Once Upon a Sunny Sunday

Have a great plan for today - going to leave this page open on my computer and just add a story at a time to try to catch up! My whiteboard is full of little stories waiting to be posted on my blog. Just as I am writing this Samuel has nicked a little plastic bunny of Maria's and thrown it up a tree. Sigh - never stops!

First story begins one weekend about a month ago. Mark was away on a men's retreat, it was Sunday afternoon and my hair was beginning to turn grey. I somehow had decided to entertain the troops with making plaster picture frames. Yet as well of putting the plaster in the frames, they were doing a great job of layering it all over the table. Just as we had finished the frames and I was beginning to clean the table, Maria ran to the draw full of our crockery frantically looking to a bowl. Just as the draw opened, she chucked right into the middle of our dishes. Not quite sure what to do, I dashed her off to the shower...all the while the plaster was hardening on the table. Just as I got Maria out of the shower, Samuel wandered up pant-less and covered in poosies. He had managed to have an accident right in the middle of the playroom and tracked it up through the house. So number 2 was thrust into the shower as well (no pun intended!!). As I was trying to get them in and out of the shower, Bekah woke up and was in frantic need of a feed - so while the other two were drying off and number three being fed, the vomit was fermenting in the draw and the plaster was getting ever harder on the table.

Just as I had all three clean, dry, fed and in front of a movie, Maria spilled her drink, Samuel threw a wobbly over the choice of film and Bekah wet through her clothes...and Mark's flight was delayed indefinitely. Still the vomit was fermenting in the draw and the plaster had turned to cement on the table. Sent Mark a text message - "Hi love - planned on having a roast to celebrate your homecoming but Maria spewed in the plate draw so now we're having take away".

Baby Update

Sigh - after all my good intentions after the last blog to write more frequently, here is is WEEKS later and I have a long post-it note full of their antics to blog. I will tryto get through a few now, and a few tonight. Uni has just started back up again for the summer semester, so as you can imagine my spare moments are few and far between! I also have Coles -online to order tonight - that great invention allows me to miss the big weekly grocery shop with my little darlings - last time we went the kids ate a whole packet of rice crackers. I just kept shoving them with food to keep them quiet at to keep Samuel off the shelves. He likes to climb - I wonder where he gets that gene? Unless I was a mountain goat in a former life, it wasn't me!

My littlest one has just started to crawl! About 10 days ago, up she got and off she went! She is loving being mobile, and is our little resident vacuum cleaner. She is also talking - she calls Mark Dada - he is so proud her first word was for him. Today I was trying to do some work, and she was crawling around the computer tower. All of a sudden a little icon popped up on my screen saying 'USB device not recognised'. I was a little confused as I hadn't tried to plus in anything to the USB. Then I realised she was gnawing on a random USB lead and the computer had tried to upload her armpit. She's now not allowed near the computer.

Gotta dash - Baby awake!

From Puddles, to Prayers, to Pinkie-Pie: Never a Dull Moment

We are just starting to reap the benefits of having kids close together. Maria and Sam often wander off into a bedroom or outside and play make believe games. The favourites are 'baby spirit' (Maria the owner and Sam a baby horse), 'doggies' (Maria the mum and Samuel the baby), and 'cars' (Maria has the mummy car and Samuel has baby Lightening McQueen... see any pattens emerging?). The way they play is very funny. Maria will say "Baby Spirit! It's time for a nap!" Then she says, "Now Sam, say yes mum I'm off to bed!" Sam then has to reply exactly that way. If the game proceeds as Maria dictates, then all is well. However, if Sam decides to stray from the path, then everything goes pear shaped and it's game over.

Sam has been saying some funny things recently. Every night we say prayers, and I am trying to get him to remember them. I start with "God bless..." and he says "Mummy", I say "God Bless..." and he says "Daddy", and we go through everyone and every night without fail he says "God Bless Lightning McQueen!!".

Sam also asked me recently if the tooth fairy brought Bekah's new teeth.

