Birthday Party

I had a great day today with my 2 boys and my lovely husband, except now I have a severe case of vomiting food poisoning so things aren't so great. Therefore, I'll be brief. The 3 things we did today.

1. Went to Isaac's 4 birthday party where the 2 boys were beside themselves with excitement.

2. Had lunch at a restaurant with some friends.

3. Spent the late afternoon to the current time vomiting.

See you tomorrow.

Royal Wedding

Well I thought I had a busy day today with 2 little boys- swimming lessons, entertaining them, driving them here, there and everywhere, and just on the go all day. However, after just watching the Royal Wedding on TV, I can't even begin to imagine what organisation must have been involved. It makes my day with 2 small boys seem like a walk in the park.

It was another day in the life of the 2 boys and I with every single waking moment filled with noise and destruction. Bailey deliberately rides his bikes full steam into anything larger than himself and says "crash, bash" as he does so. Brandon turns up his volume switch and just talks. They both put buckets on their heads and crash into each other, or they replace the buckets with large tubs and crash into each other. They both find it hysterical and then wrestle each other or they run after each other, or Brandon jumps into his bed, pulls his quilt over himself and then Bailey jumps on top of him. Again it's all done at full volume and at full throttle. At this point in the evening, daddy and I shake our heads and wonder how in the world we are now going to get them to bed.

This morning after the 2 boys and I had arrived home from their somewhat successfull swimming lessons, I ducked into the bathroom to very briefly put on some more lipstick before we headed out again. When I heard what sounded like foil being unwrapped, I walked into the kitchen and found Bailey sitting on the floor in front of the wide open pantry doors, a chair conveniently placed in the pantry, foil everywhere and a huge block of chocolate in his hands and mouth. Cheeky, cheeky little boy. He has such a sweet tooth. Once Brandon realised that Bailey had the biggest block of chocolate he'd ever seen in his possession, he very swiftly found a way to obtain half of it from Bailey. Now I had 2 boys shovelling chocolate in their mouths faster than I could reprimand them and reclaim it. Then Bailey coughed all over the remaining chocolate before handing it back to me. Thoughtful of him.

Now with their tummies both full of chocolate and apparently no room for any decent food, we ducked into the shops so that I could get lots of things for my work, some essential food, and a few other chores done that really had to get done. It might have been optimistically about 2 minutes into our shopping adventures when I think the copious amounts of recently consumed chocolate hit their brains. Needless to say that I very hurriedly revised my long to do list to a "OMG! Let's get out of here as quick as possible before I have a nervous break down bare essential" to do list. Even that seemed to take forever to accomplish. By the time the 2 boys and I arrived home, Bailey was asleep, Brandon needed to be asleep and I wished I was asleep!

Later that afternoon I took the 2 boys down to the video shop to return a DVD and to hire some more. I introduced the boys to the DVD shop yesterday because I had a spare $5.00 in my pocket and they always enjoy something new.They were beside themselves with excitement both yesterday and today. We then ventured over to the local little supermarket where you have to mortgage your house almost to buy a loaf of bread, but it's convenient. We bought very expensive, yet very dodgy sticky tape as we needed to wrap some presents for a little friend of Bailey and Brandon's who's party the 2 boys are going to tomorrow.

Presents wrapped, daddy home so I ducked back out to the shops very briefly on my own to buy a nice, cheap little top so that I could feel pretty and girly for my attendance at the party tomorrow. Most of my clothes have just never recovered from being covered in mud, thanks to my 2 little boys. But then I always have a fantastic time with the kids in the mud so it's a pay off.

So I'm thankful that I didn't get married today. I remember the organising, the logistics, the politics, the money, even though it was a great night. Hopefully William and Kate will have a long and happy life together. Congratulations.

Will I Ever Hear Silence Again?

From 5:30am this morning until 7:30pm this evening I heard child noise constantly from 2 small boys. When I say constantly I truly mean constantly. I don't think Brandon managed to come up for air all day. I think that because he has spent the past 4 years talking nonstop, he has just mastered the art of talking all day without the need for oxygen. By about 1:30pm this afternoon I had to tell him to give me a moment of quiet. It meant nothing to him and away he went again. It truly astounds me that someone can talk so much, especially since I am such a quiet person.

Well our day started with Brandon's karate class. He hasn't been for a few weeks because he has been so sick but now we are back into the swing of it. He did really well. Both Brandon and another boy in the class listened very well to their instructor. They were the only two. Bailey stayed reasonably close to me throughout the 40 minute lesson which was almost a first. He ate nearly every bit of food that I had made up for the boys for our adventures after karate. Needless to say, we had to go home and restock the giant lunchbox. I utilised the time by feeding the kids and making some phone calls. Finally, we made it back to the car where we headed off to get some petrol. I had planned to drive about 20 minutes to a huge toy shop as we are buying one of the boy's friends a birthday present. Brandon however, got cranky at his seat belt so I drove 1 minute to the local shops because his crankiness was turning ugly. It was Brandon's suggestion that led us to the toy section of Myer. What a clever kid. That's where we spent what felt like most of the afternoon. The 2 boys were in heaven. Bailey was beside himself. They were so excited with all the toys they just didn't know where to go first. They did quickly find a starting point.

