Ready for church and other random stuff

Here's Beka all ready for church yesterday. Isn't she too cute?

We are heading to Brisbane tomorrow with Shane and Marlana to do the US consulate passport/birth certificate thing. That's a 4.5 hour trip there and then the two appointments and then the return trip home. Should be interesting. Then on Friday we are heading to Toowoomba to spend the weekend with our friends, the Caudells. I think Jess and I will get to spend some time at Spotlight so that should be fun. It will be nice to catch up with them. The girls are very excited.

So not sure how much blogging I'll be doing this week. Hope everyone has a great week. =)

It's here!!

Yay!! my couch has arrived. Funny thing though, I was in the midst of making cinnamon rolls so I had dough all over my hands and my cute new apron on. The guys gave me funny looks. Hey, at least I wasn't wearing my pj's like a couple hours earlier when Floyd stopped by. =)

Anyway, the couch...isn't it gorgeous? I love it. It is suede with a print on it to make it look like really old worn in leather. It is so soft. Catie thinks the print makes it look like plastic and couldn't understand how plastic could feel so soft. =) oh, and the cool thing?? the chaise can be on either side. And, as an aside, the colour probably is best represented in the top photo.

Last night we moved the single chair we had in this room out to the front room, then we moved the computer to where the chair was and the tv to the place the computer had been. I scrubbed the floor under the previous places of both the desk and tv. Mom, you should be proud. I did it by hand not with the mop. =) Anyway, everything looks all lined up around the walls but I think there isn't much other way to do it.

I'm going to go watch a movie, I think . I might do something useful like fold laundry while watching but then again I might just sit and enjoy. =)

Have a good weekend!

Guess what??

we bought a couch!! we bought a couch!!

Now I'm off to tidy the room, move the furniture and then clean under the stuff that never gets moved. YAY!!!

I'll show you pics after it is delivered tomorrow afternoon!!

**think I'm excited?? look at all the exclamation points. =)

which sesame street character are you??

Your result for The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test ...

Bert

You scored 75% Organization, 55% abstract, and 59% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.

Here is why are you Bert.

You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Bert is a big neat freak and gets quite annoyed when Ernie makes a big mess.

You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Bert is probably a bit more concrete in his bottlecap collecting addiction and his love of the weather. He does show his abstract side when he sings and performs his "Doin' The Pidgeon" song. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.

You are both somewhat introverted. Bert is probably more introverted, because he spends most of his time either with Ernie or alone. Still he has no problem being around other people in his role as chairman of "The National Association of 'W' Lovers." Like Bert, you probably like to have some time to yourself, but you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations

Haha, This gave me the giggles. I'm not sure about the VERY organized part of that. although I guess I do know where something is even if it happens to be covered in a pile of something. And I do prefer things to be neat and I do like to clean when I'm angry. And It does bother me when people mess up what I've cleaned. =)

Which character are you?

Apron swap

I got home from errands today to find a box on my front porch. I opened it up and what did I find??? My apron from the apron swap. I was so excited. I love the apron. It's green and blue paisley with a big green ruffle and green trim and ties. so cute. I just had to take a photo and didn't even wait for Josh to come home. So yes, you see the mirror frame in the top of the photo and can tell that I am balancing on the edge of the bathtub because there are no full length mirrors in my home. =)


And not only did Sandy send an adorable apron she also sent a Utah specialty, Salt Lake City salt water taffy. YUMMY!!!

She also mentioned in her note that she has three daughters with names very similar to my girls. Isn't that neat? Thanks Sandy!!

Iced chocolate ala Josh

So, I have recently discovered the wonderful world of iced chocolate. McCafe does a pretty good one. And so does the little cafe at Bunnings. Last night I was wanting either a coke or an iced chocolate so I asked Josh to get one on his way home from a job he was doing last night. Well, Josh instead shows up with groceries--whole milk from Pauls not the store brand cheap stuff I buy =) , fine drinking chocolate, Pauls (or maybe Peters?) vanilla ice cream again not the cheap stuff I buy, and whipped cream from a can. We already had Hershey's chocolate syrup in the fridge thanks to mom. Then he set about making me an iced chocolate ala Josh.

This is the end result of what he made. Looks yummy, yes?

But when I complained about the lack of a nice picture he said the problem was that it wasn't made to look nice in a photo. So he offered to make another one that looked better. =) So here's the good photo!!

