I walked into the twin’s room after nap the other day. Cooper was awake and Maddy was still sleeping. This is very unusual. The following conversation took place.
“Cooper do you want to go downstairs?”
“I have somfing to tell Manny.”
“But Maddy is still sleeping.”
“I have somfing to tell Manny.”
“What do you need to tell Maddy?”
“A train is coming.”
Maddy wakes up on cue. “I awake.”
“Manny, I have somfing to tell you.”
“What Pooper?”
“A train is coming.”
“In our bedroom?"
Cooper nods.
"No. Is too big. Train can’t fit." She gives a worried look around the room and in her crib."
"Train might eat my bear’s ear.”
“Is okay Manny. I go downstairs Mommy?’
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sorry readers...we suck at blogging!
Sorry to our readers... As the year progresses, it seems boring and repetitive to recount our trips to the same beaches, parks and pools, our playdates with our small network of friends, the hard work and long hours that Jeff is putting in and details I can’t remember of the Ultimate that I am playing here.
Here is a quick recap of the past month of so…We recently survived a stint without Catty. We gave her 4 weeks off to travel around Australia (done in an attempt to alleviate the guilt we felt at enticing her to come with us with promises of grand travels that will not come to fruition on this journey)! She enjoyed herself thoroughly, as much as I have enjoyed her return! The 4 weeks were full of action as they saw the arrival of Nan & Pops for just over a week at the end of Feb, and then my brother Andrew and his girlfriend Marianne for a week in March. These visits were enough to keep me sane and the kids had a blast with their adoring visitors!
Otherwise, Jeff has been kind enough to support my Ultimate obsession. I made the A team, and have played at regionals in Ballarat (called the Rat – nothing noteworthy to report other than crappy weather and lush green fields). We placed second to our nemesis “Team Box Atheletico United”. Then last weekend I flew to Sydney to play in a tournament with the New South Wales teams where we placed 4th out of 7 teams after a 3-3 round robin tourney. We will be playing at Nationals April 23-26th in Perth, Western Australia. Training with Honey is not for the weak of heart, nor is it really for a mom of three with a working husband…I am doing my best but I think the family will benefit once Nats are over.
We are still awaiting word about whether or not Jeff’s work can provide enough incentive to keep us here until the end of the project (end of June) or whether we will be able to return home by the end of May to attend Andre and Julie’s wedding…when we know, we will share the info with all of you asap! Otherwise, there are a few cute stories I thought I would share and few events that deserve some attention so read on...
Here is a quick recap of the past month of so…We recently survived a stint without Catty. We gave her 4 weeks off to travel around Australia (done in an attempt to alleviate the guilt we felt at enticing her to come with us with promises of grand travels that will not come to fruition on this journey)! She enjoyed herself thoroughly, as much as I have enjoyed her return! The 4 weeks were full of action as they saw the arrival of Nan & Pops for just over a week at the end of Feb, and then my brother Andrew and his girlfriend Marianne for a week in March. These visits were enough to keep me sane and the kids had a blast with their adoring visitors!
Otherwise, Jeff has been kind enough to support my Ultimate obsession. I made the A team, and have played at regionals in Ballarat (called the Rat – nothing noteworthy to report other than crappy weather and lush green fields). We placed second to our nemesis “Team Box Atheletico United”. Then last weekend I flew to Sydney to play in a tournament with the New South Wales teams where we placed 4th out of 7 teams after a 3-3 round robin tourney. We will be playing at Nationals April 23-26th in Perth, Western Australia. Training with Honey is not for the weak of heart, nor is it really for a mom of three with a working husband…I am doing my best but I think the family will benefit once Nats are over.
We are still awaiting word about whether or not Jeff’s work can provide enough incentive to keep us here until the end of the project (end of June) or whether we will be able to return home by the end of May to attend Andre and Julie’s wedding…when we know, we will share the info with all of you asap! Otherwise, there are a few cute stories I thought I would share and few events that deserve some attention so read on...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
LAWNMOWER MAN AT WORK!
So we have a gardener. Well, sort of. A service has been hired to come once every 3 weeks to mow our lawn and tidy up the yard. Until today, the children have been quite timid around “Lawnmower Man.”. But after a rough morning with me, Wyatt must have decided he needed a friend, and at that exact moment, “Lawnmower Man” arrived.
“Hi. I am Wyatt. My mom is cleaning up our toys in the yard so you can cut the grass.”
“Hi. My name is Anthony.”
“This is my lawn mower. We have another lawn mower. This is Cooper. I have a sister Maddy. I have some more things to show you inside.” Off he went to go get his cars, balls, Diego sleeping bag, etc…And he was not prepared to stop, nor leave Anthony alone.
