Invitations

I LOVE creating invitations on the computer!

You might recall my Ticketek invites to the Little Big Fella's 3rd birthday?

OMG!!!!  I just looked and discovered that I didn't post a picture of it!!!  Let's see if I can find a copy somewhere.

I was particularly proud of it because it looks so similar to a real Ticketek ticket, and it took me a bit of time to make it work properly.

This year, the Little Big Fella has decided that he wants a Superhero party (again!).  So I needed a good superhero invite.  Unfortunately I no longer have the program I used for the Ticketek invite, so I've had to fiddle around a bit to create this one:

For a quick, throw-together, I'm pretty happy with that!

Will we survive?

You might remember that a few weeks ago the Little Big Fella managed to cut his finger with a steak knife whilst trying to open a packet of tortillas by himself.  He learned that scissors are a better option.

Earlier this week the Little Big Fella was trying to do a handstand off the trampoline onto the concrete.  Obviously the fact that I'm telling you about it means that he was unsuccessful.  He learned that the grass is the best place to practice handstands.

Last night my darling son (again) couldn't wait for me to use the facilities while he was dying of hunger.  He got a scone (Americans call them biscuits) from the freezer, put it on a plastic plate and put it in the microwave.  First thing I knew about any of this was when I exited the loo to be told something about smoke, although I didn't decipher that part immediately.

"All right, show me what you've done", said I.

I was guided to the kitchen, to discover smoke pouring out of the microwave.

The next 5 minutes were spent throwing the black scone and melted plate over the balcony onto the grass and trying to get smoke out of the house, whilst waving a placemat at the smoke detector to shut it up.

The Little Big Fella has since learned which one button on the microwave he is allowed to push (our start button will set the time to 30 seconds).

But all of this makes me wonder if any of us will survive to his adulthood.  No doubt there will be broken bones in the future, especially given the new motorbike skills he's developing.  I'm wondering if there'll be electrocutions, loss of digits or limbs, all manner of (hopefully minor) fire incidents...

Then there's the reality that I am now a heart-in-mouth parent.  Watching my little boy get a few wobbles on that bike was very stressful!

But, the flipside of it all is that my "little" Big Fella is not going to be little for long.  He's learning how to do things for himself (albeit the hard way).  As well as food-related independence, we've been teaching him some letters of the alphabet while he's on holidays from kindy.  And he's soaking it up like a sponge!

So I guess now is a significant learning time for the Little Big Fella, and it would probably be smart for us to make the most of that.  Because soon he'll know it all ;-)

Grandparents!!!

This is a catch-up post!  Yay!!!

I've been seriously floored with a head cold that won't let me breathe - even when I take anti-histamines, spray stuff up my nose and have a very hot, steamy shower.   Kind of makes it hard to think, and sleep (and therefore think), let alone write!

So, sorry about the delay (and lack of posts this past week or so).  Let's catch up!

The Big Fella's parents, Grandma and Grandpa, live two states away, but their families are in and around the capital of this state.  They tend to come up a couple of times a year, and this time they made the effort to come and see us in our new, semi-outback town.

(By the way, we've been here for a whole year tomorrow!)

While they were here, we decided to take them to our most notable attraction - a gorgeous waterfall in the hills we see on the other side of the highway.  It takes about 45 minutes to drive there, then almost an hour to walk in to the waterfall.

Given the possibility of a swim when we got there, the Little Big Fella had no complaints on the way in.

Unfortunately, it was rather chilly in the water (I couldn't even stand in it, it felt pretty much icy) so no swimming was enjoyed this time, but the views were great and we all enjoyed a bit of rock crawling.

The Big Fella's parents :-)

The Little Big Fella decided he needed Blue Bear on the trek.  You can tell by the lack of stuffing in his neck that he's well-loved :-D

Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the Little Big Fella was not keen to walk the hour back to the car.  So the Big Fella piggy-backed him up all 240 stairs!

I got to carry the Little Big Fella for short bursts along the track as well, but where it was pretty flat.

I have to take this moment to brag a little too, because I'm so proud of the changes I'm seeing from all the effort I've been putting in.

Last time we came to this waterfall, I remember having very little breath by the time I reached the top, and my butt was killing me!  But this time I got to the top, only just out of breath, and that was having run up and down a few sections so I could get some of these photos.  My butt was fi-ine :-D

Yay me!!!  And thank you to Holly and my online friends from Fit Yummy Mummy for helping me get to this level of strength and fitness!

This is the crossing on the way to the falls - gorgeous in its own right!

That evening we'd decided to go out for dinner.  So we took Grandma and Grandpa to the golf club, where the restaurant specialises in Thai food (as well as offering standard pub fare).  It was a really lovely evening with good conversation, good food, and a little bit of good drink.  We thoroughly enjoyed each others' company and felt content with the day's efforts :-)

The next morning the Big Fella had to go to work before the rest of us were even awake.  We had a nice, leisurely breakfast and Grandma and Grandpa started getting their things together so they could go on to their next stop.

But before they went we got to have a bit of a play with some giant bubble wands that Grandpa had brought for the Little Big Fella.

Here's Grandpa :-)

Grandma and the Little Big Fella enjoying the show :-)

Our "brave" dogs hiding under Grandma's feet :-}

Grandpa's pretty good at this!

My cheeky son pretending to be an astronaut?

Grandma's turn!

Why, Little Big Fella!  What a big bubble you have!!!