He says that to match the cost of getting them from McDonald's we have to make at least 4 from the supplies he brought home. Considering it was 3 litres of milk and 5 litres of ice cream I don't think that will be a problem. but just in case maybe I should go make one for breakfast. =)

By the way, they tasted way better than any other I have had. Must be the extra ingredient--LOVE!! =)

bloomin'

who woulda thought that the first thing to bloom in my newly planted garden would be one of the strawberry plants? And the bloom is pink not white. Gorgeous don't you think?

for Adreyn

Catie got a chance to "chat" with her cousin Adreyn last week. As soon as Adreyn signed off to go to bed the girls set to drawing some pictures for Adreyn. She had told Catie that she was wearing her pink nightie with monkeys on it so Catie drew a picture of her getting ready for bed with her nightie on (bottom left pic). Catie says that Adreyn doesn't have her glasses on in that picture because she took them off for bed. Catie also drew the middle right picture. You can't really see all of it but it is Adreyn on a horse led by Uncle Jason. Tristan and Rehanyn are playing in the front of them. I asked why Aunt Tanya wasn't in the picture and Catie said she was inside making dinner. Then she drew Aunt Tanya in behind Adreyn and says she has sandwiches in her hands for them.
Beka obviously drew the pic on the top left. I'm not sure what it is. She isn't really into drawing and colouring.
Emma drew the top right and middle left pictures. The top picture is of Adreyn and the middle picture is of Adreyn and Emma and a butterfly.

Emma

So, thought I'd upload some pics. In the top mosaic you can see Emma working in the trampoline. I told the girls to go outside and draw something from nature with their water colour pencils. When I checked on them a couple minutes later I found Catie at the table but Emma was drawing away in the trampoline. She cracks me up.

The next mosaic is pics Josh took of Emma when she put her pants on backwards. The bright white bit is not an attempt to cover up her plumbers crack but rather her undies and the tag.

And the last mosaic is showing pics from when Emma decided to crawl into the tv cabinet, just to be silly.

She really is a silly, fun-loving, marches to the beat of her own drum kind of girl. And we love her even more for it.

HMMMMMM.......

so I use this Method tub + tile cleaner that is eucalyptus and mint. I love it. Everything smells so clean but not chemically clean. Apparently the ants love it too though. This picture was taken five minutes after I cleaned the inside of the tub. Those aren't spots I forgot to clean, those are ants. they come down from the window (which has yellow curtains incidentally which is why some of the tub looks yellow rather than white. at least that's what I figure because my tub actually looks all white in person.) you can see them come down the tile over the edge of the tub and they are all congregating down at the bottom near the little ledge/seat thing. very weird.

**edited to add: If you click on the picture and enlarge it you can definitely see the ants.

the light at the end of the tunnel

Well, the girls are almost over their colds. After three days of rest Josh seems to be on the mend as well. The girls are all happily playing. They seem back to their more-normal-not-so-grouchy-mostly-happy selves. And so I leave you with these pictures that Grandma took when the girls stayed with her two weeks ago. Doesn't she take fabulous photos?? Thanks Gwen.

tomato/tomahto

So, I haven't written in a couple days. Sick kids, sick hubby. LONG week!! =) Anyway, I can't think of anything exciting to write. but then I thought maybe some of you might be amused to learn some Aussie phrases and stuff. so, here's a few Aussie-isms for ya:

• "brekkie"-breakfast-We had toast for brekkie this morning.
• "sunnies"-sunglasses-I finally found my sunnies this morning.
• "Brissy" (said with a z sound)-Brisbane-We're going to Brissy in two weeks.
• "Aussie" (again said with a z sound)-Australian-I'm an official Aussie as of last November.
• "zed"-z-A B C D.....X Y Zed
• "Good on ya"-Good for you
• "Mate"-Friend-Good on ya, Mate
• "Sheila"-Woman-Look at that sheila over there
• "Bloke"-Guy-He's a good Aussie bloke
• "How ya goin'?"-How are you?-How ya goin' Mum?
• "Mum"-Mom
• "Mozzies"-mosquitos-The mozzies are pretty bad tonight
• "ankle-biters","nippers"-children
• "G'day"-Hello
• "fair dinkum"-that's the truth or said as a question, is that true?
• "chock-a-block"-totally full-Lake Allom is chock-a-block with turtles.
• "she'll be right, mate"-it'll be fine, friend
• "barbie"-Barbecue-We do not throw shrimp on the barbie
• "prawn"-from what I can tell almost exactly the same thing as a shrimp
• "cocky"-cockroach
• "avo" or "arvo"-afternoon-We're going to the doctor this avo.
• "trolley"-shopping cart
• "petrol"-fuel for your car
• "fourbie"-4x4/SUV
• "pram"-stroller
• "nappy"-diaper
• "nurse"-hold/cuddle-This one freaked me out because people would ask to have a nurse of my baby and nursing meant something different to me.
  