Anthony tried to keep working but once Wyatt had made introductions, Cooper felt like he should be helping Anthony with the yard work. So off he went, right on Anthony's heels(deep in the gardens), scooping up leaves, weeds and branches and putting them in the rubbish bin (there are red garbages here for regular organic waste pick-up). He was actually very helpful. He is a genuinely sweet and generous little guy. Wyatt helped out a bit so as not to be outdone by Cooper, but even after the novelty wore off, Cooper kept dragging branches to the bin and climbing among the weeds to help pull them out.
Time for the big mowers, so I set the kids up on the deck with their lunches and let them watch Anthony mow, use the whippersnipper, and then the leaf blower to tidy up the garden. They were enthralled. Luckily, Anthony is lovely and was kind enough to talk with them and let them help. He even showed them his truck and trailer as he was preparing to leave. After he had gone, I found Cooper and Wyatt trying to uproot a few trees. Here’s hoping that in a few years time, they will remember the joy they felt upon assisting with the yard work and also, that we won't be fined for destroying too many native Australian plants in the garden!
“Hi. I am Wyatt. My mom is cleaning up our toys in the yard so you can cut the grass.”
“Hi. My name is Anthony.”
“This is my lawn mower. We have another lawn mower. This is Cooper. I have a sister Maddy. I have some more things to show you inside.” Off he went to go get his cars, balls, Diego sleeping bag, etc…And he was not prepared to stop, nor leave Anthony alone.
Anthony tried to keep working but once Wyatt had made introductions, Cooper felt like he should be helping Anthony with the yard work. So off he went, right on Anthony's heels(deep in the gardens), scooping up leaves, weeds and branches and putting them in the rubbish bin (there are red garbages here for regular organic waste pick-up). He was actually very helpful. He is a genuinely sweet and generous little guy. Wyatt helped out a bit so as not to be outdone by Cooper, but even after the novelty wore off, Cooper kept dragging branches to the bin and climbing among the weeds to help pull them out.
Time for the big mowers, so I set the kids up on the deck with their lunches and let them watch Anthony mow, use the whippersnipper, and then the leaf blower to tidy up the garden. They were enthralled. Luckily, Anthony is lovely and was kind enough to talk with them and let them help. He even showed them his truck and trailer as he was preparing to leave. After he had gone, I found Cooper and Wyatt trying to uproot a few trees. Here’s hoping that in a few years time, they will remember the joy they felt upon assisting with the yard work and also, that we won't be fined for destroying too many native Australian plants in the garden!
POTTY MOUTH PRE-SCHOOLERS
Sitting at the dining room table about a month ago, Wyatt takes a bite of lunch and then the following conversation takes place.
“Oh F#$%.” said in a calm, unprovoked, matter-of-fact voice.
“Where did you learn that word honey?” in a very forced calm, somewhere between laughing and complete outrage.
“My dad taught me that word.”
“No Honey, your dad did not teach you that word.” (In truth, the only believable answer to this question would have been - "No mom, I heard you say it once...or twice...")
“Actually, it was one of my uncles.”
“Which uncle taught you that word?”
“Uncle Andrew.”
“I don’t think Uncle Andrew taught you that word.” (seeing as he is in Canada and you have only spoken to him a few times in the past 8 months.)
“He did.”
“Well that is a bad word and if I hear you say it again, I will have to give you a time-out.”
“Okay.”
In the car last week on the way home from the museum.
“Oh F#$%.”
“Wyatt, what did I tell you about that word?”
“That I would get a time-out if I used that word.”
“Right. Also, that if you use that word we won’t be able to go play at your friends’ houses.”
“Who do you hear using this word?”
“My dad used it once when I woke up from my nap and he just said it.”
“Well, Daddy shouldn’t use it either. If he uses that word, he can’t go to his friends' houses either.”
“And if you say it, you can’t go to Ultimate.”
“Okay, if Mommy says it, she can’t go to Ultimate.”
“And if Daddy says it, he can’t ride his bike. Catty what if you say it?”
Catty replies “I can’t use my computer if I say it.”
This morning as they watched morning cartoons.
“Oh F#$%.”
“Wyatt, 10 minute time-out.”
Then Maddy starts with “Oh F#$%. Oh F#$%. Oh F#$%.”
No idea what to do next… no idea… Do people still wash mouths out with soap???
“Oh F#$%.” said in a calm, unprovoked, matter-of-fact voice.
“Where did you learn that word honey?” in a very forced calm, somewhere between laughing and complete outrage.
“My dad taught me that word.”
