Cooking with MaMa...

So instead of having an actual birthday party for Jake this year we did something I had been wanting to do for awhile but hadn't actually got around to organising it....we got the cousins together and had a 'Cooking with MaMa' (Mike's mum) party.


We had a little chef party and made our own pizza's...and had spotty chocolate milk.


Now I had to add this one of Hyrum...so you know he was actually there...in the above party photos he's...well...Jake's toys - especially his star wars spaceship - just proved much more temptation than pizza! But he showed his face every now and then...


...and this is what mummy had been waiting for allllll day!
A chance to use the kitchen blowtorch...we made an icecream volcano cake for Jake...icecream in the middle, rice crispy treat next and then meringue on the outside...jake was insistant on the lava...actually running down the sides like it's supposed to - the picture only showed a little bit of sprinkled lava on the top...he said it wasn't like a real volcano...and so we did our best to accommodate his requests!!! You can't half tell he's an architects grandson....details, details, details!!!

I was going through some old pictures from back in March...organising and all that...and came across this...it gave me a good laugh...I realise that some of you might find this rather hideous...and yes I agree...I can definitely appreciate that perspective...but I also find this quite hilarious...simply because it shows my kids at their best!! They love to make people laugh!

father's day & more...

One afternoon a few weeks ago I took the kids out for some photos after school...I have to say I think we had one of the funnest afternoons in ages...the kids enjoyed it and they were really getting into it...I mean who wouldn't when your mother actually 'encourages' you to go hitch hikin'!

So these were some photos we took for Mike's mums birthday...I have to say this was my favourite part...I was trying hard not to laugh so that the pictures wouldn't be blurry when a car actually drove by with some old guy crackin' up laughing at my kids!...not helping!



And these were for daddy for father's day...yes we have father's day in September...NOT June!


the ebay sign was especially for Mike since he's always telling the kids if they're naughty that he'll sell them on ebay...which the kids find quite hilarious...and then they sit there and have a discussion on how much they think Daddy will get for them!

and this...

well this was just random...but Jake was in such a funny mood that afternoon that he started to do this hilarious little dance...this was definitely one of those moments that I wish I had my video camera on me!

homework...

Not sure if anyone has experienced this problem, but it's a daily occurance for me...my husband works 'asian' hours - Hong Kong/Singapore are 3 hours behind us...which means he starts work when they start and finishes when they finish...so he gets home after dinner...which leaves the afternoon/evening routine to me....this has never been a problem, it's always worked well for our family but now that Jake gets homework, it's a become a juggling act! He usually needs a play and relax after school - but he also gets tired quickly...so I generally get dinner around the 5:30pm mark....which is also the best time for him to do homework too...I've found if I leave it too late he's tired and if I make him do it as soon as he gets home he will rebel! So I've found I have to juggle cooking dinner and monitoring/helping him with his homework tasks...he still takes awhile and generally we'll be there for about an hour. Now this isn't so bad...but add to the equation a little SISTER and it's a whole new ball game!

...Jake is easily distracted...

...it often takes alot of concentration for him to complete all his homework...

...this is one of my favourite parts...the tongue doesn't stop...

Now everything looks like its going just fine...but what you're not seeing is this....

this is Layne looking innocent and watching from the other side of the table...

.....closer...

...and closer...hoping we won't notice until she's practically hovering over Jake and telling him what he to do...

...and this is her telling me what she thinks when I tell her to stop hovering over Jake and leave him alone so he can do his homework! (I was giving her a peace sign, trying to make her laugh because she was sulking...)

Give her something to do??? ...oh we've been there...if she doesn't have the same work to do as Jake, she whinges...and she wants to give her homework to his school teacher (and I mean walk into the class room in the morning and give it to her - no way out of that one!)...and then if I give her something different...Jake wants to do what she's doing because her homework is more fun and his homework is boring!...a word he never knew until he went to school!

....and last but not least this gave me a good laugh - Layne wanted to be silly for the photo and right at the last minute jake flashed his pencil in front of the lens to try to ruin the picture...and look what we get...Layne hovering...to the point of biting his pencil!

Ok so maybe Layne isn't the only distraction...and maybe homework really is boring...because mummy was bored enough to get her camera out and start taking pictures...and still expected Jake to finish his homework with the distraction!

Unexpected...

I've been spending time with family the last few weeks, with an unexpected visit to Melbourne for 2 weeks. It's been a sad and emotionally draining time for me with the loss of a much loved family member and have of course not felt like blogging.

