255 + 151 Weeks

It has been a good week, with a very busy weekend.  We took the kids and their Nema & Grandpa Clark to these caves at Burrill Lake where the indigenous people used to take shelter.  The caves are pretty cool, located in this clearing inside a little forrest area that is right in the middle of a little neighbourhood.  The kids were very excited to see an owl blinking at them from a ledge in the cave.  We had a picnic in the clearing, while our dog Bella ran around like a wild animal.  After that we took the kids for a play at King's Point park and we sat down by the lake for a rest and some family photos.

We took the kids up to Huskisson on Sunday, to the Maritime Museum, as I have a painting in a gallery show up there.  They loved the old ferry inside the museum, loved the craft table, but didn't seem too impressed by my painting at all!  Afterwards, we took them to this lovely park by the water and then out to a (slightly stressful) dinner at the Husky Pub.  We were sure that Arley would sleep in the car on the way home, but he just fussed and sang Father Finger at the top of his lungs, making the trip home hell.  He did fall asleep about 3 minutes from home though :(

I also took the kids to our friend Mark's house, to pick tangelos and lemons off his fruit trees.  Carmie was a little madame and ordered Mark around to reach the best fruit, and Arley refused to smile for any photos and pretended to be grumpy even though he wasn't.  He has been pretty good this week, except for at school.  Apparently whenever they ask him if he needs to go to the toilet, he throws himself down on the floor kicking and screaming, refusing to go, and when they do finally convince him to go, he will sit there and do a five minute wee and look very relieved.  The only really naughty thing he has been doing at home is taking all of his toys off his bed (about 20 of them), and piling them up on the floor in a mountain after lights out.  When I told him the toys would be taken away if they didn't stay on the bed, he told me I could give them to Gemma, our neighbour!  I did take them away for three days, until he found the two garbage bags of toys in the laundry and asked for them back on his bed.  But guess where they are right now as I am writing this.  They are in a mountain on his floor.

Carmie is very excitable these days, and quite the drama queen.  She is a funny thing.  This morning she was telling me that she wants to start dance classes with her friend Vanessa.  I said, "OK, yes, Vanessa does ballet and jazz on Tuesday afternoons.  Should I find out where?"  and Carmie said, "No Mum, Vanessa does pole dancing."  I have no idea where she got that from, but I am fairly certain her four year old friend isn't a pole dancer!

At the caves

 At King's Point park

 At Mark's house

 At the Martime Museum

 Making chocolate covered frozen bananas (aka black lollipops)

254 + 150 Weeks

Grandparents galore this week!  Oma and Opa came down from Lemon Tree Passage for a long-awaited visit.  We had a lovely dinner, and then a quick catch-up this morning.  The kids were on their best behaviour, except when Opa was trying to coerce Arley to come and join us outside, and Arley told him in no uncertain terms to "Go away!"  They brought Carmie a beautiful doll all the way from Germany, and Arley a little toy jeep, and the kids love their gifts :)

On Saturday night, Carmie and Arley had a sleep-over at the farm, so that Jeffrey and I could go out with Karen and Clark (Nema and Grandpa Clark).  We had a great dinner at the pub bistro, and then the kids got to spend Sunday at the farm too.  We also had lots of time with Nema and Grandpa Clark over the week-end, however, I keep forgetting to take photos.  On Saturday they played with the kids here at the house while Jeff and I got some gardening work done, and Arley had his first date with Gemma, our two year old neighbour, who invited herself over.  This is payback for when Carmie invited me and Arley over for a tour of their house, even though we hardly know them.  A while back we arrived home at the same time as Gemma and her Dad, and we got to talking.  The next thing I knew, Carmie had asked if she could come inside to see their house.  The Dad was like, "Ah, um, OK".  Then Arley wanted to go too, and they said, "Come on Mum, come on!"  So, Carmie and Arley and I got a tour of the neighbour's house.  :/

Carmie had a little accident one night after she got out of the tub.  She was wet and she wasn't standing on the mat, and she slipped.  She hit her eye and cheek on the tub, it was pretty awful.  She had a massive tantrum yesterday morning because she wanted to wear a summer dress to school, despite the cold.  After 20 minutes of hysteria, she let me know that it was because she had made a crown at school and she wanted to be a princess, and apparently princesses ONLY wear dresses.  She has been very concerned about getting struck by lightning, and volcanoes erupting and getting burnt by lava.  Her new thing this week is sneezing.  She woke Jeff up in the middle of the night because she is worried that she will crack a rib when she sneezes.  He has the patience of a saint, and didn't wring her neck as I would have done!

Arley has been much friendlier this week, nicer to his dad and better behaved at school.    Can't ask for more than that!

Jeff trimming our palm trees

Gemma's play date

On the way to the farm

With Oma and Opa

253 + 149 Weeks

This week we had another trip to the hospital!!!  Yesterday morning the kids' preschool called me to tell me that Arley was crying, doubled over, with a tummy ache.  He had only been there for less than an hour.  Jeff had taken them in, and Arley had been holding his belly when he got out of the car, but Jeff just thought he had scraped it.  But after Jeff left, Arley's pain got worse, and he could only walk very slowly before doubling over in pain.  So, Jeff and I took him up to Milton Hospital.  They felt his tummy, with Arley writhing on the bed.  They gave him some Panadol, and after he calmed down, they prodded his belly again, and he was still tender.  So they called his paediatrician, who said we should go up to Shoalhaven Hospital in Nowra to get him an ultrasound.  Jeff picked Carmie up from school, and Mum and I took Arley up to Nowra.  When we got there, Arley seemed back to normal, but they poked and prodded him, hummed and hawed, and had us stay there until evening, in case it happened again.  Finally, after 6 in the evening, Arley's paediatrician came to see him, and saw that Arley was normal again and released us.  They said it might have been "self-correcting intussusception", which is when the bowl folds in on itself like a telescope.  After Milton Hospital but before Shoalhaven Hospital, Arley did a poo, so that must have made things right again.  Another fun day!  Poor Arley :(  We have had enough of hospitals!  Although Arley was very good there, considering how long we were there.  He sat in the middle of the ward entertaining everyone by singing Father Finger in his loudest voice, except his version was Poo Poo Finger :/

Besides that drama, we have had a good week.  We have been spending plenty of time with Nema and Grandpa Clark.  We have had park visits and family dinners.  Sunday was Mother's Day, so we had Lolo and Dida over for a dinner with Nema and Grandpa Clark.  Carmie and Arley were so excited to have all of these grandparents over at the same time!  It was a nice time, and the kids were angels.

Carmie finished a sticker chart that she had made for reading books.  Every time she read a new book to someone, she got a sticker.  Her prize was that we all go to Funland (an indoor games and rides place).  The kids had a BLAST.  Afterwards, like Funland wasn't a treat enough, we took them to get ice cream.  It was such a lovely morning, just to see so many smiles from our kids.

Here is a video of the kids at Funland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsy5I7b1DoA

At Conjola park

 At Funland

 Ice cream!