Our birthday Boo

Our little man's birthday started at 6.30am.  He wandered into our bedroom and I wished him a happy birthday.  He insisted it was still one more sleep away, but when I confirmed it was in fact his birthday at that moment, he got very excited to open the bundle of presents awaiting him.

 

 

Doctor Dreadful's Zombie Snot Shots

He was very excited about some animal cards.

He loves Skylanders.
 

Milly had painted him a picture of a dragon.

Chocolate pancakes for breakfast.

While Buster and Henry played with the presents, with Henry hassling every five minutes if we could make the Zombie Snot Shots, me and Milly headed to the kitchen to make Buster's birthday cake.

Michael had bought himself a tent as an early birthday present to himself and filled it with balloons.  The kids spent the whole weekend playing in it.
 

Buster received lots of birthday phone calls.
 

Cake time.  Buster had requested a vanilla cake with blue icing with chocolate and lollies.  He also said he wanted a Minion from the movie Despicable Me 2.  This made making his cake very simple.

Buster thought it easier to eat his cake with no cutlery and no hands.

He finished the day with dinner at McDonalds.

His birthday weekend proved too much and the next day he couldn't make it through the afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who wished him a happy birthday, called or sent cards and presents.  It's hard to believe next year will be his last year at home before starting school.

PS.  For those who want to know, the Zombie Snot Shots were delightfully disgusting.

Sleep deprived

Somebody woke me up this morning before 6.00am.  It was their shouting that woke me from my slumber.  However, the shouting was not being directed at me, nor was it intended for me.  The shouting was coming from the other end of the house.  It was Buster shouting at Henry.

Buster:  "Henry.  Heeennnnrrryyyy!"

Each time Buster called out to Henry (who just happens to be sleeping in the bed next to him) his voice sounded sterner and more forceful.

Buster:  "HEEENNNRRRYYYY!!!!!!

Henry (very sleepily):  "What is it Buster?"

Buster:  "Two more sleeps."

It would appear someone is very excited about their approaching birthday.

Look what Michael's been keeping from me

Sorry for the lack of posts.  Quite simply, I haven't been taking any photos recently and things have been a bit busy.  In short, we are all well and happy.  I asked Michael if he had taken any photos on his phone that I could use for the blog.  He gave me a USB stick with 114 photos on it, dating back at least four months.  A lot of the photos are blurry but I've selected a few to share.  So here are some randoms.



This photo was taken in September at a soccer presentation day.  There was a sumo wrestling mat set up for the kids to have some fun.  Henry had a go and loved it.  He wasn't as timid as we thought he would be and was actually quite strong, managing to knock over an opponent or two.  Must be all that karate he does.

Poppet received her first Principal's Award at the big school assembly.  Please also note my first attempt at braiding her hair.  I did one of those side braids from the top of her head.  I think we were both pretty proud of ourselves that day.  I had been practising on her Barbie doll before I had the courage to try it on Milly's head.

 

Henry's karate centre had a Halloween themed karate class where they could dress up.

Milly got dressed up as well.

I love this photo of Michael and Boo.

Well, we have a special event coming up in five more sleeps.  A certain someone will be celebrating his fourth birthday.  I'll be sure to take plenty of photos.

Our precious lot

I've been wanting to share with you Henry and Milly's school photos for a a while, but have been holding them back while I wait for Buster's preschool photo to be taken.  Now at last, I can share them all.

Henry and Milly's school alternate each year which season their photos are taken.  This year the photos were taken in autumn/winter which required the winter uniform to be worn. 

Henry's photo pre dates the attack of the nits, which is why his hair is still long.  Look at his teeth.  The poor boy will probably need braces.  He is still my gorgeous little mister and I can never get enough of his beautiful brown eyes and dimples on each cheek.  He really is a great kid.  Proud parents ..... yes.

Miss Milly proudly shows off her missing bottom teeth.  I still need to learn how to do her hair.  I've not graduated from a pony tail or simple plaits yet.  Her hair is much longer now.  She looks very smart in her winter uniform and is doing very well at school - just ask her.

