Brady Gets Her Ears Pierced

Brady's almost 6 and she finally gets her ears pierced!

Picking out the earrings. Won't even go into how long that took.

Waiting to get the marker (texta) dots to mark the spots.

Janine - she was wonderful.

Here's where they'll go.

More waiting.

More waiting.

What we're waiting for (other than the earrings).

OK, here goes. So very, very brave.

Not so very brave anymore.

Yes, I'm dedicated to the documentation of this monumental event. But that's where the photos stop and Mummy's consolation begins.


And, later that night, the finished product.....

After observing all of this and on the way back to the car:

Gracie: Mom, when will I get my ears pierced?

Me: Maybe next year sweetie. When you're able to take care of them yourself.

Gracie (crying): But I don't want to get my ears pierced!!!

Gracie also refuses to every marry. She doesn't want to have babies. Says it hurts.

What to do on a lazy morning?

My husband cooked for me last night. Well, technically for the children too. But who do you think more appreciated the effort? And it was good. It put us all in a very pleasant mood so we decided to head out for Saturday night mass, even in the nasty rain. Mass was uneventful except for having to cross the alter when all three kids had to go potty. Having the restroom only accessible via the alter puts you in quite a position as a mother. You ask yourself "Do I take them during mass or just let them wet themselves?". Let me tell you, it's a tough decision. At first you kind of disregard the request, as if the whole urge will disappear. Soon though, you have to face facts. Take the bull by the horns and drag those kids up the alter or risk a puddle on the kneeler. Although I've seen people slip back there before, I still feel as though mass will just pause and everyone will stare at us. Or, worse yet, lightning will strike down from the heavens. Oh, and you have to time your flush. Better to do it when the music can drown it out, or else Father Raas' mic will pic it up and amplify it for the entire congregation to hear - just in case some of them missed you slipping up there.

I digress. This post was supposed to be about the fun morning we had since we didn't have to get up and go to church. Mid-morning we were still lounging in our jammies when my neighbor called. She had a couple of kids spend the night last night and was trying to figure out what to do with everyone to kill some time. She came up with face painting. And since I'm not one to be left out, and since I knew she would have coffee on, I crashed the party.

Here are the results.





One of the big kids did Grace's.



And no, I have no idea what kind of water splashing party her kids had to make the mirror behind Grace's head look so disgusting. But I do know she'll kill me if she ever finds out I posted the picture!

And since Jasmine (the big kid) got to paint faces too and none of the little ones could, I decided to do the only right thing. Offer myself up as a kiddie canvas!!!!!!



Yes...I need my roots done. And yes...I need a shower. But don't I look marvelous?

Dumb ol' American

ANZed


If I haven't mentioned it before, I will now. Sometimes living in another country just makes me feel like a Dumb ol' American. I am likely to actually be considered a Dumb ol' American by a lot of people, maybe even some Americans (I know it's hard to imagine - I'm so cool and all). Anyway, things that make me feel stupid? Well, let's see. The metric system. The metric system makes me feel stupid. I know, I know, it's just numbers. But when I start to get all confused (often), I just get flustered (understandable) and I throw the tape measure (or my shoe) at the nearest Australian (or non-metric-challenged individual)and scream "I give up".

The fact that I still find it hard to understand people who are speaking English, that makes me feel stupid. But they talk so fast. And I have this whole hearing issue when there is background noise (no really, it's not just an excuse). I constantly find myself saying things like "I'm Sorry?", "Excuse Me?", "Come Again?". That makes me feel stupid.

The fact that I have no idea what some of their words mean when I do hear what they say, that makes me feel stupid. Like when they tell kids to use their "Textas" (markers) or when that guy needed me to get him a pen and he called it something else (never actually figured out what) and he finally had to use sign language.

Or like when I live her for 9 months, always telling (probably hundreds of) people "You know, right down the street from the ANZ bank." Or "Across from the ANZ". Only to be corrected by my husband one day that it's actually the AN-Zed. They call Z zed here, as do most English speaking countries other than the US (gotta love Wikipedia), and I, being confident of and secure in my alphabet knowledge, was too dimwitted to realize it - FOR 9 MONTHS! That makes me feel stupid.

