Initiation

There are some rites of passage and experiences that are really important for kids to go through.  And some of them preferably involve their Dad!

Today the Big Fella drove us up to the nearby tablelands and from there to a waterfall.  We had to walk the 1.8kms (about 1.1 miles) from the carpark down to the waterfall, which also included 240 steep steps right before you arrive at the falls.

But I suspect you'll agree that it was worth the walk!

When we got to the falls, we jumped straight in, then almost jumped straight back out!!!!  It was COLD!!!  But we braved it and had a play and a splash around.  Here's me and the Little Big Fella mucking around:

And here's the Big Fella :-)

After a bite of lunch, we decided that it was time to initiate the Little Big Fella in the art of rock-hopping!  Unsurprisingly, he loved it :-D  Almost too much actually!  At one stage he was "exploring" rather near to the edge of a cliff and didn't understand when we told him to stay away.  When I tried to explain it he ended up crying and wouldn't be consoled for the next 5 minutes (exasperating to say the least!).

After a bit more swimming and rock hopping, we started the climb back up the hill.  Let me tell you, despite my current exercise regime I felt the burn by the top of those 240 steps!!!  And no, Melbournians, I don't believe I'll be attempting the 1000 steps when I'm next visiting!

We then endured the rest of the walk with the Little Big Fella whingeing and whining like you wouldn't believe!!!  He didn't want to walk, he wanted to be carried.  But he's getting too big to be carried everywhere and neither of us had enough energy to walk and carry him up the hill.

So we walked and I tried to distract the Little Big Fella with talk of visiting family in the next little while, and what kindy will be like next year and so on. Eventually we reached the carpark and everyone was happy again :-)

The next door neighbours' girls had an initiation tonight as well.  The Little Big Fella was outside talking to them while we were preparing dinner and so on, when suddenly the he comes racing upstairs looking for Daddy.  They'd found a toad and had to deal with it!

So Daddy went downstairs and found his golf club.  The toad jumped through the fence so he taught the girls how to "dispatch" it.  I wonder what their parents think about that?  Being Queenslanders, I suspect they won't mind as cane toads are an introduced pest species that kill native wildlife, but still... you just never know!!!

Cooking with Mum

The Little Big Fella is very tall for his age.  In some ways, he also seems older than a three and a half year old.  So sometimes we forget that he's only 3.

Over the past week he has wanted to cook with me.  Great right?  Well, mostly.  See, cooking to him involves handling our (very) sharp knives, and stirring the pots on the stove.  And he's, well, he's rather a determined little man and is harder to distract these days.

So, I've been letting him cook with me.  (I'm pretty sure I mentioned this briefly the other day.)  He has cut up vegetables, and his bread crusts (to feed the chickens), and he handles the knives amazingly well.  He's developing ridiculously good fine motor skills!

(Meanwhile, I'm standing right there, watching him moving his fingers out of the way - on the one hand SO proud of him, and on the other considering how quickly I can get to the first aid box if he slips!)

And the other day he used the mortar and pestle for me.  Now there's a great job for a little boy!!!

Pounding away!

Checking to see if the texture is right yet ;-)

I'm sure I've mentioned before, but I believe that part of my role as a parent is to ensure my child is capable and independent enough to cope with each stage of life as it comes.  Ultimately, I want him to be able to leave home ;-)

But one of the challenges I'm finding is working out when to let him do some things.

I wonder if 3 is too young to handle a sharp knife?

Halloween

I know a lot of you aren't fans of Halloween.  And I totally get that!

But it turns out that they "do" Halloween here in our little town.  They decorate their homes and/or yards, and the kids do a Trick or Treat walk, and they even had a Halloween disco.  Altogether, it's kind of odd in Australia (Halloween hasn't been a big thing here for all of my life so far), and even more odd in such a small town I guess.

When I was younger (okay, a lot younger!) I saw Halloween on American TV shows and wished we had it here!  I wanted to dress up and go and get free lollies (candy) from people!!!  It all looked like so much fun!!!

Then I got to live in the States for a year.  Holiday season was by far my favourite time of year there!  Especially Christmas and the snow and the lights and all of that.  But Halloween and Thanksgiving definitely made the build up to Christmas even better.

The people I lived with didn't do Halloween as such, but we were involved in a massive Harvest Party.

It. Was. AMAZING!!!

I have never seen so many lollies in my life!!!!  And the decorations and the fun and games and the dress ups.  It was one of the most fun times I had there... and I had some amazingly fun times!

I especially liked that they incorporated all the "fun" stuff of Halloween, without the scary stuff.  I've never been a huge fan of scary.  I don't like watching scary movies - even some edge-of-your-seat action movies are too much for me.  And I really don't like witches and goblins and ghouls and all of that.  It's just not my thing at all.  Feel free to pick on me if you wish.