Last but not least is our little man Buster.  You can see the mischief in his eyes and grin.  He also has dimples on his soft and creamy cheeks.  It is hard to believe he'll be starting school in 16 months time.  There is much work to be done before then to get him ready.  His photo was taken after the nits and no, I'm still not over having his golden locks chopped off.

Things Milly says #8

It's school holidays, so the kids are at home.  Michael was inside doing some work on his computer and Milly wanted him to come and play with her in the backyard.  He said he would come out but needed a couple of minutes to finish off what he was doing.  It was at this point Milly's patience wore out.

Milly:  I'm going to count to three and you'd better come outside.
Michael:  And what if I don't?
Milly:  I'm going to come inside and fight you like a man.

Some randoms

"You're choking me Buster".
Buster doesn't like to walk around outside without his shoes on.  So when he insists on not wearing his shoes he also insists on being carried around.  Henry is always happy to oblige.
 

Practising his "how to look busy" face.
 

"Super Monkey".
This is one of Henry's school projects.  He had to make a marionette puppet using recycled materials and plastic shopping bags.
 

"A Farm".
This is Milly's first school project that she made in class.  It is a farm complete with sheep, a chicken coop, pig sty, duck pond and barn.
 

Milly's first school concert.  Her class did an Hawaiian dance.  For a girl who stomps and clomps her way around, she surprised us with her gracefully dancing and performance.
 

Grandad Bryan came to stay. 

Mister Mischief

I was tidying up the boy's bedroom and found an exercise book under Henry's bed.  As I started to flick through the book looking at pages of his drawings and spelling practise, I came across this plan to create mischief.

Just in case you can't read it, I've transcribed it below without the spelling mistakes.

MISCHIEF PLANS

1.  Put a dress on Dad.
2.  Stick a picture on the charts with Dad and a girl.
3.  Run away from home tonight.
4.  Mess up Milly's room.
5.  Spy on Milly.
6.  Copy Milly.
7.  Go to find a snake.
8.  Wake up Buster.

Who would have thought our little Mister could be plotting such devious things?

Karate update

Henry has had another karate grading.  He has moved from an orange belt up to a red belt.  He continues to enjoy his karate and now wants to join the "Xtreme Team".  The Xtreme Team are a demonstration team who learn gymnastic skills and perform extreme martial arts, including weapons.

Nit wits!

On Friday, I was told by another mum at school that I deserve a medal.  Apparently, having three children go through preschool and almost three years of primary school without getting head lice is unusual.  It would seem that head lice is very common and not so stigmatised anymore that you must be dirty to contract it.  I must admit I always thought unwashed and unkempt people were magnets for lice and nits.  Turns out this is not the case.  Head lice do not care if your hair is clean or dirty, whether you are rich or poor, whether your hair is long or short, or what religion you are (this proved by the mum I spoke to who is exceptionally god loving and her four children often get lice versus our family who are atheist).  A scalp is all they need to start sucking into and harvesting their eggs on a bit of hair.

Over the years the kids have come home with plenty of school notices that head lice have been reported in the classroom and our kids have never scratched or given us an inkling they might be affected.  That was until Thursday this week when I picked up the kids from school, emptied Henry's bag and found the latest head lice note.  A few hours later we noticed Henry scratching away at his head.  A quick look through his hair and I was mortified.  I've never seen lice and nits before and they looked like they were having a festival in Henry's hair.  There were big ones, little ones, lots of eggs - it was all a bit overwhelming for our first time.  Given how much Henry loves his little brother Buster, it was hard for him to keep his distance and not pass on the lice.  In Henry's own words "It's like I'm allergic to Buster".

The kids were already bathed and ready for bed when we discovered Henry's lice.  I dashed off to the chemist and $50 later I was armed with a treatment foam, protective spray and necessary wire comb. 

