Thursday, August 30, 2012

Argh!

Hey Friends!  Here is Ollie, ready to watch dance class!  I think he enjoys the music and all the cutie little girlies :)  Surrounded by women..poor little guy!  ha! 
Destiny, all dressed up for dance!  She wanted to wear her costume from her last dance performance!  So cute!  She tells me that she doesn't like the new song they are dancing to, but she gets out there and gives it her all at each dance class.
Last weekend, we attended two costume birthday parties.  The first was a super hero theme.  Destiny was hilarious and went as "Birthday Girl".  She has a shirt that says "Birthday Girl" on it...slap on a cape and there ya go!  Addi put on her Halloween skirt...I'm not so sure what super hero she was!?!  The next day, we all wore our best pirate gear and even had multiple tattoos!  What a fun weekend! The girls have played "pirates" multiple times since the party.  Argh!

Speaking of fun weekends, my cousin arrives today and I can't wait to hit the ground running once she gets here!  She will be landing in Sydney shortly and then headed off to Canberra!  I am so excited to see her lovely face!

Enjoy today!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Book Week

Hey Friends!  Last week was book week here in Canberra.  Destiny was so excited because she got to dress up as her favorite character in a book.  She chose Sleeping Beauty.
During school, they had a special book week parade.  All of the children who were dressed up got to show off their special costumes.
The day ended up being extra special for Destiny, because she got to be the special helper in her class!  She was so excited.  She tells me who the special helper was each day when she comes home. So, being the special helper was a BIG deal to her!  She loved helping the teacher by writing on the board and playing the tambourine to signal each time they changed activities. 

Enjoy today!

P.S. Dad is home and feeling a bit better!  yay!
and my cousin arrives tomorrow!  double yay!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Dancy dance

Hey Friends!  Some times I think the name of this blog should be "dance pictures" or "watch my girls dance".  The truth is, we are at the dance studio twice a week, so we have TONS of dance pictures.  Plus, I just can't get enough of my little cuties in their tutus!  What do ya think Oliver is going to think of all of this!?!  On Monday, he held his head up high for a LONG time and watched his sissy dance!  He's getting stronger each day!
Addi, shaking her hips to the music!
The girlies lining up to start their routine!  Addi had her friend Jasmine along to dance class.
They are too cute for words!

It's a beautiful day in our neighborhood; how is yours?  Mine started out with Ollie sleeping for 6 hours in a row!  woo!  I got a nice run in and then a walk with Dusty and now I'm sipping a smoothie as I blog!  Life couldn't get much better than this!  Oh wait, yes it can...my best friend/cousin is arriving in two days!  I can't wait for our fun adventures, but in the mean time, you can find me cleaning up the house and getting ready for her arrival! 

Enjoy today!

A quick congrats to my sweet cousin MaryAnn and the new addition of baby Lily Anna to her family!

Also, continued prayers for my dad would be appreciated.  He is still in the hospital and not feeling very well.  (It's hard to be so far away!)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Happy Monday morning, friends!  The other day, I caught my oldest daughter acting like a dog.  Her and Dusty have a special bond...one that I don't understand.  Being the older sister, Dusty has taught Destiny a thing or two.  An example: every time Destiny gets out of the swimming pool, she shakes the water off like a dog.  I smile every time!
Like Dusty, Destiny has taught Addi a thing or two!  Addi wants to be just like her big sis, curlers in her hair to make it curly like Destiny's!
The other day, we got a special package in the mail with some fun gifts all the way from an auntie in North Dakota! 
They were shocked to see "diamonds" in their special packages!  Thanks, Auntie Barb!
 
Speaking of family from North Dakota.  I would appreciate some prayers sent up for my dad.  He is currently in the hospital fighting an infection in his foot. 
 
Enjoy today!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Things that make me happy

Baby sunglasses
peek-a-boo toes
Poppies!
Playing doctor!  It's a happy weekend over here!  How's yours going?
 
Enjoy today!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Accomplish Much

Hey Friends!  Lately the blog has been more about our newest addition to the family.  Today it's time to talk about the girlies and their newest accomplishments!  Addi has started dance class (on her own) this term!  She is loving it and does so well.  Her favorite part: the splits :)  She puts her toes up and her head on the floor (Who cares if her knees are bent!)
A bonus for me; I get to see my little cutie in her tutu once a week! It's so fun to see all the little girlies rockin' their tutus!
Destiny has been busy at school.  She was so excited to be receiving an award at the BIG school assembly. 
2 children in her class received awards; her award was for her "continued effort and quality work in her Drawing Book tasks".  The drawing book is a journal that they keep in class that includes different things they are learning about.
She was so proud!  It was fun to be a part of such a neat assembly! 
 