“No Honey, your dad did not teach you that word.” (In truth, the only believable answer to this question would have been - "No mom, I heard you say it once...or twice...")
“Actually, it was one of my uncles.”
“Which uncle taught you that word?”
“Uncle Andrew.”
“I don’t think Uncle Andrew taught you that word.” (seeing as he is in Canada and you have only spoken to him a few times in the past 8 months.)
“He did.”
“Well that is a bad word and if I hear you say it again, I will have to give you a time-out.”
“Okay.”
In the car last week on the way home from the museum.
“Oh F#$%.”
“Wyatt, what did I tell you about that word?”
“That I would get a time-out if I used that word.”
“Right. Also, that if you use that word we won’t be able to go play at your friends’ houses.”
“Who do you hear using this word?”
“My dad used it once when I woke up from my nap and he just said it.”
“Well, Daddy shouldn’t use it either. If he uses that word, he can’t go to his friends' houses either.”
“And if you say it, you can’t go to Ultimate.”
“Okay, if Mommy says it, she can’t go to Ultimate.”
“And if Daddy says it, he can’t ride his bike. Catty what if you say it?”
Catty replies “I can’t use my computer if I say it.”
This morning as they watched morning cartoons.
“Oh F#$%.”
“Wyatt, 10 minute time-out.”
Then Maddy starts with “Oh F#$%. Oh F#$%. Oh F#$%.”
No idea what to do next… no idea… Do people still wash mouths out with soap???
Sunday, February 15, 2009
PICTIONARY GENIUS or GRAFITI ARTIST – only time will tell!
Our budding artist/junior pictionary champ is Madeline Ruby Faulds. She wanders the halls of 15 Wilmot St., with her travel doodlepro in hand, waiting for an adult to venture her way…when she reaches out her “drawing board” and asks in her sweetest voice – “You dwaw someping for me?”. As you draw, she stares intently at the lines being formed and fills the silence with “Umm….Umm…slippers. Umm…Ummm…banana.”. Actually, that isn’t fair, she is an EXCELLENT guess and usually her first guess is correct! She is able to decode very rudimentary drawings with ease and I am constantly impressed with her vocabulary. When she isn’t inside practising her pictionary skills, she is wandering outdoors where her medium is chalk, her canvas – EVERYTHING!!!! She has successfully coloured our garage, the outdoor table and chairs, the deck, the tent, the beams holding up the deck, the trampoline, the swings, and sometimes she manages to sneak some chalk into the house to get the rest of our belongings. Luckily, her other favorite activity is cleaning things with a cloth so there isn’t much fight when I ask her to erase her artistic genius!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Check out our snowman.
I was feeling a bit guilty that our kids were missing out on some traditional Canadian activities like making snowmen. But as the saying goes, if life give your lemons make lemonade...
Hot Wheels - LIVE and in person !
So by now you are probably aware that Wyatt is obsessed with Hot Wheels. He will tell you himself. He will ask when about to meet a new friend, "Is he car obsessed ?".
I made the mistake of telling him that we would go the Hot Rod show the end of January way back in December. I've been telling him how long till the show since before Christmas. The show was on the Australia day long weekend ( Jan 23rd - 26th ). AFter a morning of swimming and lunch at the beach I decided to take him to the show on a Saturday afternoon.
The show was at the Royal Exhibition Building which is adjacent to the Melbourne Museum for those of you who have been to visit us. There were tons of cars just parked on the grounds outside the building and all the official show cars inside the building. I was figuring that his head was either going to pop off or explode when I got him there and it pretty much did.
I think the pictures will do it more justice than my words so have a look and enjoy...
It doesn't get much prouder than this...you'ld think he built it himself !
The building is massive...and it was full of cars, choppers, bikes, and people.
Purple was a popular colour, and this was the best of the purples.
this "ute" deserved some special attention for some reason. I saw the guy polishing the railing as we walked away.
There was even a bicycle section....
And this was the all out winner. Check out the plates ! And note that the guy has decorated his booth with toys...I'm not sure if this was well thought out or not. I tried to keep Wyatt out of the toys and was doing ok until some other people let thier kids in to play with them and then I gave up and let him sit and play with the cars for a little while.
Parking - $9.00
Entry fees - $10.00
Over priced hot wheels car from a booth - $3.00
Taking a Car-obsessed 3 year old boy to a hot rod show - Priceless !
Duck, duck, Goose !