The 2 boys and I ventured down to the other toy shop in the shopping centre to have a peruse of potential presents. Eventually, through the sheer desire to obtain some peace and quiet, I ended up letting Brandon just grab whatever he liked and whatever he thought was suitable for his good friend Isaac. Then we left. The whole shopping trip was constantly full of talk. Neither boy slept today because they were both too busy talking. I was going to say that the only time there is quiet is when they are eating, but I can't even say that. Brandon talks with a mouth full of food. He talks while he's brushing his teeth and he talks while he is getting his face washed in the bath. He is non-stop talk.

I bought "Action Chugger" for Brandon today and for Bailey I bought "Scruff" which is a Thomas the Tank Engine train. The 2 boys were so excited, especially because they had both chosen them themselves. Once home, I tried to find somewhere quiet to gather my thoughts, but alas, it was to no avail. I still wasn't going to give up. Somewhere, sometime today I surely should be able to experience hearing nothing. Even my clients this afternoon talked a mile a minute. As I put Bailey to bed this evening he also just talked and talked and talked. This is what he said as he rolled and rolled and rolled side to side in his bed."Mummy work. Daddy work. Me. No no no. Brandon. Mummy. Daddy me me me." It just went on and on. I love that my boys are so talkative and curious and interested. I love that my husband is sitting right next to me and talking a mile a minute as well while I try and write about my eternal search for silence. I'm confident that one day I will hear nothing but the ocean waters lapping at my feet while I bask in the beautiful warm sunshine while lazily stretched out upon the sands of my tranquil tropical Island.

100% Mummy DNA.

I think that Bailey is a vegetarian. In fact I am almost 100% sure that he is. He hasn't eaten meat for several months and especially lately he just will not touch it. Occasionally he might put meat in his mouth but he'll spit it out every single time. I keep feeding it too him but the same thing happens. Now I can hear my mum and dad groaning as they read this reminiscing about the time I became a vegetarian as a kid too. At least I know what I'm in for if he heads in that food direction. It's fascinating and spectacular. I always knew in my brain how and why I became a vegetarian but to see it in one of your little offspring is amazing. Good on you sweetheart if you join the ranks.

Brandon had his first day back at kindergarten. I can't believe that it's Term 2 already. He'll be graduating from school before I know it. Anyway, today at Kindergarten the kids had a gardener there who talked to them about all things gardening. Apparently all the kids planted a seedling each and are going to look after it and watch it grow. It was exactly what the 2 boys had done last week with the Little Green Thumbs holiday activity.

While Brandon was at kindergarten, Bailey and I thought we would drive out to see daddy who was painting about 20 minutes away, except we missed him and he was now painting about 40 minutes away. So Bailey and I found a great park to play at. We saw turtles and ducks and what sounded like thousands of Cockatoos. We had a good time. Bailey fell asleep on the way home for the next 1 1/2hours. I actually had to wake him up so that we could pick up Brandon. The 2 boys and daddy appeared to have a quiet afternoon while I worked and then as per usual the kids went crazy, but we got them into bed and asleep.

Everyday I look at the 2 boys I am amazed at how much I can see myself in them.  It's fascinating.

Getting Ready To Ready Set Go Again!

Well Easter holidays are drawing to an end. The past 5 days have gone by so extremely fast, much faster than they would have gone if I had of been working. So now I'm on the countdown to our Christmas holidays.Some time to go just yet. I have come to the conclusion that the length of time Bailey sleeps during the day, is directly proportional to the amount of time that it takes for Bailey to go to sleep at night. Take this evening. It took Bailey 2 hours to get to sleep which was exactly the amount of time that Bailey had a sleep for today. It was a light bulb moment at 8:30pm this evening for me. Now I finally know what I am dealing with.

The day just vanished again while the 4 of us ducked into the shops to get some much needed food. Unfortunately, everyone in Australia was in the shops. Holy cow! It was busy. It was worse than Christmas time. So we got out of there as quick as humanly possible. Now I'm sitting on the lounge getting ready for Brandon's return to Kindergarten tomorrow and then back into Karate and swimming lessons. Hold on here we go again. Back into life full throttle.

"You Can't Catch Me I'm A Gingerbread Man"

The 2 boys, daddy and I went to Plan C for today's activities. Plan A was to go to the park and the beach up at the Sunshine Coast, but it rained. Planned B was to go to Underwater World at Mooloolaba, but it's ANZAC day today so out of respect, it's not open until 1pm and we were in the car at 9:15am. Plan C was to visit The Ginger Factory at Yandina. Although it was still raining at least there was some undercover activities. While the business was open for visitors, the train ride, ginger tasting, the actual ginger factory and the live bee show were not commencing until 1pm. While it was a bummer, that's just how it was so daddy and I swore that we would be back again on a sunny day and not through any school holiday period. Brandon and Bailey appeared to have a good time. Then Brandon declared that he wanted to go home and as we had been at the Ginger Factory for over 1 hour, we thought we'd head back home. We got stuck in a huge traffic jam, to be expected with the Easter holidays and school holidays finishing tomorrow. Luckily the 2 boys watched a DVD which kept them entertained until we stopped at the petrol station near home. Brandon insisted that we go to "Old McDonald's" for lunch. Daddy and I had a laugh because we know that he means McDonald's. We parked and all traipsed in to choose some food. We ordered the kids some basic food because I knew that while they insisted that they would eat it, I knew they wouldn't. I think they like the idea of eating McDonald's food, but when it's before them, it's not so good. Luckily it was only a few dollars worth.

