Germs, germs, germs everywhere you go there's germs.

I am not a germaphobe or anything, but when you have two little ones you start paying more attention to the grime, dirt and open-air sneezes that you encounter.  And the best/worst place for germs these days is kindergym.

Picture 25 toddlers and babies running around with coughs, runny noses and sticky fingers, touching everything your kids are touching.  It's a recipe for disaster.  By by "disaster" I mean a two-week long cold that hits the entire family.  Ya...that's money well spent.

I mean you can't keep the kids inside all winter long, but there's no guaranteed way to protect yourself against these colds and viruses out in the world either.  I know...wash your hands, don't touch your face, take some vitamin C, cover your coughs...blah blah blah...tell a 2 year old that. Better yet, tell a 14 month old that when she licks the slide.  Ya..good times.

I guess it's just the risk you take at kindergym huh?  And they love the heck out of kindergym.  Plus they get super tired and we get some lunch in the drive-thru and I am guaranteed two hours of naptime when we get home.  Which means I can watch some recorded tv and catch up on my housewives drama.  Score one for mom.

Sorry for the blurry pictures, but trying and tell them to hold still for two seconds is like telling the dog to drive home, it ain't gonna happen.

1, 2.....3?

This is probably a conservation every couple has to have at some point...how many children should we have?  Notice I did not say "how many children do we want."  I think those are two different things...should and want.

I always pictured myself having three kids.  But fantasy and reality are also two different things, as I am finding out.

Let me just start by saying I love my two kiddos. LOVE them.  But they are lots of work.  LOTS. And since I live on a different continent than the rest of my family, I don't have tons of support or any free babysitters to help me out.

In fact I get a bit jealous when I see other moms out with their moms/grandmas in tow.  I fantasize about being able to drop the kids at my parents' house and go to Target solo.  (Target solo is a mom vacation).

Back to my point though, I am not sure I should have one more baby.  Actually some days I don't think I could even handle one more.

My husband is pretty happy with two and would be super happy to stop.  But he's still waiting on my go ahead for the snip snip at this point.

And that's the other big issue.  I want my Hubs to be on the same page, I don't want it to be one of those "well YOU wanted a third baby" situations.

Then there is the financial side.  Can we afford one more?  There's private schooling, university and all the stuff in between.  Plus we travel back to the States once a year and that's one more ticket and one more kiddo to wrangle.

Which leads to my next question, can we handle one more?  Two parents and two kids means you can each take a kid as you go through airport security or shop at Ikea...you get the picture.  Three kids and two parents, well it means we would be out-numbered.

I think the verdict is still out on this one.  But we will have to decide sooner rather than later, these eggs of mine aren't getting any fresher if you know what I mean.  Stay tuned.

And how can you resist these two?

Weekend Wrap Up

Well it was quite wild around here this weekend...oh wait, no it wasn't.   The hubby had to work on Saturday so that kinda sucked.  Plus the weather has been so cold and windy and rainy that it's not worth venturing outside.  That leaves us at home most of the time, warm but bored.

Trying to find things to keep two toddlers busy on a rainy day can be a challenge.  We did about five seconds of playdough, ten seconds of coloring and a solid five hours of crying and whining. Good times.

My son is 2.5 which means he's at that age where he can tell you he wants to play with playdough, then you check and make sure he wants the playdough, YES, he yet again insists on the playdough, then you get all the stuff out for playdough and set the table up for it, put the kid in his seat and he begins to cry saying he does NOT want playdough.  What!

So he then wants to color...wait you see it coming...same pattern.  Color?  YES.  Sure you want to color?  YES!  Okay here's your coloring book and pens.  NOOOOO!  Crying and Whining.  Lord have mercy.

So that was Saturday in a nutshell.

Sunday was a lazy morning.  And by "lazy" I mean I got to lay in bed until 8:30, unheard of these days.  I mean I did get up and get the baby at 7, then lay in bed with her while she punched me with her tiny fists of fury and rolled around and over me for an hour.  But I was still in bed, so that counts.

We finally made the move out of the house around noon, which was waaay too late.  We made a quick stop at the electronics shop for the cheapest dvd player we could find (because you know the kids are gonna ruin it somehow).  Score at $35!

Then we went to Pasta Deli for some quick (and warm) lunch.  It was packed, but we found a table and I entertained one toddler while the Hubs walked around with the baby until our food was ready.  I had to try their salted peanut gelato too.  Good!  So good.

Then both kids began to loose their minds, which meant it was time to pack up and get home for some naps.

And that my friends...was our weekend.  Exciting, I know.

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The good ol' fashioned family vacation?

Growing up my family always went on a yearly vacation/holiday.  We usually just went camping or stayed near a lake in a cabin.  My dad is a huge nature/fishing/hunting type guy and he would get to decide where we went. I think that was mostly because he is crabby if he doesn't get his way.

