Small things for a big girl

Not feeling so good today. Decided take the day off since I'll be on for the next two weeks. This is how I spent my day:

Small couch ("love" seat my big arse)

Small pillow

Seemingly huge blankie

iPad

I also watched "He's Not That Into You". Cheezy chic movies...

Big Boy Pants

Guess who went without nappies ALL day at school?

I got 6 pairs of trainers for Andrew to wear to school. He's been very interested in the potty recently. His teachers said that he always wants to use the potty when they go to change him. So...I ordered his trainers a while back but it took until Friday for them to arrive.

I thought we'd try the trainers this weekend so they wouldn't be new on Monday at school. (He has done really well with big boy pants at home. He will dribble and then run to the potty.) When he wore the trainers....he would pee and keep going. They must be too much like diapers. I was afraid he would go to school wearing the trainers, pee thru them and they would put him back in nappies.

The little guy surprised me. I went into his bag to get his dirties so I could wash them for tomorrow. There were still 3 un-used pairs (I didn't send all 6). He had a poopie pair (the most $$ pair of course!) and that was it. He had been in 1 pair all day!!! My little guy went peepee in the potty all day!!!

If you answered "Rene"...you are right except he doesn't go to school.

Happy 10...and pockets

Did you do anything exciting for 10.10.10? Today, we all write the date the same way. Why couldn't I be working today? Wait...no. I don't wanna work weekends again so soon.

Today Andrew found pockets. He's had them before. His Aunt Vicki puts kisses in all his pockets. Today we were putting on his pants which had pockets. I mentioned "pockets" and he got a huge smile. He shoved his hands in his pockets as soon as he could. He walked around with both his hands in his pockets. Soooo cute.

We went down to the convenient store and he didn't want to hold my hand bc his hands were in the pockets. The only time he took his hand out was to hold on to the railing in the elevator. He was a very good boy walking to the store, but I guess it's hard to run away when your hands are in pockets...

sorry about the blur...we were moving

Do you know where you were...

... 10 years ago today?

Me.... I was doing this:

Play Day

I had planned on heading to the Botanic Gardens today (they were having an Iris exhibit) but it was overcast and rainy looking. So the bear and I stayed in.

Andrew worked on using the potty. He wore his big boy pants (so cute!). He is getting very good at telling the peepees to wait until he gets to the potty. He only wore a diaper when he took a nap. I am just waiting on the trainers I ordered to come in so he can use the potty at school too. Hopefully he'll be out of diapers soon. But wait...I love diapers...I will have to start shopping for other babies again.

I did some crafting this morning while Andrew played by himself (yeah!). I took a canvas bag that Rene got at a conference and covered the logo. Andrew now has a bag to carry his school thing in.

Then I decided to embellish one of his many white t-shirts. I put stickers down to spell his name and then outlined it with tape. Then I used a cut up sponge to put the paint on. Turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself....

Rene got a package the other day. Included with his order was bubble wrap. We had lots of fun popping all those little bubbles. It's funny how one little bubble that pops can let loose loads of laughs...

now it's off to fold the clothes...

my day of = errands

Finally have a day off work (yeah!) so I spent the morning running errands. I love being in the city b/c I can walk everywhere.

After dropping Andrew off at school, I headed to the World Tower. I stopped by the Nursing Board to try to get my NP registration. Can I just say...incompetence??? The woman I spoke with said they don't currently have standards for NPs and they don't know when they will get them so there is no point in sending in the application. Wha????? No standards??? Now I knowthis is mis-information b/c I have come in contact with an Australian NP. As soon as I left the office, I rang her to give her the 411. She is going to help me get registered.

Off to the library (literally just down the block). Got a library card and a few books for the wee-one (and a few for myself). It's interesting that the selection of books is different from back home. I suppose they have more of a UK selection of authors.

Andrew's loving the "Truck Stuck" book. If I could figure out how to load videos, I would upload a video of him reading this book. So cute! And he surprised me by pointing out the letters in lowercase. I knew he knows his uppercase letters, but I didn't know he could recognise the lowercase letters too.

Then off to the craft store to "get my craft on". I am missing my sewing machine. I wish I could find a little one like I had back in the States. Not that we have room for me to have crafting stuff... More on my craftiness later. Oh, when I was checking out the craft paper, one caught my eye. This is what I saw:

not quite accurate, but it's Chicago

As I was walking down the street, I saw all these statues that were dressed up. I have seem them dressed up before. It's just weird. Don't the costumes get yucky in the rain?

Off to nap....

putting it out to dry...

I've been hanging the laundry out to dry recently. I used to do it back at the house, but hated the crunchy clothes and thought they smelled weird, so it was mainly just hte diapers. My dad said he liked the way clothes that dried in the sun smelled. I thought he was weird.

I totally understand now - I'm liking the way the clothes smell when they've been line-dried. I've been putting them outside to dry for 2 weeks now. I have to do a little planning since they don't dry in 1 hour like using the dryer. I either wash in the evening and dry overnight or wash overnight and hang before I go to work. I like to have my whites out to "sun" (bleach) although it's a little hard on our balcony/3-seasons room.