Once home, Brandon insisted that he eat his food while having a picnic on the rug in the family room and he wanted Bailey to join him. Bailey was even less interested in the food than Brandon was. At least the orange juice and the lemonade were a hit. As has occurred for the past few days, the afternoon just slipped by. Bailey got so tired that he just fell asleep where he lay. Unfortunately for him I woke him up almost straight away so that he'd sleep tonight. I managed to wash and clean both bathrooms. Such a joy but so essential. Daddy and the 2 boys played outside on the swings for awhile before coming inside to tear around the house and wrestle with daddy. Eventually I finished being domestic and daddy had a much needed rest while I made some dinner up for the 2 boys. I sort of managed to sit with them and eat some dinner myself. My lovely husband emerged without having had a Nanna nap, just a contemplation of life (ie: means he needed a break from 2 crazy children to reminisce on the freedom of pre-children days!) Sorry boys.

The evening wound up pretty smoothly except for Brandon constantly talking and wriggling in bed doing everything humanly possible to deter his eyes from closing. Sleep finally prevailed and now I'm hoping that I can follow soon. I am off to think of a plan for tomorrow, somewhere where I can catch the 2 boys if they run, run, run just like a Gingerbread man.

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny stopped at our house sometime during the night to the utter amazement of Brandon and Bailey. When the 2 boys awoke this morning they found a little collection each of Easter eggs on their floor. Luckily I had woken up before the kids so many Easter eggs had found their way into the front and back garden in all sorts of places just ready for an Easter egg hunt. Brandon was the first of the 3 men up, and then Bailey woke care of Brandon, and then daddy woke care of Brandon and Bailey.

The 2 boys were so incredibly excited about the Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny last night had left small white footprints across the deck and throughout the backyard. It looked like the Easter Bunny jumped on the swings and the playground and then onto the trampoline. What an active little Bunny. So the 2 boys with daddy and I in tow, grabbed some big buckets and went off collecting eggs outside. There was squeals of delight and pure excitement. There was laughter and a great flurry of activity in the rush to find all the Easter eggs. They found all the eggs and then continued to look and look for any more just in case they had missed some. They hadn't. So the next few hours involved Bailey ripping the foil off all his eggs and tipping them everywhere and chucking them everywhere while Brandon neatly tucked his away in his room to store them where no-one else could find them. It was his secret stash. It was a good display of the kid's personalities shining through.

I had said to the boys that they could eat as much chocolate as they wanted today but once the evening came around that would be it for the night. There was a point where they had to stop. Both boys were very good with their chocolate consumption. Bailey just ripped the foil off a vast majority of his chocolate and then broke all the chocolate up, threw it all on the floor and then proceeded to ride his bike over it all. Brandon was very controlled. He just liked to check all day how much he had and how colourful it all collectively looked.

As the morning developed, daddy and I thought it best that we all go out and let the 2 boys have a big run around. We went out to the local beach, alongside everyone else, where we all had a great time. We were out and about for many hours. Bailey rode his bike for many kilometres. He was so very good on it. He went slow when there was a lot of people around and then very fast when the footpath was less populated. He just rode and rode. Brandon requested to take his scooter but 10 seconds into him riding on it, he got cranky at it. So I rode it, carried it and cursed it. At least I kept up with Bailey while riding it. The 2 boys played in a huge park under the shade of some beautiful old trees. Eventually we started heading back as we still had a long distance to go. Fortunately we all found a very well located ice cream shop that we ordered up big in. Eventually we did arrive back to our nice cool car parked under the shade of some more beautiful big old trees. Bailey had a sleep and continued to do so while at home. Even though it wasn't for long it was still long enough so that it then took me 2 hours to get him to sleep tonight.

The afternoon was spent inside and then outside searching for some more Easter eggs thanks to Brandon. Daddy hid some for the boys so they did end up with another 2 each. I jumped on the trampoline with Bailey for ages. We laughed and played and wrestled. It was great fun.  Now I'm sitting here on the lounge with my lovely husband snoring away beside me while the 2 boys are finally asleep. We all had a great Easter Sunday today. Happy Easter everyone.

Master Confetti

Bailey is the king of destruction. He rips everything to shreds. He rips paper, cardboard, magazines, boxes and even tries anything plastic. For everything that he can't rip, he chucks. Because he throws so much all the time he has a really good arm. Today being Easter Saturday we all just predominately hung out at home so Master Bailey's trail of destruction was just phenomenal. Who needs a shredder when you have Bailey around.

Moving all Bailey's shredded paper from the floor and the lounge I can finally get to my computer. Bailey obviously didn't wear himself out enough making confetti today as he didn't get to sleep until 9:15pm. Way too late for a small boy in my view. Way too late for mummy and daddy to be trying to convince a small child to go to sleep in my view. Anyway, I ducked into Kmart this morning to meet up with the Easter Bunny to discuss the purchase of some Easter eggs. I was there a few minutes after 9am as the shops opened and by 9:15am as I was on my way out, The Easter egg aisles with the Easter Bunny were absolutely packed. People were shoulder to shoulder. I walked out with all my goodies.

The day just disappeared. The 4 of us briefly went up to the bakery to get some Hot Cross Buns and ended up with $32.00 worth of food. After we had devoured our food back at home daddy went out to the shops briefly to buy some new gym shoes and a laptop bag. I cleaned my car so that finally all Bailey's confetti that had gravitated to the car has been vacuumed up. The 2 boys and I spent the afternoon outside and the boys ended up in the mud.

