It's bound to be a good weekend when...

...face paint is involved

...choc custard is for dessert

...you get a warm shower after looking like this

...you get to pretend to be a big brother for a few days

...you get to hang out with friends like this

Thank you Melbourne for providing the means for another great Melbourne Cup long weekend, and thank you Tassie for not making good on the forecasted 3 straight days of rain!!

I can feel it in the air...

Summer is a-comin!!!

Rotations!

In an attempt to occupy our kids while we played a game together, one of my friends set up some 'rotations'. 4 activities, with a timer set to rotate through. Simple stuff. Kids loved it. We loved it! I still love it - it's the best after school activity - and I snuck in 'fold laundry' and they didn't even complain! Yay! And so because I think Daniel is pretty visual (he is a boy, right?!!), I printed out an oh-so-complicated circle with dividing lines, and stuck on... wait for it... Post-it Notes!! Rocket science, I know. The ride home from school has lately sounded like this: "Can we please do rotations, please?!" Good ideas, even simple ones... worth their weight in gold.

"Five.....oh, TWO!!"

Ask Nick how old he is, and this is what he says. He gets ahead of himself sometimes, but you can't blame him really, since he has no idea what FIVE means!!

Happy birthday Nick, we think you're a big kid now, even if you aren't 5 yet!!!

"N" pancake for birthday breakfast

 And of course, there were 2 birthdays on the 8th! 

Happy 60th Oma, I'll help you blow out your candles cause I only have 2!!

And a bike for his birthday, so now when he says 'my bike' it actually is his!!

Boy in blue, but then again, not.

Can I just parent some adults for a change?

I'm sure I would have coped better today if I had been in charge of 3 grownups...

The boys

Poor kids - parents never stop comparing them to each other.
Everyone's been telling me lately how Nick is a mini-me of Daniel. Okay, sibling likeness yes, but I've always thought Daniel looked so different to Nick. It depends on the photo, and their hair is different, so who knows. I kinda think the resemblance between Laura and Nick is stronger.

Nick and Daniel

Daniel

 Daniel

Daniel

 Daniel

Nick

 Nick

 Nick

Nick

Laura and Nick

Waking up...

... to this twice in the last 2 weeks is fabulous. 

I don't mind the cold or the springtime snow at all when I open my curtains and see this in the morning. Beautiful. 

Shame about the neighbour's house obstructing my view!! hehe...

Ballet

For Laura, the day has finally come. All else pales in comparison...

Complete with real ballet shoes (even though she noticed that "they don't have the ribbon mum")

 Is she really only 4??!!

Overheard just now...

D: Boys laugh a lot. And girls talk a lot.
Friend: No, girls dance a lot. And twirl.
D: Yeah.

So it begs the question - if Daniel understands that now, does that potentially make his future with females more successful or more dangerous???!!!!