The only time I used the dryer was tonight when I needed to get diapers dry in time for school tomorrow. I wasn't able to wash them since I worked all wekeend. Since it's rainy, the clothes aren't drying as fast as they were when it was dry.

I read a blog where the family gave up the dryer for the summer. I'm inspired....

PlayDoh=PlayYeah

Andrew's nanny, Tashlin (or as we more recently call her "his home teacher"), made him some playdoh. It was a big hit!

When I got home today, Andrew was still in his jammies. It looked like it had been a rough day, so I brought out the playdoh. We had a grand ole time. He especially loved squishing it thru the potato masher.

(is it me or does he look like his aunt VJ in this pic? I think she's got a pic of her around that age with that same look on her face)

Work has been c.r.a.z.y!

Although I'm still in the probationary period, I got the privilege to "be on results" recently. So that means I liaise with the doctors about all the patients, give the biopsy results, etc. I also get the "after hours" mobile. The other nurses in my team said the mobile barely ever rang...yeah right!! It rang almost nightly - one night I had 3 calls. Yes, I realize that isn't that bad, but I still feel like a newbie. Yes, I've been doing this for almost 4 years, but not at this clinic.

Add to the mix, that I "take my work home with me". I was up every night tossing and turning wondering if I'd done everything and done it right. So I averaged about 4 hours sleep/night.

Then take away the rest of my team. For a few days, both nurses were out sick. Then one was on vaca and the other was out sick. Some of the support members (patient services reps, etc) were out sick too. Out of the 7 total members of the team, 2 of us were there. Needless to say...I was overwhelmed. The other teams helped out doing my interviews and taking some calls, but I hate asking for help so I tried to do it all on my own.

The day everybody was there, I got this on my desk:

Sprinkles :) and chocolate :)

"Is that a sandwich in your bag?" you ask...

why yes, it is. I ran out to get lunch, then forgot I put the sandwich in my bag to run back to work. The next day, Rene brought me lunch...

dilemma of sorts...

Tonight when Andrew and I were walking home from work, I was faced with a dilemma.

We were stopped at a corner waiting for the "green man" so we could cross. Suddenly, we heard a screech and I saw a body go flipping thru the air. (Luckily, Andrew was focused on watching for the green man that he didn't notice!)

My body immediately turned, wanting to run and help. But I had Andrew in the stroller. I couldn't leave him alone on the side of the road. I can't ask random strangers to watch him. I didn't want him to turn and watch what I would be doing. So we waited for the green man to beep and we crossed the road.

Given my profession and training, I feel a duty/obligation to help. The last time I was faced with an emergency while out-and-about, Rene was with me. I just ran to help. Tonight, instead, I felt guilty that I turned my back and walked away.

What's a mommy to do?

da Bears

It's Tuesday Night Football....but we're ready! Well...most of us were. Somebody was more excited about stickers :)Rene had DVR'd the game. I got the snacks (unfortunately there is no Uno's here). We had both successfully avoided any mention of the game (which meant staying off facebook!)

We watched, we hemmed and hawed, we lamented. Then the game got exciting. With 2:26 left...the DVR had stopped recording!!! agh!!!! Luckily, the game was being replayed so we just had to sit thru the 4th quarter again.

Mental note...extend the recording for future games :)

new toy

Andrew found a new toy....

He walked around holding this egg carton. Talk about a weird little one...

happy memories...

Andrew was dancing. Looked like when my mom used to do aerobics. Doing the "grapevine" and marching in place. Wish I could download videos because it was so cute.

I keep a picture of my mom on the bedside table. It's a pic of her her on the beach...her favorite place. He likes to hold it and look at her. I don't think he realizes who that is. We talk about how it is mommy's mommy and Papa is mommy's daddy. We pray for her every night, calling her "grandma up in heaven". I hope I'm not confusing him...

Speaking of beaches....

Rene surprised me (us) by taking a roadtrip to the beach today. Next week is Labour Day weekend and I am working all weekend (including Monday). So he decided we would go away this weekend. Since I am "on call" he didn't think we could go away overnight, so we just road-tripped.

Our plan was to go to Wollongong, but we got sidetracked as we went thru a national park. (don't ask me which one...I don't have any clue which one...ok, the iPhone says Garie or Royal National Park)

Our first stop in the park and Andrew wanted to see animls. So we walked a bit. The only animal we saw was a stuffed Joey near the Ranger station. Not really the type of animal I want him exposed to.

So we got back in the car and almost ran over a porcupin-y, hedgehog thingie sauntering across the road..

We took the windy road down to the beach.

Andrew was excited to see the big "sandbox". He liked walking without his shoes.
He was a little hesitant about the waves, but he made his way up to edge of the water.

"coming daddy?"

Then a wave came to lap at his feet...

and suddenly he was face down on the sand (and water).

not enjoying the water very much this time...

