Principals Honor Roll.

It's that time of the school year, the end of the 1st grading period and Lily pulled it off yet again. Straight A's across the board and all 1's in conduct so she made the Principals Honor Roll. For the first time in 3 years she didn't get an award for perfect attendance because she missed 2 days early on in this period because she was so sick. She wasn't alone, the virus that she caught was shared by most of her class and on one particular day 10 of the 17 students were out.

Since she makes this award for every grading period we always make sure one of us can go and this time I had to work so Jacob went alone. He took the photos and came home and told me he doesn't like my camera. (Hellooooo, it's MY camera you have 3 of your own so why did you take it to begin with?) He said the photos are awful....he's right but that is because he doesn't know how to use it.

Looking proud

Looking the other way.
looking blurred
Looking forward
Lily is in the centre at the back


I will leave you with her school photo for the year. Not her best but it depicts her perfectly. Her hair looks like she just got pulled through a hedge backwards. Why don't teachers remind the children to comb their hair before heading off to get their photos done. I always remind her but this year.....sorry Mummy I forgot to brush my hair! Lily's school doesn't require uniform on picture day. This year we were fully aware when picture day was but that morning she got dressed in her uniform and it wasn't until we were in the drop off lane that i noticed most of the kids in street clothes. I casually asked her why the kids weren't in uniform and then it clicked. We both said together, PICTURE DAY!. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said go home and get changed.

I hauled boogy out of the drop off lane, drove the mandatory 15mph through the school zone and then hammered it home. I had her get partially undressed in the car and then we shot into the house and she chose an outfit. No sooner were we in the house, we were back out again and flying at the speed of light back to school. Need I add that we were laughing the whole time. We flew through the streets and then hit the dreaded school zone. Not sure how she did it but she made it before the tardy bell rang....phew. That could also be why the hair looks a little ver-klempt.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

We have a fake tree. We have had it for a couple of years. I miss having a real one but I can't bring myself to keep a living tree for 2-3 weeks and then toss it to the side of the road. This year Jacob and Lily hinted, nudged and then just downright begged for the real thing. I relented but time kept ticking away and we just hadn't had time as a family to go and get it. Yesterday I mentioned casually, that if we were going to use our tree we would be able to put it up, RIGHT. NOW.

Ha ha haha, I won!

I lugged it down and we unpacked it and then the squeals and fun began. I made a dash for my camera and to my dismay it took one photo before the battery went flat. I think that is called Karma! I grabbed Lily's, which I love but every single one is blurred??

I let the girls loose. I relinquished control and sat on the couch and mumbled and muttered and rocked back and forth as they bounced up and down a step ladder, jumped on and off of a chair with my favourite glass balls and oohed and aahed at every single one.

After an eternity they were all done. I jumped up and looked at the their masterpiece. Gorgeous.

For your viewing (dis) pleasure, some very blurry photos.

Lily looking proud

Rosie hard at work. I didn't realise just how much time she spent in that one spot.....

until I saw this one branch, It had 7 ornaments on. It"s my fault cos I failed to move her chair around so she could only reach to there. LOL

Ta da

The girls first look at the tree with the lights on
Rosie got so excited I think she nearly took off.


Next year girlies we will get a real tree. Bad Karma doesn't suit me.

Grossed Out, Freaked Out & Sick To My Stomach.

Not a post for children.

I am fully aware that by posting a blog I am opening my family up to the whole world. I am not naive to the point of stupid but inside my head I live in a gentle friendly world void of perverts and molesters. That is not to say that I am not careful nor do I allow either of my children to go on the computer without me right there and I mean right there. When I use names of places I purposely misspell them, I write g00gle using zero's instead of O's, I add asterisks to things, i.e. Dis*ney. I do this stuff to avoid showing up in a search.

For those of you that are still blogging, do you ever read your stats? I don't do it thoroughly very often because I am more interested in the numbers and the countries. Who cares if the person is on a Mac or a P.C., if they sent their comment's via their Mobile device, or where they came from. Today I was having a few minutes of quiet blog time whilst one kidlet was napping and the other engrossed in her book and I poured over my stats in great detail.

Allow me to share what I found. It is really disgusting and has upset me to the point that I am thinking of going private again. If you are easily offended stop reading here but I hope you will continue as this could be you and your family.

Under the tab, "traffic sources" it tells you what keywords were searched that led that person to your blog.

This is what I found that led some pervert to us:

"Little girls sucking horses c*ck"

"Little girls floating in water"

"flexible kids"

"flexible kids site:blogspot.c0m"

Horrifying, no? I can assure you that I have never used any of those terms and the reason I wrote a word with an asterisk is obviously because I do not want to show in a search for that. The pervert, creep, arseh0le that searched for these words has been to visit me twice. Twice. He uses the same search engine and same words each time.

When I read this and followed the stats down I was barely able to breathe. I talked to Jacob and we decided to do something about it. I rang a friend who is a lieutenant in the P.D and she immediately called the person in charge of internet p*rn.

