Our family drunk

As a perfect family should, the Petersens recycle a lot of their garbage. We are (unfortunately) still trying to figure what should and shouldn't be put in the recylce bin - Grandma Jill got very cross with us for putting pizza boxes in the recycle bin. However, we are striving to do our best in the recycle department and as a result have a separate bin for the recyclables in the kitchen.

Isabel particularly enjoys the ins and outs of recycling and will frequently "sort" our recycling for us - this means pulling everything out and leaving it on the kitchen floor. Before you start dry retching at the thought of the Petersens preparing their food in a quasi garbage dump, let me assure you that everything is washed out or just plain clean cardboard boxes - otherwise we wouldn't allow Isabel the pleasure of sorting.

Last night as Dallas made dinner and I washed the dishes, Isabel started her usual routine of "sorting". The glass bottles made a particularly nice loud sound on the tiled floor. I turned around to find she had assumed the position of a drunk and then continued to roll around on the floor with her bottles. We managed to get a good photo of her and the garbage bin in the background, like a true drunk.

Indy - Our Hero

Before leaving for Melbourne last Wednesday, we decided to go to the Gold Class Cinemas where Dallas works. If you've been living in a cave in the middle of the wilderness, you wont know that the Indiana Jones movie was just released. So because the Gold Class movies and the Indiana Jones movie are both special, it was only fitting we put them together.

If you haven't had the pleasure of sitting in Gold Class cinema's, I'll try to explain to you the wonder that is Gold Class. It's like the first class of the movie experience. You can tell them when you want your food brought to you and they have the biggest reclining chairs I have ever had the pleasure of sitting in. Aside from the luxuries of Gold Class, it's very practical when you can't find a babysitter and have to bring child along. It's the only place that will allow a stroller and you and she can both fit very comfortably on the couch.

So, Isabel, Dallas, Julie, Juliet and I all went to the Gold Class cinema to watch Indiana Jones on Tuesday.... Isabel LOVED it. Of course we already knew she is an avid movie watcher, but we managed to get a photo of her just staring at the screen, which she did for about 30 minutes straight. After that she got a bit tired and went to sleep in my arms (perfect child? maybe).

Well, I've been waiting for a photo from a different camera, but it looks like I'm not going to get it until after the end of June - so watch this space for a picture of Isabel glued to the big screen.

We LOVE McDonalds

As part of a family outing the other day, we stopped in at McDonald's for some lunch. Isabel got a Happy Meal and although she only ate one nugget, she loved the Happy Meal for her toy that she got. It's a Pokemon toy that you can make spin like a spinning top.

Her most FAVOURITE thing at McDonald's though was mummy's straw. Unfortunately, Isabel now has the taste for all things sugary and will give a little whine if we refuse to give her anything of ours that looks yummy to her. So we had a hard time keeping her away from the McFlurry.

Lord of the Flies

As Stake YM President, Dallas had the "privilege" of organising a Father/Son camp. It was organised for the Friday night just gone at a Scout camp. The actual camp grounds are located in a beautiful national park and had a few bunk beds as well as camping facilities. Fathers and their sons started showing up at around 5pm Friday. I was helping with the orientation of each group and it was fun to see the little boys that were camping for the first time. I think their dad's were just as excited!

As part of the festivities, Dallas arranged to have a big bonfire with roasted marshmallows. He was moving a large log down to the area where the fire was to be when the one of the smaller boys asked what he was doing. The news spread like wildfire (no pun intended) through the group of boys.... there was to be a big fire and there was going to be marshmallows as well!

After hefting one enormous log down to the pit, Dallas decided to enlist the help of a few big men. He spoke to one of the dads and asked if he could organise a few other dads to help with the wood carrying. Dallas had to start off the BBQ dinner first and then he'd be back down to supervise the firepit. Once the BBQ was organised, Dallas found the Dad to see who he had rounded up. Now, I know you can get a gaggle of women, but what do you call a small cluster of boys?? whatever you call it, Dallas had it. The Dad had found some help - it just presented itself in the form of many boys ranging in age from about four to twelve. They were so excited to get this fire going. So down they all went to the fire pit, Dallas, the Dad, and the over-excited boys. Dallas soon organised those boys and had them picking up any type of wood and throwing it in the general direction of the where the fire was to be.

Once enough wood had been collected, it was time to start the fire. All the eager boys clamoured around Dallas as he struck a match. As he did so, he began to have visions of third degree burns and unhappy parents, so he suggested that they go find the perfect marshmallow roasting stick. This didn't have the desired effect as they were soon huddled around him asking if their particular stick was good for roasting marshmallows. So as soon as the marshmallow sticks had been found, they were ordered to sit a little further away on some rocks. Dallas didn't think this kind of order would be well received, but I guess those boys were so happy to be just a little close to some fire, they stayed put.

