This weekend it seemed like spring.  Yay!  We finally had some sun and warmer temps, which meant playing in the backyard.

We didn't do much else this weekend, which was okay with me.

Saturday the kiddos were out in the yard by 10 a.m. and fighting over cars and the swing by 10:05. Good times!  But they love to be outdoors and it keeps them busy for hours.  We don't have any grass though, which is a major drawback to our yard. We have the pool and the pizza oven and a huge shed (all good), but nothing that's really toddler friendly.  It's the major reason we will most likely move in the next few years.

But we've made the best of the paved yard we do have with rubber mats on the ground and a super cool cubby house that gets tons of use.  And did I mention cars?  Yes we have sooo many ride on cars.  My sister-in-law once mentioned that we should hold a toddler race with all the cars we have, which would be funny.

So we stayed home and enjoyed some family time in the yard and when I mentioned it would be nice to have some moscato (I rarely drink), the Hubby jumped in the car and returned with 12 bottles.  I mean, he's crazy that way.  Peter can never do anything to a normal degree, it's always over the top and way too much.  But it's one of the reasons I love him too.  How can you not love a man who buys you 12 bottles of alcohol?

Sunday we were supposed to have dinner with friends, but they had to cancel.  Bummer.  But that just meant we had more time to drag the wagon around the block a few more times.  Bean loves the wagon and asks for a ride constantly.  But as soon as we start heading home the tears begin, every time!!! Ugg.

So we ordered some pizza for dinner and had a visit from nonna (at 7 p.m., why? But that's a post for another time, seriously) and went to bed a happy family.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well.  Thanks for stopping by.

Potty Training Hell

Oh potty training, what fun.  NOT.  I have been doing some form of potty training with Bean for about six months now, and we are not even close to having him potty trained.

I blame myself.  I don't think I am being as strict with him as I need to be in order to be successful. But at times I just don't think he's ready either.  So I am torn.  Do I push him or do I let him decide?  I am open to suggestions here.

We bought the big boy underwear, Mickey and Planes.  He doesn't care.  I offered big praise each time he uses the potty.  He doesn't care.  I offer bribes of chocolate.  He slightly cares.  We have serious toddler talks about using the potty.  He acts like he cares, then poo's in his nappy two minutes later.  Uggg.

So what do I do?

People tell me to wait until he's ready, but at this point he will be 25 and still not ready.

People tell me it takes three days of serious training.  Then I hear I should wait until it's warmer weather so he can run around nude and that will make it easier.  Okay.

Then my mom...ya grandma advice...she thinks he should have been potty trained months ago.  I hear the judgement in her voice when she asks, "How's it going with the potty training?" for the the 100th time.  Ya, I will let you know when he's wearing those underpants you bought him a YEAR ago. Hint taken, and not appreciated.

I even picked up a parenting magazine at the play cafe today because a headline read: "Toilet Training Made Easy."  Worth a read, right?

Well here was some of the "advice" it offered up"

• Wait for signs your toddler is ready (okay)
• Get your underwear before you start (duh)
• Talk to your toddler about it before your start (double duh)
• Give it a go (what?)
• Know when to give it a break (thanks)

Needless to say, I was disappointed with this type of "advice".  So I will continue having him sit on the potty, showing him the big boy underpants and offering chocolate as a bribe.  

Any advice?  I will gladly accept it at this point.  Wish me luck

Weekend Wrap Up

Another weekend is done and gone, bummer. On to Monday.

Let's see, Saturday was a day of errands, friendly visits, ice cream breaks and baby vomit.  Good times!

We started off with a visit to one of Peter's clients, an older woman who was hounding him to bring the kids by, so we finally did.  She had stopped at the store before we arrived and bought Bean some mini sorbet cones (so sweet), and he gladly ate one at 11 a.m.  She then offered a few gummy snakes and assorted other sugary treats, which he also gladly accepted.  Once he was on a proper sugar high we decided it was time to leave.

We then found ourselves down by the beach in time for lunch.  We stopped for some food, but couldn't stay and hang out in the sand since nap time was right around the corner.  I feel like we only have a few hours each day where everyone is happy and rested and those are dedicated to early morning grocery runs and errands.  Oh well.

