Starting Young

Brandon was so very eager to go to Kindergarten today that I had to explain to him several times this morning that it was too early and it wasn't even open yet. He would just have to wait. I ran through a few things for him to say if someone was hurting him or annoying him, as happened last Tuesday at Kindergarten. He repeated them back to me so I was confident that he was a little better equipped to fend off someone, besides just punching, which he is exceptionally good at. Anyway, eventually Bailey and I fare welled Brandon as he began his adventurous day at Kindergarten. Just before we left I talked to his teacher about Brandon sleeping there. He doesn't want to sleep and has been getting quite distressed by the required procedure. When I spoke to his teacher today I think she realised finally that he truly does not sleep during the day and no matter how much they suggest it to him he will not budge. Good on him I say. I am glad that he is determined and stubborn. At least I'm confident that he sticks to his guns and is not manipulated. When we left, Brandon was having a great fun with lots of water activities. It was a very hot day today so the teacher's premise was to keep them cool.

Bailey and I returned home just in time for a 10am appointment with the Pest Controller that had sprayed our house 1 month ago. As I was not satisfied that anything had changed, I'd called him and he'd planned to come back today to fix the problem. He didn't arrive. Bailey and I waited and waited and then we just left. Bailey and I had better things to do. We went searching for some development sites. We looked at so much land. By the time we eventually spoke to one of the land sales agents we've been dealing with we pretty much knew what we liked. Bailey was so very good as we sat down and discussed a few things with the agent. Surprisingly, Bailey just sat on a chair and listened to the man and looked at the building plans with me. He even collected a Property For Sale magazine. Such a good experience to be involved in. Who knows, one day the 2 boys may get into property too, or maybe not. The younger they start the better.

The 2 of us arrived home where we briefly had some lunch and packed the car for either going to the beach or going to the swimming pool once we picked up Brandon. I obviously didn't have any clients today. Brandon had a fantastic day at Kindergarten apparently. Tomorrow they have a live reptile show visiting the class which is very exciting. The boys ate and ate all the way home. By now I was getting a bit tired so I subtly suggested/encouraged that we all go home and put our swimmers on and run under the sprinkler. Hooray! Both boys thought that was a great idea. Home we went.

The afternoon was spent with the 2 boys jumping on the trampoline while I sprayed them with the water tank hose. They loved it. The laughter and squeals of pure enjoyment were a fitting response to a fun activity and a lovely afternoon. Needless to say, both boys fell asleep pretty quickly. Although today is the last official day of Summer, tomorrow is meant to be extremely hot here. Luckily the boys have swimming lessons so we'll try and spend a lot of the day in a pool.

"I Have A Big Idea"

This is what Brandon says to us all the time. He has so many ideas. When he was nearly 3 he set up a folding table out in the garage and put heaps of stones on the table and attempted to sell them to everyone that he knew. He allocated piles of stones to people and told daddy and I how much the people were going to pay him for them. Daddy and I were amazed. This morning Brandon said to me "An idea just went into my body." I replied while smiling "What idea have you got?" Brandon said "We can have breakfast outside." What an excellent idea. As the outdoor table and chairs were in the full sun, I set up the 2 boys' pirate table and chairs outside on the blue tarp on the grass in the shade. They loved it. They intermingled between eating and jumping on the trampoline which was now only about 1 metre away from the breakfast table-too irresistible to avoid.

Eventually by about 11am the 4 of us ventured into Kmart to layby some more kitchen items. While daddy and I almost managed to fill the trolley up with more plates and pasta bowls and cups, the total only came to just under $50.00. But I actually laybyed them as I hadn't technically budgeted for them. They could all wait for me to pick them up next week. It's just that the home wares sale finishes before I could get back there. Daddy and I in particular looked at a furniture shop that's closing down to see if we could find any great bargains. Heaps of great things and loads of cheap things but we are sticking to our budget so we got some great inspiration and left the shop. Brandon actually fell asleep in the car today while Bailey stayed awake, which was a complete turnaround of events. I am sure that it only happened because I had mentioned to daddy as we left the house earlier this morning that Bailey would definitely be the one to sleep between the 2 boys. Famous last words from mummy.

Bailey played with his trains and his tracks and climbed and rolled all over us between plays. I woke Brandon up after 2 hours of sleep because I still wanted him to sleep at bedtime tonight. We played and played and eventually I needed a break for 20 minutes so I jumped on the computer and looked at the costs of flights and also potential places to go on holiday at Christmas time. Perplexed by the prices, I came out and joined the chaos.

The afternoon just seemed to vanish. I took the 2 boys to the petrol station with me to get some fuel. My objective was so that it would be easier than having to do it in peak hour traffic in the morning. As Brandon has kindergarten tomorrow it is already chaotic enough let alone having to go to get petrol. Of course as we patiently waited in the very long line to pay for our petrol, just as we were about to be served, Brandon declared that he needed to go to the toilet. The service attendant informed us that there was no toilets for customers on the premises and that we would have to go about 150 metres to the nearest facility. Fat chance. Let's just say that the 2 boys and I managed to see the many and varied trees and bushes out behind the servo. 