Melbourne is and has always been a favourite for me - their old buildings amaze me and I love the scenery...but I don't like the COLD! I managed to take a few photos while down there and have come to the conclusion that although my heart wasn't in it....even if it was I don't think I could be a photographer in melbourne...I shiver and my teeth chatter too much in the cold and no VR lense is going to help with that kinda blur!!! I tried extra coats but it didn't really help.

My husband and the kids drove down about a week after I left to be with me... so I got some shots of them with their cousins...

Layne & Rylie are only a month apart...and Indianna and Jake...well they may be 5 yrs apart in age but I don't think there is an age on MISCHIEF!!


Please don't ask...I don't have an answer for this...she just came out like it...

Indi's tongue never stops wagging and those eyes are always bright with mischief...she provided us with a few good laughs!

I love these cherry blossom trees - and Melbourne is full of them...

We drove back last Sunday and got caught in a snow storm...yes...in...australia....my husband was a little beside himself with excitement, because growing up in Europe he was used to this kinda thing...but he acted like it was a miracle in Australia...ok so it doesn't happen often and NEVER in Sydney BUT it does happen...but it was the first time our kids had seen snow, they were SOOOO excited. We stopped to let them play in it for a little while but daddy wouldn't let them play for long as he was concerned about how bad it would get and how much of it we had to get through - none of us wanted to be stuck on a closed road in a snow storm....

so we kept going...it probably took us about 2 hours to get through to the other side of it which was about an hour south of sydney...and then it was completely the opposite - no cloud and all sunshine...two extremes!

Who needs a trampoline???

So I got some new goodies for my camera and wanted to play - but when I want to learn how to use something or get used to a piece of new equipment...I need to concentrate...that means that I can't multi-task and entertain at the same time...so this is my answer...

...an indoor trampoline...

...this will keep her occupied for at least 1/2 an hour...

...then we might swap beds because it's always more interesting jumping on someone else's bed!...you will also notice she now has some leggings/tights on - I kept getting underpant shots...it was a bit scary!

...and after I am satisfied...and only then does she get to take a rest!...

Sleeping in...

About a week ago on a Sunday morning...Mike & I slept in...yep...we were awoken only by the doorbell ringing at 9:45am...Mike got up to answer it...and guess who decided to visit us???
Our 5 yr old son and 4 yr old daughter! Sometime after they had woken up they had somehow managed to unlock doors and get outside...got their bikes out of the garage and were riding around out on the street! They thought it would be funny to 'surprise' us by ringing the doorbell.

Soon after Layne came in I noticed a nice giant sized egg in the middle of her forehead...I asked her what happened and got some story about riding Jake's bike etc. Needless to say she went to church looking like a 'Clingon' from Star Trek!
These photos were taken a couple of days later when the bruising had really started to show up...

Something different...

Ok so my friend Kym has tagged me...so here goes....

