A bit of this and that…..

I have been a little slack when it comes to blogging of late.  I have lots of little bits to catch you up on.  Oh also I have not picked up my Nikon since discovering Instagram.  I will have to dust the cobwebs off the Nikon this week….. promise.

1.  We are seriously excited about having family move closer.  Andrew’s brother and his family are now only an hour away.  Ben can’t contain his excitement about being closer to Tom and Maggie.  We had a bit of a party afternoon tea when we went to visit.  Don’t they look pretty spiffy in their school uniforms!!

2.  Andrew and I went to see Mary Poppins at the theatre…….. It was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!!!  I loved it – REALLY loved it.  Andrew thought it was ok.  I loved it so much that I came home and booked tickets to go again.  Mum and I are going  and we have the best seats …… two rows from the front.  I can’t wait  eeeeee!!!!!!

3.  We have had heaps of rain.  It seems to be raining most days in the afternoons.  It is really difficult not to have a nanna nap!!  It would be (and is) so easy to curl up on the couch!  I am trying to break the habit!

4.  We have been teaching Ben to play Uno.  He loves it.   He is particularly found of draw four and draw two cards.  He loves to use them and laughs when you have to pick up.  He is pretty switched on and can  beat me.  He loves that as well. I have to get my game face on now!

5.  Oh my……. can you believe Ben has a Barbie and Ken.  Barbie is a police woman and Ken is a fireman.  I think they look more like strippers.   I’m not a huge fan!

6.  Check out our Bonnie.  I went to pick her up from her haircut and nearly died.  They shaved her.  It must have been a new person clipping her.   I hardly recognized her.  She is still pretty adorable and looks so tiny.

7.  Ben has the greatest marble run ever.  If you don’t have one…..you need one.  It’s called Quadrilla.  Ben got it for Christmas from his Gamma and Grandad.  If you are thinking of buying one the marble catching trays are a must.  We don’t have them and are forever picking up   marbles from the front door to the back door.  I really need to order the trays.

8.  This is Ben’s creation – a spider.  Ben has never been into making craft.   It seemed the more I tried to encourage it the more Ben pushed it away.  But recently a miracle has happened.  His got his creative mojo happening……. it’s fabulous!  This week at Kindy he made another spider and so did his whole class.  It is super to see him take ownership over his play at school.

9.  It might look like just some bits of Lego on a board to you.  But it is a very serious Lego game.  Do you like the dice made from Lego men legs.  Ben sits with us playing his games (totally made up, with rules that change continually) forever.  His imagination is so interesting and fresh.  He always surprises me (and he always wins!).

10.  This is Ben’s new favourite.  He calls it a ‘fluffle pillow’  instead of a ‘whoopee cushion’ which I find hilarious.   He was given it as a prize at Charlotte’s 9th birthday party.  I have never heard him laugh so hard.  I suppose this is the beginning of the toilet humor that I don’t think boys ever get over.

11.  This is my new favourite breakfast….. for a treat – Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake.  I’m pretty sure I have mentioned it before.  You really need to make it.  So yum!!!

12.  I am so so so excited to finally have a Tom Tom GPS.  Those who know me know I have absolutely no sense of direction.  Andrew has an inbuilt GPS.  He very rarely gets lost.  But unfortunately he can’t be my full time chauffeur.

13.  We have been visiting our cousins on the coast.  We caught up with Hugo, Evie and Aunty Claire…… always a pleasure (well  when the boys aren’t killing each other – we will have some stories for them when they are older xo).

14.  Ipswich Art Gallery had a pretty spectacular Children’s Gallery this school holiday – Built for Speed.   You could design, build and race your Lego hot rod, dragster or supercar down ramps and slick tracks.  It was busy and loud but so fun!

15.  Finally Andrew is home – tired, smelly but refreshed from a week skiing in Japan with his mates Tapio and Ben.  Check out Tapio’s video of the posse carving up the mountain!  We are happy to have him home with no broken bones (hehehe).    Missed you heaps honey!! I am sure he will update you on his fab adventures soon.