So I'm glad that the Little Big Fella got to enjoy some of the good stuff as well.  We went to the Halloween disco and he got dressed up (as did I - one of the few adults who did, which was kind of embarrassing but the Little Big Fella probably wouldn't have dressed up if I didn't... and I looked great :-D).  I think the music, costumes and number of people overwhelmed him a little so we ended up leaving after about half an hour, but he wanted to go back as soon as we got home so it couldn't have been that bad :-).

And Saturday night we went on the Halloween walk.  It was really well organised, with people in town putting their names on a list at the shop if they wanted the kids to come to their house.  Then everyone met at the CWA hall and parents and kids walked around together, collecting lollies at each house.

We met at 6pm and the kids ran around while the late starters turned up ;-)  Even lots of the parents had some version of dress-up going on this time :-D

Originally there were about 8 houses that we were going to visit... turns out there were about 16.  Now, our town is pretty small.  If you're driving through you can pretty much blink and you'll miss it.  But going to 16 houses from one end of town to the other, with little kids walking (or being carried as the night goes on) takes AGES!

We didn't get home until 8:15 and by then the Little Big Fella was sooking/crying all the way home from the end of our street, then more at home while he was having a drink of water, while he was having a wash and brushing his teeth, all the way to bed, where he completely crashed in about 5 seconds.

The walk itself was great!  People were incredibly generous.  We came home with a rather large stash of lollies, chips and a few little toys.  I reckon there's enough there to last him for at least a couple of months, and that's eating one every day (which is definitely not normal in our house!).

Amazingly, the Little Big Fella didn't get scared when his friends' dad jumped out from behind a divider.  Instead, he grabbed his sword and tried to cut him down!!!  Looks like we've got ourselves a brave one ;-)

He was dressed as Buzz Lightyear for the walk and ran around for most of the night with his friend (dressed as Spiderman) and they called each other Buzz and Spiderman, rather than their real names - it was pretty cute :-)

Here's the cutie in his Buzz suit.  He really loves wearing it and wore it, off and on, for 3 days straight this week!  Actually, I think he was alternating between his Buzz suit and his swim suit, with his clothes occasionally getting a turn too :-D

So overall we enjoyed the Halloween festivities this year.  If we do it again next year, I'd like to do some more decorations (I love decorating!), possibly make a jack-o-lantern, make sure we have glow sticks or similar for our walk (easier to find each other), and maybe do something other than lollies for our treats to give out (everyone who hadn't eaten dinner especially appreciated the chips as an alternative to all that sugar).

It's about to get bu-sy!

I flipped my calendar over this morning for the new month.  Then I flipped!  November is nearly full and it's only just started!!!

Okay, yeah.  That's an exaggeration.  Sorry.

But we have at least one party every week this month and I know there will be other things coming up that aren't on the calendar yet.

And then there's Christmas in eight weeks (that's only four pay cycles for us!).  We don't even know what we're doing for Christmas this year!

Do we have a quiet Christmas here, just the three of us?

Do we go back to our old town and have a celebration with my grandparents and my sister and her family?

Do we do the massive drive down to spend the time with the Big Fella's family in our capital?

Do we splurge and fly down to Victoria and hang with the rest of the family?  (Sorry, as much as I know you Southerners would like that (and we would too, obviously), it's not going to happen :-(  But we'll see you mid year!!!!  (Have I mentioned I got P!nk tickets and I'm going with my brother and youngest sister????  Rather excited about that one!!!!))

I guess the big question for me at the moment is, "will I keep it all together?".  See, since I've had the Little Big Fella, I've started (unfortunately rather regularly) forgetting things.

I leave things behind.

I forget to call people.

I forget to tell the Big Fella important information or pass on messages.

You could probably call it "extended baby brain".  And it sucks!  I used to be so organised and rarely forgot anything, especially something important.  Sigh.  Another element of motherhood that I wasn't prepared for ;-)

C'est la vie!

This week has been great in that we've been getting together with friends around town that we haven't seen for a while.  We got to go to playgroup on Wednesday, and we went to the park yesterday (catching up with a friend who got married on their recent trip to Fiji), and had friends over to splash in our little pool today.  It's been especially great after being in the house with wet weather over the weekend.

Oh!  And the Little Big Fella ended up having a solo swimming lesson this week because everyone else was away.  I think it was great for him to develop a bit more confidence, and also for his teacher to see that she can push him further and he'll pretty much go with it.  His big thing at the moment is putting his face in the water - he'll only do it with his goggles on!!!