We came home with the 2 boys also now covered in Buffalo Bill ice creams. Daddy cooked up a fantastic dinner of steamed veggies and some noodles for the boys which I fed them outside again. They loved dinner so much that we cooked more noodles and they ate most of their veggies. For dessert they had watermelon, grapes and yoghurt which were absolutely hoovered up. I couldn't believe it. I put the food in front of them and then 1 minute later it was almost gone. The kids played and played until the sun disappeared and I had to turn the outside flood lights on. Then we rounded them up, bathed them, fed them again, did jigsaws over and over again with them, read, and then made up 2 stories before they eventually went to sleep. When we came inside finally for the day, Brandon had said to us all "What a beautiful day we had".  I'm glad.


(PS. My laptop is not working so I haven't been able to transfer any photos from today's adventures. Will post some once it's fixed)

Ants In Their Pants

I am positive that Brandon and Bailey constantly have ants in their pants. They will just never stay still. That's one of the reasons why I only took 1 photo today- they just will not stop. They won't sit to eat. They won't even sit to watch some TV. Instead they are rolling around, jumping off things, jumping on to things, jumping on the trampoline, jumping in the car, and jumping on our bed. Everywhere they go there is dramatic movement. Everywhere we go there is corresponding noise at great volume to match the constant movement.

The 2 boys and I were on the go all morning at home as daddy was working. We stayed home as I had to work from 10:30am onwards. But the boys played and played and Brandon talked and talked and Bailey tried to talk and talk. By the time daddy ran in the door I was exhausted. I went to work while daddy and the 2 boys entertained each other. Once finished the 4 of us all went food shopping, at Brandon's request. Daddy and I had planned for me to do all my business paperwork while the 2 boys and himself went shopping. Well that just didn't go down very well at all with Brandon. He insisted and continued on and on and on until he drove me completely crazy and I said yes to go to the shops. Throughout our shopping adventure, Brandon's little battery was starting to wear out to the point that he sat on the floor of the supermarket and said that he couldn't go any further. Luckily we only had 3 aisles to go. Somehow he painstakingly made it to the car.

Neither of the boys slept today so while I did 3 hours of paperwork and computer work, daddy and the boys did washing and played outside on the play equipment and by the sound of their adventures, they had heaps of fun. Finally I finished my work and returned back to family life. I was greeted lovingly by 2 boys that would just not stay still. They were jumping off me and hanging off me and then proceeded to run around me. Dinner, reading, more food and then exhausted into bed. That's how the last 2 hours of Saturday ended for the 2 little boys. Brandon and Bailey just kept going and going until the very last second just before literally dropping off to sleep. Sweet Dreams. Please stay still.

Hooray For New Crockery!

The 2 boys and I journeyed off to Bunnings this morning for Art and Craft for kids under 5, only to be told that it's now on Mondays. Oh well, we still had fun. Both boys had the little kids trolleys from Bunnings so we cruised around the hardware shop for 1/2 an hour. We pretty much went up every aisle stopping frequently when the boys found something that interested them. We looked over towel rails and colourful plastic containers. We spent a lot of time looking at paint colour selection panels as well as bathrooms. But we spent the most time looking at trolleys. The 2 boys were fascinated. They both had a very short play in the playground before realising that it was obviously heaps more of a thrill running through Bunnings pushing trolleys at break neck speed with their mummy running after them!

We returned to the car empty handed and then headed over to Kmart to take some things off layby. I wasn't sure about whether the budget would stretch that far today but then I reflected upon the fact that we now only have 1 teeny tiny saucepan left to cook for a family of 4, so I collected the layby. Hooray! We now have new red and white plates and bowls and mugs and 3 very large red saucepans as well as 3 timber chopping boards and hoards of plastic containers with ALL their matching lids.  When we got home I managed to wash everything and put it all away in our now clean and organised cupboards. Hooray for new crockery!

Bailey had a very little sleep while Brandon and I hung out. I blinked and now Bailey was awake so we all had some lunch before then heading outside to play. The boys played with the mulch and dirt while I did some well needed weeding down one side of the house. Daddy arrived home and soon after the biggest paint order was delivered on our driveway. We all moved copious amounts of paint before I came inside to get ready for work while the 2 boys and daddy continued moving paint. 

The boys were so very good today with the exception I believe at dinner time. Feeding the boys is always such a mammoth task. I think it's more mentally exhausting than anything. Now I am off to throw some dinner together on our beautiful new plates. 

Where Do We Start?

The 2 boys and I had lots of little adventures today. What now seems like an eternity ago, we started the day by racing out the door to get some petrol before making our way to Brandon's karate class. On the way to the class we were stopped by the Police. It wasn't just us, it was everyone heading in the same direction. We were the 4th car in the line and the few cars ahead of us were all tradies, gathered by their Utes and work things on the roof racks. The Police were definitely targeting a certain person. I was just waved through but so many other cars had been pulled over and Police were measuring the distance with a tape measure between one drivers front and rear wheels as we passed. Other drivers were pulled over and outside of their vehicles obviously not allowed back in them.

The funniest thing that I ever did see today was a 21 year old male replacement Karate teacher trying to teach 3-4 year olds. He rolled his eyes, he sighed uncontrollably, he called the kids "little people" all the time, and he could not comprehend why they simply would not listen to him. One of the other parents quietly tried to reassure the teacher that they don't listen to us as parents so be prepared for them not to listen to him. It was quite comical if only the teacher had not been so exacerbated. He must have been looking at them as though they were from another planet. I know that I certainly do at times. Poor guy. I wonder if he will consider returning next week. Overall though, Brandon did really well. He did listen to a point and completed all the activities. He is so very grown up.