He was a little startled, and wet, and sandy but he was ok. We just sat out in the sun for a bit and all was well.

Everything's better with a "lick it"

He liked watching the surfers in the water and walking by. The surfers reminded me of that Keanu Reeves movie Point Break - older paunchy dudes...
Once dry, we moved on to the "Windy Bridge of Death" or "Puke-y Plunge Road" or "Cliff Death Drop" or as the Aussies refer to it "Grand Pacific Drive". It was so twisty - I felt like puking the entire time.
We stopped in Thirroul at a little beach that had a play place. Andrew had fun running around. I had fun being stationary. We got take-away and ate it at the beach. Such a fun time!

Hopping on the pylons

There were these weird little "pool" things. I assume it was a shallow bottom. The end was open to the ocean and the waves splashed in to circulate the water. Cool concept...not my cup of tea...
On our way back to Sydney, we stopped at the organic food market. Look familiar?

Such a long, fun day. Somebody was totally zonked...

Hope you enjoyed the play-by-play.

Food...a comparison

The other day, I was talking to my dad about food. He was asking about the price of various items.

I bought 1 kg of carrots for $.99. That's $.50/lb. If I remember correctly, I bought 1lb for $.99 in the States.

I have been getting the most delicious strawberries for $1.50-1.98/250g. That is 1/2 lb or 8 oz. The best deal I found for strawberries in the US was $1.99 for 1 lb but usually bought for $3.99/lb. So pretty comparable on price, but definitely NOT on taste. The strawberries here are so juicy and flavorful. And red all the way thru, not white and grainy like some of the strawberries I used to get. And it's winter...just imagine what they will be like in the summer!

Wanna know a cool thing about food shopping in AUS??? As milk nears it's expiry date, they discount it.

I picked up a litre of organic milk for $2. It still had several days left before it went "bad". While that price is comparable to organic milk in the US if you buy it in the gallon, I usually buy it in smaller quantities where it's more $$.

The other day I was at the store, and they had 1Ls of skim for $.49. FORTY-NINE CENTS! It expired the next day, so I didn't get any. I need to figure out recipes that I can make with lots of milk.

I unknowingly got unhomogenised milk. When I first poured Andrew a glass, it skeeved me with the globs on the top. Then I realised it wasn't homogenised. Now all I do is give the milk a little shake before I pour it.

I bought a 2L of Diet Coke for nearly $6. In the US, I would wait and stock up when the price went to $.99. A case of coke (12 cans) is $24. yes TWENTY-FOUR dollars for a case of coke!!! The bottles I buy at lunch are $3.90 for 600mL (20oz) and $3.20 for 450mL (12 oz). Granted it's at the convenient mart, so it'll be a little cheaper at the grocery store.

A candy bar....$2 (give or take).
Small bag of chips (grab bag size)... $2-3

Oh, and Crunchy Nut Flakes (bursting with nutritious value I'm sure ) was $8.95 a box, while the uber-delicious All Bran Honey Almond Flakes was only $4.95

My dad made the observation that the healthy food are cheaper (more reasonably priced) and the stuff that is bad for you is outrageously priced. It's like they are forcing me to eat healthy... of course I still have my Diet Coke habit!
pics from coles

Just for fun

Here are some pics of me and Andrew before work.

(why Rene thought it would be a flattering pic to take it from below is unknown....)

Love his smile!

upside down time

Editorial Comment

If you check this blog regularly, you may have noticed a lack of updating recently. I could say it was because we had sketchy internet before and after the moved into a permanent home as we waited for our internet to get set up.

While this was true, I was trying to decide if I still wanted to put pics up on the internet for "all" to see. I love that I have the ability to share pictures with my friends and family on the other side of the globe. It scares me that "anyone" could see these pics and download them or use them for their own use.

I decided to keep posting the pics. You may notice my watermark. Please do not download these pictures. If you want a copy of any of these pictures... please ask.

Marathon day

Today was the Blackmore's Sydney Running Festival. I had wanted to do the "Family Fun Run" but Rene said he didn't want to since he would be travelling this past week. They ran one street over, so I thought I'd take Andrew over to watch the runners. He had a fun time watching the runners during the C-U Marathon Rene and I did.

Since the race started in North Sydney and they have to run the Bridge to us, I thought we would see runners around 9-10. um...nope! Around 7:30, I looked down and saw....

So Andrew and I got on our shoes and walked over. Didn't quite work out like I'd planned in my mind. He kept trying to run away and into the race....

maybe I'll be running the Nov marathon....

Watching the runners tuckered him out. He sat like this ("zombie-like") forever.

then...

Another early morning...

Andrew and I went on a quest to find b'fast. Unfortunately the only thing open that early wasn McD's, Hungry Jacks or Krispy Kremes. So guess what we go...

After our nap, we ordered from Wagamama (delish) and went to go pick it up. Andrew and Rene explored the wharf while I picked up the food.