At this point, Dallas was so worn out from all the preparation during the day, he just seemed to lose all fire starting skills. Shouts of encouragement and suggestions came from the direction of the rocks where the boys sat. "Blow on it", "oh, it's gone out", "IT'S just smoke!", were just some of the comments made from the peanut gallery. Poor Dal, pressure from all sides and all he wanted to do was sleep at this point. Suddenly from amidst the "suggestions" came a small chant "Fi-re! Fi-re! Fi-re! Fi-re!" A few more little voices joined in, getting stronger with each "Fi-re!". If Dallas didn't get the stupid fire to start soon, anarchy would soon be reigning. It was only then that one of the dads who had come down to watch, took pity on Dallas and asked if Dallas would like him to try. With a sigh of relief so loud it almost drowned out the chanting, Dallas threw the box of matches towards him. Cheers arose from the chanters as the fire was almost immediately lit and started to gain momentum.

It was later, when Dallas was relating the story to me, that I was reminded of another pack of boys and some fire - that story didn't end so well!

All things Technical

From the time she could crawl, Isabel has had a fascination with anything she isn't supposed to have, including the remote controls. She absolutely LOVES them. She loves them so much she eats them, which in turn screws up the wiring and we've had our tv, remote control fan, dvd player and vcr all turn on and off randomly and occasionally do other tricky things without our help. We try to keep them from her, but she seems to manage somehow get them anyway.

As a present for mothers day, Dallas bought me the Wii Fit. Isabel can't get enough of it. As all good children should, Isabel has started to "help" me with a few things.... like tidying her toys (she takes them back out for me). So now the Wii Fit is another thing to help mummy with. My crunches became a great source of entertainment today as Isabel sat on my stomach and squealed with delight every time I crunched. She even tried to copy my pushups. I guess my little girl is going to be one (Wii) fit baby.

Clap Hands

Isabel clapped her own chubby little hands today! She has been clapping our hands for quite some time - grabbing them and pounding them together. But today she delighted us by clapping and cheering for herself. She crawled half of the house to get to where we were and was just as pleased with herself as we were, so she applauded herself. Of course, we then cheered even more. She was one chuffed little girl.

Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera right on hand, so we are yet to prove that she can actually clap by herself. In the mean time, you'll have to do with a picture of another child clapping.

Catching Up

I have a heap of catching up to do on this blog. For starters, I've completely skipped our trip to Hobart. So here are a few photos from our trip. We went to the Salamanca Markets, journeyed to the top of Mt Wellington (brrr!), took a look at Hobart from Mount Nelson lookout, took HEAPS of photos at Richmond and Port Arthur, walked around the museum and ate fish and chips on the wharf, amongst other things.

We really appreciate the hospitality the Oates showed us, especially Ian. If you ever visit Hobart, make sure you pop in and say hello to the Oates - they are the friendliest people in Tasmania!

Tasmanian Sausage King

Eating Bratwurst at the Salamanca Markets

The girls having fun in Richmond

I like this poor box idea

On the oldest working bridge in Australia


On the top of Mt Wellington


Mount Nelson Lookout


Outside the Cadbury Factory

Eating Fish and Chips on the Wharf

Isabel's Birthday

Don't try this at Home, Kids!

Isabel has been having some sleeping issues recently and I have been wracking my brains trying to think of ways to stop her from waking up during the night. Then, last night, I had an epiphany. When Isabel needed to cut back the number of naps she was taking during the day (from 3 to 2) she was doing the same thing. So last night, I decided to see if she could handle only one nap today. I thought 1pm would be a perfect time for her to take said nap.

As the morning wore on, I really thought she would make it to 1pm. 10.30am came and went and then 11.30am. She was still all smiles, screams and drool at 11.45am, then midday came and she started to get droopy eyelids and there were some genuine yawns as well. Clever me decided she would sleep longer if she had been given lunch before she went to bed. It's good in theory, but trying to get your child to eat when all they want to do is sleep, is somewhat comical.

But my little trooper soldiered on in her battle against sleep and food and managed to find an alternative - why not EAT while you are ASLEEP! BRILLIANT!!!

Shoes and Waving

Isabel joined me outside to hang up the washing on Friday. I decided that it would be best if I made her wear the only pair of soft shoes she owns - Pink mini converse shoes. I think she walks best when she's got them on. Anyway, we wanted to get a photo of them on her and of course as soon as I start taking the shot, she starts to wave. Isabel is a very friendly girl.... she waves at pretty much anybody who'll look. So I decided to get a video of her waving.

Isabel's 1st Birthday!

It's taken me a while to post this video, so I hope you enjoy it for what it's worth. Our timing was completely off and by the time we were ready to eat Isabel's birthday dinner, she was REALLY ready for bed. So she ended up crying for most of her birthday party. I guess it's a learning experience. We had fun, though. And we are so excited that our little girl is one. She's such a big girl now and can do so many big girl things. She can "talk", she walks around all the furniture, she knows how to manipulate her parents, she "reads" all her books and occasionally eats them and she's now refusing to eat the food that she doesn't particularly like.

