Christmas Eve 2011

It's Christmas Eve and everything is ready for the big day - we just have to wait for Santa to come!  We checked the Santa Tracker just before the kids went to bed and he had just left the North Pole - Yay!

I'm loving that Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday as it means Duane is home to help amuse the children and help with all the preparations for the big day tomorrow.  We've had a nice relaxing day, but still managed to get lots done.  I've made mini Christmas pudding balls, a big pavlova from scratch, custard with the left over egg yolks for the trifle I'm constructing tomorrow and wrapped all the presents. 

The kids were very excited when the picked out the little note from the Advent calendar tonight as it said they could open 1 present each.  What a coincidence that we all got the same thing -  new Pj's and a candy cane!  We'd usually head out looking at Christmas lights in our new Pj's, but it's been raining all afternoon, so decided to stay in watching the carols on TV instead.

Xavier was very excited to put out his magical reindeer food that he'd made at pre-school.  Grace made up individual little plates for each of the reindeer and put them out the front with a bowl of water.

After the children were tucked up in bed and fast asleep, all the presents from us were put under the tree.  Santa dropped his off later in the night, and after I heard him leave, I snuck out and took a photo!

~~Santa's presents wrapped in red and green and the 2 stockings filled up~~

Sweet dreams my little babies xx

Grace's 6th birthday celebrations

 Grace's 6th birthday celebrations were spread over Saturday, Sunday and Monday!  The day before her actual birthday, she invited 3 of her bestest school friends along ice skating.  She's been wanting to ice skate for a while now, so when we were going through the birthday ideas she knew exactly where she wanted to go. I was a bit worried about how they would go as none of them had been before, or even roller skated.  Duane and I were going to be playing hostesses on the ice, and although I had visions of us whirling the girls around, I probably shouldn't have dreamt so big as I havent' skated for over 10 years!

All ready to hit the ice!

The very excited birthday girl

The first lap we were all very tentative, and it felt like a very, very long time making it back to the start.  All the girls clutched onto the side rail and jaggedly made their way around.  I really though then that it would be a "one lap wonder" and we'd chalk it up to an "experience" and go back to the table and eat all the yummy food.  However, the girls were all just warming up and after gaining a bit more confidence and balance, were eager for another lap.  This time only clutching onto the rail with one hand.  It was only another few rounds like this before they were even more adventurous and started letting go and actually skating!!!  It was only a few slow laps for me too before I was back into the skating groove, then I ditched the kids for a few fast laps.  I'd forgotten how much fun it is to be zooming around the ice.  My only problem is I'd forgotten how to stop, and so after once quick lap, I slammed straight into the side barrier and did a very dramatic slide down.  Apparently looked very hilarious for the mums standing on the sidelines!

Grace skating up a storm

I'd opted not to take the birthday party food provided by the skate rink, I wasn't overly fussed with the options of party pies, sausage rolls and soft drinks!  So, instead I made up special little boxes for each of the guests.  Grace chose what she wanted in them, with each one having a chocolate milk, avocado sushi, chocolate cupcake, packet of chips, plain popcorn and a scattering of lollies.  The girls adored them, and were very excited that at the end they got to take their special little personalised boxes home.

Grace's hand-picked selection of treats!

All the girls loved it and are wanting to arrange another skating session over the holidays.  The hardest part was dragging them off the ice at the end, as by that stage they were all off by them self and didn't want to finish!

The next morning, on her actual birthday, Grace snuck into our bed bright and early for a cuddle.  After birthday hugs all round, we handed over the very much anticipated birthday gift - a camera.  Now, there is a bit of a back story to how this came about.  Grace has been wanting a camera for ages, but mostly over the last year.  She has had small turns of mine, but as my cameras are some of my most prized possessions, I've only let her use them under strict supervision.  When she asked for one last year, I was unsure whether she was ready for the responsibility and so we had a little test.  I gave her one of my old cameras, that had completely stopped working - so basically it looked good, but there was nothing she could do with it.  I told her that she had to prove to me she could look after it by always making sure it was put away safely and to never leave it lying around.  If she could do this, I was happy to buy her one for her 6th birthday.  She diligently looked after it all year.  She took it out places (even though it didn't work) and always made sure it was in a safe spot.  I was amazed at how serious she took upon the responsibility.  Although she knew that a camera might be in the pipeline for a present, she never nagged or asked about it - so when she did open it up and see that it was in fact a camera, she was over the moon.  It's a fancy schmancy water proof, drop proof, dust proof and most things proof camera.  It takes pretty decent photos and video and she is loving having the freedom to play photographer whenever she wants.  I do have to go through the footage every now and then, as she's managed to get some very unflattering photos and even video of Duane and I arguing about discussing something.  She's also got some great photos, and it's lovely to see her view of the world through the lens!

