KERCHING! WAITING FOR THE GOLDEN JACKPOT...

Little girls (I'm convinced) equal at least some quiet time, pretty dresses and bows in hair and pleasant shopping trips...but little boys are a whole different story. I think I'm qualified to make the above general statement (even though I don't own any little girls).

When you have a baby boy, one thing is almost guaranteed - I say 'almost' because I'm sure there is an exception to the rule - somewhere...although my husband maintains that the smiling, placid children on cereal boxes do not exist...

Where was I? Oh yes, the one thing that is guaranteed...actually there are two. The first is that you will lose your mind. The second is that you will end up in the emergency department of your local hospital with a situation you just can't explain. And I'm not including fevers and normal illnesses here...I'm talking silly, bizarre, stupid accidents.

Thomas had us at the hospital a few years back with a fractured toe and we still don't know if the story we gave was the correct one...it was a guess put together via circumstantial evidence.

Now it is Daniel's turn. The possibility of ending up in emergency with Daniel is a daily occurrence...sometimes I don't know how he escapes serious injury with the things he gets up to. We are always holding our breath, gasping in horror and/or screaming in alarm.

Maybe I am getting used to it because I hardly reacted when a frantic Thomas and a crying Daniel came storming up to me a couple of days ago saying Daniel had money in his tummy. To tell you the truth I was skeptical. Even after they had repeated the story a few times, I wondered if it had all been made up...part of their usual imaginary play? How could a kid swallow a coin whilst standing? Lying down I could understand...a coin could slip down the throat...but standing? Wouldn't there have to be some deliberate swallowing motion? What kid would purposely swallow money?! Actually, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for Daniel... *

I was just going to wait and see if the coin - which they told me was a "yellow" one (a gold $1 or $2 coin) - came out the other end. However, my mum insisted we ring the local doctor and she in turn advised us to go to the hospital for x-rays.

And sure enough - Bingo! There is the $2 coin (Daniel had surprisingly picked it out of a line up prior to the x-ray) lodged somewhere (I'm not good with anatomy) and making its way down!

Solution: We have to wait a couple of days and make sure it has come out. How do we make sure (without having to go back for another x-ray)? Well, you guessed it - we have to sift through poo!

I did send out this job ad to certain family members:

Poo sifter required. No experience necessary. Must be thorough. Payment? The joy of knowing you have helped out your little nephew/cousin.

Surprisingly, there were no takers... and when some poo was actually delivered for examination yesterday, nobody could stomach the thought of sifting through it...except me of course! Another job they don't tell you about when you're pregnant/deliver your baby...

So with great intestinal fortitude, I sliced up the poo with a plastic knife. Thomas and Daniel hovered over me with great anticipation...but no jackpot :(

We now sit and wait for the golden poo to arrive...I shall keep you posted :)

* For the record, it was an accident...sort of. Daniel put the coin in his mouth. Thomas attempted to 'save' him and take it out. In the struggle that followed, the coin slipped down Daniel's throat.

ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND 19th-20th February 2010

We didn't go far to celebrate our 10th anniversary, nor did we go for very long...but it was still wonderful! Sooooo nice just to get away and forget the grind of daily life. We saw Wicked and thought it was excellent...and we enjoyed Sydney. Below are a few snapshots...

Flowers from Sam's brother Mick, his wife Grace and family...this weekend they are celebrating their 20th anniversary. We didn't send them flowers...but we did send a gift that was just slightly x-rated lol. Hope they are enjoying it!

More flowers from friends Dom, Cherie and Vittoria. They joined us for lunch in true anniversary style (long story...but they basically joined us on the 2nd leg of our honeymoon and have attended at least half of our anniversary dinners since then...what can I say? we enjoy their company...) Sydney was just at its glorious best making lunches and walks just bliss (except for the 40 minute walk that Dom made us go on that resulted in 3 blisters to my feet! Thanks Dom - I owe you one!) Below are some views from our lunch table and room...even Queen Victoria docked to wish us well :)

Makes us want to go on another holiday/getaway...asap!

Sam's gift to me...a "Tree of Life" Pandora charm

My gift to Sam...a journal of our time together. Even he was surprised at the sorts of things I had kept :)

ANNIVERSARY

10 wonderful years today! Happy anniversary honey xxx

VALENTINE'S DAY

A few blogs I read participate in something called Flashback Friday...2 days ago the theme was Valentine's Day and many posted pics from long ago...so thought I would jump in and copy (even though I am 2 days late)!

This is Sam and I on one of our first Valentine's Days. We were on a cruise on Sydney Harbour. Young and carefree :)

We didn't really plan anything for today as we had a big night last night/early this morning at a friend's wedding...and we also have our own big celebration coming up at the end of this week. Which is why I was surprised to receive a beautiful arrangement of roses early this morning (whilst still in pj's...that's how early they were delivered)!

The boys thought the roses were just wonderful...they loved the smell...and then they wanted to eat them because Dorothy from the Wiggles eats them!! Hee hee...I managed to keep their paws off.

Happy Valentine's Day!

AUSTRALIA DAY 2010

Australia Day is celebrated on January 26th and over the past few years it has been embraced more passionately by the Australian population. The date is still a huge issue for indigenous Australians, and understandably so since it marks the arrival of the First Fleet and an invasion of their land. However, essentially it is about celebrating all things Australian and that's a good thing.