The Karate teacher gave us all a big farewell as we piled into our cars. I am sure as we drove away he was hoping we would never come back. We went home for 20 minutes to stick Brandon's Karate reward stickers on his bedroom wall, change his clothes, change Bailey's nappy, put some lipstick on me before then jumping back in the car to go to the hairdressers. Brandon promptly declared that he would not be getting his hair cut today as he did not think that it was long enough or booffy enough to justify cutting. He stood his ground. Bailey just jumped up onto the hairdresser's seat without hassle. After coaxing Brandon to sit up and get his hair cut he was still adamant that he was not getting it cut. I coaxed, I bribed, I even threatened to throw away all his DVDs, and then I bought out the big deal breaker-  I would not read him a book tonight before bed. Usually that stops him in his tracks and he comes around. Today it didn't work. It wasn't until myself and the hairdresser had resided that he wouldn't be getting his hair cut today, that another hairdresser bought out  Batman and Superman figurines that it all changed. It was so funny. The hairdresser had won him over. The lady walked from Brandon to the chairs with the superhero figurines out in front of her as Brandon willingly followed her. It was like the Pied Pipper story. She moved over to the chair and Brandon jumped up. Before he knew it she had the seat belt around him, his cape on and was cutting his hair. She was good.

With super cute boys in tow, we headed over to the shops. We did banking and checked the PO Box. We also bought Toy Story undies for Brandon. I also bought a Toy Story singlet and some Easter Eggs for the boys and daddy and I. The Easter Eggs have been staring at me in the shops now since Boxing Day so there was only so long that I could say no for. Besides I felt like eating some chocolate. Typically such small amounts of chocolate end up in such very large areas once given to a small child. Multiplied by 2 and I had a huge mess.

We drove home and a part of me thought I hope that I can somehow clean these boys up before they go to sleep, while another part of me just thought- go to sleep as I can always wash more sheets. No-one slept so I cleaned them up. The afternoon was spent eating and watching a new DVD our neighbour had lent us- Despicable Me. Brandon loved it. Bailey wasn't so keen. Instead he hung out with me while I did washing, cleaned up and put all the rubbish out. Before I knew it daddy was home and I was off to work. Brandon wanted Pizza for dinner tonight. Not the gourmet ones we might make up, but Domino's. So daddy and the 2 boys ordered it, collected it and ate it. Once I finished work I bathed the boys, read to them, fed them again and put them in bed while daddy did his BAS.

I can't believe that tomorrow is already Friday. I have some nice ideas for things for the kids and I to do tomorrow, regardless of the weather, although sunshine would give me some more options and the feeling of summer still.

Back To The Basics

Well I have regained my composure and am back on track. I had a parental meltdown yesterday from sheer exhaustion. So today the 2 boys and I didn't race off anywhere. I didn't try and jam as much food as humanly possible into a  lunch box for Brandon. I didn't try and juggle everything in my own 2 hands. Today we simply did the basics.

The 2 boys and I played in their toy room for many hours. We played with cars and trains and dinosaurs. We had toy cars that broke down and needed repair at the mechanic shop and we played with fire trucks of all sizes. We did move a lounge to find a whole heap of toys that I thought had gone to toy heaven. Then Brandon said that he would like to go and ride his bike at the park. So off we went down to the end of the street so the boys could ride. 5 minutes later both boys had ditched their bikes and wanted some food. Luckily I'd packed the orchard, the cow and nearly everything else from the fridge so the boys could devourer it. 10 minutes later and Brandon lost the plot. He got so cranky and angry that I wouldn't let him use the camera. I continued on at the park hoping that he would get over it and keep playing but that was it. He was out. Then it started raining. Our house is only 2 houses away from this park but it took us nearly 10 minutes to get home. Bailey was extremely uncomfortable as he had just done a huge poo, going on the time it took him to do it. So obviously he couldn't and wouldn't ride his bike so I carried him and his bike and the food bag all the while convincing Brandon who was now refusing to ride his bike, that he just had to hurry up. Needless to say I got wet while the 2 boys weren't too bad. Brandon decided to park himself and his bike on the driveway in the rain. I let out a great big "MOVE" and we all piled back inside.

I changed Bailey's nappy and then decided that because we needed to get nappies the change of scenery to the supermarket might enhance the ambiance. Both boys were very good at the shops. My theory worked. Mind you everywhere we went at the supermarket there were ladies giving away free samples of all sorts of food. The boys had shaved ham rolled up, then they had slices of apple and then another lady gave them some little sausages. That's the 2nd time that's happened to us. It made the boys happy which was great.

On our return home, Bailey slept while Brandon got super cranky again. This time it stemmed from me suggesting politely that he just sit in his bed for 10 minutes. He had nearly been asleep in the car but once I turned my ignition off it's like bells are ringing and there are things to do. He is wide awake as was the case today. So I took a cranky Brandon inside while putting Bailey into his bed. The afternoon just disappeared and before I knew it I was waking Bailey up.

Again daddy raced home and I raced to work. Daddy took the 2 boys outside for awhile while I worked. They jumped on the trampoline and swung on the swings. I could hear their laughter and the occasional cry and then a "Brandon don't do that" from daddy. Both boys actually fell asleep quiet quickly. Actually I should say that all 3 boys fell asleep quite quickly as daddy is still asleep on Bailey's lounge in his room. I have been in there to wake him up and apart from whacking him across the face with a wet fish nothing works. In the end I closed the door and just let him sleep for awhile.