Grace VERY excited about getting her camera

Probably the only photograph I'll get of her now!

Sunday afternoon was spent down having a relaxing BBQ down at the beautiful Broadwater Rockpools.  It was a glorious day and such a perfect way to spend it surrounded by our favourite people.  Grace was extremely spoilt with presents, and so was I.  Apparently, I needed a present too (I guess I did do all the work 6 years ago!) and the very generous Pengs gave me an Ipad - an absolute top of the range one too!  I'm loving it too.  It's so ridiculously easy to be instantly on the Internet now, instead of starting up the old clanking laptop.  They also loaded Grace up with a massive box full of Country Road clothes and Xav

The kids danced, ran and played on the oval in the beautiful late afternoon sun - a perfect photo opportunity for me to take advantage of the golden light.  Grandma had also made up a pinata - which although took a bit to smash, was enjoyed by all.

 ~~ My beautiful girl and I ~~

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~~ Happy 6th birthday my sweetheart ~~

The celebrations were also extended into the following week as Grace had her birthday celebration at school.  She has been patiently waiting for her school celebration right from the beginning of the year.  Grace is one of the youngest in her class, as at her school the children have to have turned 5 before they start their prep year.  So she has sat through all her class mates birthday celebrations, with the anticipation building for her own and finally the day came.   Duane wasn't able to get the morning off work, so Wendy came along with Xav and I.  All her friends went into class when the bell was rung, except Grace stayed outside with us.  After a few minutes, her teacher came out singing "Somebody is having a birthday today, I wonder who's birthday it is today?".  Miss Pam put the special rainbow birthday cape on Grace as well as her crown that I'd slipped to her earlier.

We then headed into the classroom where we found all the children on the floor in a circle.  Grace had a special seat that had been decorated in gold material.  We all sat down and then Miss Pam told a beautiful story about a little girl called Grace and the birthday angel.  Grace was then asked to light the 6 birthday candles whilst all her class mates sung the school "birthday song". 

  

After the song, the children put their hand up and Grace called out their name one by one.  Each child said a birthday wish for Grace, which had me in tears.  Listening to each of the children articulate so thoughtfully things that they loved about Grace and why she is so special.  Most of them said how good a friend she is, and how they love playing with her.  Own of the boys said that he loves Grace as she always makes him feel happier when he is sad.  Another said that when no-one else will play with him, he always knows that Grace will.  The teachers then said their wishes for Grace.  Miss Pam told her she was one of the kindest and gentlest people that  she knows and how wonderful it has having her in the class this year.  She talked about a few special moments she'd had with Grace over the year - once again, tears from me!  I was then asked if I'd like to share something, and so I told her how amazing and wonderful I thought she was.  I also told her that that I love her kind and gentle nature and that she will always be my sunny little girl.  Miss Pam then presented Grace with a little yellow doll in a walnut shell that she had made especially for her. 

The rest of the day Grace wore her special cape and crown, sat in her decorated chair and got first pick of everything.  Although she's not fond of being the centre of attention, she loved her day being the birthday queen. 

~~ Heading up to the library after her birthday celebration ~~

Prep

It's been an exciting few weeks and I have so many blog posts to catch up on.  I've been so busy with Grace's birthday parties, birthday school celebration, summer festival, dance concerts and general end of year celebrations.  It really is a crazy time of year, and although I love it, I'll be glad when all the festivities are finished and the relaxing part of my holidays begin!