How embarassing.

Mrs. Wishy Washy

Entertainment News
In the small central Australian town of Alice Springs, Mrs. Smith's Transition class put on a production of Mrs. Wishy Washy today at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College class assembly. Mrs. Wishy Washy is the gripping tale of a cow, a pig and a duck, jumping, rolling and paddling through the mud. Discovered by Mrs. Wishy Washy and wishy washied up, only to jump right back in again. Starring in the pivotal roll of "the cow" was the up and coming star, Brady Cavanagh. As you can see, her performance was riveting. I smell an Oscar.

(Keep an eye out - Brady comes jumping from the left)

Mrs. Wishy Washy

The Definition of Sacrilege

sac·ri·lege
Pronunciation[sak-ruh-lij]
–noun
the violation or profanation of anything sacred or held sacred.



Now before all of our Pats Peeps start getting downright belligerent, let me say that Brady loves, loves, loves this bandanna (aka doo-rag). She wears it on her hair because she has flyaway, static-y stuff and it keeps it out of her eyes. She also wears it on her hair because we won't allow her to wear it as a shirt - yes a shirt - that's how she rolls. We won't allow the shirt because it doesn't actually stay up and soon becomes a skirt - not cool when your 5 year old is running around outside with no shirt and a bandanna around her waist. She also likes to wear it because she know she looks cool.

Now when I wore my Tampa Bay t-shirt (you will remember these are goodies received from our wonderful cheerleader friends when they visited), Jason looked very stern and said (in his voice that brooks no arguments) "You do realize that this will have to stop don't you?" He scared me, he really did. So to keep the same from happening with my sweet little breakable girl, I am tasking the people of Mass. Find us a Pats doo-rag. That way we can get rid of the Bucs doo-doo-rag.

Man I crack myself up!

School Photos

I was too cheap to buy the individual photos. After all, have you seen the prices for these things?!?!? All the students rushing out to their Mums with head shots or sibling photos (yes, they do that too) were so excited. Here come my two with their class pics going "but where is the one of us". Although I know that logically, yes, I can take a better photo than those horrid school shots with weird backgrounds (don't you dare question my abilities!!!!), I also know that having those in a photo album to show their kids one day might be important to them.

The guilt. I'll make a good Catholic.

Oh well, the kids will have to suck it up. They can just work all of it out with their therapist when they're grown.

Brady - 2nd from right, middle row.



Cole - 2nd from right, top row.

It's A Man Thing - Part Deux

"Billy goat terrain" That's what Jason calls the land they trekked to Emily Gap. To walk 4 1/2 miles, it took them 4 1/2 hours. They arrived to meet us sweaty, achy, tired and hungry. Luckily I brought the old picnic staple - Kentucky Fried. Yes we have Kentucky Fried Chicken here and it gives me a source of endless pleasure to see the caricatures of Colonel Sanders on the walls. Makes me feel like I'm stepping into any KFC in the states. One big problem...no Extra Crispy on the menu - only Original Recipe! Just when I thought I could delve into a big bucket o' crispy goodness...

Anyway, I digress. The girls and I stayed for an hour or so to feed our guys. Then we literally dumped all their gear and hit the road - singing about how girls are cool and planning our toenail painting session! Jason called after dark - said he had to walk 2 miles to get reception - gross exaggeration! They were doing fine and would see us at 7:30 am for the pick-up. It got down to 40 last night and I slept (peacefully) with the phone beside the bed just in case they should need rescuing. Turns out they slept pretty peacefully too. They were warm enough - only cold when the had to crawl out of the sleeping bags at the crack of dawn. They ate dried chicken and rice and dried scrambled eggs. Mom (ever the hero) showed up with McDonald's bags in tow. Cole was elated, Jason just irritated. Acting like the food they ate was so yummy and filling - ha - I laugh at this!