That's my day- the highs and the lows. I hope that you all had a great day.xxoo

Try Again Tomorrow

Well I have just had a panic attack so there is no post tonight.

On The Search For.........

Unintentionally,today felt like we were always on the search for something. Aside from my everyday search for serenity, tranquility, money, more time, a personal chef, and a tropical island, today we searched for a selection of odd little things. My first search for the day began as I opened up our pantry and stared blankly at it hoping that inspiration would just hit me for food to pack for Brandon at Kindergarten. I kept staring and staring at the food thinking that inspiration was hiding in there somewhere. I did eventually find some inspiration. It wasn't any good for Brandon's lunch but several pieces of mint chocolate sure inspired me.

Ah ha. I managed to fill a lunchbox up with hopefully enough interesting, yummy, nutritional food for a 3 year old. I always worry that there is never enough food in there to cover morning tea and lunch. Anyway I did my best, closed it up, shoved it in his backpack and hoped he'd enjoy it.

In 35 degree heat and 100% humidity my next search was for a car park as close to the Kindergarten entrance as physically possible. Fat chance. We walked what felt like several kilometres from our car to the Kindergarten and dropped off my beautiful big boy. As Brandon and one of his little friends started running around the play equipment just before I left, I heard the teacher say to them "Try not to run. It's too hot". I smiled because I knew that if her quest for the day was to discourage Brandon from running she was fighting a loosing battle. As I knew it would be for whichever teacher tried to tell Brandon to have a sleep later in the afternoon.

Bailey and I then went searching for 2 kids safety swim vests. Mission Impossible. We drove to Big W, then we drove to Pool shops, and then finally we found one at Clark Rubber. Bailey was the best little boy. It was stinking hot in the pool shop and both of us had sweat pouring off us but Bailey just stood there so patiently while I tried to fit some vests on him. He was just gorgeous. He looked at me intently just trusting that I knew what I was doing. He was so beautiful. I only bought 1 swim vest because I realised that Brandon will probably have to try it on first and I was still in shock over the price.

Bailey and I then went searching at several supermarkets in several different suburbs for some "Orgran No Egg" As I don't eat eggs I'm difficult and need an egg replacer because I planned to make some muffins for the 2 boys, daddy and I. All I can say is that being a vegan can sometimes have its drawbacks. There was only so many times I could put Bailey and myself through the search process, that eventually we just went home. The 2 of us played and laughed and wrestled and read and ate and just had a really great time. Bailey was as loud as could possible be today. He says so many words and is slowly starting to string a few together. I was determined to make some dinner for us all tonight which involved lots of vegetables. I searched and searched ways that I could possibly subtly get vegetables into the boys without dramas and I think I succeeded. I learnt tonight that Bailey LOVES brown rice.

So Bailey and I picked Brandon up from kindergarten and his teacher said "He is a very determined little boy." In context it was about his refusal to go to sleep. I knew it would happen. He had been warning me all morning before kindergarten that under no circumstances would he be sleeping today. We headed home and thankfully the air conditioners had cooled the house down. Nothing much happened this afternoon. It was way too hot to move let alone venture outside. We even got both boys in bed by 7:30pm. Mind you daddy has obviously fallen asleep while putting Bailey to bed because it's been awhile and he hasn't emerged. Dinner is cooked and I even made some dessert too. I have finished writing here nearly 2 hours earlier than normal and I have already washed up nearly every piece of cooking equipment from our kitchen. So maybe I have successfully accomplished the search for more time.

Air Conditioners Are The Best

At 7pm tonight it was still 30 degrees, so we have had a very hot day. In fact it has been an extremely hot day. Luckily we spent all of the morning in the swimming pool. The 2 boys and I took daddy out to the pool that we had spent several hours at on Friday. There was a lot of people swimming today. We had an absolutely fantastic time. We swam and swam and swam. The boys had some food and then we went back and swam some more. We all went up the stairs and ramps to get to the top of the slides before then flying down and splashing into the water. Then we had some more food and got the boys dressed into some dry clothes before they went and played in the playground.

Finally, once we arrived home with both boys now firmly asleep, daddy and I pumped up the air conditioners and sat down for 2 minutes. Daddy then went off to the shops to go to talk to a new bank, yes a bank that is open on a Sunday. While he was gone I folded copious amounts of washing and hung out copious amounts of more washing. When the boys eventually woke up Brandon declared that he wanted to go and ride his bike at the footpaths around the park at the end of our street. So off we all went to the park in extreme heat. We took cold water and lots of fruit, helmets, bikes and 2 hot and tired kids. Our 15 minutes of bike riding that we negotiated on actually turned into 1 hour of bike riding. The 2 boys just wouldn't stop moving. At the point where Brandon said that he was tired and that he couldn't walk any further we scooped them up bikes and all, and left. Dinner was basic and cold. Dessert was fruit salad and yoghurt and cold. With the air conditioners on the 2 boys eventually stopped running and moving and actually went to sleep.

Sing, Dance & Rhyme

Today was a busy day for the 2 little boys,

they laughed and played and had some fun with all their colourful toys.

I worked and worked and worked while daddy and the boys went shopping,

I thought I might of had some time to do just a wee bit of mopping.

