Holly the Elf on the Shelf Week 2

December 8: Sweet tooth Holly gets stuck!

December 9: It's hot!  Let's stay inside and watch movies today!

December 10: Inspired by Finding Nemo, Holly goes fishing

December 11: Sick Day

December 12: All healthy!

December 13: I see London, I see France!

December 14:

Holly, the Elf on the Shelf- Week 1

After seeing a few Elf on the Shelves last year, I was excited to start the tradition this year.  It's not as popular here so it took a week to find the Elf on the Shelf (for a good price) and she was delivered just in time.  We first saw her December 1 and here is what she got up to in the lead up to Christmas.

Eloise loved Holly, and giggled so much each morning.  Sometimes Eden noticed her and thought she was so funny too!  Eloise did not like December 3rd when Holly started to get a bit cheeky and drew on her and Eden's photos.  She thought Holly deserved a time-out for that.

December 1:

December 2:

December 3:

December 4:

December 5:

December 6:

December 7: Darth Tater & Spudtrooper recruit Holly to decorate The Executor

November: The Good, the Bad and the Turkey

"Inventors" school portrait 

The Bad: Throttling Three's... again.

Okay.  Seriously.  Am I being punished?

I don't get it.  We have a great week... dare I say it, 2 weeks even, then BAM!  Back to throttling three behaviour again.  I am so sick of being pushed to my limits.  I am beginning to think that part-time is not enough!  Bring on the Monday to Friday, 9-5pm!  We started a good behaviour chart to match the one MissE has at school; she has had only a handful of stickers for over 4 weeks now.  Also, my guest room closet is now full of toys to be donated to little girl's who listen and MissE's playroom is growing sparse.

*Note: I'm not going to donate them, as she behaves, her toys make reappearances.  It sounds cruel, but it works.

This month I learned that little girls can be mean.  I look at the mamas' of boys in my Mothers' Group turned Play Group and their boys, while rambunctious, plant random kisses and bear hugs on them.  Or shout a spontaneous "I love you so much, mama".  Sigh.  Don't take it personally, right?  Easier to tell myself than to believe it.

Let's Just Agree to Disagree

Another 3.5 year old hurdle, the constant arguing, even when there is nothing to argue about.  Here's a few examples:

Me: This is a new Doc McStuffins'

MissE: No, it's not.

Me: Have you seen it before?
MissE: No but it's not new.

Me: I'm glad you had a nap today.MissE: No, I didn't have a nap!

Me: You just woke up and came out of your room.  What have you been doing for 2 hours?

MissE: I didn't nap.  I rested with my eyes closed.
Me: Uh-huh.  And snored too.

Me: Oh dear.  There is no parking.

MissE: Yes, there is.

Me: Where?

MissE: There is!

Me: Can you see a spot to park?

MissE: No.

Me: Then is there any parking?

MissE: No.

The Good
Okay, enough negative!  We've had some fun this month, beginning with a fabulous Girl's Night Out: MissE and I saw Pixar in Concert at the Sydney Opera House, walked around the scenic Circular Quay, and finished the night off with ice cream.



The concert was fantastic.  The Sydney Symphony  Orchestra played while montages from Pixar movies showed on a large screen.  Embarrassingly, I teared up not once but twice!  First with Up, that 5 minute Carl & Ellie montage (if you haven't seen it, click here), then with the finale piece of Toy Story 3, Andy passing on his toys to Bonnie.  MissE was very good and needed only a few reminders to sit quiet and still during the performance.  Her favorite was the Toy Story and Brave montages.

Optus Family Day at Taronga Zoo
One tick off my bucket list: feeding a giraffe.

We had a wonderful day at the zoo.  Sydney Transport has an excellent Family Fun Day Sunday deal, $2.50 per person (4 and up) to ride public transportation all day!   So we arrived at Taronga Zoo the best way, via ferry.  It was Eden's first boat ride, and MissE is a seasoned boater now.  Eden loved watching the gorillas and the ice cream (he kept taking mine out of my hand!).  MissE loved getting up close to the giraffe.  They also had a very cool Dinosaurs in the Wild Exhibition with life-size and life-like (growling and moving parts!) dinosaurs. 

Dino Seeking Loving Adoptive Parents





Eden watching the gorillas

Getting ready to feed the giraffe

Meeting Jimiyu





Diwali
MissE learned about Diwali.  One of the lovely teachers, Miss R, did henna on all the girls' hands.  MissE especially enjoyed this.  I also showed her photos of when I went to India and had henna done.

Eden

"Explorers" School Portrait

Eden is now 16 months.  He is so much fun!  He loves being chased, giggling like crazy.  He is a typical boy and climbs anything and everything he can.  He loves going "ide" (outside) to play in the sand pit.

Cheeky Monkey heard the garage door and thought he would check who it was

These boots (Eloise's) are made for walking

Mmm, yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and ask you to come in on Sunday

He has adjusted to daycare now and has a lot of fun there (but still attached to me when we get home). 

He has a few new words: Spot (his dog toy), banana, bot-bot (bum), done, this, cheese, nai-nai (milk in Cantonese), jo-jo (jello).  He is a little parrot.  One day, in the car with daddy, daddy honked the horn.  He then spent the rest of the day saying "beep beep!".


MissE Says the Darnedest Things
Daddy: do you like your new school?
MissE: yes!
Daddy: what do you like about it?
MissE: my teacher, there are lots of toys to play with, and poppies.
Me: Poppies?
MissE: Yes, poppies to remember the soldiers who climbed the mountain to fight the bad guys.

