Training

Sushi training that is! Friday night Aimee went on a much anticipated sleepover with her grandparents. Reanna, Erin and I took advantage of the fact Aimee was not with us and went on a long promised trip to the sushi train.

This was not done to exclude Aimee in a horrible way. Aimee just doesn't like sushi and I am not sure how her vegetarian sensibilities could cope with some of the more exotic (and possibly authentic) types of sushi eg the ones with baby octopus. I barely cope with them!

So proud of my big girls. They each tried something new. Neither of them freaked out when they realised that some of the things going around in front of them were things like fish eggs. They both used chopsticks very nicely to start with then, when they gave up, ate neatly using their fingers (after checking it was ok first).

A lovely evening just the three of us. It was only marred by our extreme exhaustion after the sleepless night for Erin's EEG (which I have already whinged about. This is not a complaint, just an observation) and the fact I stupidly forgot to take photos. Damn. We will have to go back now ;)

1001 days .... an update

Of course this is one of those things I started all super optimistically and then promptly hit a life slump. That said I have started on the list and so far it has been fun. The idea of course was to blog about each thing, but as I haven't, you will have to make do with a longish post and shortish descriptions. So ... here goes!

10. So far we have been on one designated TMD adventure! To read about that you will have to check out the post in the TMD blog though ;) Click here to read about our trip with some of our ducklings to see 'Little Women' as a musical!

18. I am proud to say I am down 5kg. I have joined with a few friends for support and encouragement and have also signed up for myfitnesspal.com. Best thing I could have done! I am losing weight slowly and steadily and healthily and I feel great :)

22. I have actually read more then one of Angus and Robertson top 100 since I started this, but as I have only blogged about one of them, only one counts. You can read my review of 'Seven Ancient Wonders' here.

37. I have knitted four trauma teddies so far. It might actually be more then that, but I am only 100% that it has been four so lets just go with that!

43 & 44. Painting the house and organising all the books are not done, but they are definitely works in progress! I am anticipating a post soon on my soon-to-be-beautiful playroom/children's library. Did I say my? Of course I meant the girls' beautiful playroom/library ;)

72. Take the girls to the sushi train! Done :) And now I will do a separate blog post about this! Check it out here.

Some of the others I am definitely off to a good start, even if I haven't recorded it properly. Stay tuned for the next updates!

Running on empty (or caffeine)

Argh! I am beyond tired! So I thought I would have a little whinge. There are some good reasons and some not-so-good reasons for this.

Good reasons:
1. Erin had an EEG today (hopefully the last test she will need! She really is ok now) and she had to be kept up until 11pm last night and woken up at 5am.
2. It is really hot.
3. We are just all over the place with school holidays.
4. There was a lightening storm last night.

Not-so-good reasons:
1. I drank way too much caffeine yesterday knowing I had to stay up late then couldn't sleep.
2. I had the brainwave that if I was keeping her up until 11pm her dad should come round and do the wake up at 5am. He decided to come round in the middle of the night instead and kept me up. He is a light sleeper and while I normally sleep really well having him up and down wandering around all night with the storm didn't help my sleeping. (Jury is out as to whether it was worth the usefulness of him being here in the morning! But he tried so I figure he deserves points for that).

Just for the record, but "good" I meant reasonable reasons. Most scary of all is that this was my last day of leave from work, school goes back in 1.5 weeks, dance/guides the week after and uni a couple of weeks after that. A few short weeks ago I could run on minimal sleep. After today I am not so sure I can do this anymore!

The purpose of this post? Nothing really. I am just trying to keep up with regular blogging and at the moment all I can think about is sleep. Bed (oh and a book) here I come!

PS And of course the second I finished this, I thought of much more interesting topics! Now you will just have to come back tomorrow to find out what they are ;)

Memories

Some memories don't just happen by chance. Some memories are created. Well, I think they are anyway. You know, the things you did that when you were younger that you want your children to experience. Whether it be a regular Sunday roast at the grandparents' or a favourite book or holiday destination. In my case we will often have a big puzzle which lives on the main table that is an on-going work in progress. I actually don't really like jigsaws. But I love the memories of them being something we did as a family during school holidays or on rainy days. I want my girls to have those same memories of 'family'.

I can't remember if I have mentioned it before, but I grew up (until I was 13 anyway) on a sheep station in the middle(ish) of Australia. As in a 600,000 acre and 20,000 sheep type station (and those numbers are right, I double checked!). This means that a lot of my favourite childhood memories are a little, or in some cases a lot, different from lots of my friends and from my children's.

In the last year or so I have become friends with a farmer who lives about an hour and a half out of Perth. It is so very cool. She invites us out lots and my girls have now got to do some of the things that were such a part of my childhood. Playing in a shearing shed. Picking mulberries straight from the tree. Catching yabbies from a dam. Riding in the back of a ute. You get the idea. Clearly it is not the same, but it is a taste! And it is awesome. The friend has also said in a year or two when they are a bit bigger they can go and stay during part of their school holidays while I am at work and really get to do stuff. Wonderful for me, but such an amazing opportunity for the girls!

