Merry merry christmas!

May your day tomorrow be filled with good food, good friends and a LOT of laughter. Joy, relaxation, family and of course pressies!!

I can't wait for tomorrow, the kids still don't really get the whole santa deal but they do understand presents! And have been doing the countdown with mummy till they get their toys!

now if only the rain can stay away for tomorrow that wouldjust make my day!

I hope tomorrow is all you could dream of and santa is kind to you and your family.

they are hiding!

The problem with being all organised and buying items and presents throughout the year and then hiding them, is eventually you need to be able to FIND them all!

Started gathering together the kids christmas toys and jons birthday presents in the hope of seeing if anything vital is missing. I was clever and took note of every item i bought ( to try to avoid a replay of liams first christmas as I unhid them all and had a stack bigger then me as I'd been buying whenever I could since boxing day!) only problem is I can't find some of them!

here are some interesting spots:
2 mario 13 inch figurines were hidden in the pantry behind the flour
1 mario book was hidden in the linen cupboard behind the tinsel
1 ds game was hiding in my underwear drawer
3 books for peter hidden in the box of unsorted photos that need to go into albums!

I'm still missing 2 full sets of figurines, 1 box set of mario dvds, a fisherprice teaset, and a boo piggy bank!

ARGHH

thankgod I started this early instead of waiting just before jons birthday or christmas arrived!!

oops!

yes I am still alive, but sadly have been a busy bee but not overly creative, plus peter and myself are still every 2 - 3 weeks suffering from the relapses of the food poisoning we had a few months ago (according to the doctor they should calm down in the next couple of months though) and have NO energy what so ever.

but we are alive we are well and I will try to be better i swear!!

meet super mario liam!!

It's been an interesting week! Liam had his book week parade so of course wanted to go as mario, so he got one of his christmas presents early (we had intended to give the kids each a costume for christmas - jons got luigi) and though it was a pain to get him to get used to the texture involved and had to change things around a bit (different mario cap and forgot the clothes and put a full outfit on underneath it) he eventually got used to it!

And he won a prize!! A fantastic pop up book that jon has been enjoying but liam hasn't looked at once lol. always the way!

what else has been happening? oh jon had his first real stack and cut through his lip and freaked out mummy and daddy to the extreme, turned around to get a nappy and he frog hopped over the arm of the couch and had a mouthful of blood, was sure he'd just broken a tooth *shudders* interesting thing though was his daycare despite being told exactly what had occured called us up 10 mins after pete had dropped him off to daycare and told us to come pick him up as they had decided it was possibly the beginnings of a cold sore (despite us both seeing what occured) and was *eek* contagious and so he has missed out on daycare this week and was so disappointed

heres the horribly contagious cut. idiots.

this weekend is my birthday *shudders* 29!! Though to be honest I'm looking forward to it, got some good pressies and I get to go havea play with cold processed soap once its all here something I have wanted to do oh for just about forever lol.

though it does mean i have to start getting serious about my health, I've been coasting for ages and although made some changes recently I want to be fit and healthy for my 30s.. peter and myself are off the caffeine now, which is a big thing for us lol I swear we kept Pepsi afloat for a few years =p

its a public holiday up here and the kids are running amuck so I gotta go! oops!

toilet training

I always figured before kids toilet training was one of those solid lines in the sand, you passed the milestone there was a zelda trumpet fanfare and didn't have to worry about it again.

Unfortunately since having children I have learnt no its a line on a constantly moving belt and the smallest stumble sends you straight back over it. *sighs* Liam has started having accidents again, and I'm not sure how to handle it.. honestly though his mental age is only about 3 so really I shouldn't be surprised but I had really hoped I could stop dealing with poop or at least his poop by this stage of the game!

Jon hasn't even STARTED toilet training so for a while at least it seems I'm going to be up to my elbows in shit. great lol.

circus time!!

what a weekend =) we went yesterday to a community event given by rotary club and local businesses where the sn schools get free tickets to the circus! We have tried these a few times but with liams sensory issues its always a battle. First year we got to the door of the big top and mega freak out to the point of dry gagging, needless to say we handed over our tickets (as the sponsors need numbers to keep the program going) and went home, 2nd year we lasted maybe 15 minutes before leaving

BUT!!

first time liam has sat through a whole event, the music was really loud and he had A LOT of difficulty in the beginning shaking hands over his ears it was really sad but he was watching really closely so I just tucked him in close and we watched and he LOVED it!

It was fantastic. jon got a bit too much (1 and a half hour show) but lol thats toddlers for you, the rest of it was amazing. And we are on monday writing in to the sponsors to let them know how much we appreciated it.