Two Person Tent - $250
Tiny, Tiny, Tiny Pocket Size Stove - $35
Dried Meal in a Bag - $10
Male Bonding - Father and Son Style - Priceless

It's A Man Thing

Jason and Cole have been planning a man's trip into the Australian bush since we've arrived. So the other day, I wasn't surprised to find lots of "stuff" (that's a substituted word - but after all, we are a family friendly site) saved in our Amazon account, ready to order for use on the very manly excursion! It included a two person tent, lots of packaged food items (like dried chili mac - bluh!) and another, yes another, stove. This is the third one, but it's different because it will practically fit in your pocket. Just what every family needs!

So today was the day of departure. The men will be hiking about 4 1/2 miles to Emily Gap to camp. Since one of the men is actually a munchkin man, Jason was having a hard time figuring out how he would carry all of the equipment to the Gap. I suggested that they carry a few provisions and the girls and I would meet them there, have a picnic, drop their gear and leave them to scratch and fart their way through the night. Excellent idea (of course women are the true intellectual superiors). Well actually it was Mom's idea upon hearing our frustration - but it was a woman nonetheless.

These are my guys heading out.



A little further now.



Of course about 1 hour into it, Jason calls on the new cell phone (to check that it's working). When asked how far they've gotten he replied (half whispering with a bit of frustration) "Not very far".

Stay tuned for another installment...

Say No to Crack.

Ok I couldn't resist the title or the shot. Sent Thing 3 to time-out. It had gotten too quiet (you know the very loud and noticeable sound of no sound at all). Went to investigate and this is what I found. Nothin' cuter than baby butt!



More butt:



And I better not get any "How could you put this angel in time out?" comments. I can't quite remember exactly what she did but it was a punishable offense.


And we can't be swayed by her innocent looking face. I'm hardened to it...she can't get to me...she'll have to do better than this...those pinchable cheeks won't sway me...


Oh forget it! She's a cute little thing isn't she?!

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

...no wait. That's what little boys are made of. Sugar and spice and everything nice. No wait. That doesn't sound right either. I'm confused. Well it's understandable. Brady after an afternoon of play:

The Good Wife's Guide

I received an email today from Debbie (thanks Debbie for the tips). It was a copy of an actual article published in Good Housekeeping 1955. That's right 1955! Titled "The Good Wife's Guide". Now, those of you who know me well, know that I constantly ask myself "Angie, how can you be a better wife?". Stop laughing. I mean it, stop laughing. So of course, I decided to look the article over, compare it to my habits, and see just where I stand in the Good Wife category.

The instructions were as follows (paraphrased of course):

. Plan well and have a delicious dinner ready when he returns from work.
. Prepare myself (i.e. look your best).
. Be gay and interesting. (After all, his day has probably been boring and it's one of my duties)
. Clear away clutter.
. Prepare the children so they look the part of the little treasures they are. Minimize noise.
. Be happy to see him.
. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in my desire to please him.
. Listen to him and remember his topics of conversation are more important than mine.
. Make the evening his. Don't complain if he's late or goes out after work.
. My goal: Try to make sure my home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where Jason can renew himself in body and spirit.
. Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
. Don't complain if he's late or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
. Make him comfortable in his chair or bed. Bring him a cool or warm drink.
. Arrange his pillow and take off his shoes.
. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement. He is the master of the house. I have no right to question him.

and lastly,

. A good wife always knows her place.

Now, let's in turn look at the reality that is our household. My very own Good Wife's Guide. Listen up ladies - the times they are a changin!