The Little Big Fella loves to hit the bubbles that are already floating in the air.  Because of the awesomeness of these bubble wands, he created a big one at the same time!

Eventually it had to happen - it was time for Grandma and Grandpa to leave.  Hugs and kisses all around and reminding all that we'll see each other in July, and then they were off.

Sometimes, living so far away from family really sucks.  Okay, most of the time.  But I'm so grateful for blogs, Facebook, mobile phones, Skype and all of the technology, as well as old-fashioned snail mail, that allows us to keep in touch with them and make the distance not feel so far... most of the time.  We love you all and can't wait to see you soon!!!

Toys and friends

For those of you who don't have kids (or don't live in Australia), the major department stores have a massive toy sale at this time of year.  They allow lay-by where they hold the items until just before Christmas so a lot of people do the majority of their Christmas shopping now.


After looking at the catalogues online, I decided there were several items that I'd like to purchase for the Little Big Fella and that it was cheaper to drive to our nearest major town (an hour away) than pay for delivery.  So today was the day we had enough time to go all together.


We had a relaxed morning, sitting in bed with a cuppa for a chat and eventually getting started around 8:30, or maybe 9 o'clock :-)


I made lunches and snacks (we'd be spending enough money as it was and I wanted to have a healthy lunch if possible) then went and showered and got ready.


After other "chooking around" we eventually left at about 10:30.  I've never left for a "trip" so late!!!  But it was only an hour drive so no biggie :-)


Big W was first.  They didn't have any of the things I wanted to get!  Although mildly frustrated (okay, pretty frustrated) I was soon shown a bunch of things that the Little Big Fella was excited about, including a chainsaw that makes the sounds and even has a rubber chain that works.


We also picked up a couple of Nerf guns so I'd imagine Christmas will be semi-violent this year :-D


On the way out of the shopping centre we came across a clothing store that had "outback" style clothing... and we loved it!  The Big Fella is planning to go back there in a month or so and have a big wardrobe replacement :-)  And I picked up a nice, cosy, warm, fleecy jacket to replace the one I've been wearing since we were engaged!


We went to the other main shopping centre and had a look around, finding another "outback" style clothing store to get excited about.  On our way to the supermarket, the Little Big Fella stopped to play in the coin-fed car (so sad, it was out of order).  While he's playing a family walked by and the lady looked at my son in the car with a big smile.  Then her gaze flicked by me and we both did a double-take!  We'd been in the same mother's group in our last town!!!


It turns out they are now living in a mining town a little north of us and this major town is the one they visit most regularly.  It was so cool to meet up with someone I'd previously known in such a random way!  And her kids are gorgeous!  Last time I saw them was a few days before they moved and their little girl was only about 2 weeks old - she's now walking and talking very well.


Apparently they come near us on a semi-regular basis so we've promised to catch up for lunch or dinner or something next time they go by.  And the Little Big Fella and I might take a drive up that way when the Big Fella needs lots of day sleep or something :-)


We had another couple of short stops on the way home then the Fellas built a fire out the back this afternoon.  The plan was to cook dinner on it but that didn't quite work so we ended up inside.  I was quietly happy about this because it's freezing outside tonight (for those Victorians in particular who don't believe me, it'll be between 3 and 5 degrees overnight).


All was going fairly well until the puppies peed on the carpet.  About 5 minutes later the Little Big Fella woke up because he'd wet his bed (through his nappy, by the way).  Just when you think your cleaning-up-pee days are over...


And the DVD player we bought today doesn't seem to be compatible with our TV.  That makes for an unhappy Big Fella.


I guess tomorrow is another day!

Going offline!!!

Well folks, it's time for me to pack up my computer for the move!  It's all happening and, while I felt pretty good this morning, this evening I'm feeling stressed that there's not enough done and the Big Fella will freak out about what's left when he gets here.


Ah well, it is what it is and will be done when it's done.  In theory I could pack and clean all night and all day tomorrow then totally crash at my grandparent's place tomorrow night, but I don't operate very well on no sleep.


I was reflecting today that sometimes, even when we're not moving, we don't realise we've already had our last conversation with someone who added something to our life.


For example, I won't get to talk to our garbage truck driver again but we've previously had mini conversations as the Little Big Fella insisted on going out twice a week to watch the rubbish truck.


Or the guy who works in the caravan park behind us and we used to chat to regularly.


Or the lady who sells Body Shop here and has a lovely daughter who she struggles with.


Or our neighbour who just moved in a month or so ago and invited the Little Big Fella over for a play today so that I could finish mowing.


People come in and out of our lives all the time, sometimes for a short time, or sometimes for a season.  They add to the richness of our lives in the smallest conversation or gesture, or sometimes they add a lot.


I enjoyed reflecting on the "people in my neighbourhood" (come on, are you humming it in your head yet???  Gotta love old school Sesame Street) today.  It made me smile and it reminded me of how grateful I am that life is not lived in isolation, but in community.


I'm looking forward to the new community we'll be becoming a part of.  I hope it's as good or better than this one!


Oh!!!!  You may remember I mentioned briefly about the Little Big Fella's first swimming lesson without me in the pool two weeks ago?  He bawled his eyes out and was completely morose for the whole class.  Last week he was better after a while, but needed encouragement to get in the pool.  Today he practically jumped in the pool with excitement!  It was so good to see him enjoying it so much.  And he's developed so much in these three lessons, which makes me really glad we did it.


Okay!  The truck's nearly here and I gotta cook dinner and then pack up the computer.  See you in a few days!!!!!!