Ah hoy there!

Firstly, let me apologise for the quality of these photos. I was actually having too much fun to take them. We were off at a party today that was so much fun. It was a pirate theme and Nay had spent a lot of time making and hiding treasure chests filled with the costumes. Printed t-shirts and headscarfs for the pirates, and mermaid skirts and necklaces for the girls. The food for both the adults and kids was delicous as we lazed around and in the pool in the sunshine.

Smock On!

The final thing to get ready for school was an art smock. They had some at school but they all looked a bit generic. There were a few restrictions - thick but not hot, not plastic as they were to be left at school and comfortable. So following their advice, we chose some pirate themed curtain fabric with the rubber back. This was used for the front so the paint wont go through and then poplin on the sleeves and back. Simple elastic in the neck and sleeves and oi la. It is a little on the large size (it fits me!!) so will do the job, right through primary school.

Hide in a cave

It is still so incredibly hot here- another 43 degree day. We are trapped inside with the air conditioning and trying not to kill each other. Today I got a bit creative and we built a cubby inside. Using a fitted sheet over the couch and supported with two chairs this made a great space, and renewed the door to them. They spent ages in there cooking and playing. The other thing I did was bring the scooters inside. While this is normally not allowed, they were racing each other around the kitchen bench and actually getting pretty quick. At least they are using their energy up - the things you do in the heat...speaking of which, we designed a new baby blanket. This one was a special request for a family on a sheep farm and their little boy. I think it came up really well.

Growing up too fast

Yes -- a rather decorative way to display toilet paper. I like to call this a toilet rose - what do you think? Pretty tragic that this is the only place I get flowers! One of the current obsessions of the twins is the toilet. Benji is intent on toilet training (much to my dismay) and Spencer doesn't want to miss out. We have nappys strewn around the bathroom and fights over who is sitting on the toilet. Benji is actually doing pretty well and when Alexander is off to school and the weather is a bit cooler, we may get serious with it. However I could live without the toilet roses.
Spencers language is progressing very quickly too - not to any prodigee level, just "special" things, like calling me by my first name, and recognising and naming both Ben 10 and Starwars. It all gets in my osmosis, but they are quickly turning into those kids I hate. Not that I hate my kids, but I remember when I first too Alexander to kinder and he had been cocooned from all of those things and didn't understand what the other kids were talking about. These other kids usually had older siblings. Now it is my two little monkeys who will be those kids and while I don't like it, there is really little I can do about it. Maybe I can decrease it a bit when Alexander is off at school?
Finally, speaking of growing up quickly, we got a growth chart for christmas, and once I got around to putting it up I measured Alexander. That was the 12 of Jan, and today I measured him again and he had grown 2 centimeters! I double checked because you would almost see that kind of growth, but he wasn't even on tippytoes. No wonder he's been hungry!!

Getting closer

(Pic to come, have to get it off mobile!!)
Alexander got to meet some new school friends today when we went to a prep picnic. While it was hot, there was a great attendance. We met some lovely kids and I think it has served to make the experience more exciting. He is looking forward to starting and meeting (and playing with) a lot of new people. The best thing was all of the prep teachers attended. Not only that, but they walked around, met everybody and actually remembered a lot of the kids names from the transition days and special things about them. I thought it was really lovely and I am sure the kids did too. Only one week to go.........

Daddy's taking us to the Zoo

On this lovely Australia Day, we went off to the Melbourne Zoo. I have been not too long ago, but this time we made a point to do the Australian section and I can't stress enough how good this is. You walk into a red dirt section and the animals wander around. Not like zoos of old with single animals crammed into concrete cages, these animals roamed like in the wild. The kangaroos sat in the shade while emus searched for lettuce. The wombats were getting fed and we could talk to their keeper and even pat them! This is not how I remember the zoo. Not only were the animals comfortable, but the surrounds were all in keeping, little huts and tunnels - all very interactive and well worth a visit.

What looks like a rockstar..

is certainly not a rockstar. He may have the moves down but the sound certainly needs some work. This was a gift from Nan and Pop - a wholesome electric guitar (complete with mini amp) I am thinking it may need to live at their house - until we get some lessons at least.