. When your husband arrives home from a hard day's work and there is nothing cooking or even defrosting, smile sweetly and offer to "let him" run to McDonald's.
. When you haven't even bothered to shower or brush your teeth, just maintain a goodly distance. And, for God's sake, don't breath on him!
. Be a happy, dirty, non-cooking wife.
. Make sure there is no clutter on his recliner, or at the very least, that the clutter is flat so it's not lumpy under his butt when he sits down.
. Make sure that the children understand that their father is the only one who can answer questions regarding computer games and Nintendos. And that he will definitely want to speak them about their issues as soon as he walks in the door. Repeat regularly that "Mom doesn't know anything about those sorts of things".
. Be happy to see him - or at least act like you are.
. Greet him with a warm smile that hides your "I really don't give a crap" attitude.
. Listen to him - who cares if it goes in one ear and out the other. But make sure to interrupt him a lot with random comments - lets him know you have a life of your own to lead after all. Allow children to interrupt at least every 10 - 15 seconds with technical questions (see above) - makes him feel important.
. If your husband is late or goes out after work, feel free to hold it over his head - makes him feel wanted.
. Greet him with all your complaints and problems, implying that he can fix them - makes him feel smart.
. If your husband stays out all night, feel free to cosh him over the head with your 12" cast iron skillet.
. Allow him to sit or lay comfortably amongst the clutter after he fixes his own damn drink.
. Don't worry about taking off his shoes. You don't have to touch his feet. And nobody can make you.
. Question all of his judgments and decisions - makes him feel like he married an intelligent woman.

and lastly,

. A good wife knows her place. Right beside her husband making him miserable. It's our job.

Could Mother's Day Get Any Better?

These are my babies.



And these are my babies.



And on Mother's Day, 5.11.08, my babies were baptised.

These are my babies after baptism. Tired babies.



Our day was beautiful. Mine started at 5:30 to get the house and all of us ready (the day before had been spent, cleaning house, cooking food and decorating the candles). Our day didn't end until we put the kids down at 8:00 last night. We had friends over to celebrate until about 4:00 pm and then we went to the Whitman's house and celebrated some more. As is typical of Alice Springs, we drank numerous bottles of wine and ate, ate, ate. Father Raas and Father Nick joined us also. Father Raas is from Fiji and played guitar and sang a couple of songs in his language! We sang along as best we could (not well mind you)- it was way cool! Check out all pics from our big day.

And yes, my Mother's Day was emotional, overwhelming, beautiful and completely unforgettable. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!

Baptism

Dance, Dance, Dance

Just can't get enough of these! There are 2 - watch them both!

Dance, Dance, Dance

The Bangtail Muster

Bangtail Muster

What a great day! May Day! The kids were out of school for this official Australian holiday but Jason had to work. But I'm sure he felt that being back at work after his two week absence was better than having to help with the pre-school's Bangtail Muster parade float. "Bangtail what?" you ask. The Bangtail Muster. Happy day in Alice Springs! Big parade with lots of wonderfully decorated floats and people. And our pre-school kids (Gracie's class) participated. Of course it was a lot of parental hard work. I co-coordinated with another Mom and, as much fun as it was, we both were very glad when it was over. It was quite a success.

Bangtail Muster originated in Australia as a roundup of cattle where the end of their tail hairs were cut straight across to ensure they had been counted for transportation. Somewhere along the years, the Bangtail Muster evolved into an official holiday in Alice Springs where it has been a favorite May festival for over 25 years - held on May Day. Every year there is a themed parade that winds through the Todd Mall (an outdoor shopping area).

This year's parade theme was "The Australian Work Horse - The Ute". Which as you should know from one of my Christmas posts (if you've been paying attention) the Ute is like a truck. The pre-school also sets a theme of it's own for the kids. This year is International Year of the Potato and we thought it would be great to have a Mr. Potato Head theme. So combined, we came up with the "Spuds Ute" (as you can see on the license plate). It was basically a truck full of potatoes - or should I say Potato Heads.

The Mr. Potato Head hats and the potatoes used for decoration along the float, as well as the stuffed potatoes in the sacks were all made by the pre-schoolers. Pretty good job. We sang to The Wiggles "Hot Potato" song as we rode along. Click on the pick to watch it evolve.

Snakes R' Us

Python

Click on the Alice Springs Reptile Center to see our most recent outing! Highlight of the day was when a Blue Tongue Lizard peed on my hand. My disgust is evident in the picture.

