Winter soccer wrap up

The winter soccer season is now officially over.  All games have been played and all presentation days have been attended.  This is how we all finished up.

 

Henry's team had a great year.  They won all their games but two, with one draw and one loss.  Henry improved his dribbling skills and turned out to be quite a team player.  He was great at passing to his team mates and always had enthusiasm to play.  He wasn't one for getting in and fighting for the ball, but he was very good at finding space and being free to score goals.  Not sure on his exact total of goals scored for the season but we think it was 11.  His team scored approx 100 goals for the season.



 

Michael and I both had a lot of fun playing for our respective teams.  Michael played in an Over 35s Mens competition and I played in an All Ages Womens Competition.  Both our teams came second last in our divisions.  Not such a great result but we loved every minute of it and will be playing again next year.  We both play in midfield positions and Michael did score two goals for his team this season, while I managed to score none.

I've even signed up to play a summer soccer competition of six a side.  It starts next week.  Maybe I'll manage to kick a goal.  Just one will make me happy.  Gotta make the kids proud.

 

 

Things Milly says #5

Let me just set the scene.  It is evening and Henry is in the bath.  Milly has joined him in the bathroom to keep him company.  I am in the adjoining room and overhear the following conversation.

Milly:  Henry, do you want to play a game?
Henry:  Yeah.
Milly:  Good.  This is how you play.  You have to answer the questions right.
Henry:  Ok.
Milly:  Who does the best cartwheels?
Henry:  You do.
Milly:  That's right.  Who does the best flower picking?
Henry:  You.


and on it went.

Can you spot Lamby?

 

Have you met Lamby?  I've posted about him before.  Yes, Lamby is a 'he' because that's what Milly refers to him as.  Lamby is a boy.  But that's not what this blog post is about. 

 

Lamby has always been number one in Milly's life.  Since she was a baby, in all times of stress, tiredness or tantrums, we can all count on Lamby to be there and soothe Milly when no one else can.  There has barely been a night when she has not snuggled up to him at bedtime.  But occasionally when all is quite at night and we creep into bedrooms to check on the kids and give them extra kisses and hugs while they sleep, we find Milly has allowed others into her bed.  But what amuses us the most is how she obsessively and strategically places them around her.

 

 

Loving Lamby.

Barbies, a mermaid and a couple of stuffed ballerinas all lined up.

The Potato Heads enjoyed a sleep over.

Everyone gets a spot on a pillow.

Peppa Pig books surround her head.

Tree Tops

Have you ever wanted to swing from tree to tree like Tarzan?  Well you almost could if you went to TreeTop Adenture Park.  We were there the other weekend, celebrating with Henry's soccer team and having an end of season picnic and adventure.  Michael and I had heard about this place, had always wanted to take the kids and when we did, it didn't disappoint.

The park is set in a state forest and you are literally off the ground moving from tree to tree on flying foxes, wobbly suspension bridges, ladders, nets and more.  There are courses for kids and adults, with the kiddies courses built on a continuous belay system.  It is all very safe and the courses provide lots of challenges that the kids (and adults) have to overcome to keep moving through the courses.  The adults are not allowed on the kids courses, so can only supervise and offer encouragement and support from the ground.  The kids have to work out the challenges themselves and quite often need to work as a team.  All great learning stuff.

Helmets and harnesses on - waiting to start.

The "best day ever" according to Henry.

 

Milly got a little scared on her first wobbly suspension bridge, but once she crossed it her confidence sky rocketed and she blitzed the courses.

Now Michael and I would like to offload the kids for a couple of hours and go and do some of the adult courses ourselves.  It looked like heaps of fun.

Boys room reveal



Well I mentioned in a previous post that I'd been working on a little project and now I can reveal all.  With Buster moving into a big bed I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give the boys room a bit of a makeover.  I'm not one for theming kids rooms as I feel they have too short a life before they need to be made over again as kids grow up and out of the theme.  With Henry and Buster sharing a room I wanted to create something that made better use of the space without cluttering it up, and a room I hopefully won't have to change until they leave home.