The next morning before school we used the foam and comb in Henry's hair.  Poor kid.  In his long hair the comb was not kind and there were lots of tears .  We packed him off to school and said we'd cut his hair that night and continue the fight against the lice, with it being much easier to comb his hair if he basically had none.  We also used the protective spray on Buster and Milly to ward off the nitty evils.

That evening Michael got out the clippers and took Henry's hair off.  It was during this time that we noticed Buster scratching and you guessed it, yep he had lice too.  I can't begin to explain how distressed I was watching Michael cut off Buster's hair with the clippers.  In fact, I'm still in shock and haven't accepted it.  I know it isn't necessary to cut their hair so short to combat the lice but it certainly made it easier to find them and comb out the eggs.  Buster was really good with the comb.  When his hair was all gone Henry said, "He looks like me, only cuter". 

Meanwhile, Milly was having a good giggle and providing her usual unhelpful commentary (eg "Buster looks so weird").  I threatened her that if she got nits we'd cut off all her hair too.  That shut her up.

With Buster now infested too, Henry was happy he was free to mingle at close range with Buster again.



I just have to share this photo of Boo.  It is my favourite of his angelic face.  His preschool are having their photo day in two weeks.  I don't think his hair will grow back in time.  I'm still distraught.

Things Milly says #7

Milly:  Mumma, do you learn to drive when you're a teenager?

Me:  Yes, usually when you're a teenager.

Milly:  Will you teach Henry how to drive when he's a teenager?

Me:  Yes, me or Dadda will.

Milly:  That's good.  Because if you die when we are at the shops Henry can drive me home.

Sports Day

Today was the big Sports Day for the infant school.  It was Henry's last infant sport day as he will join the wider school next year for their sports carnival, and it was Milly's first sport day ever.  The infant sport day programme at their school is non-competitive.  There are no trophies or ribbons, it's just all about having a go at different sports, games and activities and having fun.  They save all the competition and races for the junior and senior primary students, which is when they join a "house" and wear "house colours".

Milly was a little excited and anxious about her first sports day.

Henry was loving every minute of it.  Or maybe he's just closing his eyes to avoid looking at the girl behind him who has lifted her skirt up and decided to flash everyone.

Egg and spoon.

Sack jumping.

Relays.

Pogo.

Buster and I spent the whole day helping out and he even got to join in on a few activities.  He also proved to be quite coordinated for his age and impressed many a teacher and parent with his ball skills and hand-eye coordination.

 

 

Education week

Henry and Milly's school held their Book Week parade and Education Week celebrations all on the same day.  So what does that mean?  Well it means, they got to attend school dressed up as their favourite book characters, and have me come and visit them in the classroom so they could show off their work.

Their school is pretty proud of their academic record, but on display this year they focused on the arts.  It was lovely to walk around the school and see kids putting on musical performances, ballet or other dance recitals, and even a magic show.  There were art works from each class hanging up all around the school.  The chess club was out in force challenging anyone to a game.  And it was hard sit back and watch a game of handball and not be able to play.

Harry Potter and Lola.

I gave Milly the option of having me visit her classroom first or second.  She said she wanted me to visit her class last because it would give me more time with her.  So off I trotted to class 2W to see Henry.  His class were busy doing a find-a-word puzzle that had a recycling theme.  He gave me a red pencil to tick off his words as he found them.  He showed me under his desk where he keeps his books and pencil case, and told me he wished I could visit his class all the time so I can give him the answers.

 

Next stop was visiting Milly in her class KM.  When I arrived I could see parents with cameras filming, but by the time I reached the classroom it was all over and Milly was in tears.  I had missed her kindy class performance.  Her teacher was so apologetic and said she had waited knowing I would be there but had to get the program of activities underway.  Of course, had I known Milly's class were going to do something special for the parents I would have gone to her class first.  After lots of cuddles and kisses Milly calmed down and took me to her desk to show me her workbooks and around her classroom.  

 

It was so lovely to see the kids in their classrooms and have lunch with them in the playground.  Am now looking forward to Buster starting school in 18 months time and visiting him in class as well.