Aside from the usual baby upsets, we feel so blessed to have our little Isabel in our lives. She is a delight to watch, especially when she waves goodbye and hello to Dallas. We just love her.




As an aside, we were kind of slack when it came to the birthday cake.... we bought some princess cupcakes and because we couldn't find a "number one" candle, Dallas bought the next best thing - a "number seven" candle!

A day out for an Ultrasound

Yesterday Isabel and I journeyed to the St. George Private Hospital in Kogerah (about a 20 minute drive) where they perform children's ultrasounds. The attending doctor that helped us when Isabel had her bad fever wants to make sure that Isabel's urinary tract infection hasn't damaged her kidneys. That's why we went to get an Ultrasound.

I'm sure Isabel has a secret stash of happy pills because the whole time we were there, she was Little Miss Social. Once we sat down in the waiting room, she managed to wriggle herself out of my lap and on the floor. Sitting directly opposite us was a ten year old boy and his mother. Isabel was smitten and couldn't keep away from her new boyfriend. It didn't matter how many times I took her away from them, she would always go back to the boy and his mother. She was also talking and smiling the whole time. After a while, she managed to find the mother's bag which she immediately tried to put in her mouth.

At this point another woman and her son sat down on the same row of seats and the woman pulled out her keys to jangle at Isabel. Isabel couldn't get enough of the attention and immediately set her sights on the keys.... sidling along chairs to get to the other end. I think the original 10 year old was a bit disappointed that he had lost Isabel to a set of keys.

Isabel finally got to the keys and sat nicely on the lady's lap for a short while, all the time babbling away.

Then a nice young man called out "Isabel Petersen". So we took off out the back to get the ultrasound. Well, things couldn't have been more exciting! There was a big machine with lots of buttons and the nice man gave Isabel some sticky labels to play with. She showed her appreciation by smiling and talking to him the whole time he was looking at her kidneys and bladder.

It was over too soon and we said goodbye to Daniel (the nice ultrasound man). It was then off to have lunch while we waited for the images to be ready. Isabel and I had a nice lunch at a local cafe and by the time Isabel was done with the cucumber and toasted sandwich, the images were ready to be picked up. It was a big day for Isabel and as soon as she was back in her car seat her little eyes were closed and she was snoring loudly so mummy could hear that she was still breathing back there.

All in all... it was a MUCH nicer experience than emergency and the catheter!!

Keeping Up Appearances

I've had reason to think a lot about appearances the last couple of days. I am one of those people that likes to compare myself harshly with others - just to see how I'm doing in life. The unfortunate downside to comparing myself with others is that I generally don't get to see the "full story", so I end up seeing what appears to be a far superior life than my own.

For example, I'm never too sure how other women feel about motherhood, staying at home, having children, working, etc. I always feel as though I'm the only one complaining about housework and the lack of a real job. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not constantly complaining about those things, but sometimes I get a little bit down about it all (probably has something to do with my cycle, etc). So when I see another new mum that appears to be living life to the fullest and doesn't seem to have a care in the world (ever), I start to get knots in my tummy and start questioning myself.

BUT, I had a breakthrough in these past couple of days. I was given insight into a seemingly perfect life, and all of a sudden, it didn't look that perfect. What was even more astonishing was the comment made to me that my life looked perfect! I had never thought of that before.

So, I think I'll keep up my apparent perfect life.... but please be aware that it's probably just as imperfect as yours.

It's somebody's birthday soon!

Isabel received a package from Granny Jules and Grandpa a couple of weeks ago. It was a birthday package that came a little bit early. I wasn't sure if we should open it, so it stayed unopened on the floor for at least half a day! Isabel loved crawling around inspecting the box. I think she was more curious than I was about what was in there. I told her that it was especially for her... Maybe that's why she couldn't get enough of it.

Dallas soon told us that the presents would all be wrapped, so Isabel and I had a fun "pre-birthday" time opening up the box. We can't wait to see what's in the presents!!!

Fun in the Tub

We captured this a couple of weeks ago. Dallas and I were giving Isabel her bath and she did something clever (or something we get excited about, anyway). We of course both clapped and cheered for her. She got so excited about our cheering, she started shrieking with glee and splashing her arms and legs about. It was so funny to watch. Dal and I of course started to cheer just to get her all excited. By the time we taped it, the excitement had worn off a little, but you still get the idea.

Black Forest Chocolate

I'm pretty much in love with Cadbury's Black Forest Milk Chocolate. We bought a block of it last week and I was able to polish it off within 24 hours. Of course, I then managed to get an enormous "chocolate" headache. So I vowed not eat another bite of the stuff. But, I'm on to another block tonight - Dallas bought me a "treat".... and I don't know whether he's being as kind as he think he is.