Alas the house stays dirty once more,

while Brandon plays and Bailey can be heard to snore.

Once I'd finished work and we'd all had lunch,

 we returned to the shops as a big happy bunch.

This is harder than I thought to make our day's activities a rhyme,

so I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the very same time.

Splish Splash Splosh- We're Jumping In The Pool!

It's stinking hot! So the 2 boys and I went to the pool for most of the day. I thought we would have a little adventure today so we went off to a very different pool. It was great. The pool had slippery slides going into the pool and giant mushrooms with water dripping off them. We all had a great time. Although we were swimming in the toddler section it was still quite deep. It was too deep for Bailey to walk so I carried him most of the time. Time just disappeared and before we knew it the boys were hungry again. I had packed lots of yummy food- fruit salad and sandwiches, biscuits, lovely cold water, and some lollies. I got the boys dressed into nice dry day clothes and then they both went and played in the enclosed playground right next to the pool. We met a little boy called Jayden and his mummy and the 3 boys all played together while I had a chat to Jayden's mum.  She was an interesting lady. She was from Austria and has her own business as a photographer and also as a Family Day Care lady. It's amazing the people you meet when you have kids and it's amazing to hear their life story. 

After a very long time the 2 boys started getting very red faces from the heat and although they were covered in sunscreen and drinking heaps of water I rounded them up and we went home. Brandon wasn't so keen to leave because he said that he missed Jayden. Mind you he said that to me when we were still in the playground with them. Jayden made such an impact on Brandon that Brandon spent the rest of the afternoon talking about him. Firstly though, both boys fell asleep in the car and then remained so in their beds at home. I actually had time to have an uninterrupted shower and prepare myself for my afternoon and evening of work. I know that with the boys both sleeping today that their sleeps probably won't coincide now for the next week during the day, but it is golden when it does happen. I even had to wake them both up.

Being so incredibly hot this evening still daddy took the 2 boys outside to have dinner. Once I finished work, and as both boys realised that I had, I was greeted by a huge barrage of "MUMMY" being yelled at the top of 2 little boys voices. Loud, but endearing. Once daddy and I had bathed the boys and dressed them ready for bed, somehow the 2 boys and I just gravitated towards drawing and doing some art and craft. Before I knew it I was drawing a monkey soft toy that had been Brandon's best friend throughout the day. Then we drew apple trees and squiggles and all sorts of imaginative things.

It's meant to be extremely hot here over the weekend so as I work tomorrow morning the 2 boys and I were thinking that we might go back to the pool on Sunday with daddy and collectively have a splish, splash, splosh in the pool again.

Playing With Lego

This is going to be very brief tonight because it is getting late, I'm very hungry, the house is a mess and I still have business computing to do.

Both boys are really loving the Lego that we have and are building something every time we are home. The Lego supply is dwindling because Bailey makes these wonderful constructions with the Lego and then takes great pleasure at throwing them full strength at the floor, the wall and the lounge. Quite simply- anything in his firing line. So it's disappearing into places never to probably be seen again. Then we went off to Brandon's karate class. He did unbelievably well. He listened and responded and organised all the other kids when in a line. There were several new kids today. Still all boys. I can't wait to Bailey is old enough to do Karate too. He still has to wait 1 more year before he can officially start. In the mean time, I'll keep doing Karate with him at home and when Brandon has his lesson.

Came home and fed the 2 boys before then jumping back into the car to go to Spotlight, an enormous shop that sells almost everything including a lot of kids bedroom Manchester. We laybyed Thomas curtains and a Thomas quilt cover for Bailey. We also bought him a Thomas toy box and several other Thomas accessories for his bedroom. Brandon chose Toy Story curtains and a quilt cover and a Toy Story toy box. I bought the toy boxes today and all the rest I'll hope to pick up next week. Luckily for me there just happened to be a 35% off sale on everything we were buying.

Kids went super feral in the shop so we left before I became a nervous wreck. Bailey slept again for 2 1/2hours while I tidied up and built things with Lego only to have Brandon destroy them immediately. Played, ate, washed, tidied up and read a recipe book while Bailey slept. Eventually I worked. By now both boys had had enough and needed to be fed, watered, washed and put to bed.  That process took quite awhile because we all ventured outside between dinner and dessert so that the boys could jump on the trampoline, as apparently you do when you have just had dinner some 30 seconds before.

The boys are in bed asleep and it looks like daddy has fallen asleep in Bailey's room while putting him to bed. Goodbye for now. I hear  and see mess and paperwork calling.

Pears Are A Hit

At the moment the 2 boys are addicted to pears. I am amazed that they haven't turned into 2 pears from the amount that they consume. At least it's healthy food they are eating-at the moment. This morning I decided to do things a little differently. The first thing I did was relax and not freak out if we didn't depart at the right time to get Brandon to kindergarten by 9am. I was calm and relaxed and by some amazing power there was no peak hour traffic. I couldn't believe it. So we arrived at Kindy 5 minutes early. It just goes to show that sometimes in life I just have to stop pushing and pushing and let things happen. A lesson in life I think that I need to practice every day.