So home we went and after naps the sun was actually out and shinning.  So it was time to play in the backyard.  And what did they both want to play in?   Yep the hated sandpit.  I hate the sandpit, way too much clean up.  But they love it, so what am I to do.

The day ended with some dinner, followed by a baby sticking her fingers down her own throat, gagging and inducing a vomit.  Yep, Poppy hurled her entire dinner all over the living room floor, right after her shower too.  Great!  So she had two showers that night.

Ya, we shower the kids.  They love baths too, but showers are so much quicker and easier most nights.

Sunday was a lazy day at home (the best kind of day).  I was lucky enough to get a solo trip to Target in too, score.  All the summery stuff is showing up in stores now, which makes me so excited for some warmer weather.  Rain is great, but I'm over it.

So now it's on to Monday and another week.  Here's to a good one.  Thanks for reading.

My new home

I grew up in California  and moved to Australia over six years ago.  My husband is an Aussie who I met in California while he was there working.  We dated long distance for awhile then I made the big move down under.  He already had a home here, a thriving business and after I visited I knew the Aussie lifestyle was for me, so I packed up and took the leap of faith.

It was by far the best move (literally and figuratively) I ever, ever, ever made.

I consider Australia to be my home now and I plan on becoming a citizen in the next year (that's a post for another time).  I have a family home here in a great, safe neighborhood, my babies were born here, the school systems are great, the family atmosphere can't be beat and we are happy.

We have gone back to California once or twice a year over the last six years.  This allowed me to visit my family and friends and still feel like I was part of their lives.  Skye and email are great, but there's nothing like a real hug from your mom and dad.

But with the kids being so small and the travel being so hard (and expensive) we have decided not to make the trek to California this year.  Part of me is sad, but the other part of me is super relieved.  I won't have to pack everyone up, get car seats to the airport, wrangle two kids through security and onto a packed plane.  I won't have to endure the horrified stares of other passengers as we walk down the plane aisles, their eyes pleading...don't sit next to me...please.

It's just a lot of work and I am glad to get a break this year and just do my normal hard work at home.

Yes, a hot Christmas at the beach will always be strange to me, but this is the Aussie life and I need to embrace it.  My kids will grow up here and they won't understand my California ways, but that's fine.  Though I hope they embrace pumpkin bread like a true American (they are both Australian and American citizens, yay for them).

I find myself becoming more and more Aussie as the years go on.  I use their words now...nappy, cot, pram, sunnies, trackies, boot, bonnet, and on and on.  I will never have the accent though, I can't even pretend to do a decent Australian accent without sounding British.

I think I have embraced my new home in ways I don't even realize.  I've just become a new person in a new place and it's good.  And that's where I'm super lucky, I love my new home and the new life it gave me.

Weekend Wrap Up

Ahh Monday...sigh.

So this weekend was a game of opposites.  Peter had to work Saturday (bummer) and the weather was rainy and cold, so that meant we stayed home and dry.  I don't mind staying home when it's storming outside though, so it wasn't so bad.  Boring...yes.  Bad...nah.

So that was Saturday...jealous much?

Then the sun came out on Sunday (appropriately) and we packed up the kiddos and left the house while the gettin' was good.

First we stopped at the Gilles Street Market in the city.  The market is held once a month during the winter months and I had missed it last month so I really wanted to make it this month.  I had never been before but saw posts on FB about it and it made me curious.

Well, it turns out this market is not really our "scene" if ya know what I mean.  (I mean we aren't hippies).  Nothing really caught my attention, though Peter bought some tea.  He has a strange place in his heart for tea and must stop at any vendor selling dried tea.  Whatever!

Plus you shouldn't bring a double stroller to a narrow market...lesson learned.

But the market is held at a primary school so there was playgroup equipment, which meant we spent two seconds at the market and two hours at the playgroup.  Oh well, the kids had fun.

There was even a sandpit, and Poppy loves her some sand.  So she was set for a good 45 minutes, while Bean climbed up and down the jungle gym and looked out of periscope over and over and over again.

We stayed until naptime, then hit the road.  Exactly three minutes into the drive both kids were out cold, which meant we had to keep driving.   And after 45 minutes they both woke up at the same time, crazy.

