Positive Vibes

 Least favorite parenting jobs? Potty-training is pretty high up there. We've been putting it off. Much more fun this time around though. Not sure if it's that she's older or there are more examples to watch (and people to do the potty dance with) but she's quickly getting the hang of it. Like wayyyy easier than the others. And way less clean up, because she's pretty darn independent. I used to hate the little potty because it spread the mess but it's definitely the ticket for her. She literally went 4 times in the last 90 minutes, and she is so darn proud of herself. We'll see if it lasts... fingers crossed.

 I can't complain about having some cute little buns on display lately either!

Rocket Bagels

Bagels are amazing. I love them. I wish I could find more of them here. Occasionally I make them. I use THIS bagel recipe.

It's delish. DE-LISH. And fun. Who knew you could boil bread? I usually make my bagels into a rocket (salad) sandwich.

Kinda like I eat a Costco cheese pizza - with a pile of greens on top. Can't eat it plain - just too much choking on globs of bready cheesey goodness.

Anyway, try out the bagels. They're nice.

Don't forget to share!

Seaside

Forgot to post this little blurb on our trip to the coast last month. As Darren was gingerly recovering, we took advantage of a long weekend and headed out for some fresh sea air. I think it did him good.

 Loved the beautiful little local "zoo" Birdland. Got up close and personal with some great animals. Check out the Herculean ant. Sometimes the iPhone impresses us.

the irony's not lost on me that deer are the novelty here :)

 We go to a different beach around Bateman's Bay every visit, but as we kept driving south they just got prettier and prettier. Around every bend there was a beach even cooler than the last.

We let the kids choose so they would be good sports about the explorative delay, but we can't wait to get back down to visit more of them.

 We ended up at Broulee North where a little inlet stream empties into the ocean providing more than enough fun for all our ages. Bridge jumping, rock pool exploring, body surfing, floating down the shallow stream, crashing in the waves - it was perfect. Of course our underwater camera was out of battery, darn it all. But we'll be back.

 Here's Will one week later after he refused to wear his rashie AND refused to re-apply sunscreen. Two lessons learned (I hope.) That old sun'll getcha down here!

Heart Happy

I've mentioned before that holidays are celebrated differently in this country, that is to say, much more low-key. And while I'm enjoying the break from such intense commercialism/consumerism, I do miss the hoopla sometimes. And so do these kiddos. To make up for the void of missing Valentine Boxes and Valentine Parties and fancy-pants Valentine Cards... I made today all about the love. Hearts everywhere. Seriously, the big holiday celebrations at school are one of the things my kids miss most about the States. Even simple ones like Pajama Day and Crazy Hair Day is the stuff they dream about upon our return next year.

I tried that heart shaped egg thing that's all over Pinterest, but Warning: it doesn't work with already cooled boiled eggs. Don't try it. So I got creative with their lunches and made everything else "hearty" enough. It was fun. And their friends got such a kick out of it at school. V-Day is sort of a "lovers-only" holiday here, if celebrated at all, so you don't really go around wishing anyone a Happy Valentine's Day unless you want to really weird them out.  

We sneakily "heart-attacked" their violin teacher during lessons and had a fun visit with our good friend, Eeva. The birthday cake we'd left was stolen off her doorstep so we pooled our last American mallows to make a replacement "V-Day Cake." Needless to say that one was hand-delivered.

The kids eagerly anticipate surprises after school on holidays so this year I sent them on a hunt with about 30 clues around the house, written in white crayon on white hearts. They had to paint each one as they found it before they could read where the next one was. Awesome teamwork and fun enough that they didn't even mind the dinky little gifts at the end.

 Since boarding a plane on Valentine's Day 2011 to start a new chapter halfway around the world, a new tradition has been born - candlelight dinner on fancy china to celebrate our Australian anniversaries. Two years ago today. Hard to believe. Everyone shared their "bests" and "worsts" (of which Annie's were the same, ha ha - falling in Sydney Harbour and breaking her leg.) It was delightful.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! 

Enjoy those parties for us! And go smooch someone you love :)