The other day we went off for a walk and splash in puddles. On our journey Maria found a lively ripe, juicy worm. Imminently she said "Oh!! Don't tell Grandad! He'll eat it in a worm pie!" (The context for this is Nanna always says Grandad would eat anything..even worm pie. Grandad backs this up with a "Oh lovely! A nice worm pie yes please!)

Maria loves going outside when it is raining - she loves puddle splashing and twig racing. The other day she was outside in her raincoat for over half an hour wiping the car down with a window wiper. Her favourite toys at the moment are James (a horse), Baby Spirit (a baby horse), Pinkie Pie (a pink horse), Star Song, which she calls Song Star and Baby Pinkie-Pie. They all go to bed with her a yesterday James had a baby, called Baby James (i think.. or maybe it was Belle - anyway quite a feat for a male horse).

Every day, after Sammy is dressed, breakfast eaten and teeth brushed, he goes to work. He gives Maria a kiss goodbye to which she replies "Bye Sam! Have a good day. Don't be too long!" Then he gives Bekah a kiss, then he says to me "Bye Mum, I'm off to work today. Going to help the poorly trees with Daddy. I've got my chain-sword. Love you! Bye!" Then he gives me a kiss and walks off into the lounge room where he fells a couple of lamps, climbs the couches and wanders around for a while. Then he comes back with an enthusiastic "Hello! I'm HOOOME! I helped the trees with Daddy."

Bekah is very nearly crawling. She gets up on all fours and rocks, shuffles around and can move backwards like a champion. She is an absolute dummy addict, and get so excited when she sees it after being parted for less than an hour. She can say 'Mum-mum-mum' and 'Dad-Dad-dada', 'whoooo', 'Bah-ba', and 'wah-wah-wah'. Her favourite toys are the giant Lightning McQueen cars Maria and Sam have, and she gets really cross and screams the house down if you take away anything she has. Often I see Sam frantically trying to shove a dummy into her mouth while looking extremely guilty after he has taken away a toy she's playing with. She adores the other two, and loves to be on the ground playing with them. She grins and laughs at all their silly antics, making her very popular with her siblings. I can't wait until she can crawl!

Baptismal Bliss

My little angles were firing on all cylinders today. We had a lovely time on Sunday - Rebekah was baptised at our church by Barry, Mark's Godfather from England. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was so special that Barry could do it. We missed Dave (Bekah's Godfather), however we know he was there is spirit. Caitlin (God Mummy) did the most spectacular job organising the music, and all the Haywood family did such a lovely job helping out with all the details. The weather was beautiful so we were able to have cake and nibbles a gorgeous park where the kids ate copious amounts of junk and ran wild for a few hours.
Maria was fascinated by water being poured over Bekah's head and asked if being baptised was a special way to wash little baby's hair.
Samuel was quite wild during the mass as usual. At the park I caught him wandering around with a lolly in each hand and his pockets stuffed with jelly snakes.
Bekah looked so beautiful in her lovely little white dress and pink bow. She was so sweet and despite having an attack of the tireds during the mass, coped very well with her big day.

After such a lovely, huge weekend, the little ones have been very tired. Today we had a rest day and splashed in puddles, watched movies and generally wreaked havoc as usual. Maria is a little confused and calls Bekah 'Rebekah Cake'. Samuel mixes up the words to Bob the Builder and instead of saying 'working together they get the job done' he sings 'working together they get the doctor.'
They both are into 'toilet words' at the moment - I am constantly reminding them that toilet words stay on the toilet. This gets confusing for them when on some shows people sing 'bum-bum-bum'. They giggle and say "Mum!! Playschool is singing toilet words!!" I've had to explain that a drum says bum-bum and that it isn't a toilet word. However, they have cottoned on and often say "You're a bum bum head! Bum bum like a drum mum not the toilet word!!"
Will have to get around to posting pics - have some really gorgeous ones.