Me: That's not being a princess. (MissE is walking around with her skirt up, revealing her undies)
MissE: I am a princess!
Me: Princess' don't do that.
MissE: It doesn't matter, I AM a princess!
Me: Who told you were a princess?
MissE: Daddy.
Me: Of course he did.

MissE: (Playing a toy guitar while Eden plays a toy drum) KNOCK IT OFF!
Daddy: What does that mean?
MissE: Play LOUDER.
Ha, ha. 

Thanksgiving
Gobble, gobble!  It's Turkey time!  We had a small dinner party on the Saturday, following American Thanksgiving.  Thanks to our recent trip, I came back armed with Stove Top stuffing and French's Fried Onions to make our dinner complete.

The Little Turkeys' place-setting: Pilgrim hats full of Crayons and a copycat PBK ship for treats

Gobble, gobble: Pumpkin Spice RCT turkeys

Eden likes the Thanksgiving menu

Homesick
MissE seems to be homesick for her second home, Pau-Pau's.  In the last few weeks, she asks when we will go to American again and says how she misses Pau-Pau and Gung-Gung, and Miranda.  She also tells me how she misses Chevy's, Taco Bell, and Target.  So do I, Eloise.  So do I.

Until next time... Christmas!

*Small end note:  I am officially annoyed at Blogger!  I want to keep bringing you monthly stories of life Down Under but I've reached my photo storage limit.  Grr!  I am working out the best way to keep sharing photos with you at the smallest cost.
** Sorry to those who viewed the blog with photos missing.  I have hopefully fixed the issue!





Eden's First Year

Better late than never, here is the link to Eden's First Year slideshow:  (Click below)

Eden's First Year

*Warning: it is long!  I tried to cut it down but since it was his first year, there was a lot to show!

Happy Halloween!

My favorite time of year!  And even better this year, I had the chance to stock up on Halloween supplies while in the US so I was fully prepared for Halloween... almost.

MissE decided our costumes for us this year and they should come as no surprise!

• Eloise= Cinderella
• Eden= Pumpkin
• Me= Fairy Godmother (well, first she wanted me to be the Stepmother!)

Eloise and Eden's were purchased, but mine was made by me!

BOO!

Halloween dinner

Halloween for KIDS!
While we found 2 additional Halloween happenings hauntings, we enjoyed Halloween for KIDS (hosted by Network Canada, eh) last year so decided to go again, plus it's at The Argyle (restaurant/ bar) which means this Fairy Godmother can have a good time too!
Funnily enough, the weather was cool and overcast this year so it almost felt like a Bay Area Halloween.  I was too cold to wear my Fairy Godmother skirt so I opted for Fairy Godmother on top, me on the bottom.
Cinderella had a wonderful time getting mummy wrapped and trick-o-treating.

Trick 'o Treat!
We were very lucky to be invited to go trick 'o treating again by my dear ex-colleague.  She knows how much I love Halloween and how difficult it is to find trick 'o treating spots.
After having the costume faux pas same costumes, we were scrambling to finish real-Halloween costumes in time but we did it! "This proton pack won't paint itself!" was heard...

"I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's. I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's! "- Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's

Who ya gonna call?  GHOSTBUSTERS!

One was more cooperative than the other:
According to MissE, she was "Princess Audrey". Okay that works too.  (I made her tutu dress)
Mr.E refused to wear his proton pack and his protective goggles. (Mr.H put together his proton pack)

After bag decorating and a Costume Parade, trick o'treating we went! Eloise Go-Lightly had the routine down pack "Trick-or-Treat! And thank you!" Eden didn't quite understand the concept. They gave him candy and he would put it back in the bowl!

For me???

Halloween Playgroup
We decided to forgo our un-annual Halloween Party again this year so I hosted a Halloween Playgroup for Eloise's and Eden's friends.  We had treats, spooky crafts and a play!

Grinning Jack-o-Lantern cake pops

Jack Skellington cake pops (A Nightmare Before Christmas)

Graveyard cupcakes

Decorating foam pumpkins

Going Batty!

I just had to mention my nails... I am a big fan of Sally Hanson's Salon Effects now. These are too easy and no drying time!  I am obsessed!

October Photo a Day Challenge

Photo a Day Challenge time again!  I love doing these photo challenges every few months because it's fun and it actually makes me stop to "smell the roses" (take a photo).  This collection of photos were taken recently, or reminded me a photo (#5)

The photo prompts

1. Where you stood: My childhood bedroom
2. Lunchtime: Skipped (in flight)
3. This happened today: Returned to Sydney after 10 weeks
4. What you Read: Eyemask... hello jet-lag!
5. Shadow: Elephant safari, Zambia (my honeymoon)
6. I'm thankful for... me time!
7. Light: Stadium lights at AT&T Park
8. Angle: The Bay Bridge
9. Red: Penfolds Cellar Reserve (acquired on a trip to the Barossa in 2005)
10. Emotion: Happy
11. Something close-up: Thomas Sabo charm bracelet
12. On the table: It's never too early for pumpkin pie!
13. Landscape: Our veggie garden
14. Makes you laugh: Mr.Man in disguise
15. Dinnertime
16. Something you wrote
17. Fruit: Pineapple from The Dole Plantation, HI
18. Made you smile today: TOMS ships to Australia!
19. Letters
20. 4 o'clock: Cinderella with my little Cinderella
21. Calm: Would you believe this is down the street from my work?
22. In your town
23. The view from here: Getting spooky for Halloween
24. Weather
25. People
26. Listening to: The Date Maddox Band at the Crave International Food Festival
27. Morning
28. Looking back: I love this photo of me in my crib and my sister peeking in
29. Moon: From the August Moon
30. Clothes: A Pinterest idea, Eloise in my wedding dress
31. Whatever you please: Halloween of course!