The 2 boys, daddy and I went down to the park at the end of the street late this afternoon so the kids could ride their bikes. Brandon met another little boy at the park too and they played and played and ran and ran and rode and rode for an hour. Bailey joined them and little Brandon kept telling his new friend Oscar that this was his little brother. They were so lovely. Eventually we made it home and the chaos began again. Paper everywhere, toys everywhere, children everywhere. So now it's late and the 2 boys are finally asleep. I'll clean all the paper up from today only to probably have it replaced tomorrow. I wonder if Bailey will ever own a confetti factory.

Running On Empty

Neither Bailey nor Brandon wanted to eat today. No matter what I made for them to eat or how I may have disguised food I could not get them to eat any food. No matter how much I reasoned with them they were just not interested. Both boys ran and wrestled and ran and wrestled with each other all day. Bailey rode his bike around and around the house and Brandon jumped all over the lounge and everything else in the house, but still they were not hungry. I'm not sure if it was because daddy was home today being Good Friday and they were extra excited or whether they just were psycho kids for the day. Brandon did run down to the kitchen at lunch to tell daddy and myself that he and Bailey were having so much fun together in his room. The squeals of sheer delight certainly verified that.

Daddy and I washed what felt like thousands of loads of washing because it was a perfect day and well everything was dirty. As a result I folded thousands of loads of clean washing. I cleaned the toy room and the 2 boy's rooms because they were a very big mess. Actually they looked like a pig sty. Both boys just kept going and going. At 4pm I thought surely it's not too early to start cooking them some dinner. The tantrums began from this point. I told the boys that if they weren't going to eat anything at all during the day then they can't expect their brains to function properly and therefore they can't expect to feel good. Who cares mummy! So Brandon was in bed by 6:15pm and Bailey by 7pm.  Now the world is my oyster.

Digging For Dinosaurs

Brandonosaurus and Baileyosaurus and myself, Mumosaur, went digging for dinosaurs today at the dinosaur museum. We had such a great time along with half the population of Queensland. It was busy. First up, both boys made dinosaurs out of plasticine. Brandonosaurus wasn't so sure to start with so I got in and started making a dinosaur alongside Baileyosaurus. I was half way through building one when Brandonosaurus came along and squashed it. As you had to name your dinosaurs, describe what it ate, and then put them on display for all to see, I thought a relevant name for Brandonosaurus's should be Squashosaurus.  As little Baileyosaurus was sticking pencils in his potential dinosaur/ current lump of plasticine I suggested we should call his Pencilosaurus and it ate pencils.

Once the 2 boys had displayed their orange plasticine dinosaurs, the 3 of us went to find the dinosaur dig area. Ah ha. We found it. The boys had shovels and brushes and went digging for dinosaur bones in the dirt. It was great fun. I even contemplated putting an orange dig vest on too, grabbing a shovel and a brush and wading through the dirt to find some bones. As the area was swarming with kids 2 years old and up, I thought it best not to push them out of the way just so I could satisfy some deep down desire to discover dinosaur bones. The dinosaur fun continued upstairs at the museum where you could read dinosaur books, do dinosaur puzzles, make dinosaur masks, play with dinosaurs, and dress up as a dinosaur. The 2 boys did all the activities.  Then Bailey began his tantrum which got louder and louder. I had said to the boys before we even left the house this morning, that as soon as anyone starts getting tired or cranky or just wants to go home today to please let me know straightaway and we'll all go. One in all in. I presumed by Bailey's screaming that he was telling me, and the world, that he wanted out. So off home we went.

The 2 boys and I spent a short time at home before daddy arrived home. Hooray! We were all now officially on holidays for 5 whole days. Yippee!! So we went food shopping. Wahoo! It was busy but we did it. The 2 boys were pretty good. So good in fact that on our way home we went and ordered some Thai food and took it home to all eat together. By this point Brandon had had enough. I sat and talked to him for ages just to calm him down. We got the kids into bed and settled and then they must have realised at the same time that they needed to eat more food to get them through the night.  Brandon and I met daddy and Bailey in the toy room and we all went into the kitchen for Brandon and Bailey's second dinner.

We finally got the 2 little boys into bed. I wouldn't be surprised if all they dreamt about tonight were dinosaurs. Sweet dreams boys.

What Possesses My Boys To Do These Things?

What possesses my boys to get 2 frozen wheat bags out of the freezer and sit on them to see how cold it can make their bottoms? What possesses my boys to then put the frozen wheat bags on their heads before crashing into each other? What possesses my boys to think they are both superman and indestructible and can jump from tall buildings? I could go on and on.

What possesses my boys to have tantrums in the most well populated of places? Today Brandon had a dummy spit at the hairdressers. Bailey was great. He sat there watching Shrek on the DVD player while the lady cut his hair, unlike Brandon who lost the plot. Once the 2 boys had had there hair cut our plan for the day was to go to the Dinosaur Museum in the city. So when Brandon refused to get his hair cut for no apparent reason I said to him that if he didn't sit up on the chair and let the lady cut his hair then he wouldn't be able to go to the Museum. He didn't so nobody saw any dinosaurs. Unfortunately, I had to keep to my reprimanding word. I was quite disappointed as I had had a great day planned in my mind. There's always tomorrow.

