Write it down!

Ok this is one of those stories I tell my mom and she says, "Did you write it down?" And I sheepishly reply, "No, but I will." and then I never do and I forget the story. So this time I am writing it down!

So those of you who know my son, know he has a serious passion for video games, and he gets really upset when the game isn't going in his favor (most of you know what I am talking about). We have had many discussions with him about how to deal with it when he starts to get upset, such as pausing it to regroup, turning it off for a while, doing something else until he has calmed down. . . anyway it never seems to sink in and he often ends up losing gaming privileges.

So this last week, after an especially bad bout with the DS that resulted in it getting taken away and very long discussion with his dad, he started doing a lot better about pausing or turning it off when he got upset. Then the other day AJ kept asking him to play doubles with her on Sonic Rush and he kept telling her no because he was building legos or reading. Finally after about the fifth time she asked him he said, "I am trying really hard to get over my video game addiction and everytime I get distracted from it you start tempting me. Will you stop tempting me-- please?!"

At first it made me laugh because he sounded so grown up and then it made me feel really good because, apparantly he does hear what we say and well, he sounded so grown up!

Christmas Pics

Somewhat last minute we decided it would be fun to head to the coast and spend a few days over the Christmas holiday. Because of our last minute planning almost everything was booked, but we were able to find a cottage rental in Lilli Pilli (isn't that a great name for a town?) near Bateman's Bay. We headed out Christmas eve after J got home from work. We didn't have a tree; my intent was to find a branch or something to decorate once we got to Lilli Pilli, but we got out much later than planned and didn't have much time to look. I sent AJ out while I made dinner (we ended up having very simple tacos), but I didn't want her to go too far and it was getting dark so she couldn't find anything. We ended up using this plant instead.

This may have been my favorite Christmas moment. As a bit of background: not only did we get out later than planned we ran into some heavy fog (as we went over the Misty Mountains--they are accurately named!) and missed our key pick-up. To make a long story short everyone was pretty hungry and cranky by the time we got to our rental. Admittedly there were some reminders (ok threats) that Santa might not make it if some certain somebodies couldn't start getting along. After Santa arrived and was setting up I started feeling bad and felt that my kids needed to be reminded that they did a lot of good things this past year that earned their spot on the nice list, so Santa obligingly wrote them each a letter detailing those things. The best part was that as soon as they saw the letters they started reading them and discussing them and it was several minutes before they remembered they had new toys to look at and open!

AJ accidentally left all of her sleeptime friends behind (had been borrowing AP's webkinz to sleep with her) and was SO happy to get this baby leopard and a deer to snuggle.

Opening D&D minis

They each got a box of minis. It's so funny how exciting it is for the three of them and how much fun they have looking at them together, making trades, and planning adventures.

J's loot. You might not be able to tell but the t-shirt is all marvel heros (I found it at Target the week before we left and couldn't pass it up!). He was also thrilled to get new ties. However I think he was most excited about the book idea Spencer sent him. Way to go Spence!

He is at the perfect age to enjoy Christmas! Old enough to interact with his toys but still so little and cute!

Just testing his toys! But even more than (or at least as much as) the toys he loved all the paper, packaging and boxes!

After opening presents and playing a bit J took the kids our for a morning walk while I made pancakes. In the afternoon we headed to Bateman's Bay. (See below)

Bateman's Bay

Here is the beach house where we stayed Christmas Eve. It was right by Bateman's Bay in Lilli Pilli (yes that's the name of a town?)

This view was just down the path from our beach house. Amazing!

splashing in the surf Christmas day

playing in the sand

exploring our surroundings

the little tide pools were so much fun!

just lounging

rock throwing contest

The end of our world as we know it. . .

We were in the little theatre room at the National Museum of Australia, when D decided to go for it. After several months of rolling and scooting around, he has mastered his crawl. As for me I have been doing some minor rearranging-- moving things off lower shelves and trying to cover outlets/cords. Such a fun milestone!

Here he is at home, getting ready to take off!

He rocks forward on his bottom until he is on all fours and then takes off!

Happy Birthday Babe!!!

We had fun celebrating J's birthday! These are signs we made to greet him when he got home from work.For his cake we put together two favorites: a mountain of chocolate chip cookies covered with D&D minis (I won't give away his age but there is one guy for each of his years).

Forget dinner. I was in putting the baby down when he got home and when I came out they were already digging into the cookies. . .

Card from J's mom and dad; we got a good laugh from that one!

And the present he bought for himself (I know I am lame making him buy his own present). I at least wrapped it for him. . .

Finally the kids had set up various D&D battles for him around the house. They were so excited all day waiting for him to come home and play. We sure love the Daddy at our house!!!

a few sights

These first two were taken at Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of Canberra. The kids thought the fountain was the coolest thing! You can't tell from the pictures but it shoots WAY up there. It was a REALLY windy day; seriously I thought we might get blown away!