Little time, Little Post

Just a quickie today - might even be bullet points.
* Sam and Maria have started calling Gloria (our bunny) 'the poor rabbit' or the 'poor little bunny', because that's what I call her! It's so funny. They say "Mum, can we go outside and see the poor rabbit?" or "Can we go and hold poor little rabbit?" They are not the most gentle kids with it, and so I'm always saying "Put her down!! It hurts her if you hold her by the tail/ear/foot! She's not a hat/shoe/belt etc! The poor rabbit!"
* There is a broken car up on bricks down the road from us, and we have to pull over and see it every time we pass in the car, and have long and involved conversations with it if we pass it on the way to the park. There is now a blue car that parks next to it sometimes, and out of the blue Sam has named it Matthew. So we have to go and see the broken car and Matthew.
* Bekah is almost crawling - she gets up on all fours and is doing the rock, so any day now we will have a mobile little mink! Then we'll know we're alive. She already moves a bit by shuffling - today I put her in the playroom while I vacuumed around her and she managed to end up under the kid's table gnawing on the chair leg.

Another Day, Another Blog!

Back again! A few more stories - tonight I'll focus on Sam.

Samuel is the most cheekiest, funniest, loveliest boy ever. He is a handful; never a day goes by without a 'Sam' incident. Tonight he has gone to bed without his Lightning McQueen (he's lost it again) but with a toy hack saw.

Keeping pants on Sam is also an achievement. He is all fully clothed, shoes and all, and the next time you look over he has stripped off his pants and is mooning some poor innocent bystander. Luckily in public I usually catch him before he bares all. He is pretty much toilet trained, however he prefers to wizzie the naturally - the mulch in the front garden seems to be his favourite place. Gives new meaning to free range parenting - Uncle Rowdy would be impressed.

He also loves our new pet, however he has been banned from picking Gloria up after I caught him handing her to Maria by the ear.

We like to play 'I-Spy' in the car - it has taken a bit of time for us to get the hang of. Maria used to say "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with p-p-p-p-p...FENCE!" We also always specify if it is inside the car or outside the car, as they would pick things that fly by the window and confuse everyone. The other day I was brushing my teeth and Sammy comes in and says in one breath, "I spy with my little eye, something that is...red. Is it inside the car or outside the car?Its outside the car. I know it's Lightning McQueen!"

There is more to say, but I think its time for sleep!! Have some lovely photos to post when I get a chance. Will try for tomorrow.

...just a side note, Bekah is started saying 'mum mum mum' today!!!!! So proud!
*hi pa :)*

Long Absence - Short post!

Sorry for the long delay in blogs. I think it's time for a little update of each of the kiddies!


Maria

Maria, as always, is angelic. She is the most caring, loving little girl. She is a 'miss fix-it' - if anything goes wrong, Maria is there with her creative ways of making it alright. Today I dropped a jar of marmalade on my toe - in rushed Maria with her highlighters and a flower sticker. Before I knew it she had 'fixed' it by colouring in my toenail and putting the sticker on my toe.

Maria always makes sure that Daddy has a little picture or a cut out with him when he goes to work at his teaching job. He is under strict instructions to show his friends then bring it back home. The other day we were at the fruit shop, and Maria made sure we brought a chocolate covered fruit bar for Daddy.

Maria loves Sammy - however this relationship is fraught with differences of opinions and property disputes. Usually peaceful dialogue disintegrates into arguments over Lightning McQueen's age, Baby Spirit's (a toy horse) actual favourite colour, and whether they are playing horses, cars or doggies.

Maria and Bekah seem to already have a 'sister' bond. They have their own little way of communicating. Bekah will talk and laugh at Maria's antics, and in return Maria will fetch things for her and make funny faces to make her laugh. When I picked Maria up from kinda-creche today, Bekah nearly fell our of my arms with excitement on seeing the kids. Maria seems to think that Bekah can understand her, and will often tell her off with an 'Oh Bekah! Don't take my toy you goose! Roll back over here!" Strangely enough Bekah seems to listen to her!