So we stopped for some gelato at Pasta Deli (chocolate and mint chip) and both kids were in heaven.

On the way home we stopped at a friend's house and wound up staying for dinner.  And I should know by now that if you stop at an Italian family's house anytime after lunch, you're staying for dinner.  I think it's the law.

 She's a great cook, so it was a treat for me too.  Plus they have three tween/teenagers so the kids were entertained for hours.

And that was our Sunday.

This week I am going to start really pushing this potty training thing with Bean.  He's shown very little interest so far so wish we luck.

Thanks for listening.

Choosing the right school

As soon as Bean turned 2 we started getting the question, "Where is he gonna go to school?"

What? Huh?  He's 2, I have no idea.

Here in Australia the school schedule is slightly different than the States.  And I am still trying to wrap my brain around it.  Kids are expected to be in "playgroups" when they are infants and toddlers (though this is optional), then they move on to some version of pre-school or early learning center at 3 or 4 (optional again, but helps with transition), then kindy at 5 (kindergarden, not optional) and they start going to a school campus at 5 or 6 with reception.  Confused?  Me too.

It's good I have friends here that are teachers, so they can help guide me.

We go to kindergym and we have done the playgroup thing too.  But next I need to find a pre-school or early learning center to attend.  I think Bean will just go to the kindy down the road from us, so I'm not too fused about one.

But the big question is: Where will he go to school?

So at 2 we set out to find a school that he would attend at 5.  Ugg.  But apparently you have to do it now or you run the risk of not getting a spot in your desired school (in three years).   My friend who has two daughters the same age as Bean and Poppy tried to get her girls into her first pick and they were full already, even spots for her 10 month old where full.  Yikes.

First we had to decide if we wanted a Catholic school, a private school or a public school.  And how do you decide if a school is right for your child and family?

We made a few calls to friends in our area with older children and two of the families recommended a Catholic school that is nearby.  So we attended their open morning/meet and greet where we were able to tour the school and meet some of the current teachers and students.

After our tour we both had a good feeling about this school and neither of us could come up with a reason why Bean should not go there, so we filled out the enrolment forms.  We enrolled both Bean and Poppy and paid our non-refundable fee ($55) and now we wait.

We are still waiting to hear if the kiddos are accepted or not, which is driving me crazy.  But at least we have a plan, huh.  If they aren't accepted we will have start all over with a new school, but at least we have a better idea of what we are doing now.

And how could you resist enrolling these two?

Weekend Wrap Up

Another weekend has come and (nearly) gone.  Sigh.

This weekend we were lucky enough to have dad home.  Yay!  Since he worked all of last weekend, it was a nice change around here.

Saturday we invited some friends around for dinner so we could finally meet their new bubs.  We had seen him at Poppy's birthday party, but you don't get a proper hold or cuddle at a party.  So we had to get in some newborn cuddles.

But of course "dinner" to my Italian husband means an all day cooking event resulting in waaaay too much food.  Great food, but too much of it.  The bonus of his marathon cooking meant I slipped out of the house during naps and got to go grocery shopping on my own (yay).

Ya, a solo grocery store trip gets a "yay" these days.

And I had to stop at the Kmart next door too, how could I resist.   But what did I buy?  Kids stuff. Yep, I can't stop myself from looking at all the new summer kids clothing and picking up a few items.  I might have an addiction to kids clothes shopping.

So Sunday was even more exciting with a trip to Costco.  We just got a Costco here this year and it's fantastic.  I grew up with a Costco store in California, but they are just opening up stores here in Australia.   I love Costco!  I mean we bough nappies/diapers, wipes, snacks, a tool set, chapstick and kids clothes and shoes (I told you I had a problem).   It's fantastic!

And today I noticed Costco is carrying Carters/OshKosh clothing and shoes.  I mean, does it get any better?  NO.

And the other big event this weekend was installing Poppy's forward-facing car seat.  Bean freaked out when we put him forward-facing so I wanted to catch Poppy's reaction.  But girl played it cool and hardly even reacted.  Such a girl.

Well, that's that.  Hope you all had a great weekend too.  Thanks for reading.