A lot of families its the only family outing they get all year due to the costs of an SN munchykin.

and on that topic, got a phone call from jons paed - costs are going up in november (its currently $380) can't tell me how much it will be going up though - which needless to say is going to make budgeting hellish. So we have jons birthday, right near christmas, we are meant to be saving for melbourne and all the detail they can give me is 'maybe a hundred more' WTF!! huge jump =( though if this assessment goes well hopefully it will be his last paed appointment! yay!

i just love that attitude too, oh maybe a hundred, its almost 400 atm! jesus. my wallet weeps lol. Ahh well the joys of children lol.

mwah! enjoy the weekend and just think 1 week then its SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!!

uniquely him.

I've been pondering recently the similarities and the differences between the kids coming up to Jon's 3rd birthday and big assessment.

They are terribly similar in someways the mario obsession, late talking, late toilet training, tiptoeing lil munchykins the grin the cheekiness they are so alike it just staggers me at times. Especially since I don't really see any similarities between my sibling and myself!

the biggest difference though? Tv. Liam and I can deal with tv in small bursts you come in watch 5 mins wander off come back, fast forward watch again wander around, read a bit etc.. its a very broken experience (and very frustrating if you are trying to watch with us apparently!) jon though sits and watches the whole thing!! interacts with the show gets excited about what is on screen and its soo cute! For the first time ever though it means we are having to monitor tv time and not just have it as background noise which is interesting!

pretend time is also very different jon has a rather active imagination, and although liam is finally developing one through his art mainly (and has now got imaginary friends 'liams pals' he uses in stories and pictures) this early explosion of imaginary play is new and very difficult from my pov!

anyway thought that was interesting!

cute moment

ever since we moved into this house to jon all flies have been bees as our first week here he got bitten by a fly (yeah i didn't know they could do that either!!)

anyway he was frightened this morning as there was a fly buzzing around, running in circles 'BEE!! BEE!!'

he then rather determinedly walked up to where it was resting
'hi bee! my names jon!
your name is bee!'

and walked off happy with the world again. too cute!

food issues

food is a big issue in this household we all have very specific rules that need to be followed. Issues with textures etc

for example (and yes these are only some of them!)
Peter can't eat anything with bits in it, eg scones with saltanas, icecream with choc chips etc this makes him gag
Liam can't eat anything that isn't dry finger food, picking up food that is not dry will end in dry gagging and vomiting
I can't eat most fruits unless they are frozen (grapes strawberries) or in a drink (banana the idea of eating a banana normally just typing that makes me itchy)


Jon on the other hand seemed to be cruising through without any real issues, as a bub would eat everything and anything, as a toddler became much more picky and difficult to get interested but was still pretty good.. but we may of hit our first bump.

we all have foods that the smell of which makes us gag and need to be warned and moved to the other side of the house before preperation - me coffee/fish/red meat liam most foods actually lol, jon found his first trigger yesterday sadly one of the kids at daycare was eating a heated up curry and jon started dry gagging and ended up vomiting a little.

really hard to explain that no he isn't ill its just the smell reacts badly to him. *sighs*

not sure if it is genetic or a asd sign. darn it.

fang-tastic!

It's been a busy and very vampy weekend. no sadly not me hitting the clubs but instead hitting the books instead!

new sookie (southern vampire mysteries series), new twilight, new anita blake.. i'm all vamped out! At least until the 13th when the new true blood hits! woot!

I had a great weekend spent quite a bit of it curled up on the couch with the lil man me reading him reading (new books for him as well) and eating more junkfood then was good for any of us but oops!

Busy day today started off with swimming, then had the baby and kids market where sadly I struck out on jons 2 newest obsessions (teletubbies and elmo - neither of which liam liked so we had literally one video (yes VHS!!) of each and that was it.. and i have seen it wayyy too many times now) but did manage to find the lil man a heap of new pretend play toys (figurines knitted cookies the coolest spiderman toy ever its like a foot long and everything is jointed beautifully its a marvel and i got it for $5!) (on another note was seriously tempted to pay a kid 3x to get the megatron he nabbed a second before us!) then went to aust fair for lunch and book shopping, food shopping and then had friends over this afternoon. LONG DAY lol but was great! and the kids are loving the new dinosaurs and toys!

So hopefully with the 5 million options downstairs pretend play wise liam can claim back his mario toys from jon as its been a dramafest as liam is well aware they are his (which is great!)

interesting news also - liam is getting moved into another class in the next few weeks. he is currently in the lowest class, all the kids are nonverbal, a couple of them have physical issues, they are the highest level of intellectual impairment etc BUT he has improved so much in the first 2 terms this year with reading they want to move him to another class! I'm worried about this as he is still mostly nonverbal (sandwich/drink/mario characters/mario games/animals etc) and can still be violent but the school thinks he will do better with a higher level class please keep your fingers crossed for us all!

my beautiful boy is 8!