Every morning as the 2 boys and I get into the car to drive off for the day Brandon always asks me if he can have some "dood"(food). I never have any spare, firstly because he has just had breakfast and secondly because his kindergarten lunchbox is so jam packed with food as he eats so much. This morning I was prepared. I had started the car ready to reverse out of the driveway when Brandon said "Mummy can I have some....." and that's when I presented both himself and Bailey with a whole heap of ready to eat food (grapes, cheese, biscuits).  They were in heaven and Bailey actually ate some too.

Bailey and I dropped Brandon off at kindergarten again this morning. We stayed around for a little but Brandon was off and playing so we said goodbye and departed. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with Bailey today so once we left kindergarten we just drove. It started to rain so my first option for the day was scratched then I went past the exit on the highway for my second option, so that was out too. We ended up at Kindy Gym at the PCYC. We were 20 minutes late but we got there and it only costs $5.00 for the session so it wasn't a drama. Bailey had a great time. He climbed and jumped and did all sorts of things that he has never been big enough to do previously- like swing on the rope and climb across 2 bars.

After all the climbing, the group went and played with a giant parachute. Bailey loved it. All the kids lay on the ground under the parachute while all the mums/grandparents/carers lifted up the parachute and then brought it back down onto the kids. There were so many squeals of laughter and delight. Bailey had a ball. Once finished, Bailey and I headed to the shops nearby to buy some "Blue Crackers" as requested by Brandon for the past 24 hours. He wanted actual blue biscuits but I got him crackers in a blue box. We stocked up on cool drinks and crackers and then jumped back into the car. We were passing daddy's workplace so we stopped in and said hello.

Bailey slept for a little while at home which allowed me to eat the remainder of the Valentine's Day chocolate cake. Delicious. Daddy rang to say that he wanted to pick up Brandon. I was all for that. Of course now that Bailey and I didn't have to rush out the door anymore, Bailey woke up. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed so he spent the next 30 minutes crying and crying. We went up to the shops so that I could get some things for work. Homeward we went and once daddy and Brandon returned I went off to work.

Daddy cooked dinner for the boys and bathed them both before I finished work. Then the 2 boys played with Lego for sometime while daddy and I managed to catch up while every so often being bombarded by flying Lego. Bailey had some more pear of which he almost inhaled before both boys went off to sleep.

Stumble, Stumble, Trip

I don't know what it is about Tuesday's but it's a day where I always feel as a parent that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and I stumble through the day. As Brandon says "We went here, there and everywhere today" and that's how our Tuesday's go. Brandon went to Kindergarten again this morning. I actually spent some time with Brandon at Kindy this morning. He is so grown up. I am trying to encourage him to meet some other kids as one of his little friends is in the same class as him and they are becoming too insular. I know that it is only early days yet but it doesn't have a good feeling about it. I was so very proud of Brandon. All the kids were playing in the sandpit and Brandon was introducing himself to lots of different kids and asking them their names. Only 1 little boy really responded while all the other kids just walked away. Standing back and watching filled me with pride for Brandon and then a little sadness because I know how wonderful a person he is and he just looked a bit lost. Eventually Bailey and I left him as he had found a group of kids to sit and draw with. Bailey just loves the place so much that I struggle to get him to leave more so than Brandon.

Bailey and I raced home with 15 minutes to get ready for swimming lessons. I am pretty sure that the faster you would like kids to move the slower they go. And when they really know that time is short they throw in a tantrum that successfully lasts 10 minutes more than the amount of time you have. Needless to say that when Bailey and I ran out the door we had 5 minutes to go before his lesson started and with a 12 minute car trip ahead of us, it wasn't looking good. On our departure Bailey ended his tantrum throwing a whole cup of Milo and milk on the floor and that's where it stayed for several hours.

Understandably Bailey wasn't in the mood for swimming which was fine because we only made it to 20 minutes of the class. The 2 of us stayed around in the pool after the lesson had finished and swam for awhile. He seemed to be happier then. He is so very confident in the water. I don't need to hold on to him anymore when he holds on to the edge of the pool and monkey grips along. He does excellent safety rolls into the water and when his instructor asks for him to pretend to fall into the pool he sits on the side and does his safety roll in. I've noticed a dramatic increase in his confidence in the water since last week. He is a clever kid.

We eventually came home and Bailey had a sleep. Again though I had to wake him up soon after so that we could go and collect Brandon.When we arrived at the Kindergarten I was so very surprised to see Brandon asleep. Waking up a sleeping child never has a good outcome and this one went down like a lead balloon. The drive home wasn't a pleasant experience but thank goodness we eventually got there. I went to work 1 hour later while daddy took the boys to Brandon's swimming lesson and then onto the shops for more food. I realised at work that it's the only place that I feel like I know what I am doing. There's no tantrums, there's no guilt, there's no dirty nappies, there's no continual demand for food, there is just a nice, quiet, calm environment. 

Hopefully tomorrow I won't be stumbling and tripping so much. But then again I just never know what the 2 boys will throw my way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the Valentine's Day cake that I bought for us all to enjoy. Bailey and I bought it from Woolworths this morning for $5.00 and it tastes great. And that's about as Valentine's Day as we got.

We started our day dropping Brandon at Kindergarten. I wanted to spend at least a bit of time just checking him in and seeing what he was doing but once we got there he was off, and so was Bailey. So I scooped up a very reluctant Bailey and we fare welled Brandon and off we went. Bailey and I went to the local library and spent some time playing with all the toys and reading books. We did a fly jigsaw puzzle over and over again. The 2 of us also built towers and houses and all sorts of buildings out of blocks. We read books and had a great time. Then we travelled over to the shopping centre to buy our Valentine's Day cake, check the PO Box, and visit the newsagent. I am still trying to buy my property magazine that should have been available last week but according to the newsagent staff, it's delivery has been affected by the floods.