We also have a new member of the family. Gloria. She is a little fluffy little bunny who is much loved by all the kids, but especially by Maria. However, the feelings may not be mutual - Gloria is not really a fan of the trampoline, especially when Maria uses her a sun hat. The other day Maria had Gloria on the trampoline, when all of a sudden I hear a blood-curdling scream. I rush over and she cries "Gloria bit me! I don't want a bunny rabbit anymore, I WANT A GUINEA PIG!!!!"

There is much more the write, however seeing I am only really guaranteed another 2 hours before Bekah-boo is going to be demanding my presence, I might sigh off for now. Plan to update more tomorrow, starting with a charming 'eye-spy' episode.

Quiet as an Elephant

There is nothing like going to Mass on a Sunday evening with three lively little rascals in tow. They try to be good, but the prospect of sitting still for an hour is very difficult with so many things to look at and people to engage with.

This Sunday, however, there seemed to be more ants than usual in their pants. Maria kept making faces and laughing at her friends in the adjacent pew, Sam decided to practice his rhythmic gymnastics in the middle of the homily, and Bekah was imitating southern baptists and was adding her two cents 'amen' style at each pause.

I finally decided to take Maria and Sam outside right before the Eucharist to give the rest of the congregation some quiet time. They had a lovely time running around and climbing trees in the dark and cold.

Right before the 'Peace be With You', I took them to the door to head inside, and whispered "Ok kiddies, we need to be really quiet because it's praying time. Lets be quiet as little mice!" They liked this idea.

Unfortunately they took me literally and crawled into church up the aisles squeaking at the top of their voices. So much for quiet prayer time!

Painting the Town Yellow

Since my last blog there has been lots going on! Mark threw me a HUGE surprise party for my birthday! Was so lovely - had the best time. Mark is so thoughtful!! Lots of food, friends and kids.

Since then life has settled down back into the semi-predictable rhythm that characterises most homes with small children. Maria and Sam are both still recovering from such a fun-packed weekend, yet they are still colouring life brightly with their unique interpretations of beige everyday occurrences.

Yesterday, Sammy decided to toilet train himself. He woke up and announced to the world that he wanted to wee on the potty. Having discouraged the whole independent pee-peeing saga on the grounds of extra washing, I begrudgingly helped him organise himself and was mildly surprised when he succeeded in his endeavour.

Still not willing to entertain the thought of nappy-less Sammy, I put it down to a once off incident and went back to my thirty-seventh load of washing for the day. However, Samuel must have woken up on the 'toilet training' side of the bed that morning and throughout the day impressed me with multiple potty trips and only one very minor accident, despite outings and distractions.

Every toilet trip he declares his intentions and brings the fruits of his labour out to show us. Yesterday he even tried to empty it himself, but Mummy has reclaimed that joy after a potty full of wee-wee went splashing over the clean dishes when Sam missed the kitchen sink. He has yet to learn that in relation to potty-emptying, not all sinks are created equal.

Today he was dry all day and as you can see in the pics, very proud of himself.

Recently, Mum passed onto us a little round table made by her Dad back when I was born. I can remember drawing many pictures on that table. Maria really likes it. It is nice and low - Mum told her that I learnt to walk on that table. Maria likes it for morning tea time and for little tea parties. The other day I walk in and find her standing on the table. She says 'Look Mum! I'm learning to walk on the table like you did when you were little!'. I didn't have the heart to correct her!!

Bekah is still an absolute delight. I just want to hold her and kiss her all day - Daddy, Maria and Sam feel the same way. She is just beginning to roll over and is really getting into the little baby toys and rattles. In the car today, my 'favourite' song came on their kiddie CD, so I cranked the volume and belted out 'O When the Saints Came Marching In' with gusto. On the second run through I sung out "All together now!" and low and behold, Bekah-boo-bah joined in right on cue with lovely baby singing.

There never seems to be a bland day around here - always in technicolour.