(By the way...we know that Brady's pants are too short. She refuses to let them go and still insists on wearing them. I try to choose my battles wisely.)

New Posts

Please note that there are quite a few new posts. Make sure you read them all!

Out Bush

Ayers Rock

Since Fred (my stepfather) probably won't be returning to Australia, we decided that it was imperative to squeeze in seeing two of the most famous sites in the country, Ayers Rock (Uluru to the Aboriginals) and King's Canyon. Both are within driving distance but, although they look close on the map, are quite a distance. Since Cole hurt his leg, and camping exhausted us, we decided to cut the trip to two nights away. The first was spent at Ayers Rock in a small cabin on with facilities close by, the second was spent in nice little hotel rooms at King's Canyon Resort.

Ayers Rock is a huge rock (not mountain)held sacred by the Aboriginals. What to do there? Well, you look at the rock. You can also take various "walks" around the rock or actually climb the rock if you choose. The aboriginals discourage climbing although it is allowed and there are even chains/ropes to help you up and down. In the pics of AR, towards the end there is a blurry one with little people on top climbing up. It looks to be a scary little climb (I'm afraid of heights). Either way, even if we had wanted to do other things, time would only afford taking in the sunset and sunrise views. Which we took many pictures of. It was truly beautiful and probably would have been quite peaceful if not for our crazy loud kids. Note, in the pictures of sunset, we look disgusting. We had been traveling all day.

Kings Canyon

King's Canyon is like our Grand Canyon only much smaller. We drove in on our second day, and walked the bottom of the canyon. There is also a 3-4 hour rim walk but only Jason and I could have walked it and we didn't have the time. Towards the end of the canyon pictures, you see a pic with people climbing up the steep slope to the rim. Jason wants to go back one day to do it, it makes me a little queasy thinking about it.

At the end of the King's Canyon album are the pics from our drive back home. Now this was absolutely the most exciting part of the trip for me. (I know, I'm crazy) For the first 2 1/2 hours of the drive, we traveled Aboriginal land (had to a purchase a permit) all of which was dirt/gravel road. Talk about a ride. The girls rode in the 1994 4 Runner and the boys in the 2005 Ford F150. Worse yet, the A/C on the 4Runner has been going out. Out of necessity, we led the way home, since open windows on dirt roads behind big trucks spells dirty disaster! The 4Runner rattled until I thought it was going to fall apart. Halfway there I actually had to stop and pee out bush!!!! Talk about an exposing experience - even though it wasn't until the last half hour out that we actually saw another vehicle on the road. The highlight was when we had to stop to let camels and wild horses cross the road! I loved every minute of our roughing it while the boys had a very boring cushy little ride.

Desert Park Pics

Desert Park

We visited the Alice Springs Desert Park. Great place, tells all about the different types of desert and the wildlife of each. These are mostly people pics. There are a couple of Gracie with the map. She became the navigator since the walk was long, hot and boring for her. Celebrated making it through with icy poles in the cafe!

9 Stitches, 6 Nuggets and 1 Very Long Day

Of course the morning after camping, we woke at the crack of dawn. No one had slept very well, and it was cold. I was able to get the fire going again (which sounds more impressive than it actually was since I only uncovered the embers and stuck more wood right on top). Breakfast was fried eggs, bacon and toast. Then we broke down the campsite, got everyone together and drove the hour back home (sighing relief when we hit the driveway).

While the grown-ups were unloading the trucks, the kids went about their merry business wreaking havoc on the neighborhood. Cole went to ride his bike up the street with friends. The next thing we know, Cole comes limping home with blood running into his shoe. After having gone down a steep driveway "faster than he's ever gone before" Cole ripped a huge jagged cut into his upper calf. (That of course is this Mother's way of making his boo-boo sound to you about how it looked to me at the time) So Jason, Cole and I spend the next few hours in the Alice Springs Emergency Room getting him stitched up. It's going to leave quite a scar. And of course offered to feed him whatever he wanted, hence the nuggets.