Unlike 4th of July celebrations in the United States, or other national holidays around the world, Australia Day was not really embraced in the past. It was a public holiday, a beach day, a bbq day...but nothing really more for most. People didn't display their pride. It just wasn't done.

But all that seems to be changing. This Australia Day we headed to the Country Club for an Aussie bbq, cricket and pool fun all set to the backdrop of Australian music. We had a wonderful day! Below are a few pics from getting ready to lazing by the pool...

Thomas, always a clown for the camera.

G'day mate! Daniel is ready for fun.

Sam packs the mini esky.

My niece Natasha, ready for a swim.

Natasha, Daniel, Thomas & my nephew Michael in the small pool.

Sam & Thomas in the big pool...Thomas previously never wanted to go in the big pool,

but we couldn't get him out that day!

Myself and niece Natasha by the pool.

Oh, and here's Samuel...the photo was taken at home.

He is rarely seen in public (due to the convenience of living with parents)

so just wanted to prove he exists! :)

HAPPY BELATED AUSTRALIA DAY EVERYONE!

THE 'GONG (and a milestone)

Even an overcast, dreary day at the beach provides photo and blogging opportunities. We recently set off for a drive to Wollongong (about an hour from home). It was sunny, hot and beautiful at home. Unfortunately, we were not greeted with the same weather on arrival at the beach (mental note: pay attention to weather reports before leaving home). It was overcast and before too long, raining!

We huddled, shivering under a shelter in the park and ventured out when it stopped raining. The kids still had fun....Daniel, as only Daniel can, managed to make the most of a bad situation by taking a swim in a puddle. Yes, a puddle. Probably about 5cm deep...funny...in a weird sort of way. I'm sure people were wondering who owned him!

We didn't all go in the water because the wind was absolutely freezing but a good time was still had by all.
Before we left we decided to visit Cold Rock for some ice cream delights...yummy, although not so great when you are trying to watch what you eat. However, despite the endless selection of mouth-watering flavours, not to mention the vast array of mix-ins available, do you know what my boys wanted? Lollies! Just lollies! Staff were kind enough to provide the kids with a small tub each of mixed sweets...just what they need (not)!

On the way home, out of the blue, and before they passed out from sheer exhaustion, Thomas requested a sister! Ummm, that's not going to happen! I felt a teensy bit sorry for him, but I'm sure he'll survive without one :)

When I logged on to write this post, I realised this was my 203rd post, which means this was my 200th post! Not very grand in terms of entries but I guess it's not that big a deal (the milestone that is) considering I have been blogging since May 2007! I'm sure I should have written much more by now...

Thank you for continuing to read (those of you who haven't jumped ship)! Your comments will some day add to my boys' amusement as they read about their childhood.

A RUGBY LEAGUE STAR IN THE MAKING

In January, the pink brigade (hee hee Sam will love that!) gathered along with the rest of us to farewell my 17 year old nephew Joseph as he prepared to leave his family and friends and chase his rugby league dream on the other side of the country.

By request, I made him one of my ice-cream cakes (after getting the idea from my friend Ramona). It wasn't intended as the centre-piece cake but once a replica Qantas jet was placed on top, that's what it became. The cake doesn't look the most attractive (yes Pat, I have to work on my presentation!) but it tasted pretty good with Maltesers, Oreos and other yummy ingredients thrown into the mix.

Our reluctant hero barely wanted to make a speech... he prefers to shine on the football field :)

He is now well and truly settled in Western Australia and preparing to play for the Western Reds - his name isn't exactly up in lights yet...in fact, administrators can't even spell it, but it can be found here as part of the official team. He will play NRL lower grade sides in his competition, which will hopefully provide a springboard to bigger and better things!

We are all very proud of him. He's the sort of young player that would be a great advertisement for the game, both on and off the field.

We miss you heaps Joey but hope you are thoroughly loving WA's lifestyle. Good luck throughout the comp! Can't wait to see you play in Sydney!

OUR FAVOURITE SUMMER HANGOUT

This Summer has produced some gorgeous days and we have spent many of them with family and friends at the Country Club near where we plan to build our new home. The boys absolutely loved it! The first couple of times we went, we had the pools, tennis courts, playground and BBQ areas all to ourselves...naturally, the kids thought they were ours :) Well, they are kind of ours but not exclusively for our family! The boys thought the little pool was theirs and the big pool belonged to Daddy, so it took them a moment or two to get used to "strangers" being in our pools :))

BOWLING BOYS
A bowling party (happy birthday Giorgia!) is a good excuse for some cute photos...like this one of the boys in their bowling shoes...

It's also a good opportunity to play up for the camera, something the boys love to do!

Here are the bowling shots...yes!

Thank goodness for the kid's ramps...

And what does one do while awaiting one's turn again? Why, some head stands of course!

Above child is constantly rolling, twisting, standing on head, doing forward rolls, cartwheeling etc. Drives me insane!

The boys didn't win their game, but you know what? They didn't even realise that winning was an aim! They were happy to have their turn and try to get as many pins down as possible and that's it. Isn't that wonderful? It would be nice if adults could embark on activities without always having "winning" in mind...guess that's part of the joy of being a little kid :)