My little boy makes me so frustrated sometimes, then makes me giggle the next minute.  This morning he did my exercises with me, which always makes me laugh because he's just so darned cute!  Although, after a couple of minutes he said, "I've had enough now" and toddled off.

This afternoon he sat in front of the mirror pretending to be a pirate, with one hand over his eye, whilst eating a banana and saying to the pirate in the mirror, "Argh me hearty!  Does that banana taste good?".

Yesterday he was determined that he wanted to cook with me.  We had plenty of time so he got up on his chair and helped me cut up the vegetables and stir the sauce.  By the end I was frustrated because it was taking so long (I have a vague recollection of mum saying something similar!), but I was also really proud of how well he did.  I mean, he is only three and a half and here he was using (very) sharp knives and stirring food on the stove, pretty much like a pro (obviously with very close supervision).

Next year the Little Big Fella will be going to kindy (a year of play-based learning before starting school) and it will be a major milestone for us.  One of the first major points in time where I learn to let go, and he tackles a new level of independence.

Which, of course, gets me thinking about the other major milestones we'll eventually pass - first day of school, first day of high school, first visit to the Principal's office, first job, getting married, having his first child.

Which makes me appreciate this time that we have (even though I do find it rather frustrating as well) because it's such a unique period where I get to be with him all the time, and be part of every big and little step.  It won't last forever so I'll enjoy it now... and then enjoy the next stage too :-D

Neutered!

Our dogs turned 9 months this week.  Ever since they were about 6 months I've been meaning to make an appointment with the vet to get them both de-sexed.  I'm not anti-puppies per se, but brother and sister puppies...

Well, I hadn't gotten around to it.  The Big Fella was understandably a little annoyed about it but every time I remembered it was after hours or on the weekend and the reminders I put in my phone always came when I couldn't do anything about it too (and my snooze function is as useful as a cheese sandwich to a drowning ferret http://www.bored.com/findcliches/stupidpeople.htm).

So a couple of months have passed.

Yesterday, it became obvious that we need to get them de-sexed ASAP!  So I made the appointment for Frankie and they were able to fit him in today.

This morning I wasn't allowed to feed Frankie so Choccie had to wait too.  They were obviously rather hungry (we'd moved a big rock over the hole in the back fence and I suspect they've been eating the dogs' food from over there for a little while).  I felt bad for them but we had to follow the doctor's orders.

Around 11 this morning we bundled Frankie into the car.  This was stressful for him on two levels; 1) he hates being picked up and the car is too tall for him to just jump in, and 2) he hates going in the car!  Poor little fella!

On the way we collected the mail then ran into the Big Fella!  He'd just finished work so we picked him up ;-)

At the vet Frankie was definitely stressed out!  Our dogs don't yet walk with a leash - Frankie is the worst because he just sits and refuses to budge!  So I had to carry him inside and he obviously knew that it wasn't going to be a fun place to visit.

As an aside, there was a lovely dog behind the counter with the lady.  He was probably a Great Dane or similar and he only had one eye.  He was really calm and gentle, but also curious about us.

We did the paperwork and so on then left, with Frankie's plaintive barking in the background.

The Little Big Fella lost the plot.  On reflection I didn't really prepare him very well.  As soon as we were outside he started crying, saying that he missed his dog Frankie.  I tried to explain that the vet would look after Frankie and that we'd be able to pick him up in the afternoon but the Little Big Fella was not mollified.

15 minutes later!!!

By this time I was getting a bit sick of the drama.  Yep, sometimes I can be a cold, heartless, callous mother.  But I'd spent the last 15 minutes trying to explain and soothe and calm him down.  And he'd stop for a minute or two, then start all over again.

So now it was time for the serious Mummy voice.

I told him that it was okay to be sad, and to miss his dog, but now it was time to stop crying.  And every time he started to look like he was going to start crying again, I'd remind him, "you can be sad, but no more crying".

Writing it out like this makes me feel like a horrible parent!  But if we'd had to put the dog down or something serious like that, I would have dealt with it a bit differently I guess.  The reality is, the dog was only going to the vet for a few hours, and even though the Little Big Fella doesn't fully understand, I feel like it's important for him to learn a little bit of self-control because he does tend to over-dramatise his sadness, possibly tending toward self-pity.  And that's not something I can allow to continue as a parent who's attempting to prepare her son for life.

Anyway, we went home and had lunch and watched movies and talked to the chickens and whatever else then called the vet and found out that Frankie was awake and should be okay to go home by the time we got there.

Back into the car and off to collect our little boy.