• "tinny"-small (I assume) tin boat

Well, that's all I can think of for now. do you feel like you've had an education? Hee Hee.

I think Emma has an ear infection so we are truly off to the doctor's this afternoon. hopefully all will be well. Might have him check the other girls' chests since their cough has gotten kinda yucky. Here's hoping you all stay healthy. =)

man, I feel old

okay, as I recall I was 14 when Jonathan was born. Can he really be turning 17 this year?? Where has time gone? And is this boy too cute for his own good or what?

I took the picture off Cari Sauvageot's facebook page. It was taken a couple weeks ago at Internationals.

More Randomness

So Happy Father's Day to my dad. (not to Josh since our Father's Day isn't until September). loved the pics of you getting wet at Sea World, Dad. If anyone else wants to see them go check out Tanya's blog. I did better with Father's Day than Mother's Day because I am telling Dad Happy Father's Day and I actually had the girls do up little cards for him. However, those cards are still waiting to be mailed. Sorry, Dad. Hopefully this week. And sorry Mom that I forgot Mother's Day. I really do love you and appreciate you!! =)

The girls have been a bit sick this week with colds. We were planning on church this morning but once I heard them do the big hacking cough and saw the snot running from their noses I decided that wouldn't be a wise idea. Josh has been sick this week as well with a UTI so I left them home with him. I told him that after a week of sick kiddies and a sick husband I just needed to leave my house. So I went to Sunday school and church by myself. Wow, it was so nice to listen to the sermon and take notes. The girls are pretty good in church but they can be very distracting. After church I picked up some Hungry Jack's (Burger King) and brought it home. As I turned the corner into our little development I met Josh and the girls just coming home from a walk. We have a school about 5 minutes walk away and Josh takes the girls there and lets them play on the playground. So I picked them up and drove them home.

At this moment, Catie and Emma are supposedly resting in their room but it sounds more like playing. Josh is asleep in our room and Beka is asleep in her room. So I'm enjoying my alone time and sitting here at the computer catching up on blogs and eating ice cream with some of Josh's peanut M&Ms. (shhh, don't tell him. I'll buy him some more.)

Had something exciting happen yesterday. Well, I was excited but you probably won't be. I have been looking for shirts and decided to look in Target yesterday while we were at the mall getting Josh's antibiotics. I found a shirt I loved (surprise #1) and it was on sale from $44.99 down to $18.87 (surprise #2). And then best surprise of all, when I got to the register it was marked down even further to $13.20!! How cool is that? We went to Rivers after that and I got two more shirts which were on sale for $10 each. So I got three shirts for less than the original price of the first shirt!! Very exciting in my life!! =)

There you go, Tanya, I put up another post. Moved your picture down the line a little =). I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget to call your dad and don't call him collect. =)

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my big sister Tanya!! hope you're having fun in San Antonio!! love you

and a Happy Birthday to Susan!! We miss you and can't believe it's still two months until we see you again! Hope you're enjoying your time over in the States. Every time I make tuna noodle casserole the girls ask if you're coming over to babysit =).

Plants

So for homeschooling today we did plants. We went to Bunnings to buy some roses and ended up with daisies, snowpeas and strawberries as well. I found the rose I've been wanting. The "Mr. Lincoln". And then the girls each picked a rose. Catie picked purple, Emma picked pink and Beka wanted white.

So now my front garden has 7 roses, 3 daisies and a gerbera, a carnation (I can't make myself pull it up as it was the only one that made it out of 4 I planted last year sometime), 2 strawberries, 6 snowpeas and 7 pansies. oh yeah, and some aloe.

Then using our new oil pastels and watercolors we did drawing/paintings of a plant including it's root system underground.

We had a very fun day and I am seriously addicted to water colour painting. too bad I'm not any good. =)

Friends

We had some friends come visit yesterday. Catie and Emma got a chance to hold little William. Now requests for a new baby have started anew in our household. =)

Happy Birthday Tristan!!

I can't believe you've grown so big!! You were still little last time we saw you. This picture is from your birthday two years ago when we got to see you. I hope you have a great time on your vacation. We love you!

God's promise

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Genesis 9:13, 14 & 16

Goodies from Grammy!