What possesses my boys to want to set up a picnic inside for lunch? Before I knew it, the 2 boys had organised for us all to have a picnic inside on the rug in the family room. They had both found a picnic basket in a cupboard and suddenly we had plastic cups and plates all set up. Brandon delegated our responsibilities to us. Bailey's job was to mind the picnic basket on the rug. My job was to prepare the food, and Brandon's task was to provide heaps of toys for Bailey to play with, and also he had to make sure that there was a spare outfit for both himself and Bailey if they were to get dirty at any stage of the picnic.

What possesses my boys to want to set up a tent inside? Lunch was whisked away very quickly so that we could make room for a tent that I had to construct. The 2 boys and I ventured into the garage to try and find the beach tent that I knew would probably still be full of sand from the last time we visited the beach. I spent the next 10 minutes sweeping and wiping the sand off the tent before even attempting to bring it inside. Throughout the whole process the 2 boys were hot on my heals. I set it up inside only to discover that it just wasn't going to stay up so I improvised. We had bar stools and nappy boxes holding corners up. It worked. I filled it with quilts, a bean bag, a cushion and 2 small children. There they stayed for about 5 minutes before wanting to move on.

What possesses my boys to believe that everything is a trampoline?  A lounge is not a trampoline and neither is mummy & daddy's bed. Chairs aren't trampolines and neither are nappy boxes. Kitchen benches certainly aren't trampolines and neither is Brandon's head nor Bailey's, as each of the boys believe they are. I can't believe that I escaped having to take the kids up to hospital today with suspected broken bones. It must only be through pure luck that both of them have escaped a serious injury. Fingers crossed they will always be injury free.

What possesses my boys to need to eat dessert while sitting on the kitchen bench? It's where we eat. It's where we prepare food. It's meant to be free of bottoms and 2 sets of dirty little hands but it is the biggest magnet for bottoms and dirty hands in our household. Well actually it's the 2nd biggest magnet for dirty children. The first one being all my lovely fresh clean white work towels. It doesn't matter where in the house or outside on the clothesline they are, they are successfully gravitated towards.

Brandon and Bailey are constantly making me laugh (and at times cry) with their antics. And as the kids go off to sleep now, I am still pondering what possesses my boys to need to put every single thing they physically own on the floor?  

We're Back!

The 2 boys and I rejoined civilisation today. Yippee! Both boys appear to be getting better and as it was grey and wet outside, I decided that today was the day we would venture back into life. Our first adventure was to the petrol station. Not very interesting so we quickly moved on. Our destination was to a shopping centre where there were free school holiday activities. The 2 boys could make a Mr or Mrs Potato Head ( Toy Story Movies). The kids did really well. Brandon wasn't completely interested but Bailey had a fantastic time. They both made a Mr Potato Head. I asked the boys if they wanted to stay at the shops and do something else but they both said they wanted to go. So we did. We travelled off to the local shops where they were running other school holiday activities. Brandon and Bailey participated in The Little Green Thumbs activity. They both really liked it. It's where the kids get their very own plastic planter pot and can shovel their own dirt into it before planting either a tomato seedling or a corn seedling. The fun thing is that they get to take them home to look after the baby plants and watch them grow.

The 2 boys and I traipsed back out to the car to drop off the plants before ducking back inside to have some morning tea. This didn't go so well as both kids were starting to get a very big bit tired. Let's just say that most of Bailey's food ended up on the shopping centre floor, along with his shoes and himself. Got to love it when kids have tantrums in the shops in front of what feels like every single person in the world. I scooped up food, shoes and a delirious child and luckily Brandon was happy just to walk along side me. He had actually said that he'd like to go home, I agreed vehemently. Not surprisingly, both the boys fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Once the boys were tucked up comfortably in their own beds, I made many phone calls and ran around organising things for awhile before I had a light bulb moment. I needed to sit down and just relax. So I did and it felt great. The afternoon was spent with me working while daddy and the 2 boys played with Lego and lots of other toys. Because the 2 boys had already had a sleep today it took them a lot longer to get to bed tonight but they did in the end. I'm hoping that by tomorrow both Brandon and Bailey will be their normal jumping jelly bean selves. At least today we made an appearance back in to the world.

Slow News Day

I'm sorry everyone in Australia, Malaysia and the United States. You'll have to check back tomorrow for some riveting, edge of your seat, captivating news about the adventures of the 2 boys and I. There is only so many times I can write about sick kids and their frazzled mum. Enjoy yourselves. See you tomorrow.

Ready, Face Mummy, Aim & Cough

Over the past week I have been coughed on, sneezed on, and slobbered on. It's a wonder I'm not sick myself. The 2 boys are showing slight improvement although Bailey spent the day attached to either daddy or myself with snot pouring out of him. Lovely look.

The day was a strange day because everyone was collectively a little off, the weather was horrible and 3 out of 4 people are still sick. Bring on Easter Holidays. 5 sleeps to go. Yippee!! So our day passed and I ended up deciding that I needed some physical activity so I jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes and ran. Within 5 seconds I had an audience of 2. I wouldn't say that it made for great viewing but I seemed to entertain the kids for a 1/2 hour.

Daddy and I wrapped up the day very quickly because everyone was just feral. Hopefully tomorrow there will be less coughing, sneezing and slobber and more laughter, smiles and tickles.