We travelled home and little Bailey had a sleep while I folded about 20 loads of washing. 1 hour later I had to wake Bailey up so that we could go and pick up Brandon. Bailey wasn't appreciative of that. I had packed copious amounts of food with me because I knew Brandon would be hungry. And so he was. He looked very tired and I think he was a bit cranky. Being Valentine's Day today meant that I had no clients. Everyone else was out celebrating the day so when we got home we all just hung out together for awhile. I secretly ducked out to go and get some petrol so that I don't have to attempt to get petrol with the 2 boys. Well what a mistake that was. When I arrived home 20 minutes later both boys were in tears and very upset that they hadn't come out with me. So once they recovered from that apparent trauma, I decided to take them all for a short walk while dinner was cooking. Brandon rode his bike while I pushed Bailey in the stroller and daddy and I walked/ran. By the time the 2 boys and daddy and I got home everyone should just have gone to bed and finished the day. Instead daddy had to drive off and collect some work things which unfortunately had to be done tonight. The 2 boys were so completely traumatised. They were screaming and crying and throwing the biggest tantrums all because they wanted to go in the car with daddy. I got them into bed as fast as possible and that was our Valentine's Day.

Our Uncluttered Life

Having 2 busy boys and running 2 busy businesses always seems to feel like we are living in one big busy mess. Today though something must have been in the air and we just de-cluttered. We don't really have that much clutter but things, ie paper, just accumulate in piles due to sheer exhaustion on our part. But I actually slept in. I can say that for the first time in nearly 4 years today was the day I slept in. I was woken by Brandon barging on into our bedroom early but daddy jumped up and wheeled him out. I was in heaven. I felt like I should have been up doing washing and cleaning, but then I thought it may not be until another 4 years again that I experience this liberating feeling. I can only imagine how much I might sleep once the boys are both old enough to have moved out.

Anyway, getting back to our de-cluttering. We spent the whole day organising and actually getting a chance to go through paperwork. Now I don't feel like I am in such a hole. I have direction and a clutter free house. Daddy and I ripped through our garden. Daddy ripped off old palm fronds from our huge golden cane palms while I moved all the fronds along and up to the garden bale.The 2 boys played in the dirt with their trucks. They were such great kids today. They both just went with the flow. They went where we went..

From the garden I moved onto the boy's bedrooms. I got rid of all the size 2 clothing of Bailey's that was taking up space in his wardrobe and I moved all the size 3 clothes from Brandon's wardrobe into Bailey's. Sorry Bailey you get all Brandon's hand-me-downs. Luckily for me that Brandon was never that much of a messy eater so the clothes are still very good clothes that I can pass on to Bailey. If it was the other way around and Bailey had been born first, there would be absolutely no way that I could pass the clothes to Brandon. Bailey just trashes his clothes.

So daddy and I just went from room to room decluttering, filing and organising, and throwing many things out. It wasn't until about 4:30pm this afternoon that I realised I was still in my pyjamas. I looked around and realised that we were all in our pyjamas. Needless to say I changed the boys and had a shower. Now I didn't feel like we were all such ferals. Through out the day we washed and washed and washed many loads of clothes and towels and sheets. For a family that spent the day in our pyjamas I don't know where all this washing comes from.

It's a great feeling having decluttered and thrown so much paper out. Truly liberating and highly recommended. Now we have much more space for even more lovely opportunities to come into our lives.

Movies By The Lake

We are very fortunate to live where we live. It's a fantastic community, the weather is warm most of the year, and we have every facility here that we need. The 4 of us have just came home from watching Toy Story 3 on a huge movie screen down by the lake 5 minutes from where we live. It was fantastic. There was so many people there. We got there about 5:45pm as the movie was meant to start at 6:30pm. But as it was a very hot day without any clouds about it was sunny and bright until quite late. At least we got a great spot on the grass. Before the movie began, the 2 boys played at the park by the lake, we looked at the eels and ducks and turtles and tadpoles and all the other wildlife in the water. We also ran again- here, there and everywhere. There was free popcorn too and the 2 boys and daddy had sausage sandwiches. I had also bought from home a huge fruit salad and some chips, biscuits, and dips. Daddy and I worked hard. The 2 boys just ran and darted and ran some more. I think that I should just permanently have running shoes on.

This morning we had had a busy day. Firstly we all went to a paint shop so that daddy could get some work supplies. Then we drove out to Office Works to by a multifunction centre because our old printer was apparently so incredibly old. That's what several sales assistants told me as I had tried to just buy a new cartridge during the week. Then we all traipsed out to another paint shop and bought up big there too. We came home while I attempted to connect the new printer, scanner, copier to our home computer as I had to print up a gift voucher for a client before 3 pm. It was 2:15pm. I installed all the software and printed up my voucher. I collected the boys and a bag full of food and then the 2 boys and i jumped back into the car to drop off the voucher to my client and to take the boys food shopping. We were on an absolute budget for shopping. I am sure that we will run out of food by Tuesday the way the boys eat so we will need to go shopping again.