But once in awhile the rest of us would mutiny and we would go somewhere with real beds and toilets. Think Disneyland and Las Vegas (when they were really pushing that family-friendly vibe). Fancy, right?

But one of the family vacations we talk about the most was the one we call "The Vacation from Hell."  I'm sure every family has a story like this, at least I hope you do.

My dad wanted to go to Oregon, correction he wanted to DRIVE to Oregon, from California.  It was a good 14 hour drive (and by good I mean horrible).  My dad changed lanes constantly to try and "outwit" any highway patrol that might get him for speeding.  My brother and I sat in the "backseat" of the pickup truck, which at that time meant a narrow, straight-backed bench that would not pass as a "seat" these days.  We whined and complained the entire ride, listened to my parent's oldies tapes, and stopped for fast food.

When when finally got to our campsite we were happy to find ourselves right next to the water.  And that was the end of the excitement.  It then started raining and raining and raining.  I think it rained every...single...day.

The highlight of each day was deciding where to eat.

After several days we visited my dad's friend in a nearby town and he was kind enough to let us stay the night (since it was STILL raining).  I have a great memory of my brother and I sitting on their king size bed eating hot fudge sundaes and watching tv.  It was heaven as far as we were concerned.

And after all that, we still had the ride home.  Yeah...boo.

But in the end it was so bad, it was good.  We still talk about it and joke about all the horrible rain and fast food and my dad's driving.

So now that I have my own family I think we need to have our own good ol' fashioned family vacations.  Let's make some memories and ask "Are we there yet?"  a million times.  Sounds like fun to me.  Seriously.

Now I just have to decide where to go.  I am thinking a quick plane ride to Sydney might be the answer.  The zoo, bridge, Opera House, shopping...ya I think that might work.

Happy Holidays!!!

Dear Scale, I hate you.

Sigh, okay so it's not the scale's fault that the number has gone up and up lately.  It's mine, sigh again.

I have never been thin and probably never will be (so positive I know), but I have to stop letting that scale go up at least.  And ya...go down several too.

After having kids I do think about it differently though, it's more about my health and not as much about my appearance.  Well, it is about my appearance too, I mean I am a woman and I do own mirrors. Duh.

But I want to make sure I am setting a good example for my kids, so maybe they won't even have to deal with weight issues.  I also want to make sure I am around a long, long time to be their mom and that I am in good enough shape to run around at the park and keep up with them as they grow.

So what's the answer?

Eat better and move more.  Duh.

But why don't I do that?  Why do I make excuses for myself?  In the end I don't do myself any favors by eating that burger or choosing a diet soda over water.

So why do I do it?

I don't know.  But I need to at least acknowledge that's it's happening so maybe I can make some better choices.

I have tried several diets.  Shakes, meal delivery, Weight Watchers, no carbs, no sugar.  And yes I had results with all of them to some degree.  But I always gained the weight back, and more.  So the answer has to be a lifestyle change.  That's the only way.  Sigh, so not fun.

I will drink only water, not buy any "Crap" food and yes...move more.  That doesn't sound so hard, right?  I need to do this.  Now.

Wish me luck!

Carter's/Oshkosh Love

I need to just start by saying I have a problem...I LOVE me some cute baby/toddler clothes and I can't stop buying them.  That said, my favorite, favorite, favorite brand is Carters (and Oshkosh).  You can't get better quality stuff and did I say they are super cute.  Well they are...Super Cute.

When I would visit California I would get my Carter's fix and load up on tons of clothing, pjs, socks, jackets, shoes.  You get the idea.  I even bought two or three sizes larger than what my kiddos were currently wearing so I could extend the clothing cuteness by a few years.

The problem was that Carters.com didn't ship to Australia.  I even emailed the company and begged them to start shipping here.  They have a few store locations, in NSW and VIC, but not near us. Bummer.  I found a few Carter's items on Amazon that would ship to my address, but it was limited. Bummer again.

Here's the good news!  I just found out that Carters/Oshkosh has now launched an Australian website. Happy dance all around!  Yes, score.  I visited the site today (http://www.oshkosh.com.au) and found several cute items.

I did find the selection to be limited, but hopefully they will offer more items in the next few months. Don't worry I will be checking the site on a daily basis for new items (my husband will just love this).

I also joined the Carter's/Oshkosh club on the website.  I am also a member in the U.S., so I know it's soooo worth joining.  Here's what you get:

• Discounts and special offers
• Be the first to hear about sales, events and product launches
• Free gifts with purchase
• Spend over $100 and get a $10 voucher for your next purchase of $60 or more.

Sweet right!!!

  
Anyways, I had to tell someone.  You're welcome and happy shopping.

Weekend Wrap Up

Despite the cool weather, we were out and about this weekend.  Getting out of the house always makes me feel like I didn't waste my weekend and readies me for the week to come.

