking glimpses at Lizzy.

Let's just say, she definitely enjoyed herself on stage. Here are some photos of our enthusiastic star in her more sedate moments.

I'm back again

But just give me a few days to thaw out.

We've had no power (read heat!!) for 4 days.

Lizzy who?

Ben & I put alot of thought into the names of our children. Many names which I liked were discounted because of their meaning. We finally settled on Isaac, which means "Laughter" and Elizabeth, which means "God's Promise".

One morning, early in salmon season, we were on one of our walks. We met three ladies who were on their way to Oregon but had stopped to see the salmon. We got talking, and one of the ladies asked Lizzy what her name was.

Elizabeth proudly told her, "Lizzy". The woman then responded "Lizzy! Are you named after Lizzy Borden?" A moments pause, and Lizzy says "No - I was named after Elizabeth in the Bible".

Ummm....Lizzy Borden, the murderer or Elizabeth, the mother of John. I'm glad our girl knows who she's named after.

Ballet Slippers

Today we went to Target to buy Elizabeth a pair of black shoes.

I told her in the morning that we were going to look for black shoes, to which she responded "I want pink ballet shoes". I let it slip, hoping that it was just a passing whim and that she would forget about it.

Come shoe shopping time...

"I want pink ballet shoes and I want to dance."

We continue looking for black shoes. We see a wide range of pretty black shoes, but Lizzy tells me that she doesn't like any of them. Then she sees them....pink, glittery ballet looking shoes with a tiny heel on them. Her excitement is overwhelming, and they are the shoes she wants.

At a quick glance at the price, I decided that she could have her pink ballet slippers, as well as the black shoes. You've got to love Target some days.

So now, the pink shoes seem to be glued to her feet - and even better - they make a grand noise when you stomp on the tiles. Could live get any better?

Sweet Boy

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy.

Isaac turned 5 today, and he was so excited. He woke up this morning, and walked down stairs in a very sleepy state. I asked him if he knew what day it was, and he responsed in the negative. I then said "Well...it's the 10th December". Suddenly two little eyes lit up as he exclaimed "It's my birthday!"

Isaac wanted a train birthday party today - so I made a Thomas cake. Last night I asked him if he wanted just a Thomas cake, or if Thomas should pull a carriage. His response was that he wanted 10 carriages. Unfortunately, mummy wasn't quite up to making 10 carriages (nor are our waists up to eating 10 carriages) so we settled for Thomas pulling just one.

It was a very happy birthday.

A Plan...

Today is my birthday. 7 December 2002 never occurred for me, thanks to the time change when we came home for a visit, so you can all wish me a happy 31st birthday.

This morning Isaac & Lizzy piled into bed with me. Ben led them in singing Happy Birthday. As soon as that finished Isaac lent over and annouced ...

"I have a plan."

"Oh - a plan? What's your plan, Isaac?"

"We can make a cake!"

"Oh, that sounds nice"

"Mummy, you can put in the first ingredient."

I think hearing "The Plan" has been my favourite part of the day.

Swimming

Isaac & Lizzy are taking swimming lessons, which they absolutely love. It's funny to watch them having their lesson because they are so different.

Isaac is my rule follower. If the teacher says to do something, he'll do it. He laughs and giggles the whole way through swimming lessons, except for when it comes to floating on his back. He does not like back floats, I think perhaps because of the sensation of water in his ears. Recently we started using ear plugs and it's making quite a difference, but he still isn't keen about it. However, he has learnt to dunk his head under water, and is so proud of the fact. He enjoys making "icecream scoops" with his hands and he loves playing games in the water. I'm so happy to see Isaac learning to swim, not just for the sake of being able to swim but because I believe that it's really helping his overall co-ordination. Since starting swimming he's suddenly mastered riding on his bike, and on Sunday he jumped off two feet for the first time. I beamed, and so did he.

Elizabeth is my independant, free spirit. The most used words during swimming lessons are "No!" and "I can do it myself!" Lizzy wants to spend most of her time floating on her back, but she does not want Misty to help her. She would much prefer to use a noodle, and just cruise around on her back. She also loves to jump in the water but not off the side of the pool (a fact which I am very thankful for, given how independant she thinks she is in the water). Today at swimming lessons, Misty decided to let her discover how deep the water was because she kept on walking into the deep part. She walked until she couldn't touch anymore and went under slightly. Misty then picked her up and explained that it was too deep. That didn't disturb her in the least - I suspect that she'll probably learn to swim one day because she goes too deep and suddenly realises she needs to kick her legs to stay afloat. Contary to Isaac, Elizabeth does not like to put her head under the water. Misty lets her go underwater a few times each lesson, and today she came up spluttering but saying "I'm a big girl now". Everyone knows that going under water is what makes a 3 year old "big".

Here are my little swimmers, demonstrating what they do best...

The Real Deal

Growing up, I remember looking at our artifical Christmas tree and thinking "oh boy, it looks so fake!" Since living here, I have changed my mind. It looked fake simply because they are not the type of tree which I was used to seeing.

Today I went Christmas tree shopping. No, not for a fake one, but the real deal. Along side the road, people set up Christmas tree lots. It's a little squared off area, all muddy from the recent snow and rain, with christmas lights strung around the outside. Inside the ropes, there are all sorts of different trees. Noble fir, Douglas Fir, Norway Spruce and more. They come in all sizes, from little tiny trees to ones that are around 10 foot tall.

I came home with a 7 foot Noble fir. I chose one that was very dense in needles and smells divine. We removed all the decorations from the artifical tree we'd put up the other day, and as I looked I was surprised to see that I'd chosen one that was considerably larger than our fake tree - I hadn't been able to tell that looking at it in the open space that was the tree shop. Luckily, we'd shopped the post-Christmas sales last year, and had picked up lots of tinsel on the cheap and it was still packed away.

So now, shimmering in the corner of our living room, is a beautiful real Christmas tree. I'm happy, and so is the cat.