Camping at Ross River

Camping Ross River

Our first camping adventure. We opted for one night away to test all the gear. Ross River Resort is a great little spot about an hour east of Alice Springs. Since Fred has joined Mom here now, we had to take two cars. With all the equipment, people, and food, there was no car space to spare. On the way out, we made stops at a couple of the gaps, gorges, and rocks that are on the list (where the list came from I don't know) to be seen.

Once there and set up, we roasted marshmallows and sat around the campfire telling stories. Well, technically, I fell asleep with the kids around 7:30ish (long day) and spent a few minutes by the fire with Jason later in the evening when I had to get up to pee (luckily the facilities were clean). Jason decided to sleep by the campfire but came stumbling back into the tent around 3 in the morning complaining that the "dingo's won't leave me alone". Sure enough, in the morning we found one of his shoes beside the fire and the resident dingo (who comes rummaging for food) carried the other one off. Luckily it wasn't so far off that we couldn't find it.

Brady Meets the Bishop

This is Brady and the Bishop of Darwin at a school mass. This was one of the photos in the school newsletter. She's a star! A pious one of course.

Relay

These are pics from the Relay for Life that I participated in. Our team won the highest community fundraiser award. We held a Mexican food fundraiser - we cooked lots of enchiladas and burritos! Yummy and profitable!

What? No Baskets?

Easter

It was a fine Easter at the Cavanagh house. A little odd since Australians don't seem to do baskets. Lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies, but no baskets. So I found these "egg hunting bags" at one of the stores and decided to use those. Of course Cole's tore midway through the day so when we actually hunted eggs, he used a grocery bag. So ghetto!

As if no baskets wasn't enough, they also decided to charge $10 for a 5 pack of plastic eggs (and I only found those after searching 3 stores). This wasn't because they had a run on plastic eggs - they just don't do plastic eggs. So I decided to use the chocolate ones (you know..."when in Australia..."). Note - it is still pretty hot on Easter here. So egg hunting had to be conducted with a speed like we've never experienced. And still we were thwarted by my attempt to find good hidey-holes in our small backyard. I didn't think through what would happen when I stuck them next to the A/C units - squishy eggs! Every year I hide money in our plastic eggs so this year I just wrote amounts on the outside of the foil. Since Grace was lucky enough to find the golden $2 egg, she was our big winner totaling over five dollars.

The top group of picks have the kids in jammies, right before bed, having an egg race. Not our normal attire for egg races but, oh well, had to squeeze it in before bed.

Easter Parade

These are pictures from Grace's Easter Parade at school. Too cute!

Give me a C......!

Hi all! Ooops. Quite a while since my last post. A lot has been going on but I'm sure I won't remember it all. Mom's still here and we're having a grand old time. We won't start our sightseeing/camping until Fred comes in next month. Then I think we are going to plan an excursion to Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon. We'll camp, it will be fun. In the meantime, we've just been doing our normal things. Baseball ended (hooray) and we held a picnic at the old Telegraph Station. Cole fell down a huge rock formation and scratched up his legs pretty badly, but at least he didn't crack his head! Brady started ballet and loves it, Grace is still taking gymnastics but now she wants to change to ballet. It figures. Brady's little violin came in yesterday (it's tiny and pink - so cute). She'll begin her lessons soon. I'm still searching for a guitar teacher for Cole (won't he be cool?).

Cheerleaders

The cheerleaders came! They were so great! And of course gorgeous. That too. The camp went really well and the girls got to perform on stage with them at the show. They were in heaven. We were able to hug them goodbye the day of their flight since they were a couple of houses down. When the phone rang later that afternoon, Gracie asked if it was the cheerleaders calling!

Mom and I got lots of pics. If you look closely at some of the last ones you will see pics of when the cheerleaders got the grownups up to do the dance routine. Yes, I shook my groove thing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Cheerleaders! They asked me if I would come to work with them - I was that good!

The first pictures are some of the kids playing Trampoline Dodge Ball out back. There are over 100 pics in all so sit back and enjoy.

