Blogg-ed Issue

We did something a bit different for Easter this year.  Or maybe that should be I forced everyone to do something a bit different for Easter this year.

First, we got together on the Saturday, not Friday or Sunday

Second, I only put on sandwiches for lunch.  No big spread.  Nice sandwiches, but just sandwiches.  Oh, and hot cross buns (of course)!

Third, we invited a couple of extra people – Aunty Kathy and Uncle Peter

Fourth, no one was getting away with being a wall flower, not even me!

We made Easter Bonnets!!!

I do have more photos of people wearing their bonnets, but I wasn’t too sure how everyone would feel about the photos being out there for the whole wide world to see!  So (parents) if you’re happy for me to put you out there, let me know!

We also had an awesome Easter Egg hunt, but I think we’ve already got enough photos.

Thanks to Skip to My Lou for the table setting printables, and LottieLuLu via Crafty Crow for the bonnet inspiration.

Can you believe it?  I can’t!

Jos is one month old today.

And he’s chubbing up at an alarming rate.

From this:

To this:

And now for some recent Cayleyisms

* Brett received a Batman t-shirt for his birthday and Cayley refers to him as ‘Matman’.  Thing is there arefour or five pictures of him – transitioning from Bruce Wayne to a fully fledged Batman.  While I was in hospital Brett had the kids at church and Cayley was sitting on his lap pointing to each one and saying “Matman” over and over again.
* While on the topic of church, our pastor’s name is Matt… Cayley calls him Map.
* She can’t say parrot, it comes out carrot.  We have a whole routine.

Person X: Cayley, say parrot.

Cayley: Carrot

Person X: Cayley, say “p”.

Cayley: p

Person X: Cayley, say “p” “p” parrot

Cayley: “p” “p” carrot

* Today she got a papercut on her finger and it was bleeding all over the place.  Now, I have strange children who, get this, do not like bandaids.  But she needed one because everything she was touching was getting blood stained and the bleeding wasn’t stopping.  And the dramatics, oh my!  I managed to get one on her finger and then distract her with some very cute Flickr pictures.  At dinner time we took the bandaid off.  The bleeding had stopped, but the dramatics started up again.  She insisted (and if you know Cayley, you’ll know what I mean by insisted) she needed a “bambaib”.  Because we are not in the habit of using bandaids for our children we had to scrape the bottom of the barrell to fulfill her request demand, this involved Brett cutting a specially shaped knuckle bandaid so he could put it on her finger.  Even as he was applying said bandaid she was declaring, “Don’t like bambaib”, and it was removed as soon as it was put on.

Turns out she wanted her pretend bandaid from her doctor’s kit.

Which… is designed to be worn on the wrist.  It stopped the dramatics though.

Until it fell off, then they started again until it was put back on.

I am thankful!

* I am thankful for Jos, for the gift that he is to us and the joy he brings us.  That he has been for the most part such an easy going baby.
* I am thankful for the conversationss I’ve had with Brett tonight since he got home from work.  I love talking to him.
* I am thankful that Elisha could go on a shopping adventure with Nan and Pop to get some of the stuff that he needs for kindy.  That he could have that special attention with someone.  And thankful that my mum is going to take him out on another adventure to get the rest of what he needs.
* I am thankful for Elisha’s kindy teacher who took the time to call and let me know of a meeting on Wednesday that I wouldn’t get a note about til Tuesday.
* I am thankful for the Lost Sheep series of books which we’re slowly buying for the kids.

Elisha had his first day at ‘big’ kindy today.

I think he was a little sad that he was not going back to Stepping Out and the friends he’d made and his wonderful teachers, but he was glad to be getting back into doing kindy stuff.

When we (Brett, Cayley, Jos and I) got back from dropping Elisha at kindy I said to Brett as he was leaving that it was going to be interesting seeing how Cayley went entertaining herself while I had to look after Jos.  She’s used to having Elisha around to play with.

Shall we say she did just fine!

I gave her some fruit for morning tea and she got her hands filthy, so we washed them.  As Cayley often does she hadn’t finished the fruit, so I left the water in the basin so that she could clean them again if she needed to.  And have a bit of a splash around in, that’s always fun.

I can’t remember exactly what I was doing around the house but I realised that Cayley was pretty quiet.

She was washing her electronic, battery-operated squirrel (okay, I know it’s a chipmunk but she and Elisha call it a squirrel).  Fortunately I caught her before he got too drenched.

We swapped the squirrel/chipmunk for a more suitable toy.

She had so much fun.  She used most of her doll’s ‘blankies’ as towels for the baby – washing and drying, and I used a couple of real towels to mop up the mess on the floor all around the house.  The baby fills with water and leaks it everywhere.  It was so worth the enjoyment she got from it though.

I just hope she isn’t getting ideas of trying it out with her little brother next time!  I say that because later on in the afternoon she and Elisha were busily breastfeeding dolls!

I am so thankful

* that we live so close to kindy and we can all walk over together in the mornings
* that Elisha seems to have had fun today
* that Cayley coped so well without her companion
* that Brett’s work is flexible enough he can join us for these special occassions
* for our yummy salad dinner tonight.  Have I ever mentioned I make a mean potato salad?  Should share the recipe some time.

How to pick what to post about.  Shall I try for everything!

See if you make it to the end.

Started out the day bright and early.  I was up and ready to go grocery shopping by 8 am.  Gives me confidence we may in fact make it to Elisha’s first day of kindy on time.

It was the first time I’d been grocery shopping in about 5 weeks.  I hadn’t missed it at all.  Though the enjoyment factor had multiplied seeing as I am not pregnant any longer.

Went for morning tea at the house of one of Elisha’s new kindy classmate’s house.  Another classmate joined us.

For the most part all the children played together well.  There was one small incident that stood out, and on the walk home, I decided to use it as an object lesson.

“Elisha, I said, “Today when ___ and ___ were in the cubby and weren’t letting you in or letting you play with them how did that make you feel?”

*Shrug*

“Did it make you feel sad, or lonely?”  He’d looked so folorn and unsure, standing there by himself, barred from the cubby and no friend by his side.  Or maybe he was just feeling awkward because the other childrens’ mums were trying to right the wrong and exact apologies.

“No.”

Object lesson shot down.

My idea to make dinner more palatable.

Elisha went for it.  Cayley at the mouth.

Oh, and the tongue.

After dinner Cayley and Elisha were having a jump on our bed… or so I thought.

Cayley came out at one stage with a pack of my ‘feminine hygeine’.  I asked her to take it back to the en suite and put it away.  Which she did… or so I thought.

I mentioned to Brett that it is a bit ironic such an item is packaged in what looks very much like wrapping paper.  A present.  I thought I’d blog about THAT… or so I thought.

I did also have a brief thought that perhaps instead of putting it away she might start pulling EVERYTHING out of the en suite cupboards.  But then I heard her and Elisha playing on the bed.  “Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee… it’s snowing.”  I pictured the the two of them jumping on the bed, throwing ‘snow’ pillows at each other… or so I thought.

Suddenly… “OH! Cayley!”

Image shattered.

Then Cayley comes running down the hall with further peaceful image shattering evidence clinging to her.

“Snow”

And… the evidence…

* I am thankful that this morning proved I can be up and ready on time fairly early in the morning.
* I am thankful that Elisha got to meet two of his classmates for the year today
* I am thankful for the ability to laugh and the antics of my children.
* I am thankful for my children who have antics I can laugh at.
* I am thankful that Elisha can go to kindy tomorrow… and I mean this in the nicest possible way.