 

There were also a number of things we disliked about their room.  Firstly, the venetian blinds were old, brittle and yellowing.  Secondly, there is an additional door in their room that leads to the backyard.  We wanted to seal it off but still retain the window because it allowed in the afternoon sun.  It also made furniture placement a bit limiting.  Paint was also peeling from the walls and there were some other holes that needed patching.

 



BEFORE PICTURES

What a mess.  Check out the door in the corner.  What the?



Bye bye dinosaurs.

Dark and dingey.  Let the makeover begin.

Blue tape, ladders, paint - my little project in progress.

 

Painting the ceilings was not easy.  Our ceilings are high and pitched.

I initially anticipated that making over the boys room would take a week or two. I needed to empty the room, patch and prep walls, then repaint. We decided on roller blinds to replace the venetian window fittings and because our windows are not standard size they needed to be custom made. From start to finish my little project took two months. All the prepping and painting took longer than I thought. My other job as a parent kind of had to take priority over the painting and revamping process. Also, because of the high pitched ceilings, I was up and down ladders so many times, it really chewed up the time. Mum came to help me paint for one day, and Michael assisted on weekends entertaining the kids so I could get on with it.

Look at that outside door now.  Less of an eyesore me thinks.  Blind from IKEA and installed by Michael.

We had made the decision early on not to get bunk beds.  I'm not a fan.  Yes, it would create much more space in the room, but again it's that long term view I have of things.  Henry is likely to be quite tall, will he be able to fold himself into a bunk bed when he's 14 years old?  Will the boys still want to sleep in a bunk bed when they are teenagers?  Also, there is no way we could trust Buster on a bunk bed.  I have a friend who is a nurse who worked in a kids ward of a hospital and she had so many horror stories about injuries (minor and serious) from bunk beds it was just a no brainer to not get one. 

Assembling Buster's bed.  Notice the skirting boards - I painted them too.

Testing out the bounciness of the mattress.

AFTER PICTURES





Ta da!  Let there be light.  Toys now in roll out boxes under the beds.

Henry's bed.

Buster's bed.

The boys are very happy with their new room.  Buster loves his bed and is sleeping well in it.  Henry often climbs into Buster's bed and reads him a bedtime story.  It's a very proud parent moment to behold.

I have to say I love the boys room too and am pretty chuffed with my efforts.  It was my first foray into a complete room DIY.  It was exhausting and rewarding.  I had a lot of fun doing it, which was helped that the boys really didn't have a say in what the end result was going to look like and didn't really care.  I'm sure it will be a much different story when it comes time to tackle Milly's room.

Father's Day

Poor Michael.  His Father's Day hasn't exactly been ideal.  First, he was to spend it solely with the kids for half the day because I had a market on.  Second, Henry was up and awake vomiting just after 5.00am and has continued being sick all day.

I got home from the market around 1.30pm to find the family in the lounge room.  Henry had just fallen asleep, Milly and Buster were busy mucking around and being noisy, and Michael was folding the laundry.  Happy Father's Day!

But as usual it is the excitement the kids have giving Michael their presents that make the day special for him.  They beam with pride over the cards they made and gifts they selected from their school gift stalls.  They love him completely and just want to please him and make him happy.  And all this lasts just a precious minute or two before they start with their demands for breakfast.

Happy Father's Day.

Stumpy

 

Henry has lost the first of his top teeth.  It's been a long time between lost teeth.  In total he's only lost four.  That may soon change with a number of his top teeth all now a bit wobbly.  So while this last tooth has left a stump, if he does lose some more from the top we'll have to rename him "gummy".

Olympic hopefuls

The 2012 Olympics may be over but they are not forgotten.  London put on a fantastic Olympics, the best since Sydney, although I'll never say it was better.  I thought the opening and closing ceremonies were so creative and entertaining.  It was pretty impressive how much British history and talent was showcased in such a small timeframe.