Today was Grace's summer festival concert.  Both the Prep classes did a play, taking us through their first year of school and all the wonderful experiences they have had.  Grace loved being up on stage with all her friends, especially as her, Jasmine and Lily got to be butterflies!  It was lovely, but sad, as this year is coming to an end very quickly.  The Prep year is just so magical and special, and it's been such a lovely introduction for Grace to school.  The whole class have absolutely adored the teachers this year, and I don't think we could have got anyone better if we hand-picked them our self.  It was an extra special year too, as it was Miss Pam's last, she's sailing away (literally, she lives on a yacht!) to Tasmania to do her masters in Psychology.  She is one of the kindest and caring people I've ever met and always makes the children feel extra special.  I was really worried at the beginning of the year about Grace adjusting to school, but Pam and Louise have given her the most beautiful start to her school life.  She has loved this year, but it's me that is sad about her moving onto the next grade.  She is so excited to be heading into Grade 1 and all the new things that come with that - having her own desk, being able to go to tuck shop by herself and playing up at the "big" school.  To me though, it means she really is growing up.  She has learnt so much in Prep, but I could kid myself and pretend it wasn't like real school - but Grade 1 is.  I'm really excited for her that she'll be learning new things, but the time is passing so quickly and I just need it to slow down a little.

Tomorrow is her special graduation ceremony and I think I may need to pack some tissues and dark glasses.

Free!! (nearly!)

Uni is nearly finished for the year and it couldn't be more welcomed - not just from me, but my whole family!  All my exams and assignments are done and dusted, now it's just the nervous wait for results.  I'm 99.9% confident that I passed, it's just whether my gpa is going to remain a healthy high 6 or take a dive - which will most likely be from damn research! I should find out results in a few weeks, and whatever I get I'll be proud!  This semester has been very busy and I am just grateful to be coming out the other end.

I've still got 5 shifts to finish at the hospital, and I'm hoping to get them finished this week - yes, I'll be busy and tired.  I just want to get them over and done with though, as I've got big plans for the summer break!  I've still got one lovely little baby to welcome into the world - little stinker is 8 days over today!  It will be a beautiful birth centre birth, which is always very special to me as that's where I birthed and met my little boy.  I've got my fingers crossed that tonight's the night, as I think poor mum is over being pregnant and just wanting to meet her little baby.  I'm very excited about this birth as it's one of my friends, so this baby will be in my life for many years to come!   I do get very attached the babies that I welcome, especially the ones where I've cared for the mum all through her pregnancy.  It feels like a break-up at the 6 week appointment, when have to say our goodbyes and that's why this one will be extra special. I'll get to watch the baby grow up from a slippery, slick newborn into a little person.   

I've got so many things I want to get done over the break.  I want to de-clutter and clean every room in the house, which is going to be a big, but very satisfying job (just have to sneak things out when Xav the hoarder is not around).  I have new curtains to sew and hang in the lounge room and lots of little craft projects to start and finish.  Grace's birthday is in 2 weeks, so I have her party to organise as well as her school celebration.  We have multiple Christmas carols to attend, as well as the schools summer festival and Grace's graduation ceremony from prep to year 1.  Then there are lots of bbq's, beach and picnic outings to have!  I'm so excited to actually have lots of time to do these things, all without thinking that I should be studying!  I'm free!!!  I can't wait for Grace to finish up at school and we can go back to the good old days of me being at home with the 2 kids, and doing as we please every day!  I'm very nostalgic for those days, although I do love what I'm doing now too. 

Anyway, I'm off to get a few hours sleep as I'm hoping (every things crossed!) that I get a call in the middle of the night to say a little baby is ready to join us xx

Jabbing the child

Xav had his 4 y/o needles on Wednesday and after my last attempt at doing this by myself, I organised it for when Duane would be home.  I'd explained to Xav what was going to be happening, and pulled out the parenting big guns - BRIBE!  I'm not fond of using bribes for everyday things, but this is a one off and I was hoping that it would make the whole experience a little less stress full for everyone involved.  I asked him what he would like and he suggested a Mintie as he'd caught be the week before with a mouthful of one.  I'd bought a family pack (although I didn't share with the family!) to munch on as I was churning out a very boring research assignment and he decided that one of those would be a perfect swap for a jab.  I also said he could play on my i-phone (another very special thing that he rarely gets to do)  and have the headphones in.  Now this proposition, of chewing on a mintie AND using the i-phone was enough to actually get him excited and begging every day in the lead up, to actually go to the Dr earlier.

So, with all this excitement and constant nagging to go get his needles, I was feeling very confidant when Duane said he'd have to work late and wouldn't be able to come along.  No problems!  This will be a breeze - I have a willing participant!

Well, he was all big and brave until he realised once we were at the Dr's what was actually going to happen.  He must of glossed over the whole "getting and needle" thing and just focused on minty goodness and technology.  Once he realised though, there was no way he was going anywhere near the nurses station.  I had to carry him screaming his head off and writhing in my arms.  Once in there, I managed to shove a mintie in his mouth calm him down, so I could sign all the forms.  After the mix up last year, I also insisted that I would be checking each vial for the correct medication. Xav, was ok by now.