Fabulous Evening Treat

All day we have been looking forward to the 'We have finally moved into the Brand New Workshop' BBQ that Daddy's boss very kindly decided to throw. Not only would there be trucks, chippers and chainsaws to look at, but lots of food and other children to harass.

Maria found a five foot 'stop and slow' sign and spent most of the evening trying to find people to stop. When she couldn't convince any of the adults in the workshop to stop more than once, she went out to the adjacent bike path and waved the thing at innocent bystanders. After nearly impaling a short sited bike rider jousting style, Mummy put an end to her traffic stopping days, distracting her with promises of impending ice cream.

Sammy with totally in his element. Huge trucks, tons of chainsaws and a big giant room with lots of echos for raah-ing. He alternated between playing soccer with Daddy and the boys, wearing a safetly helmet complete with ear muffs and visor, and entertaining himself and others with sagas about 'poorly trees' and how Daddy climbs with ropes. He also 'borrowed' a toy chainsaw off another little boy and spent a vast deal of time trying to fell a traffic cone.

Bekah spent the time playing pass the parsel from one person to another, then falling asleep in her pram. When we got home however, she really livened up. Ignoring Mummy and Daddy's attempts to talk to her, she had a very long and involved conversation with the bedpost.

All in all, a fantastic evening!

Bekah - The Flavour of the Day

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my page! Very exciting and encouraging. Been looking forward to adding to my 'diary' tonight.

Bekah seemed to be the hot favourite today. This morning Maria made her a tent while she sat in her swing, and Sam decided to play cars with her. The tent consisted of a blanket over the top of our mechanical swing, and playing cars consisted of Sam 'Ka-chow Ka-powing' his Lightning McQueen little matchbox car in her face. I tried to distract them in vain and all attempts of explaining that Bekah is too little to play cars and to camp out in tents resulted in deaf ears.

Sam then decided to sing her a song - 'Bananas in Pajamas....stairs. Bananas in Pajamas....stairs.' She quite enjoyed it until '....stairs' became feet through the playpen and very close to her face. Maria then took charge, booted Sam out of the way and very kindly hung up some of Bekah's toys on the side of the playpen with pipe cleaners. However, the weight of the toy and the load bearing capacity of the pipe cleaner were not taken into consideration and the hanging toys very quickly became floor toys again.

Ever serene Bekah patiently bore her siblings attempts to 'play' with her, egging them on with big smiles and laughs. Mummy on the other hand had to end the bonding session after she foiled attempts at a playpen coup when she noticed Sam trying to scale the walls and Maria assessing how to tunnel in.

My Brand New Blog!

Welcome to my brand new blog! It is very exciting. I plan to use this page to record some of the funny things the little ones say, and as a way for the overseas/interstate family members to be able to experience the kiddies growing up. So without further ado, here is Wednesday July 8th!

Today Maria decided she wanted to get married. So she dragged Sam into the living room where I was feeding Bekah and tried to teach him how to waltz. As you well know, a groom isn't really a groom if he can't waltz. So after a few minutes of 'Sam! Put your hand here! Go on - move like this!' Sam typically got bored and went to 'help the poorly trees' (really the venetian blinds) with Lightning McQueen and his 'chainsaw' (a green peg).

Maria would not have a bar of this. With big tears splashing down her face, she tried desperately to convince me to put Sam in time out for not marrying her, or to talk him round to the idea of matrimony and waltzing. I tried to explain that Sam was already her brother, and that he couldn't also be her husband. I said she could marry Bekah. Maria very hotly replied that she can't marry Bekah because she was not only a baby, but a girl baby, and that she can't even walk let alone dance like married people do.
I then suggested she could marry Daddy when he got home. This sent her running in tears to her bedroom because I (unfairly and unjustly) had already married Daddy and therefore he was off the market and obviously couldn't marry her. I then told her that maybe she hadn't met the man she was going to marry yet, to which she replied, 'When I find a man, the man I am going to marry, I will let you look after my kids, but I'm taking Bekah and Sam with me, so you better have more kids then.'
All through this Sam was very carefully and tactically staying out of the way.