Multi Tasking & My Nanna Nap

At the moment I am actually cooking a delicious dinner for myself and my husband while drinking wine and writing my post for the day. I call that multi tasking. I am on a roll. The 2 boys even let me have 4 hours sleep straight last night. Yahoo! Bailey was awake early in the night until midnight and then Brandon was awake at 4am. Brandon didn't settle again until 5:30am and by then I just thought I'd stay awake and have some me time. I did some property research for awhile so the time was very productive.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, wiping kid's noses, folding washing, more wiping, cleaning, making beds etc, etc. Daddy snuck out for awhile to get a hair cut. The 2 boys had a hairdresser's appointment too but they just weren't well enough and I'd cancelled them earlier in the day. They will just have to put up with their long boofy hair until Wednesday when their next appointment is.

Bailey deteriorated badly today health wise right before my eyes but he managed to have a little sleep late afternoon which got him through the next few hours until bed. Brandon is definitely feeling better because the noise levels in the house have skyrocketed again and he is just talking and talking and talking. Our Brandon is back! I actually had a Nanna nap this afternoon while Bailey was sleeping. I woke up a new woman. I also managed to do my business accounting for the past 3 months and I even worked out my tax bill. Excellent.

Dinner is ready, my wine has run out, I'm rather hungry and daddy and I actually have a DVD to watch. First time in about 4 years. If I'm not able to sleep tonight because of sick kids at least I've been wined, dined and entertained. I think I'll have to have a Nanna nap tomorrow.

Is That A Smile I See?

There hasn't been too many smiles amongst the 2 boys for the past few days because they have been so incredibly sick. But by this afternoon the 2 boys were showing some very positive signs of their lovely healthy personalities coming through. Hooray!

Brandon and I began our day at about 12:15am this morning and continued until 5:06am this morning when I finally jumped into bed. Unfortunately the alarm went off at 5:15am and then the official day began. In reality I should have just stayed awake since Tuesday. I've had about 3 hours sleep since then which doesn't really register in my body and all of that's been sleeping on Brandon's bedroom floor. Oh well, it's Friday evening and neither myself nor my lovely husband are working this weekend. We are meant to be having our huge Mexican party right now but we postponed that for another time when 3 out of 4 people in our family aren't sick.

As the 2 boys and I had mostly spent the week at home I had to go out and do a few things. We headed into the shops and the 2 boys didn't go so well once we were there. I actually put them into the double stroller so that I could race around and get our things done quickly which I did. Before Brandon and Bailey knew it, they were back in the car and we were on our way home. Of course they both fell asleep and continued to do so for the next several hours. I did a whole heap of property work on the computer and made some phone calls before the boys re-emerged. Once daddy came home I went outside and helped Bailey ride his bike around before then heading out to do the food shopping on my own. What an amazing experience. Shopping without kids was a miracle. It was quick, organised, I got everything on the list, I didn't spend a fortune and I was just as calm leaving the shop as I was when I entered. Oh and I didn't have pockets full of used tissues or half eaten food. I left in a sane state and without sweat pouring from my brow.

The afternoon was spent looking after sick kids but as time went on, the kids started talking more and laughing and running after each other. They also played together. Things were looking up. By dinner time Brandon was talking non-stop. He was even cracking a smile. By bath time the 2 boys, while coughing galore, were smiling and laughing and getting closer to being healthy again. Hooray!! Bring on some sleep for Brandon and I!

1 hour later: It looks like it's Bailey's turn tonight. Maybe I'll sleep once they are old enough to leave home.

Who Needs Sleep?

Having 2 sick boys in the house last night reminded me of having a new born again. It all equates to no sleep. I had the grand total of 90 minutes sleep last night. It's truly amazing how you just keep going when your kids are sick. I was awake with Brandon until about 4am and then once I finally jumped into bed Bailey woke. At about 4:30am this morning I finally got daddy awake as he'd been in a comatose sick sleep himself and I told him I couldn't do it anymore and that he'd have to go in and settle Bailey. I just knew it wasn't going to go so well last night once Brandon vomited all over me.

Luckily yesterday I had cancelled Karate class for today, haircuts for the boys too, swimming lessons for tomorrow and our wonderfully fantastic Mexican part tomorrow night. Just as well I did because once I took the 2 boys off to the Doctors this morning Brandon was diagnosed with pneumonia and Bailey with a severe case of Bronchitis. I was suspicious that Brandon may have had pneumonia because I've had it before and I know the symptoms. Once we visited the doctors he then sent us over to get Brandon a chest x-ray. I was so unbelievable proud of both boys. Words can not describe how absolutely fantastic they were through the whole medical process that was unravelling before us. They listened, they waited, they were respectful, and they were just the most perfect kids ever except they were sick. So we went back to the doctor and he assessed the x-ray and gave the boy's a script. Then we headed next door to the pharmacist to get the medication made up. By now Brandon said in his loudest voice "I want to go home!" I think the pharmacist may have hurried our order a long a little because we were out of there relatively quickly. We all piled into the car where I rang daddy to let him know what was happening. Meanwhile Brandon fell asleep in his car seat. So Bailey and I hung out for sometime. Bailey was happy sick. He has the worst cough but he smiled and laughed and was probably even cheekier than normal.