We are coming into the weekend here!  I am so excited for some rest and relaxation (and 2 birthday parties to attend!) 
 
Enjoy today!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Getting Acquainted

Hey Friends!  How's your day?  The last month has been so much fun as we have been getting acquainted with our newest family member.  I love the floppy head stage.  In the above picture, Ollie is wrapped up in his comfy, cozy cocoon and swinging away in his swing. 
Here is Ollie at 2 weeks old.
Ollie plus his Wombat (we need a name for the wombat...suggestions?)
All stretched out for a snooze in his vibrating seat.
Me, catching some zzzzz's with the boy.  Obviously, some one is not getting enough sleep lately!
Addi cuddling her baby brother.
Cuddles for my sweet Ollie.  He sure is a helping...he wants to be right where the action is (in my arms...ALL THE TIME!)
Destiny reading a book to Ollie.
Hugs for sissy. 
 
Enjoy today!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Chopped Challenge Take 3

Hello Friends!  Sorry, it's been a while, but I've been having some computer/blogspot issues lately.  I am back and better than ever (well, maybe)!  Today I have some posts about my recent eats.  The above picture shows my basic "diet" each day.  Mother's milk tea, green smoothie, and water, water, water!  yummm!  On days that Matt makes up something really yummy, I consider myself very lucky.  The other day he made us some super yummy stuffed french toast.  This is one of our favorite things on the menu at a diner that we used to frequent in Washington state.
Stuffed French Toast :)  Even though we have been VERY busy to say the least, we decided to take on the extra fun of doing another chopped challenge.  I've posted about our other two chopped challenges, but I'll remind you what we do.  We start with 4 ingredients, hidden in a basket.  You must use those four surprise ingredients within the course that you are making.  Another part of the challenge is you only have 40 minutes to make up a complete course that will be judged on creativity, use of all the ingredients, and plating.
Matt opening his basket.
He found: Turkey legs, Minute brown rice, turnips, and lemons
Matt had his work cut out for him!
Turkey legs...ready to go!  Do you think they'll cook in 40 minutes on the grill?????  NOPE! 
The end product was turkey with various veggies in a spicy sauce served with rice!  It tasted better than it looked ;)

Now it's my turn to make dessert.

In my basket, peanut butter, scotch biscuits, hot chocolate packets, and dried paw paw
Here it is folks:  peanut butter paw paw truffles (one dusted with hot chocolate mix and the other dusted in crushed biscuit and topped with a peanut butter cocoa sauce), hot chocolate + wine in the shot glass with a peanut butter chocolate dipped scotch biscuit to dunk in the hot chocolate. 
As always, we had a blast being creative in the kitchen!  Come visit me and I'll challenge you to a kitchen duel.

Enjoy today!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

sweet baby boy

It's finally Friday!  My baby boy is officially 4 weeks old at 5:18 PM.  It didn't take him long to discover that fingers are pretty awesome to suck on! 
My cuddly little bub!  He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz at birth and now is over 9 lbs!  Good boy!
As a tradition, I take a picture of my kiddos with a certain stuffed animal or in a certain chair for each month of their first year, to show how fast they grow.  Ollie's animal of choice: the wombat!  How fitting! 
Little piggies!
Daddy is so happy to finally have his little boy!  Just last night Matt said to me, "I hope Ollie is into guy things...like working in the garage and working with wood."  My response, "Now that you are hoping for that, he's going to be into things like tap shoes and jazz hands."  After a bit of a pause, Matt answered, "I think Ollie and I will run away the first time I find him wearing tap shoes." 
I think Matt is excited to have more testosterone in the house; after all, he's been surrounded by estrogen for over 5 years now! 

It's the weekend over here and we are so excited for some R & R (if that's possible!). 

Enjoy today!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Vacay!


Hello Friends!  These are the last of the Sydney pictures...I promise {maybe}.  The yard by our guest house was so beautiful!  It was filled with a rainbow of colors!
The view wasn't too shabby either!  You can nearly see the beach :)
The front door leading into the lodge.
Dusty snoozing in the sun! 
It's so fun to have a baby brother!  The girls ask every day to have a special moment holding him!
Addi holding her BabyDear and baby brother at the same time!
Ollie showing off his "cool" muscles to Auntie Bekki!  Thanks for the onesie!

I'll end this post with a silly story called "The Conversations of Sleep Deprived Parents".
Last night, Matt got home from a long day at work and said, "I can't believe Oliver is almost 3 weeks old."
My response, "Ollie is almost 4 weeks old."
Time flies!!!!  We are enjoying every minute of it!

Enjoy today!