As for the Australian free-to-air telecasting and subsequent commentary there is very little to be said.  I think the best review I can give it is one that I need to plagiarise from the movie Spinal Tap.  It's a simple two word review.............Shit Sandwich.

However, all was not lost.  The kids enjoyed watching some of the events and Milly and Buster were inspired by the rhythmic gymnasts.  So much so they put on a performance in the lounge room.



Milly's apparatus of choice was the ribbon.

Buster selected a handbag for his routine.

Taking on the challenge of two apparatuses, proving he is a talented young hopeful.

Things Milly says #4

I was helping Milly out of the bath and getting her dried and dressed when she suddenly ,"Mama, I don't want you to die."  She then paused and looked me in the eye and said, "But you will."

Things Buster says #2

This week at the dinner table the following conversation took place.

Buster:  I want to tell a story.

Me:  Ok, great.  Everyone shush, Buster wants to tell a story.

Buster:  Once apon a time there is Buster Boo.  I love chocolate bavarian.  I love chocolate.  The end.

Blowing out the candles

It's been a while between blog posts.  I've been super busy with markets and soccer, and the usual life of a stay-at-home mum with three kids.  I've also been occupied with a little project that is taking me longer to complete than I first anticipated.  But I'll post about it when it is done and finished.  Until then I thought I'd share some photos taken last month of the kids having afternoon tea with Nanoo to celebrate her birthday.

Yummy cupcakes.

Oh dear, someone looks a bit poopy pants.

Everyone got to help Nanoo blow out the candles. 

The last first cut

It's a bit of a sad time in our house.  There are a lot of "lasts" happening.  By this I mean it's not just the last time Buster slept in his cot, but the last time we will use the cot.  With everything Buster has used and grown out of (clothes, high chair, toys, books etc) it is also the last time for all of us.  There are so many wonderful memories we have of all the kids using this stuff that it's a little emotional saying goodbye for the last time to it all.

And so it was with the very first haircut we gave Buster.  We knew he needed the haircut.  He had a nasty looking matted mess at the back of his head that no comb could get through.  As it is so cold at the moment we thought we could hold off on giving him the haircut until spring or summer.  However our hand was forced.  You see our little man had been a bit sick and he got some vomit in his hair and we weren't convinced after washing it that we'd got all the vomit out of his matted mess.

The matted mess

So reluctantly it had to be done.  It's Michael's job to give the first hair cut.  Well any type of hair cut actually.  I'm not so good at it.  He sat Buster down and tried to get a smock on him to protect his clothes, but Buster would have none of it.  To get him to sit still we offered him an icy pole, but he refused it.  Success was had with putting on Toy Story and he sat there happily while Michael snipped away.

The first cut

Half way there.

Other than taking a couple of photos, I couldn't watch it all unfold.  In fact, just like when Henry had his first hair cut, it has taken me weeks to get used to it and recognise my little man again.  I love long hair on my boys but will be the first to admit it is easier to wash and look after when it is shorter.

I kept the bowl of hair for over a week before picking out some bits and putting them away for a keepsake.  Now my baby boy looks more like a little boy, and it's bye bye to my baby - my last baby.

Hey presto, our little boy

A tribute to blonde curls

A couple of weeks ago we cut Buster's hair.  It was his very first haircut. 

Before we do a blog post with pictures of this event, I thought it only fitting we post a few final photos paying tribute to Buster's beautiful blonde curls.