This time of year is always emotional for me, not only is it mothers day but my mums birthday and liams birthday, every year it hits you a little that she isn't here to meet my lil man, that my eldest is getting older, the gap between his actual age and mental age.. its all kinda rough to be honest!

It still staggers me that he is now 8! This teeny weeny lil bub who was popped into my arms not all that long ago is now 3/4 of my height and so cheeky its amazing. He is developing well lately, reading more, understanding more and very funny. How can it be 8 years since he joined us? and yet at the same time life before him is a vague memory so long ago and rather empty.

Liam had outgrown the pc he got at 3 as he now needed internet, printer etc. so that was what he got this year, a handy dandy lil pc with a funky screen and printer! And oh he is overjoyed we had tantrums this morning before school because he wanted to stay home on the pc lol. And he got a cheap little digital camera so he can take photos of what interests him! (and hopefully keep him away from our cameras!) rather looking forward to the results! Already the pc has 30 mario pictures lol in mspaint. gorgeous lil love isn't he!

Happy birthday to my mother who yesterday on mothers day would of been 57 years old, happy birthday to my eldest son who brings me such joy and makes us better people, happy mothers day belatedly for all the mummies out there, and spare a thought for all of us who don't have our mothers with us, and give your mum a kiss and let her know how much she means to you. How much it means she is there to meet and love the grandkids, for every celebration and milestone. And don't just do it on mothers day! biweekly at least ;p

oh dear its a bumpy ride

I always thought the reason 18 months till 3 was so terribly frustrating with liam was the regression, frustration at losing his speech etc.. but I have come to realise recently some of the stereotypes about terrible 2s are well accurate!

Jon is currently wallowing in the joy of being 2, you take his nappy off he tantrums, have to put a new nappy on he tantrums, try to get him to eat some food he tantrums, try to sit down without breastfeeding he tantrums, try to eat your own food he tantrums, try to leave the room he tantrums, open the door to get the mail he tantrums come in with the mail and not let him run on the road he tantrums its ridiculous at the moment!

its to the extent atm that in a 5 minute convo on msn I had to inbetween each sentence go out into the living room and then have him tantrum because i wouldn't sit and play blocks for another hour, or wouldn't let him play outside again or let him play in the kitchen etc.

please tell me this phase passes soon?!

eco toys store opening!!

one of my favorite toystores is opening a brick and morter location!!

Is anyone in Hawthorn?? If so make sure to pop into the new Eco Toys grand opening! Love their stuff and wish I was closer to attend :( http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121686044510799&ref=mf

I've actually posted pictures of their items previously - its where the wooden kitchen I posted at christmas is from, the darling wooden teaset jon got last christmas, the beeswax candles and so much more!!!


Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Location: 651 Burwood rd, Hawthorn East 3123

ahhh just so so quiet

i love my children with my whole heart but occasionally you need a day like today to recharge the batteries and enjoy them more when they come back!

did a trip to the mobile library, got a pile of books, some discounted easter chocolate, did some baking, had a nap, enjoyed some time with the darling husband uninterrupted, and if austar gets its act together going to watch some completely unchild friendly tv (ER lol i'm a rebel ;p) without any cartoons in it at all!!

then going to lay in bed and read until its time for the munchys to come home!!

what do you do on the days when its just you and the housework is well mostly done? ;p how do you unwind?

school holidays

we have had a busy time, did how to train you dragon, seaworld today, lots of family time, lego play etc.. had a ball but sadly the holidays are at an end.

I did have to share one thing though. Liam is becoming more expressive, still isn't vocal but now the events and things that have an impact on him are finding ways to be expressed.

here you can see the rollercoaster he went on with peter, the dolphins as we spent a bit of time looking at the dolphin nursery and watching the dolphin show, the sesame street area where we watched part of the show, seaworld of course and lol liams fave part of any activity out and about .. maccers lol.

the one in the green shirt and red pants is liam and is actually colour correct which is very cool. not sure if the rest of us are there in different forms lol or what is the go but had to share. so very very proud!

happy easter all!

I had to giggle. I went wayy overboard this easter, the kids got so much chocolate, exxy clothes, toys, the family all got photo books etc what did jon love the most?

the free business card from bee & me (a fantastic wahm company) that came with one of his new outfits. walking around carrying it going 'B.. E..EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.... BEE!!'

its always the little things that make or break a day but lol a business card?! very cute and of course coz he's from this family rather unique and interesting lol!!

Happy easter all, may your day be filled with friends and family, food and fun! mwah!

am I the only one?

mild curiousity here.