On my way in to work every day I ride past a nice little pond with a flock of ducks and geese that I often see kids feeding. A few weeks ago we conveniently had a loaf of bread go bad on us and found our way over to the pond. The kids enjoyed it for the most part...Cooper loved it, Wyatt tried to kick the ducks, and Maddy found them scary.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bowled over by Cricket
Well, I finally succumbed to peer pressure and went along to a Cricket match, I even managed to drag Mel along. Steve ( the aussie from Canada ) convinced all the North Americans to join him at a 20/20 match between Australia and South Africa at the MCG ( Melbourne Cricket Grounds ).
I went in knowing a little more than nothing about the sport and picked it up as the game went on. A typical "test match" can last 5 or more days. Next down the ladder is the "one day" which consists of 50 overs for each team. Finally there is the 20/20 match where each team only gets 20 overs. There are other differences in the rules for each type of match but I can't say I've figured them all out yet.
The test match is the serious version with strategy akin to a 7 game baseball series'. The one day is more like a 2 or 3 game baseball series, while the 20/20 is a lot like a single baseball game. I believe this is the format used for professional Cricket around the world ? Traditionalists don't like them, and worry it will ruin Cricket. However, its better for TV, better for spectators, and actually pretty exciting.
Australia and South Africa are touring around playing a series of test matchs, one days games, and 20/20s.
The match we went to see was at the MCG and the attendance was 66,000. Which meant the MCG or "G" was a little over half full ! We had seats up in the nose bleeds but the view was pretty good.
It was a bit strang at first but we quickly got into it. It was cool to see the different stlyes of Bowlers ( pitcher ) and to see the different configurations of fielders the teams used. Australia was up first and had 20 overs to get as many runs as they could. Basically that meant they had 120 pitches to get as many runs as possible. They got to keep sending up new batters until they either ran out of outs ( didn't happen ) or ran out of overs. You get out by being caught out, thrown out, or bowled out. To get bowled the bowler needs to hit the wickets with the ball or hit the batter in the case where they are deemed to be blocking the wickets.
This format encourages big hits to get big hits as opposed to strategic smaller hits to get runs. In other words the risk of getting out is removed.
The Australians got a large number of runs and this put the pressure on the S.Africans to get more runs in fewer balls. This is called a run-chase. In the end they got close but ran out of balls. It was actually pretty exciting. The game took about 3 hours. The stars of the night were a young Australian batter who in his first game at this level scored 89 runs before going out, and an Australian bowler who was bowling at 150+ Km/hr .
I've been watching more matches on TV now and I'm starting to actually like it ! With the state of baseball where it is I think I might prefer to watch some Cricket over a regular season baseball game.
Hmmm, wonder if I can get the kids into cricket in Canada ??
I went in knowing a little more than nothing about the sport and picked it up as the game went on. A typical "test match" can last 5 or more days. Next down the ladder is the "one day" which consists of 50 overs for each team. Finally there is the 20/20 match where each team only gets 20 overs. There are other differences in the rules for each type of match but I can't say I've figured them all out yet.
The test match is the serious version with strategy akin to a 7 game baseball series'. The one day is more like a 2 or 3 game baseball series, while the 20/20 is a lot like a single baseball game. I believe this is the format used for professional Cricket around the world ? Traditionalists don't like them, and worry it will ruin Cricket. However, its better for TV, better for spectators, and actually pretty exciting.
Australia and South Africa are touring around playing a series of test matchs, one days games, and 20/20s.
The match we went to see was at the MCG and the attendance was 66,000. Which meant the MCG or "G" was a little over half full ! We had seats up in the nose bleeds but the view was pretty good.
It was a bit strang at first but we quickly got into it. It was cool to see the different stlyes of Bowlers ( pitcher ) and to see the different configurations of fielders the teams used. Australia was up first and had 20 overs to get as many runs as they could. Basically that meant they had 120 pitches to get as many runs as possible. They got to keep sending up new batters until they either ran out of outs ( didn't happen ) or ran out of overs. You get out by being caught out, thrown out, or bowled out. To get bowled the bowler needs to hit the wickets with the ball or hit the batter in the case where they are deemed to be blocking the wickets.
This format encourages big hits to get big hits as opposed to strategic smaller hits to get runs. In other words the risk of getting out is removed.
The Australians got a large number of runs and this put the pressure on the S.Africans to get more runs in fewer balls. This is called a run-chase. In the end they got close but ran out of balls. It was actually pretty exciting. The game took about 3 hours. The stars of the night were a young Australian batter who in his first game at this level scored 89 runs before going out, and an Australian bowler who was bowling at 150+ Km/hr .
I've been watching more matches on TV now and I'm starting to actually like it ! With the state of baseball where it is I think I might prefer to watch some Cricket over a regular season baseball game.
Hmmm, wonder if I can get the kids into cricket in Canada ??
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