And videos!!!!

Cheer Videos

The videos are only of Brady because by that time Gracie had opted out (too hot). But they both danced on stage.

Funny things that happened: Cole refused to hug one of the cheerleaders goodbye (I told her to give him a couple of years and he would be all for it). During the performances, Gracie wanted to know why the cheerleaders shirts didn't cover their bellybutton and Brady wanted to know if she could have one of said shirts.

The Beautiful People

In a couple of weeks, the Armed Forced Network will be putting on a show/party for everyone here where they will be bringing in a comedian, a rock group and the Tampa Bay cheerleaders to perform. The girls and I are very excited because the cheerleaders will be putting on a short cheer camp for the kids. Later that evening the girls will be brought on stage with the cheerleaders during their performance to show what they've learned. Isn't it exciting?! I'm going to try to get lots of pics.

The boys are excited too. Especially Jason. The icing on his cake was when we found out all performers will be staying two duplexes down the street from us. And let me tell you, the duplexes aren't that far apart. These close-to-perfection women will practically be sleeping in our front yard. We'll probably be able to hear them snoring if we listen closely enough (because if there is a God, surely he will make them obnoxiously loud and ugly sleepers - that way it kind of evens out). The only people who are more excited are the neighbor's husbands. Since their duplex is between ours and the ones reserved, they'll be a few feet closer.

Banana fanna fo fanna

Mutant Naners & Plastic Hands

Couldn't resist posting pics of a double banana found in the bunch we recently bought. Now if any of you are ever asked, you will be able to say that yes you have seen a double banana in your lifetime. Quite a boast if you ask me. Of course, Mom asked "Are they all like that here?" when I showed her. Wouldn't that be something? Australia: Land of Mutant Naners.

Make sure to check the the other pics of Gracie helping Grandma with her hair color (or rather playing with the gloves that came in the box).

Grandma's Here!

Grandma's In

And Poppa had a birthday! Well, truthfully, I realized today while I was shooting pics that I forgot to post Jason's birthday pics (or even mention his birthday at all). What a good wife I am. For those of you who don't know, Jason's birthday was way back on Feb 8th. Considering he never checks this blog, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

Anyway, Mom's in and completely exhausted. She keeps saying that if it weren't for "her babies" (of which I'm pretty sure I'm not included) that she would have turned around 1/4 of the way into the trip. She ended up having a middle seat on her 14 hr flight. I've barely been able to get a word in edgewise around the girls.

Gotta go get Cole. We'll post more later. Click the Alice Springs pic to see the rest.

Can't pull the trigger on the purchase pistol!

Jason always makes fun of me for my spending habits (or lack thereof). For those of you who don't know, I'm cheap. So cheap that Jason's running joke is that he could send me to the mall with $200, I would spend $5 on something for the kids and come back with $195 to spare. This is not altogether true but it's close - I am a reluctant shopper. I spend in spurts. And I hate paying full price. Anyway, during my sleepless night I decided to go shopping. For me. I need jeans and some boots for winter, new tops, etc. So, now 6 hours later, I have 5 tabs open from various stores, items in each shopping cart and I can't seem to bite the bullet and pay (even though I'll be using mostly gift cards given to me on my birthday and Christmas). I found three pair of boots that I like (one really kicking pair of cowboy boots - impulse buy). Two pair of jeans (admittedly $80 a pair is high, but they're really cute). All together, I probably have $600 - $700 worth of clothes stuck in limbo-land. Just waiting for me to bring them home. Which is where most will stay. Maybe I'll treat myself to the cowboy boots and jeans. What's your opinion? And what brings on my usual reluctance? Feel free to psychoanalyze.

Yeah, yeah, I know!

I can hear you all now. "It's about time". Seems like I spend half my time on the blog apologizing for my inactivity! Well no more! Well, no more apologizing at least. I'm sure I'll continue to be just as inactive as ever!!! Anyhoo, right now it's about 5 am our time. Couldn't get to sleep until about 12:30 last night and Jason set the alarm for 3:30 the morn to go in early. I've been awake ever since. I'm gonna feel like poo the afternoon!