We spent the afternoon up there today. We picked mulberries. The girls got to do this last year and they have been dying to be able to do it again. Then we spent two hours cutting bulrushes out of a dam! Knee deep (or in my case waist deep) in water cutting and pulling and carrying. Real farm work! They are learning to earn their keep. I got some serious exercise in today. My friend got to do a job in an afternoon that would have taken her all week. We will all be sleeping very well tonight!

Memories. Hopefully these will be some that my girls will want to re-create for their children one day!

Road trip!!

How many of you thought I had started on the slippery slope of not blogging again? After the last few efforts of mine I would not blame you. But no, I am still here. We just had an insanely busy weekend, even for us!

A catch-up barbecue where two of my very good friends announced they were pregnant (Yay!! Sooooo excited! And by two I mean one couple. Not two different babies but that would have been doubly as exciting). A housewarming. A play (which was our Christmas present to a neice, nephew and sister). A 30th birthday and out to a country town to take the girls to have dinner with their dad.

But wait, none of that takes into account that all these events were all over the place. Not just all over Perth, but involved to trips to towns an hour or so out of Perth. Two different towns as well! I actually drove more then 500 km over the weekend which feels like we had "gone away" but no we actually hadn't! Well, we stayed the night at the housewarming but this is not really the same.

But in all that driving, we played games, listened to two audio books and sang songs. The girls also got to read and sleep (clearly not me!). And got to enjoy lots of just chatting time. It was an amazingly good weekend. We crammed so much in and I am really glad we did. Obviously it would have been nice to not have it all on at the same time, but it all worked out perfectly. And luckily I am still on leave for another week to recover ;)

I am very tired now though, which is one of the reasons you got this post instead of the long overdue update I have been planning for the 101 project! And also the reason for this post not making very much sense at all ......

Clash of the seasons

The Christmas tree and all the decorations were put away today. A little late I know, but I am still sad that they are gone. I try and celebrate Christmas for the entire Christmas church "season" ie the tree goes up on the first Sunday in Advent and goes down on 6 January. Obviously this year it did not happen! But we were a week or two late putting it up so at least we are balanced.

However we went to the shops today and they had hot cross buns. Really? In January? I told the girls no hot cross buns until Lent starts! It isn't Easter yet!! We did buy Australia shaped meat patties though. Australia Day is 26 January so I thought this was a reasonable compromise and luckily Aimee didn't click that there wasn't a vegetarian equivilent and by the time she does I am sure I will be able to do something for her.

And just to prove that I am all for celebrating any given opportunity (as long as they are seasonally appropriate) we had (icecream) spiders tonight in honour of Friday the Thirteenth.

Words of .... wisdom?!

I would just like to say, I wish I had written down some of the stuff the girls had said when they were younger. Now to remember to pass this word of wisdom to my babies when they have babies of their own. I just had to share a few gems they gave me today though.

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Scene: We were discussing whether to catch a bus into Fremantle while my car was being fixed or to walk to a nearby McDonald's and then kill some time at Bunnings.

Aimee: We should go to Bunnings. Then we can play on the playground and Mummy can look at gnomes.

(Um ... because I look at gnomes so often! Although this is what we did end up doing, not for this reason and I did end up buying a (ceramic) snail for the garden!)

Erin: We are going to go play on the playground, but you have to go and look at stuff Mummy* and not stand around and watch us play.
Me: Um ... sure, but why not?
Erin: Because it is embarrassing to just go in and use the playground.

*Possibly to look at the gnomes?!

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Posted the above conversation on facebook and a friend asked about the "rules" of leaving your child in the creche at Ikea.

Me: Erin, can you leave your child in the creche in Ikea everyday?
Erin: (thinks for a minute) As long as you don't sit and watch them play. And as long as you buy something every week or so.

Information was duly passed on to the friend who was concerned about the social etiquette in the world according to Erin.


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Scene: Later that day walking back to get the car.

Aimee: I am as hot as a sausage.
Me: I like that saying!
Aimee: Well you can't use it. And if you do use it you have to say that I thought of it.
Me: I don't think you can copyright a saying.
Aimee: I don't care about the copyright, but you can't say it unless you say I made it up.
*pause*
Aimee: How hot is a sausage?**
Me: It depends on how long you cook it for and how long since it has been taken off the stove.
Aimee: Is it hotter then a pie? I am as hot as a pie.
Me: It is the same for pies.
*longer pause*
Aimee: I am as hot as a pie that is burnt and has been in the oven for fifty years. That would be really hot wouldn't it Mummy?
Me: I liked the sausage saying better.

**particularly funny when you remember Aimee is a vegetarian and hasn't eaten a sausage for over four years.

Oh, and the girls are all planning on getting me garden gnomes for my birthday now!