The vet was SO lovely!  We hadn't actually met him this morning, but when I met him this afternoon I was really happy to have this man looking after my dog.  He is an older man, probably in his 60s, and seems to have the sweetest disposition.  The way he held Frankie and the way he spoke to me was really encouraging and respectful.  There was no recrimination (turns out Frankie (and therefore Choccie, I guess) hadn't been vaccinated completely), just an obvious care for my dog.

So we brought Frankie home.  Notably, Frankie was quite happy to be picked up and just about jumped into the car!!!  At home Choccie was quite happy to see her brother, and very interested in his new smells.

For his part, Frankie was happy to see her, then just plain tired.  He obviously wanted to play, but just didn't have the energy for it today.  So we put the sheet from his travel basket (read washing basket) in the downstairs area and he happily went and lay down on it.

Even when I went out to bring in the washing, Frankie came out to see me but started shaking after a minute or two.  He just couldn't hold himself up any longer.  So I sat down and he jumped on my lap and we had a cuddle and a pat for a while.  Then I took him back to his "blanket" and he went back to sleep.

Apparently he'll be back to his normal self in the morning and then we'll take him back to the vet next week to get the stitches out.

I guess we'll have to get Choccie done soon too!!!

Look at me!!!

Recently the Little Big Fella has taken a liking to sitting in front of the mirror and... doing whatever really.

Today my Nutrimetics order arrived (I had a party two weeks ago) and I'd ordered some makeup.  So I got all my old makeup out and started tossing some stuff.  You know, lip gloss that has separated and probably not been used in 3 or 4 years, mascara that clogs as soon as you touch your eyelashes, pencils that are sharpened down so far you can't actually get them into the sharpener any more... you get the gist.

During this process I'd put my "stage" lipstick (super bright red) to one side, trying to decide if I'll ever need it again or if it's old enough to chuck anyway.

I then got to experimenting with some of my new stuff :-D  I discovered that one of the eyeliners I'd ordered has glitter in it!  Mildly excited about that - I love glitter :-D

After a little while the Little Big Fella comes in to the bathroom.

"Look at me mum!"

Thankfully my previous clowning experience taught me that a wipe with a cloth followed my a massage with sorbolene removes most stubborn makeup. He did have red/pink hair and one eyebrow for the rest of the day though :-D

A relaxing escape

We had a momentous event this morning!  Our first information session at the Little Big Fella's kindy (he starts next year).  Problem was, there wasn't much info at this session!  And the Big Fella felt completely out of place, being the only Dad there (come on guys!!!), and he was hungry and not really ready to be awake.

And I guess he was a bit annoyed that I'd left the paperwork for the kindy at home too... oops!

On the up side, after an initial bit of nervousness, the Little Big Fella discovered that kindy has toys!  Lots and lots of toys!  A whole little room set up with a kitchen and babies (he loves playing cooking and shushing the baby).  And then there's outside with the cubbies, sandpit, swings and all sorts of interesting stuff!!!

So while Mummy sat inside listening to... not an awful lot, Daddy got to sit outside and play with the kids :-)

We had a bit of time to fill in before the Little Big Fella's swimming lesson so we went and got some food for the Big Fella's breakfast then went to Macca's (McDonald's) for a coffee and a play.

Then it was off to swimming.  The Little Big Fella is just getting more and more confident in the water, although he has a thing about putting his head under water at the moment.  He has so much fun and jumps up and down in his excitement, which is rather entertaining to watch :-)

We've had a bit of a heatwave I guess, over the weekend and today.  Mid to high 30s (about 90-100 Fahrenheit?) most days for the past week.  So to escape the heat today, the Big Fella thought he'd take us to a river spot that one of his workmates told him about.

The description of where this place is was very... broad.  Something along the lines of, "just out of town".

Yup.

We drove to the town (about 60 kilometres away) then turned down the road.

And we drove, and drove, and drove.

Out of town.

Onto a dirt road.

Through some cattle grazing across the road.

On and on and on wondering if we were on the right road and if we'd ever get there!

Eventually, we turned back.  It couldn't have been the right road, surely?  And we had no mobile reception so our maps wouldn't show us where we were!  (Note to self: put paper maps in the car!)

We eventually got back to the town and found the information board at the main rest stop.  Sure enough, there was the river marked on the map - probably just a little further than we'd gone!

So back we went!  Through the town, onto the dirt road, past the grazing cattle, around a big bend, past some grain fields and finally!  We found the river!  And boy, was it worth it!

The water was beautiful!  So much nicer and warmer than the pool and the dam!  And a lovely sandy bottom!  And huge river trees that shaded a big part of the "beach" and some of the water.  And rocks for throwing (boys) or skipping (all of us).  And the obligatory rope swing, of course :-)

 

So we spent the afternoon lazing in the water, keeping cool and playing together.  Very much a relaxing escape from the heat :-)