Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

Slip n Slide fun in April

Another busy month... this year is flying by!  (Easter will to come on a separate post)

Super Friends Superhero Birthday

We started March with a 4th birthday as Wonderwoman and Batman.  Do you know how hard it is to find superhero costumes for girls?  Even eBay turned up nothing.  I burned the midnight oil on her costume but I loved the finished product (despite how cheap the fabric was).  Check out the tutorial here.  Mr.E's Batman costume was much easier.  It was pyjamas!  I simply hand-sewed a cape onto the back.

To the Batmobile!

The party was so much fun!  Wonderwoman and Batman loved shooting down the bad guys: Silly String on balloons (so clever, Supermom!).

Manly Beach

The weather has been kind for the start of Autumn and we headed to the beach! The surf was rough so we stayed mostly dry. Eden loved running on the shoreline.  The weather was perfect for digging holes and putting buckets on our heads.

Hard at work

Eden taking "No hat, no play" to the extreme

The Entrance
For something different, we drove 1.5 hours to The Entrance.  It has a great corso with a water garden and on the weekends has rides, jumping castles and entertainment.  While the water was cold, the E's had a lot of fun splashing around.  They also got to choose a "ride" which was a large jumping castle.  Mr.H had to go in after Eden when their time was up.  And we finished the afternoon by watching the large pelicans having their dinner.

Vera's Water Garden

Bounce house fun!

Pelican feeding time

Living Eggs
What's Easter without Spring Chicks? (Although its Autumn here) Eloise's pre-school class are doing a Living Eggs unit. Eggs were brought in, they watched them hatch and have been learning about how to take care or them. Well lucky us, Miss Melissa rang me one Friday morning and asked us to look after them over the weekend. I agreed because Eloise is very good with the chicks and Eden missed most of the week with them. And Miss Melissa mentioned we were trust-worthy... Eek, the pressure!

Eggs one day...

Chicks the next!

It was fun looking after 10 chicks.  Eloise was very helpful feeding them (in her hand) and holding them while we cleaned the cage.  Eden liked to watch them and put his finger up to glass so they would peck at it.  After they went back to pre-school, he would go to the laundry room and ask "chick, chick?"  Sabi was also curious but did not like them.

"Hello chick-chicks!" says Eden

Eloise, Eden & Sabi entertaining the chicks while we cleaned the cage

Eden patting the chicks

The chicks weren't too noisy for us (Miss Melissa mentioned in the past, they have had very loud ones).  And all 10, even the runt, were returned to pre-school... whew!

Side note: It was very funny.  When Farmer Sue came to pick up the chicks, she told Eloise that she had a hen (who was 15!) named Eloise.

Terrigal

We spent another weekend on the North Coast.  It's the same travel time to Sydney beaches, but the beaches are quieter and the parking is free. Winner!  It was the perfect day to build sandcastles and go for a swim too (Eloise and Eden both discovered riding the waves in!).

MissE & Mr.E

Homemade pizza night: the chefs!

MissE continues to be her sassy-self.  She is 4 going on 16.  She has her good days and her bad days.  Her bad days consist of very bad manners, forgetting her please/ thank you's/ demanding rather than asking.  Thank you to my sister who sent us a book "Polite as a Princess".  It is often kept within reach for a refresher course.

At our last Disney Princess Film Festival: Cinderella

My smarty-pants continues to impress us.  She can write her and Eden's full name.  She loves numbers, adding/ subtracting/ even multiplying!  She really made me stop one day when she was at the dining table grouping her Fruit Loops, telling me 3 groups of 3 is 9 and 3 groups of 2 is 6.  Umm... a 4 year old does not know these things!  Eloise is also starting to pick-up sight words.  She can recognise: a, to, of, the, you, Spot, Mum.

Helping me make the bed... BOO!

Eden is now 20 months!  He is a chatterbox and has so many words now.

He also likes to sing.  He sings "Old MacDonald had a farm" often (and out of the blue)... and Rihanna's "Stay".  Click to see the video.

Eden singing Stay

He is finally saying his own name.  He calls himself "E-don", "E-an" or "Den-den".

Who's that? (name game)

Unfortunately, the tantrums are starting to increase.  This viral tweet made me ROFLMAO.  It absolutely describes life with a (nearly) 2 year old.

MissE Says the Darnedest Things
MissE loves Tom & Jerry. Yeah, I don't get it.
MissE: Mama, can we make a hole in our house?
Me: Why?
MissE: I want a mouse, just like Jerry. They are so cute.
Me: I am pretty sure daddy won't like that. Mice are dirty and what will we feed it.
MissE: Garbage. Mice eat garbage.

You Could of Told Me!
Me: Did you like the movie, Eloise? (after watching Cinderella)
MissE: No
Me: No?
MissE: I like Cinderella but not the movie.
*Sigh.  You couldn't of told me BEFORE we went to see it?

I might have to rename this section with Mr.E turning into a little chatterbox too. His days at home, minus his sister, gave him a chance to talk more. We continue to encourage him to use his words as much as possible.
Watching David Attenborough's Africa (he LOVES animals), and naked mole rats came on.
Mr.E: EEWWW!

Me
The biggest news of this month... after 9 years, I am officially an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN!  I aced the exam in 3 minutes back in December and only just was invited to the citizenship ceremony, making it all legit.

Hmm, the only thing is now I actually have to vote... or be fined!

Working 9-5
So far so good in my new job.  It's now been a full month, and my handover is now complete with my predecessor  officially on her maternity leave.  I am looking forward to hearing her exciting news!  I survived my first week, while overwhelming with so much information, my team is so welcoming. My 2nd week was a bit more intense with 3 events! But of course to keep it interesting, on Monday, an hour after arriving at work, we were called to pick up Eden with suspected Hand Foot Mouth. There were 2 cases of it the week before, and Eden's case was very mild.  Luckily Mr.H was able to spend the week at home with him.  Eloise and I had to sneak out each morning (Eden loves daycare) and we couldn't say the s-word (school) otherwise Eden would get upset and ask for "She-ya" (teacher) or "Hay-ey" (his girlfriend).  Meanwhile, one of the highlights of my 2nd week, was my first cadaver lab... in 9 years!  I actually can't believe it's been that long since I was in graduate school!  It was interesting to meet our customers (surgeons) and see the products in action.  Oh, and I also love being in heels again too.  An excuse to go shoe shopping?

My foot wear for my lab event

Until next time... 
Maybe, just maybe, I can get my act together and not send the posts out mid-month!