This is the national monument near Parliament. Speaking of which the Parliament building is very interesting; aside from the uniqueness of the building itself, it was built into the side of a hill (we'll try to get some pictures of it to post). It's kind of cool here; you can't build on top of hills which really protects the natural beauty of the area.

And this is the national seal found on their coinage; In case you can't tell it's a kangaroo and emu.

I can't wait to get more pictures of road signs and do a whole post about that!!!

Where's Roo?

I saw my first kangaroos today! This afternoon we went for a walk to the nature reserve nearby our house. J, AP, and AJ had spotted roos here on a previous outing, but we didn't expect to see any today as we thought it was the wrong time of day. However we almost walked right into a whole mob of them they camoflauge so well. We probably could have gotten closer, but didn't want to chance a mauling. Look closely to see them (you might have to click on the pictures to really see them).

Here we are!

As you can see we made it! The flight went about as well as could be expected; AP and AJ played their nintendos and read (only slept 4 of the 15 hours). D had a harder time; J & I spent most of the flight alternately standing with him at the back of the plane. The last few hours Kung Fu Panda was on (the TVs had been on the brink prior to that); it was a welcome distraction.

After landing and getting a rental car, our first stop was a park so we could get our bearings and give the kids a chance to move around. Next was lunch and then the beach!

Before setting them loose we told AP and AJ only to get their feet wet since we still had a ways to drive. However, after an attempt to stay dry, they were overcome by a big wave. It’s Spring here and still a little cold and breezy so they were freezing by the time we got back to the car. Dry clothing was inaccessible so all we could do was get their wet clothes off and wrap them in their blankets for the remaining 2 hour drive. We were all feeling a bit miserable at that point and couldn’t fully enjoy the beautiful scenery; in fact all of us but J fell asleep (I really was trying to stay awake to keep him company!).

These next two are of the park we stopped at before leaving Sydney. We had fun running around and saw some interesting birds and plants.

So far we are enjoying our visit. Canberra is beautiful and I love that we can be in the middle of the city and still smell the forest.

Of course there are the usual inconveniences of adjusting to a new place; shopping is a little different than in the US and we are still figuring out where things are. I haven't attempted driving yet, though J has gotten the hang of it. The kids and I took a 30 minute walk to the shopping center the other day and in that short of time AJ and I were both toasted. Needless to say I bought sunscreen for the walk back.

J took the kids out last night for a kangaroo sighting. I'll try and get those pictures downloaded soon, but that's all for now!

My first tag

HUBBY TAG...
What is your husband’s name? Mr. Incredible
How long have you been married? 10 years
How long did you date? 3 months; crazy no?
How old is he? nearly 34
Who eats sweets? Mostly me; though he loves them as much, if not more, he is far more disciplined
Who said I love you first? I think he did???
Who is taller? definitely him
Who can sing better? Are you kidding? He does
Who is smarter? He has an amazing mind
Who does the laundry? We both do although he usually starts and I finish
Who pays the bills? Me
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right now he does
Who mows the lawn? Mostly him
Who cooks dinner? Me
Who drives? Him
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I would say me, but we can both be pretty stubborn
Who kissed who first? I kissed him!!
Who asked who out first? I think we asked each other out at the same time
Who wears the pants? It depends on the issue
I tag you all. . .anyone who wants to, I'd love to read your answers!

This is Halloween

Admittedly, I am a stick in the mud when it comes to Halloween. After past complaints from my kids about our boring house, this year I made an attempt to decorate inside. I was feeling quite proud of myself until AP informed me the decorations I chose are too “cutesy” and we need to get some spooky stuff like spider webs, bats, tombstones, etc. Maybe next year I’ll get it right .

AP and AJ had fun dressing up. AJ joined the other Hannah Montaniacs while AP chose to recycle costumes from past years to have a one-of-kind-never-before-seen character whose name I still don't know (In fact I don't think he knows either; he just kept telling people, "I am a made-up character"). Gotta love his creative spirit! They were able to show off their costumes at a few different parties the weeks before and of Halloween.

Halloween afternoon we went to the children’s museum for fun and activities. AP was interviewed by channel 5 news but whether he actually made it on we will never know since we were busy doing the trick-or-treat thing.

Besides the usual fun museum stuff, they got to decorate masks, trick-or-treat bags, and pumpkins. There was also a fishing pond, facepainting, and fortune telling.

D was a very cute baby ninja of the dragon clan.

Here they are waiting to go beg for candy. They actually got done pretty quickly. I'm glad they don't care whether their bags are full or not.

Oh yes, I can’t forget mine and J’s costumes. I am always so busy getting the kids squared away that ours are usually last minute throw together kind of costumes. For work J went in a bathrobe with a head full of curlers complete with a pair of fuzzy pink and yellow housesocks. He had painted his face white (you know, a mud mask) but washed it off before going to vote that afternoon. Don’t worry he took off the wig and put on normal clothes before heading to the polls.

As for myself, I found a cool pink wig on sale at Target and dressed as a punker. We both got a lot of compliments on our hair. . . I only wish mine were real; no joking I loved the style and the pink!