First we celebrated cousin Sandro's 6th birthday party up in the hills.  This year's party theme was some type of superhero/animal thing I had never seen before.  I assume I will become very familiar with them in the next few years though.  Super excited...not really.

Apparently when you are six you get to invite all your school friends to your party and your all run around like a bunch of wildlings (yes, that's a GOT reference) throwing balls at each other and dodging smaller children.  My kiddos escaped the chaos and found some refuge in the sandpit.  I had never let Poppy play in the sandpit before (she's only 13 months old), but let me tell you....she LOVED it.  I could not get her out of it.

Two hours later we had to drag her out for some cake then de-sanded her from head to toe.  I stripped her when we got home and found an entire beach in her clothing.  Then it was time for a sink bath.

My son received a sandpit for Christmas last year and both my husband and I were not that thrilled. We just felt like it was mess waiting to be cleaned up every time he used it.  Bean never really took to it though, so we were spared the sandy clean up.  But now that Poppy loves it so much I know this summer with definitely include some sandpit fun (and clean up).  Oh well, let them be kids huh.

Sunday we went to a Family Fun Fair at the Railway Museum.  My son is waaaaaay into Thomas at the moment so he was mesmerised by the trains and loved, loved, loved the train rides.  Plus they had hot chips (french fries) which was just frosting on the cake for him.

I never realized trains are so big.  I know that sounds stupid, but seriously, who knew trains were ginormous? Not me.

We ended the weekend with a catch up with some neighbours and then did the nightly routine of dinner, showers, pjs, and a Thomas episode before bed.  Sounds like a win in our house!

My Handy Hubby

I was just telling my husband how I never thought I would marry a man as handy as my dad...then I met Peter.  He has my dad beat by a mile, sorry dad. Honestly, Peter is the handiest guy around, seriously.  I don't know how you even become so handy, but I hope my kids have inherited that gene.

My son even says, "dad fix," when one of his toys breaks.  He's that good.

Here is a list of a few things Peter has fixed or set up or built or installed or anything he's done that falls under "handy" over the years.

1. Installed a new hot water heater at my Nana's house.
2. Our baby monitors/cameras plus our home alarm system complete with cameras
3. The kitchen vent, which he placed the roof so it wouldn't be so loud.  Genius.
4. Updated or fixed all my computer problems (and our friends and family computers too)
5. Installed our new gas heater
6. Set up our roller door (garage door) controls on my phone, along with access to the house alarm on the phone.
7. Put any Ikea furniture or baby furniture together in a snap
8. Set up outside speakers and sound system around the yard and pool
9. Constructed shades over the backyard and pool to save us from the intense Australian summer sun
10. And sooooo much more.

I know I am leaving out a ton of things he has done over the years.

I think being "handy" is fast becoming a lost man skill.  More and more people work behind a computer all day long and have no need to fix their own appliances or set up their own alarm systems when they can pay someone to do it for them.

I also have to point out that Peter is a smarty pants, who thinks he can do it better than any professional (and he might be right).  I swear he's a genius, a handy genius.  But I am biased.

"Free" Time

Both of the kids are napping at the same time today (mom win), which rarely happens.  So what's a mom to do with all this free time?  Nap?  No.  Laundry?  Sometimes.  Watch bad reality tv.  Yes!

Hi, I'm Alyssa and I love reality tv.  There, I said it.

I can't help it, what's not to love?  I mean women fighting about nothing while wearing high end shoes and drinking mixed cocktails, it's the best.  I can just sit back with my feet up and a sugary snack (something I wouldn't eat in front of the kiddos, so I don't have to share) and relax.  It's my stress reliever, for real.  Why worry about my own problems when I can watch two botox-ed housewives scream it out with frozen faces.  Love.

I know my brain is slowly rotting away with each episode I watch, but I can't resist.  In fact I savour these shows like a fine wine.  I series record them, then watch an episode when the house is quiet and I can zone out.  It's cheaper than a massage, right?  So why not.

Sometimes I multitask and fold laundry or wash dishes while the tv runs.  It's a talent, I know. Somehow I feel less guilty about watching if I can show something was accomplished while I stared at the glowing box.

But seriously, if this is my guilty pleasure then why not indulge.  There's no calories (well other than those sugary snacks, duh), no hangover, no credit card bill to pay afterwards.  It's fine.  Right?

No, no, it's fine, I just decided.

And so the naptime tv indulgence will continue and I can get in some ME time while those little bubs rest and recharge their batteries.  If I am lucky I get an hour and a half to myself, and I am sooo not wasting that on something practical like a nap or mopping my floors.  Ick.

But what do I do when they stop napping?  Eeek, I don't even want to think about that today.  Let me go see what's waiting in the dvr and worry about real problems another time.  Sigh.