10 Years Ago...I was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was companions with 'Kiahna' - I remember at that time thinking that it was a difficult companionship (I say 'difficult' companionship - but it was more likely that it was what I was dealing with that was difficult and not the actual companionship)...yet knowing that if circumstances were different we'd probably have gotten along great (and even as I say that I still remember us laughing alot???)...I was 3 mths off going home and was having a melt down of gigantic proportions and most likely taking it all out on her!...I'm sure she thought I was a freak - now 10yrs later (- she adamantly declares that 'freak' never entered her head (but I don't believe her! :) Kiahna moved to Australia last year with her work...either I'm not a freak anymore or she's adjusted...because we get along great and now that she has gone back home I miss hearing her and my husband debate about U.S politics...!
5 Years Ago... My in-laws moved to Hong Kong and they asked us to move into their house...'supposedly' so that Mike's brothers would have somewhere/someone to live with...since they were staying behind. But secretly I'm guessing it had more to do with protecting the HOUSE from the wild YA-ADHD parties that Glen(da) would surely try to have and Justin(e) would surely 'pretend' to have nothing to do with. I believe the experience was one of those 'unforgettable' experiences for them...no matter how much they'd like to forget it...they learnt about babies crying in the middle of the night, they learnt that 2 yrs olds don't always do their business in their nappy...sometimes it's all over the carpet and walls. They learnt that a pregnant woman can cry at anything...and will...they learnt that pregnant women can go into labour in the middle of the night and no its not funny to stand there and laugh at her when she's on all fours having a contraction and YES a woman in labour WILL certainly disturb you if you're up at 3am studying for an exam the next day!
5 Months Ago... I turned 32...I got a new camera...I was busy throwing out stuff and getting our house organised for a move overseas...was researching international schools in Singapore and looking at housing etc...Jake started Kindergarten...oh and the kids & I were going swimming nearly every day after school because it was HOT!!!!...
5 Things on my List of Things to do tomorrow...
1. Process some photos for a client
2. Take Layne to Pre-school
3. Take Jake to swimming lessons
4. Go bike riding with Jake's school friends
5. Do some laundry
5 Bad Habits... do you really want to know these???
1. Talking excessively
2. Interrupting people
3. Forgetting to ask my husband how his day was
4. Making dinner only 4 nights a week instead of the required 7 days a week
5. I hate dishes....(is that a bad habit??? or more of an attitude problem?)
5 Places I've lived...
1. Camden, NSW, Australia
2. Cessnock, NSW, Australia
3. Newcastle, NSW, Australia
4. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
5. Sydney, NSW, Australia
5 Things People May not know about me...since I talk excessively...there probably isn't anything...but I'll try.
1. I HATE public speaking (or standing up in front of a crowd etc)...I know I can do it, I just don't like to...still have no idea how I got through my mission!
2. I played for my school soccer & hockey teams
3. I was school captain at my high school
4. I used to ride horses - dressage, barrel racing, jumping and do endurance rides but refused to enter any competitions - see no. 1 (please note: soccer & hockey are TEAM sports therefore the attention was not soley on me...therefore entering competition was ok....Horse riding events...were SOLE events therefore entering competitions was NOT ok!)
5. I've never broken any bones
5 People I tag....
1. Nichole
2. Sarah
3. Ashlee
4. Melissa
5. Kristy
(all family this time...sorry guys :)

Problems...

I have many...but the one I'm talking about now is...I've been reading your blogs and been trying to leave comments but my web browser is having some issues and just plain won't allow me to...and yes I hear you....my husband is an IT nerd...and logically that should be the answer...but it's not always the case! If you're not getting my point...think of it this way: IF your husband was a chef...do you think that -
1. He would WANT to come home and make dinner for you (especially after cooking all day)
2. EVEN if he was tired and agreed to cook you dinner...there's no promise that dinner would be served within the usual time frame...

Speaking of problems...my kids don't tend to pose for photos like this very often...that might be a problem for others - I know when taking photos for people alot of them tend to like their kids looking at the camera and smiling nicely...and they are nice, but I like letting my kids go a little wild...because I always end up with some photos that will make me laugh every time I look at them....because that's what they're really like...WILD!
This is posey one...I can still see the cheeky little look in Jake's eyes.

And then you get them doing something like this because they think it's SOOO funny...

...notice how big Layne's mouth is??? that mouth is constanly filled with as much food as she can possibly fit in it - and yes she chokes often...but it must go in, just in case Jake steals it!



This is Layne looking like cousin 'it'!...Her hair is all over the place!


...totally random - Layne's legs...



This is Jake going crazy...on the full size photo you can see his facial expressions...such a boy!



Jakes face in this one totally cracks me up!



...and I love how Layne is levitating in this one!



but this is my favourite...Layne looks like a puppet! :)

Party Aftermath = Sugar High

There's always a sugar high for my kids after a birthday party - so after the PINK party we loaded the kids in the car and took off to the beach - our favourite beach, Bronte Beach. Not as touristy as Bondi so lots of room for the kids to run up and down the beach PLUS a big grassed area to play soccer or footy...which is essential when trying to get rid of excess energy in young children! Mike and the kids went for a swim in their wetsuits in the FREEZING water (since it is the middle of winter - the freaks) while I stayed nice and warm taking photo's on the beach...they weren't allowed to swim in the surf since 'apparently' the beach was closed to swimming due to dangerous conditions...and I say 'apparenty' because of course there must have been at least 40 surfers out....but this is what happened to at least 2-3 of those surfers during the short time we were there....



...so the kids went swimming in the ocean baths instead.

Layne must has run up and down the beach at least 10 times....which was great...I kept telling her I wanted more photos...until she told me she couldn't run anymore...hmmm...I was certainly satisfied...Jake...well he and Mike entertained themselves by trying NOT to get wet in the waves...Mike promising me that they wouldn't get wet and he'd put the wetsuits on later when they actually went in....well THAT didn't quite work out did it! Jake had to ride home in his undies and my jacket....it quite funny really.