A week or so ago while wandering in an op shop while waiting for my doctors appointment next door, I saw wonder of wonders some trixie belden books. I just about mugged peter for the car keys and went bolting to the car (as I didn't have my handbag on me) to go buy these books.

Peter has been rather confused considering how excited I was to find them that I haven't cracked them open and devored them like a 2 year old at easter. But I didn't so much want them for ME, I had once had the entire series of trixie and the babysitters club put away for whenever I have a little girl and they were destroyed sadly the backyard and shed was flooded and we didn't consider to think that yes everything in the shed in boxes was also soaking and needed to be removed and spread out to dry out.. and so it got moldy and basically broke down. I was devestated especially considering my soft toys which I had kept were lost backloading from sydney to the gc! I wanted them to put them away for a child who currently doesn't exist may never exist and hey even if she does eventually become a reality may not be interested!

am I the only one who does this? what have you got put away for the next generation? a christing gown when your children aren't baptised? Your wedding gown? toys from previous generations that are politically incorrect but loved all the same?

interesting moment

had a moment that both made me laugh and smile and was rather worrying yesterday.

Sitting here on the pc and heard someone at the door and thought woohoo postie! then i heard them trying to open the front door and rushed out as well umm thats not normal and a little concerning.

And there is this TINY little girl maybe 18-20 months of age carrying a grubby white comfort blanket. Asked where her mum was the bottom lip quivered 'don't know' and i'm panicking jons come wandering to the door and he and the lil girl are standing there staring at each other and i'm freaking out lol. ended up getting pete to watch jon for a moment and getting the lil darling to hold my hand and take me to her house.. which half way up the road was rather recognisable by the truly freaked out dad out the front looking around frantically. She had gotten out through the garage and because all the houses pretty much look the same (yes i'm now in one of those areas lol there are literally 4 carboncopies of our house within 2 streets, christ u'd never want to get drunk u'd never find the right place again!) had gotten confused and thought our house was hers.

Daddy walked off talking sternly to the little girl but hugging her for all his worth so fortunately a happy ending.

It's amazing how quickly something like that can go wrong though, we get trucks speeding through this street ALL the time, or what if she'd gone to someones house who wasn't so parental and had her best interests in mind?

its truly scary how quickly things can go wrong with a little one, a jump that landed wrong, a climb that ended badly, a toy that shouldn't be swallowed, a mouthful swallowed too fast, a moment of inattention and boom. your world can change. truly scary.

oops

yeah i'm the worlds slackest blogger lately, but since the move and jon starting daycare we have had the worst run of illness. To the extent since jon started daycare in oh january he's managed to go a grand total of 4 times due to bugs and a cough that would not go away.

its been fairly batty, we have had ear infections, sinus infections, an allergic rash, gastro, chest infections, colds and the flu! had weeks of vomited on sheets and towels and concern about dropping weight (jon that is!!) thankgod for breastmilk as otherwise the bugs would of been much more serious!

so sorry but we are still alive just battered and still ill. =p

send us your good health wishes lol it seems we need them!

2nd day of daycare

had a lovely day here, jons 2nd full day at daycare, I managed to fold and put away 5 loads of washing (without anyone pushing over the piles!), bake 2 menu items (without anyone standing at the kitchen barrier screaming as if they had been abandoned forever) watch 3 tv shows that weren't kiddy appropriate and having a long bath (without constant 'MUMMY!!' being screamed!) and clock watched and missed both the boys desperately.

Jon had a ball, had a little cry when woken up early from his nap though that happens even here, the lil man is like everyone else in this family and likes to sleep till he wakes naturally! but 2nd day was a success. hooray.

(kidnapped from megsie)
the very awesomely talented Lesley from Cherub's kiss has a giveaway over on her blog. Go and check it out right here, her naps are a fav around here and very hard to get hold of, so go for it enter her giveaway..I did:)

wow its been a while

yes i've been missing in action its been a fairly full on month or 2!

we got approved for the move christmas eve and spent christmas surrounded by boxes, the kids not getting much of their pressies as we had bought big items for the new house (which sucked) then came the worlds most expensive move ever. it literally cost us 7x more then it did to move from qld from nsw and that was from benowa to coomera!

we then had a truly horrid run of illnesses, constantly feeling ill, the kids got nits, liams wasn't able to start school on time due to wanting him to change classes so there were meltdowns and freakouts galore.

financially, emotionally, physically its been rough but we are getting there, the house is almost all set up other then liams pc as his monitor broke during the move, the garage/playroom is the last item on our checklist pretty much and tada all done at least for a bit!

but yay we are all moved!

liam started back at school today which is lovely, new teacher new class and i'm desperately hoping it goes well!

so how were your christmas holidays spent? what was your worst move or do you love the declutter the battle over the bond and starting afresh?