The afternoon just passed us by and Brandon hardly moved from the lounge. Bailey rode his bike all around the house and took great pleasure in pretending to crash into Brandon and then actually crashed into the TV unit.  I went off to work and the 2 boys and daddy had a very quiet evening with Brandon actually requesting to go to bed. I put both boys to bed and now I'm going to eat anything representing food before then falling into bed myself. Who knows how much sleep I'm going to get tonight. Hopefully a lot!

The Little Things

It's the little things in life that make me happy and my lovely husband did so many lovely things today even though he is very sick. He bought the kids some lemonade when he arrived home from work because they are both sick with the flu. He bought the 2 of us some very delicious looking ice creams (still yet to be eaten), and he happily took the kids and looked after them for the whole evening while I worked, while himself very sick. I offered to cancel my clients but he said he'd soldier on. I just don't know how he keeps going. I suppose when you have your own business and a family you just do. I am so very proud of him. He means the world to the 2 boys and I. Sometimes though, because we both work, it feels like we are just ships passing in the night but we are very lucky to be able to do what we do. While daddy works during the day and I have the 2 boys, come the afternoon and we switch roles I run off to work. The 2 boys are very adaptable too although they like to contribute to the madness. They adjust well to the chaos that prevails around the 3:30pm mark in the afternoon when they have a parental turnover. It's usually at this time that a phone rings, a child needs to go to the toilet or has just done a huge poo in their nappy and needs changing, the 2 boys wrestle and it goes beyond playing or there is some other pressing issue to attend to. All in all though by 3:50pm everything has settled down again like there was no interruption. So when I finished work this evening and came out to great my family, to my utter amazement, my lovely husband has the kids fed, bathed, read to and in bed, and Brandon is even asleep. How wonderful is that!  It is very strange though not to have said goodnight to them but I'm sure they will make up for it by waking me up at some ridiculously early hour of the night, especially because they are both sick.

I am very grateful to you sweetheart for being so organised and looking after the kids so very well. No wonder when we all hear the garage door go up in the afternoon the 2 boys and I make a run for it to see you, because you are such a lovely person to be around. Thanks for all the very big things and all the little things that you do. I love you. xxooxx

20 minutes later: Well I have just been vomited on by a sick Brandon. Just got to love those little things!

Where's My Chill Pill?

It's late and I am still on the search for a way to chill out. Strangely it's been a rough day. I just couldn't chill out today. I think I woke up just knowing things weren't going to flow. Brandon and I locked horns constantly today. He is quite sick and I frustratingly spent the day trying to get him to put his tissues in the bin, just after I spent the day trying to get him to stop bossing me around to blow his nose. He'd be literally right next to the tissues with me at the other side of the room and he'd demand that I'd get him a tissue. That just didn't work for me. Bailey was a little angel except for when he didn't get his own way, and then all hell broke loose. I opened up the back door at one stage to get some clothes off the clothes rack on the deck, and Bailey ran out. He went straight to the mud. Actually, his bottom went straight to the mud, good clothes and all. Brandon came out as well and then decided that he'd play in the mud too. I managed to suggest Brandon put some old clothes on of which he eventually did. Then he wanted water everywhere from the hose. I declined because he was sick and it was a bit cold. My thinking was that I wanted him to get better. Well I was the worst mummy ever apparently. He was in fine form. I gave up. I rolled my eyes and looked around for something that would help me keep sane. I lay on the deck, looked up and admired the beautiful blue sky with a splattering of lovely white clouds floating past. I had to shower Bailey because he was covered in mud. Thankfully I went to work for a few hours to escape and Daddy took the 2 boys to the supermarket and chemist to get some medicine for a sick daddy. Hopefully Bailey and I escape the doldrums of illness and Brandon and daddy get better ASAP. The 2 boys and I spent a lot of the day planning our  big Mexican party that we are having here on Friday night. Now at least I have some ideas on the food and a partial idea on decorations. Who knows when the house cleaning fairy will come in. Maybe I'll have to give them a ring tomorrow. Meanwhile I'm still searching for that elusive chill pill. Maybe if the house cleaning fairy comes they might find it tucked away somewhere covered in dust and cobwebs. If I see it I'll dust it off and swallow it instantly. See you tomorrow.

Just Getting Through The Day.

We are all a bit tired today after our big adventures at Australia Zoo yesterday. It took the 2 boys and I quite awhile to get everything organised for the day's activities. We were planning a pretty low key day as  Brandon was sick. I think that he has the flu because he has completely lost his appetite. So the 2 boys and I eventually arrived at the shops because we had to duck into Medicare and drop in some forms. We walked through the shop doors and Bailey had a tantrum. So I found the deposit shoot for the forms, threw mine in and off we went, hoping that the right person would deal with them. From here we went into the supermarket and bought a few things plus a whole lot more things that weren't on our list ie Easter Eggs. We left the shops and drove over to the next suburb where I picked up a delivery of vitamins. Then we made it home and both boys were asleep. They had huge sleeps which I knew would come back and haunt me later but I let them sleep late into the afternoon. I had only 1 client this afternoon who asked if they could come earlier. Fine with me.  Of course letting the 2 boys sleep into the afternoon was now coming back to me. They happily stayed awake until 9pm. Now they are finally asleep and my cheese toast is just delicious. Hopefully everyone will be back on track tomorrow instead of just getting through the day.