Check your stats!!!!

If any of you know of a really great tracker please let me know.

I am not dropping this and you know what happens when I get on a mission.

If you use Bl0gger and want to know where to find this information leave me a comment and I will lead you to it.

A Little Christmas Cheer.

We have been acting silly and making daft little Christmas videos.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The girls also received a video email from Santa.
Click the links below to see them. One is Lily's and the other Rosie's.


http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/7K848oGfshGyz7caNdcZQg

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/XnZ1A-2wSBGy2W-Q6E5oFA

If you want to do these yourself here is the link for it.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

First School Photos.

Here they are, Miss Rosie's very first school pictures.

Ahhh, she is just adorable.

Busy Day

It was blazing hot here this morning, blazing hot. The girls and I were outside watering the plants and they basically bailed on me citing heat stroke! I took them into the back garden and let them loose with the hosepipe. Huge amounts of laughs and giggles especially when they filled up a bucket and sat in it, fully clothed. I didn't dare to take my camera outdoors in fear of it getting water logged.

This afternoon after a long time spent playing Wii, where I would like to add, Rosie won at bowling fair and square, (The child got 8 strikes, seriously!) they got their craft on.

Rosie had a homework assignment in which she had to decorate a cardboard cut out of a Christmas tree and Lily made some little people out of pine cones. I don't think I will ever be rid of all the glitter that escaped the table but that's Ok because they had so much fun.

Lily placing the glue so that Rosie could add the embellishments.

She added lots of embellishments.
2 little people. The red bits on the sides are mittens.......I thought they were ears. Lily did a really good job, I think they are cute even if we are now missing a red sock!


While I attempted to clean up the gluey, glittery aftermath the girls got busy and were both very quiet. Once I was done Lily came up to me in a very odd dress up outfit and asked me to follow her.

This is what greeted me:

The bottom line says, own paper required.

Oh the ego!
Here is the Supermodel herself.

Her whole outfit was made out of scarves. It was really good but rather see through so I wouldn't post it. She accessorized with a Juicy purse and pearls.

Rosie and I lined up and both managed to get an autograph. Rosie then tried to go again and was turned away.

I hope your day was filled with as many giggles as mine.

It's That Wonderful Time Of The Year.

Thanksgiving is the official kick off to the holiday season and being able to share this time with 2 little girls makes it even more magical for me than it has ever been. When they see the Christmas trees for sale, or the Santa's that are everywhere their little faces light up and their voices become tiny little shrieks (sometimes big shrieks) and just for a moment they erupt. Yesterday they saw a house in the neighbourhood that was all decorated and they oohed and aahed and pointed things out to each other from the confines of their car seats. And then, of course, they wanted to know when we were putting up our tree. I told them that I just cannot put up a tree until it is December so they will have to wait another week. Were they happy? No, not ever so but they'll make it.

Packages are arriving and Lily knows that they are Christmas gifts for her and her sister. We always open the brown parcels and she sees the pretty paper and bows. Rosie isn't quite so astute yet, she just sees the parcels and then they are gone not to be seen again until Christmas. After her bath this evening Lily asked me if Santa was real. I wasn't really expecting that bubble to be burst yet but that is what happens when you have a really smart kid. When I asked her why she was asking she explained to me that what Santa does is magic and that magic isn't real. Nobody can do all the things that Santa does therefore he can't be real. Logic......it seriously puts a damper on a day. LOL I explained that somethings are beliefs and it is OK to believe and that makes it real. (hmm, I think that is called lying by omission.)

I scooped the girls up early yesterday and we went on an early mission to buy Jacob's present. They thought it was a great adventure and were thrilled when we hit pay dirt. I tried to prepare them for the fact that the shop might be sold out and when it wasn't they gave a little victory dance. With this being a really long weekend I was able to get together with a friend yesterday and we took her 2 nieces and my girls to the movies to see Tangl*d. Great movie, BTW. This might be hard to believe but this was Rosie's first movie house movie. I don't really like going to the cinema. It's super loud and there are no breaks. I don't sit still for that long. I wasn't sure if Rosie would be OK because she really dislikes loud noise. She did really well except for the fact that she kept asking if we could go and see aunt Pammie's dogs yet. Even her enormous bucket of popcorn didn't distract her.

Rosie at the movies. I failed to mention she took a flashlight because she dislikes the dark also. Not the best photo, I think she was saying "cheese"

Lily wishing I would put the camera away so that she could eat her enormous movie sized candy.
Becky, cracking up because I took my camera to the movies!


Once the movie was finished we rushed to Pammies house to see her dogs. Rosie was really happy. She pushed Coco around in a pushchair and thought she was the bees knees. Pam is so patient with them both. I suppose when you have gone to hell and back certain things no longer bother you.
Coco didn't seem to mind at all.