Until I had to take his top off to get started.  Then he cranked up the screaming again, but this time he was yelling "Check my heart, just check my heart then let me go home"  I'm guessing he thought if we used the stethoscope, we'd forget about the 2 needles that were drawn up and ready to be inserted  There was nothing I could do but bear hug him, whilst he was jabbed simultaneously in each arm.  Over and done with nice and quick, and then the screaming stopped.  Could have had something to do with the stickers and freddo frog the nurse had just handed over.  He smiled, filled up his mouth and skipped his way out.  Over and done with.

Thank goodness that doesn't need to happen again for a while!

Rhyme Time

Every morning in the car on the way to school drop off, the kids and I play a different game.  Some days it's me asking them the names of particular baby animals, eye spy or thinking of a different animal starting with A and then working all the way through to Z.  Yesterday, Grace decided that we'd pick a word and then go through all the other words that rhyme with it.  It's usually nice and simple and I'm often amazed at how clever they are at coming up with an abundance of different words.  As she chose the game today, she got to chose the first word.  She chose "Witch"

You can see where this is going hey?  I knew as soon as she uttered that word that it could get messy.

She came up with "stitch" as the first rhyming word.  Perfect.  But then I could hear Xav over the back going through the letters and adding a different one to the start, trying to work out a word.  Excited, he then yelled out,

"I know Mummy, Bitch rhymes with Witch, doesn't it?"

I was hoping I hadn't heard right as I was fairly sure he'd never hear this word before, so I asked him what that word meant.

"You know, when you are a drummer you have a good Bitch" 

Oh, crap - now I was starting to get nervous about where he had heard the word and what context it had been in.  So I re clarified, asking again what that word meant.

"Mummy, like a drummer.  You know, they have good Bitch - like in music"

Then I clicked.  He was trying to say PITCH!  So after much reinforcement of correct pronunciation, he got it and was still quite happy that pitch rhymed with witch.  Later I realised that I probably should have explained that Bitch really meant female dog, but at the time I was a little taken aback! 

Xavier

I really need to brush the cobwebs out of here, but every time I come in I get overwhelmed!  I've had so much that I want/need to blog about, but trying to work out where to start after such a long break has been weighing me down.  So, I thought I'd just plonk something down to break the ice.

My little boy just cracks me up at the moment!  I meant to blog ages ago about his funny little habit of slipping the word "actually" into every sentence, sometimes twice.  He managed it seamlessly for about a month, but stopped suddenly a few weeks ago.  After quizzing him on it, he said that he'd overheard me telling someone, and was a bit upset so stopped.  Oops!  I "actually" thought it was very cute, and it just proves again to me how strong willed my little boy is - he stopped immediately!

Some other funny little Xavier moments.  He told me the other morning that he wanted to start a rock band and travel the world.  When I asked him where in the world he's be travelling he said "Africa, Trude's place, Logan's place, Nanny's place - all over the world!"  He's allocated himself to the drums and lead singer, whilst Daddy will be on the maracas, Grace on the tambourine and I'm on the keyboard.  We are going to travel around with Xav the self labelled "rockstar".  Sounds like fun hey!

There are many more funny Xav moments, but it's hard to remember them all.  I spend most of the day laughing with him or engaged in deep, thought provoking conversation.  He is the coolest kid to talk too and sometimes the way he analyses and thinks about things just blows my mind!  He's been so patient and understanding over the last few weeks as I've been spending lots of time on assignments and study.  He plays happily with his cars/lego/planes/bike only bothering me only for something to eat.  Sometimes, I can tell he's so desperate for someone to play with though - so I have a break and immerse myself into his little world.  To see his whole face light up and his play get even more animated  when I'm pretending to be the voice for a car or whatever job I've been given, is just beautiful.  He still misses Grace crazily when she is at school, and although he is quite happy to play by himself, when she is here they are in their own little universe together.  They play so wonderfully together, and the thought and imagination that oozes out when they do is beautiful. 

Xav is such a loving and cuddly little boy.  Every day he tells me he loves me (although today he told me that Rockstars don't kiss their mummies!).  Every night, without fail, he still sneak into our bed and hops in beside me for a cuddle - which I love.