Shopping with my 2 boys is always an experience. Throughout the whole shopping experience Brandon talked. I mean non-stop. He must have worked out a way to talk and breath in at the same time. He just will not stop. I am exhausted. Bailey is starting to be A LOT more verbal now too, so between the 2 of them there is absolutely no silence. My head was spinning. So I bought them both a doughnut. Surely, even though they are clever kids, they would not be able to talk, breath and eat. I had about 4 minutes of complete and utter silence. Golden. I pause as I relive the memory. Then suddenly Bailey is spitting out doughnut into my hand, Brandon is practically throwing a 1/2eaten doughnut at me that no-longer has any icing, and Bailey is rubbing pink icing into my hands as I push the trolley.

Somehow we managed to get out of the shopping centre where we arrived home safely and all awake. Once home we drank litres of water and then got ready to go out to the movies by the lake. Tomorrow I plan to have a quiet day.

Mummy The Pack Horse

Usually everyday I am lugging things around for the boys but today I felt like I was the perfect epitome of a pack horse. At one stage I had Bailey in my arms and his tricycle plus the day bag over my shoulder all the while wheeling Brandon's bike and trudging up a hill. The things you do.

I was up at 2am this morning as Brandon had come into our bedroom. I am pretty sure that he sleep walks. Understandable, as daddy does and so does Poppy A. So it must run in the family. As I got out of bed to return Brandon to his, Brandon climbed into ours so I scooped him up and put him back into his. Fortunately he went back to sleep as did I. There was no way I was staying awake this early.

Once the 2 boys and I had organised ourselves we eventually fare welled the house and off we went. Our first stop was to the petrol station. Our next port of call was to the shops where we had to do some banking, buy the new property magazine, and check our post office box. Both little boys walked with me which was really nice. Several shoppers at different points of our journey said to me "It looks like you have your hands full". That would be an understatement. In fact all I could respond with was a smile and a nod as the boys kept running through the shops. However, one lady did ask me when was I going to have a little girl and I had to respond, probably rather vehemently looking back now. Never!

The 2 boys and I drove to a bakery to buy some cupcakes to take to the park. The cupcakes only made it as far as the car and then they were gobbled up. I had images of the 3 of us sitting quietly and contently under some shade eating morning tea in a civilised manner. Then I realised with the boys now covered in cake crumbs and icing that wasn't going to happen so I joined them and gobbled mine up too. Arriving at the park I poured children and food and hats and bikes out of the car and off we went. We spent the next 3 1/2 hours walking, running and riding around the lake. The boys rode their bikes most of the time with both of them flying down hills. At 1 point my heart nearly leaped out of my chest as Bailey flew down a hill. But he was fine. We fed ducks with the bread we had bought and had a great time. Just when I thought we were on our way home Brandon and Bailey decided that they wanted to "run on the lovely grass" as Brandon said. So off we went running again.

Eventually we made it home. Daddy arrived home soon after us and then I went off to work. The 2 boys and daddy spent the late afternoon jumping on the trampoline and playing outside. Once I had finished work for the evening both boys went absolutely crazy. The 2 boys love wrestling with each other and chasing each other. They are best friends. This morning Brandon even wrapped his arm around Bailey and said " I love you little Bailey." It was so gorgeous. I am still yet to do several trips from the car bringing in all the stuff that seems to go with us. I make a great pack horse.

Artists In The Making

This is how the boys looked when they started painting. In painting clothes, but clean.

This is what happened mid way through the boy's painting adventures.

And by now you can probably see how this is going to end.

Looking back at these photos I can see that it accurately represents our chaotic life. The boys certainly had fun. For the record, amongst all this paint, the 2 boys actually only painted 1 picture each. They much preferred to paint everything else. Bailey took great pleasure in painting himself and then he took even greater pleasure in painting Brandon. Bailey then painted daddy's drop sheet before then moving onto the outdoor table, some outdoor toys and finishing off with the deck.

What now seems like a very long time ago, we started the day at Brandon's karate class. Brandon was too tired and the whole session just didn't work for him. At least his karate instructor seemed to be understanding and surprisingly didn't yell and scream at him as he does with others. From there we returned home of where we then proceeded to spend the next 1 hour and 15 minutes trying to get organised to get back into the car. I started by changing Bailey's nappy and then had to change Brandon out of his karate clothes. I then attempted to put suncream on us all before rounding up a now nude Bailey and starting all over again. I fed the boys and opened up the fridge and threw everything into the bag for the day. Eventually we got into the car, started the car and low and behold- Brandon wanted more food so then Bailey wanted some.

We finally arrived at the shops with both boys now covered in watermelon. Oh well. We did various things at the shops. For some reason there was several things we had to do and while I can't remember what we did I do remember ticking things off our list. Home we came with everyone wide awake. Well that is everyone except me. As I had been awake with Bailey since 3am I was surprised that I was flaking out before he was. In fact as the day progressed I got tireder and tireder while the 2 boys seemed to just keep going. It was at this point in the afternoon that I realised that I just had to clear my head and get on with keeping 2 boys busy. That's when we began our painting adventures. And the rest has been said.

I didn't work this afternoon so when daddy came home after awhile we all piled back into the car so daddy could get some things and I could buy some pure sugar ie- several packets of lollies. Did the trick. I managed to get the 2 boys fed and bathed and into bed before running out of puff. I still need to cook something resembling dinner and work out our budget. See you tomorrow.