Anywhere but the cot

It's been a few weeks since Buster slept in his own cot.  The bedtime routine has always been the same, we put all the kids to bed together at the same time.  They all get tucked in, have some cuddles and kisses goodnight and then we leave them to have their sweetest of dreams.  We always go back and check on them to make sure they are asleep and to steal some extra kisses.  But a few times we've gone into the boy's room and found Buster's cot empty.  When it first happened there was a moment of panic - "where the hell is he?".  Then we found him on top of Henry's bed, with Henry fast asleep under the covers.  He'd climbed out of his cot and tried to get under Henry's covers but hadn't quite managed it and had fallen asleep with his head on Henry's pillow, next to Henry.  All very sweet.  This had happened a few nights in a row.

Then another time we'd checked on them after bedtime tuck in and Buster wasn't in his cot and wasn't in Henry's bed either.  He had snuck out of his cot and decided to creep into Milly's room and sleep on her floor.  I couldn't help but take a couple of photos as evidence.

Since then Buster has had a horrible virus that had him vomiting over a few days and us a bit worried we'd have to take him to hospital, so we had him in our bed with us to keep an eye on him.  He's been sleeping with us ever since.  Seeing as he won't sleep in the cot anymore we've bought him a 'big bed' of his own and are in the process of redecorating the boy's bedroom and setting up his own 'big bed'.  Fingers are crossed that he happily takes to his new bed and the move back into his room.  But secretly I'm enjoying having him snuggled between us at night.  He really is an angel when he's asleep and knowing he's our last little baby, we are soaking up these precious moments all we can.

Bedtime whispers

Buster is starting to give up his daytime sleep.  I'm not too happy about it.  The time he is asleep is some time to myself.  I knew this day would come soon, but I'm still not ready for it.  Most days he doesn't have his afternoon nap, but every other day I try to enforce it because he does struggle in the late afternoon.  He quite often falls asleep in the car on the way to picking up Henry and Milly from school and preschool.  He can be chatting away in his car seat and then the next thing I know there is a little head slumped forward, and some deep breathing can be heard, and what do you know he's fast asleep.  Sometimes he'll fall asleep watching TV.  All signs that he's probably still not ready to give up his daytime nap.
So we are now in that transition period, where he needs an afternoon nap but doesn't want one.  And when he does have his afternoon nap, he's up until after 9.00pm at night.

We are also contemplating getting him a 'big bed'.  He can climb out of his cot and has no interest in sleeping in it.  His afternoon naps are in our bed, and at night he quite often trys to climb into bed with Henry or Milly.  A couple of times we have put him to bed in his cot and gone to check on him and found him asleep on Henry's bed.  Well maybe it's not so much about him disliking his cot but more about him wanting to be snuggled up to someone in bed.  He does love a snuggle.

But it's his bedtime whispers that we love the most.  Whether he's in his cot or in our arms he loves to finish the night with telling us something.  Most bedtime whispers go like this.

Me:  Nigh nighs Boo.  I love you.

Buster:  I love you too mama.  I love you and Daddy.  I love you and Daddy and Ready (that's Buster's name for Henry) and Milly.

Me:  We all love you too.  Sweet dreams.

Buster:  I love chocolate.  I love two chocolates.  I love books.  I love cake.  I love pink cake.

....and on he goes to list everything he loves....... all in a whisper.

Things Milly says #3

This afternoon Milly and I were baking in the kitchen together.  She likes to help and learn so I was showing her how to fold egg whites into a lemon mixture that was going to be a lemon delicious pudding.  When it came to her turn to do it the conversation went like this.

Me:  That's it Milly, you're doing a good job.
Milly:  Am I doing it right?
Me:  Yep, you're doing great.
Milly:  Do you wish you could do it as good as me?

She is a FIGJAM in the making.  If you don't know what a FIGJAM is, you'll have to Google it.

Keeping warm

Winter is here.  That means jumpers, beanies, scarves, thermals, hot water bottles, flannelette sheets on the bed, and lots of hot chocolates.  When the cold weather hits on a weekend we like to fire up the chiminea, toast some marshmallows and sit around keeping our feet warm.  Our house is surrounded by gum trees, so it's also a good opportunity to burn off all the branches and twigs that fall around the yard.