Mom's on her way in. Should be here about noon today! Hooray! I wanted the house to be perfect (or as near to it as I can get) for her arrival but I tweaked me back lifting Gracie into the truck yesterday (should have lifted with my knees) and had to take some meds (hence the sleepless night - they always screw me up) meaning I was unable to do much of anything (since we all know I wait till the last minute). Of course, Mom wouldn't know what to make of it if she came in to find all the laundry done and floors mopped. Who am I and what did I do with her daughter, and all that.

Haven't taken many pictures lately. I'm sure we'll get started again now that Grandma's here. Maybe I'll be in some of them this time! We'll post them as we take them.

I'm sure there have been many interesting things happening over the last couple of weeks but I can't seem to think of anything interesting to write! So I'll head off today with the self-imposed responsibility of digging up something cool or funny and posting again later!

If it wasn't so hot, we'd walk.

Oil - Engine $27.68
Washer - Sump Plug $2.00
Filter - Oil $16.35
V Plus Engine Coolant $6.50
Oil - Gear, LS90 $3.35
Wiper Refill $18.60
Washer Additive $1.10
Cleaning and Materials $6.00
Labour $105.00
GST $18.66

Total cost of "Oil, Lube, Filter" Servicing for a 1994 Toyota 4Runner:

$205.25

Priceless? I think not.

What a Week!

Or at least it feels like a week (very long week) but it's only been, what?, 5 days since I posted. OK, the biggest happening has been the start of school, Transition (Kindergarten) for Brady and Year 2 for Cole. My big kids!!! Gracie of course started preschool. The pictures in the below album have shots of all on their first day. There are also shots of Brady and Cole on their second day (Friday) in their Sport's Day uniform - every Friday is Sport's Day. I think it's just a big racket to get you to spend an extra hundred bucks (per kid) in the uniform shop!

First Day of School

Luckily the uniforms seem to be quite sturdy. And if Brady's dress seems a bit big - well, it's because I'm cheap! Want them to last (before you think I'm mistreating my angels, everyone - or a least lots of people - do it). So, Brady and Cole are making friends quickly and seem to be loving school. Today Brady told me that, although she's nervous, she doesn't want me to walk her into her class, just drop her at the gate like I do Cole. Damn but I wanted to cry. It doesn't help that her too big uniform and the massive backpack that tips her over, both make her look like a little munchkin. I really wanted to walk her today because yesterday I dropped her at the gate and walking down the sidewalk (way away from Mommy) she fell and skinned her knee. She actually got back up, brushed off and walked on (this from my normal drama queen). But of course, me being crazy Mom, flew out of the Kiss-and-Go line, threw the Toyota in a side street parking place and ran full speed up to her classroom. She was, of course, fine and looked at me like I'm insane. Insane, no, under-appreciated, yes.

I spoke with Grace's preschool teachers today and (don't beat me) volunteered to be on the board if they need me. I know, I know. Maybe I am a bit crazy. At least I drew the line at President, expressing only interest in the lesser jobs V.P. or Secretary. (For those of you who don't really know me, responsibility - even the smallest of - tends to stress me out). But I thought it would be a good way to meet more people and start working on getting my Skills again! Haha! After all, in a couple of years I'll be going back to work (doing who knows what - what do I want to do with my life anyway?) and I'll need to put something on a resume now won't I. See, way ahead of you naysayers out there.

One last thing before I go. I'll be starting a new feature on the site called "What I miss about home". Yeah, I thought it was catchy. For my first installment...pay-at-the-pump. God I miss pay-at-the-pump. All the gas stations (called fuel or petrol stations here) look like something you'd find on a long winding country road. You know, the ones that seem to be the only thing available for miles and smack dab in between where you left and where you're going - a long, long way away. And they all seem to spurt back on me. I'm sure that's just user error, but hey, it's still crap!