Australia Zoo

Our adventures for the day found us at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. It was a special present for Brandon for his 4th birthday. It's an amazing place. It's a very expensive place but if you're prepared for that then it's all good. The weather was perfect so it was the best day for a family outing. We saw elephants feeding and the 2 boys made lots and lots of discoveries. They found a dinosaur cave with a dinosaur with a very loud roar. They found hundreds of lizards running all over the park. They patted kangaroos and fed goats and sheep and said hello to some piglets. We all went to the Crocoseum and watched the wildlife show. They had macaws and all sorts of other enormous birds plus snakes and pythons. Eventually the biggest crocodile that I have ever seen came out into the pool. It jumped up into the air so freakishly high. It was amazing. We saw the Tiger show and that was freakishly incredible too. I was fascinated by the Tiger handlers. They appeared so complacent. I am sure that was an intentional image they wanted to portray but it was amazing.

By now we had been at the zoo for 5 hours and everyone was getting very tired. The zoo is huge so you have to walk everywhere and we certainly did that. Daddy and I decided to take the kids home. Even though we hadn't had a chance to see all of the animals and the different sections of the zoo, the boys' health and daddy's and my sanity were riding on it. By now Bailey was hysterical and Brandon now had a cold or the flu. So home we went. The 2 boys fell asleep in the car as we drove away just after they had first eaten copious amounts of  food I'd packed for the day. Once home, all 3 of my men had a sleep on the lounge while I sat next to daddy with Bailey sprawled asleep across me. Finally I woke people up, fed the 2 little boys, bathed and showered them and then piled them back into bed. Brandon is very sick so hopefully he wakes up tomorrow feeling much better. Bailey took 1 1/2 hours to go to sleep. I'm hoping that everyone sleeps very well tonight.

Overall, we had a great day at the zoo. Certainly with young kids you probably need 2 days there. It's truly a very beautiful zoo with very spacious animal enclosures. In fact, sometimes you had to go really searching for the animals because the space was that big but that made it interesting and adventurous. We'll definitely go back again.

Returning To The Mud.

The 2 boys and I ventured back to the mud this afternoon. Ever since we all played there the other day, the 2 boys have just been chomping at the bit to get back into it. So we did. But first I had to work this morning for a few hours while daddy took the 2 boys food shopping. I had a new client as well today so that was nice. Working on a Saturday always goes really fast but it does also make the whole afternoon go fast. Anyway, once I had finished work I took over from daddy so that he could go and do a quote for work. Daddy wasn't even out the front door when the boys were already out the backdoor in the mud.

So mud rules in our house at the moment. The boys love the freedom of the mud. It's one of the boys' favourite activities because there is no limits. The only rule is no throwing of mud at anyone. Both boys adhered to it so they had a great time. And so time passes by. We played and played and played. The boys and I had a great time like we always do. I entertained the kids for most of the afternoon before then hosing Brandon down outside while Bailey continued to play in the mud. Before long though I ended up scooping up Bailey and putting him in the shower to clean the inches of thick mud covering him. And so the washing process continues again- of small children and of their clothes.

Brandon came inside for awhile to watch some TV because he was rather tired by now. Bailey and I however, jumped and jumped and jumped on the trampoline. I had a great time and I presume Bailey did too from the squeals of delight coming from him. I ventured inside to have 5 minutes to myself while daddy and the boys played outside for awhile. Daddy had turned the water spray gun on Brandon so Brandon was saturated. Brandon loved it. He kept wanting more and more so daddy kept spraying him some more. By now it was 5:30pm and we bought the fun back inside. The 2 boys ate huge amounts of food and then they were bathed and proceeded to jump in bed where Bailey fell straight asleep while Brandon continued to talk for the next 1 hour. Tomorrow I know that somehow the 2 boys and I will end up with mud between our toes. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow as we have some great plans for the day. Can't wait.

My Plan

I simply don't know where to start tonight. Again today, the 2 boys and I spent every minute of the day together. I think tomorrow I may need a 5 minute reprieve- just to remind myself what it's like to be an adult. I've just spent the last hour trying to get Bailey to sleep and finally he's out. Thank goodness. This morning seems so very far away and I'm struggling to remember what we did.  That's right, the 2 boys had swimming lessons. Brandon went really great but Bailey absolutely hates his teacher and class. Not quite sure what to do about that yet. Am still trying to think of a solution. Brandon was swimming on his own today and swimming great distances too. I was so very proud of him.

We came home after swimming lessons because it was raining and actually quite cool so it was the perfect day to stay at home. We played with all sorts of toys before we then melted some chocolate and made homemade chocolates. Then Bailey was very determined to make some chocolate cupcakes so we did. To be honest the day just went. There was no stand out activities or moments, just the 2 boys and I plodding along. We watched some cartoons together before I then headed off to work well into the evening. I have a few clients tomorrow but I should be finished by 12pm which will be nice. Both boys were desperate to go outside and play. In fact Brandon was so convinced that all the rain was going to dry up his mud puddle from yesterday, that he demanded he go and check on it, even though it was pouring rain. So he put on his gumboots and got his umbrella ready and off he went. He was most excited from what he saw- even more mud from the current rain. He was satisfied.

I was hoping to have the kids asleep by 6:30pm but I didn't finish work until much later so the 2 boys were still up. But all  that matters is that they are asleep now and I just fell asleep in front of the laptop. Not too comfortable. I think that I'll go wash all my work towels, have dinner and go to bed. It sounds like a great plan.