Today I took down and packed away all the Thanksgivng decorations. The girls oohed all over again at the sight of the Christmas decorations but I did not relent. They will have to wait until December. I also went out early this morning and did alittle more Christmas shopping. My list is getting shorter but I still have loads to do. Hopefully Santa can help out with a little magic.

A Day To Be Thankful.

Neither Jacob nor myself have any extended family here in Miami but our close friends have become our chosen family, and we were all together under one roof celebrating today.

We invited our friends to join us and even though they all know that I am no chef they still accepted the offer. As the numbers kept climbing I was getting panicky. How on earth does one cook for 14 people? I now know the answer, you google every single question that you have and then email your friend Viv who is a master Chef.

I pulled it off and we all sat down to a feast fit for a king.

My favourite part of the day was sharing it with Pammie, Armando and their son Adam and his girlfriend. Pam was the first person I met when I moved here 25 yrs ago. It has been many years since we all sat down at the same table and it was fantastic. Truly something to give thanks for. My friend Jakie and her girls also shared the day with us. I don't think I have ever had a Thanksgiving that was quite so special.

When I was busy in the kitchen the girls made napkin holders out of paper towel rolls and little turkeys. (we don't fool around with little scissors in this house)

After many hours of prepping and cooking we were ready to serve.

Hmm, I have just realised that certain people dodged the camera

Our menu was: Roasted turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans with almonds, Beaumont Inn corn pudding, Hawaiian Sweet potatoes with oranges and pineapple, roasted brussel sprouts with garlic and ham, mashed potatoes and of course dinner rolls. It was wonderful. Jakie and Pammie brought dessert and it was heavenly.

Young love....Adam and Alina


Every year the we take the girls for a walk on Thanksgiving day and collect pine cones with them. Not sure what pine cones have to do with Thanksgiving but it has become a tradition. This year we were minus Jacob as he had to leave and go to work.

W had a "berry" good walk.









Lily showing off her acorns

When we came home the girls tucked into their G*diva chocolate turkeys.

Now my girls are in bed and I am reflecting and giving thanks for my wonderful life.

Is anyone else appalled at how many businesses are open today?

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

We have a wonderful day planned with so many special friends. I hope your Thanksgiving is very special also.

Friends To Be Thankful For.

We have always had a Wednesday get together in the park and we love it. 2 of the families moved away this summer and our play dates just aren't the same. Thankfully they are back in town for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families so we made a point to get together today.

It was like a little slice of heaven.

The crazy mums. I look a bit frazzled...it's the fear of cooking tomorrow.

Jacob and Evan
Lily and Ju-la la. It's Julia but Rosie can't say that.
Rosie and Ju-la-la

And then tonight after their baths they went off into Lily's bedroom and came out looking like this. I love my girls, so much and they always keep me laughing. After a few minutes of being dressed like that Lily told me the ceiling fan wasn't really cooling her down ...No kidding!

Long Time No Post

• Busy. That sums up my life at the moment.
• I have 14 people for Thanksgiving and I am really bad at cooking. How on earth do you figure out how much food is required for that amount of people? It's mind boggling.
• Last weekend we had so much fun and I don't have any photos to prove it.
• We have already gone to a Christmas parade. A bit early don't you think? It was very lame this year, most years it is really impressive.
• FCC groups rock. We had our national adoption day picnic on Sunday and it was fabulous. I cannot imagine not being able to share my life with all these families. Everybody has something to offer that MAKES SENSE, as opposed to the usual busy body stuff. LOVE THAT.
• Christmas shopping. Need I say more?
• Cannot wait to get into the Christmas spirit but I feel rather behind cos I have barely done any shopping. Once I get more done I will calm down.
• Life with Rosie is a dance. We move forward 2 paces and side step one. Somethings get easier and others, not so much. I cannot wait for the day that she has the vocabulary to express her fears.
• 3rd grade is going to renamed: the year of the projects. Lily barely finishes one and another one is assigned. Seriously, do we need 40,000 projects on one school year?
• Lily decided to go on a sleep walking bender on Sunday night. Hubby and I were hysterical. She finally ended up climbing on to the island in the kitchen and falling back into a restful slumber. HILARIOUS. Since she is known to sleep walk frequently we have high locks on all exterior doors that she cannot reach.
• Rosie has been sleeping in her own bed. Her choice. I wonder how long it will last. It came with a self imposed condition that I don't like but that is part of the dance. This child is way to tough on herself.
• Rosie has her first "play" coming up in a couple of weeks. Her teacher has already told me to expect her to run of off the stage in tears. At least we are on the same page. I will be amazed if she does anything other than that. Kidlet hates crowds and anything that is loud. I will have the video camera at the ready.
• I am house sitting for a friend. She has been gone for nearly a month and I just remembered the other day to water her plants. Oopsie, I think they are OK but I am not sure. I have done everything else but the plants escaped my head. They didn't escape Lily's, thank goodness.
• I had my hair cut the other day and didn't like it. I came home and did it myself....looks good now.
• I think that is all the stuff that was ruminating through my noggin.