This is what my family room floor looked like last night after the girls helped me unpack my suitcase from my mom/Grammy. We had so much fun going through everything. And I kept burying my nose in the clothes and saying how much it smelled like Mom's house. And now the girls keep saying that too. It smells so good. It was like Christmas here last night. Even some Christmas decorations!! I love finding stuff on sale =)

See that innocent looking face?? Don't believe it for a second. He is an evil man!! He called me at 2:00 yesterday to say that the team had arrived back in Hervey Bay and he had my suitcase from Mom. That's all he called to say. AND he wouldn't bring it home. He said I had to wait!!! Evil I tell you!! =)

Anyway, thanks Mom for the stuff. Thanks for the extra stuff that I didn't even ask for. I'm pretty sure the money I sent didn't cover everything so thank you heaps and heaps.

Well, I'm off to take the girls to Grandma's, have a look at a new couch and then get my home ready for a nice ladies evening. I can't wait. I'll try to take pictures too.

Have a great weekend!

Snacks and Rejects

okay, I so had to laugh when I read this on a blog on the Wondertime website today

Like when Birdy spies me grabbing a quick bite of, say, peanut butter spread on a cracker — I mean, she could be pumping her legs on a swing two counties away and her internal "Mama's eating her own private snack" siren would blare — and she beetles over to ask politely, "Oooh, can I have a taste of that?" And of course she can, but I might hold it out towards her with a small, grudging sigh that means, "I daily prepare and feed you twenty trillion meals and still you need a bite of my one cracker the size of a poker chip?"

Does that happen to anyone else? I'll have fed the kids a bazillion things and when I have one little thing to eat they all want to taste it. Today we met my friend Roseanne and 4 of her boys at McDonald's for morning tea. It ended up being breakfast for us because it wasn't even 9 in the morning and it was just easier that way. I got hotcakes and juice for each of the girls. That's three big pancakes each. I had one bacon and egg mcmuffin. And my mcmuffin got cold by the time I buttered, cut and syruped pancakes for 3 little girls. I didn't even finish my food by the time Catie and Emma were done and standing by me saying, "Can I have a little bite of your hamburger thingy?" Of course I gave them a bite but seriously??? They ate more than I did. And still said they were hungry. I think they were actually eyeing off the frozen cokes that the boys were drinking. I distracted them instead with the playground. =)

We did a bit of shopping this morning after our morning tea and taking some food to Daddy at work. One of the shops is named The Reject Shop. Makes you want to shop there doesn't it?? It's all the overstock and stuff big stores couldn't sell and now you can buy cheap. But really, couldn't they have come up with a better name?? And does that make us rejects because we shop there??

Beka

Here's a little video of Beka singing. She starts with the ABC's but then switches to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

And you can hear Emma start singing the ABC's in the background

JUNE???? already?!?!?!?

well, here in Australia yesterday was the first day of winter. It was actually cool enough that we wore long sleeves to church and didn't roast. Today however is a different matter. We are all wearing shorts and t-shirts, opening windows and doors and turning on the fans. The sun is finally out after 4 straight days of rain. I heard that we had 12 inches of rain over those 4 days. so even though the sun is out I don't think I'll be sending the girls outside. Still very soggy out. BUT I finally got to hang clothes out on the line and think they'll get dry today. so maybe those towels that have been on the line since Wednesday will finally get dry too.

Saturday night we had the young adults come over. That was good fun. Originally we thought maybe Shane and Marlana could come but that didn't work out. I asked Glenys if maybe we could do breakfast as something a little different. However, I forgot how much single childless people treasure their Saturday mornings. =) So we decided to have breakfast for dinner. Which turned out better as I had all day to prepare. So we had pancakes with toppings (ice cream, cream, apple and cinnamon pie filling, chocolate, strawberry and caramel toppings, maple syrup) cinnamon rolls, bacon, mini quiches and fresh fruit salad. It was yummy!! We just sat around and ate and talked then Josh had devotions. One of the couples stayed here until midnight which was really nice to be able to have some one on one time with them. All in all it was a great night but I forgot to take pictures.

This week we have our regular library story and activity time on Tuesday and then on Saturday a bunch (dare I say "gaggle") =) of ladies are coming over for a dessert evening. I'm very excited about this and really looking forward to it. Another thing I'm looking forward to is the group getting back from America. They should have a suitcase packed full of stuff by my mom for me!! I can't wait. I've been trying to remember what books I ordered and sent to mom and what food I asked her to get. It'll be like Christmas. Speaking of Christmas I'm getting in the mood for Christmas, it must be that cooler weather. Hopefully I'll be able to use that to get some of the handmade pressies made.

Well, enough rambling for one day. Hope all is well with you and yours. Have a great week.