Losing my marbles...

Jen asked about the new allowance system with the marbles.

So here goes... please bear in mind that we are only in our second week of the system. After week 1, Boo and Yum Yum have the grand sums of $1.50 and $1.25 in their purses (which are kept in my handbag), Bear came away with $5.

This is how it works- each child is given a weekly allowance equal to their age - $11 for Bear, $4 for each of the twins. I put marbles in each jar corresponding to their allowance. For Bear each marble equals 50C and for the twins the marble is 25C.

At the end of the week they are paid their allowance on the following basis:-

Bear needs to have completed all her homework, cleaned her room reasonably well by Sat evening and followed her routines during the week (which includes a nightly tidy up).

Boo and Yum Yum need to "go to bed sweetly", put their toys away when asked, put shoes away and make their beds.

I can give extra marbles for good behaviour and fine them for bad. When I have to do one of their jobs I get to charge them.

Whatever the final total 50% is for savings (we are keeping a record in a little book-Bank of Daddy for the moment ) and 50% is given to them.

So far Bear is totally onto it and saving her $5. She managed to earn a few extra marbles by helping her sisters clean up- in effect they paid her, and lost a few for leaving wet towels on her bedroom floor etc.

I took Boo and Yum Yum to Target with me which was a somewhat painful learning experience for them....everything that they desired they could not afford and what was affordable they did not want. It drove them (and me) nuts but I think it was the begining of learning about money and value. It was hard not to cave and contribute to a purchase. I have since found a Dollar store and will take them there provided they put away the dress ups from the playdate two days ago...but nope, still not happening. In a way it will postpone the trip until after the next "payday" and theoretically they will have a little more to spend. If they can purchase a small toy every two weeks then I think that is okay. Trips to the chosen store to spend their money need to be negotiated.

We need to perfect the system a little more... oh, and yes meddling in ANY form with MY marbles (and they are ALL my marbles ) will result in all their marbles being taken. I keep the jars on the window sill in the kitchen.

Whilst writing this the girls have been doing "something" a little too quietly upstairs. I hear Bear's name mentioned.... I kind of dread going to see what it is.

oh hullo...

Keeping this blog up to date is a bit harder than I thought it would be , but never fear I am not ready to abandon my 4 readers just yet!

The weeks since that memorable July 4 weekend have flown by, there was a birthday party for an 11 year old... and then we flew ourselves to Australia and back (another blog entry for another time otherwise I'll never catch up), and the beginning of a new school year in which Bear no longer catches a school bus, and in which Boo and Yum Yum have begun a new pre school program three days a week from 9am-2pm. The Breadwinner enrolled all three in the local soccer club so we also have coaching (for him), practice and games to add to our week/weekends.

So whilst I now have a few hours a week to myself, they are all busy days requiring much staying on top of the game- remembering who to take where, when and how..., organising appropriate clothing in "mygoodnessyourfeetarehuge"sizes, negotiating wearing of respectable looking outfits, feeding them all homepacked lunches on the days that all three are at school, procuring a working mobile phone for Bear and negotiating the use of that phone (still a work in progress as the first attempt needs to be sent back as the service is too unreliable although everything else was all we wanted and more -Kajeet, sorry), and trying to get an evasive Bear to do her homework,worrying about the real bear that is casually wandering around our neighbourhood, getting Boo and Yum Yum back to an earlier bedtime, and starting an allowance scheme based on marbles for chores. I have a lot of marbles.

Yum Yum ran enough in her first soccer game to get thirsty while Boo just cried in misery. Sad A little embarrassing for the Assistant Coach.
OK- it's horribly over exposed but this the only one of Bear by herself on the first day of school. And below groovy sock wearing preschoolers! They are so happy with their new preschool (not that they didn't like their old one but they are ready for a bit "more").
In other news I have done some sewing and there will be more as I am once again going to join a sewing challenge having failed miserably at the last one. I'll do another post on that.

Summer stuff

I have , for the past 12 months, been "suggesting" (aka nagging) my Breadwinner to get a swingset for the girls. The swings are of exceptional importance to them at any playground and sharing them with other children is oh so painful...oh what bliss to have their own at home. I began the online research. My only requirement was that it be a simple, sturdy, inexpensive swingset for two "swingers". I am not keen on this type of...ginormous thing because we have two rather large outdoor playhouses already, although I am sure Bear, Boo and Yum Yum would be delighted. No, I was looking something more like this. Why? because our home is rented, our stay subject to immigration laws, returning to Australia with a wooden structure not even worth the bother of trying (ie it would end up costing more to fumigate) and because the Breadwinner can't manage Lego let alone construct a safe playset.

We ended up with this....

A 10ft by 30" inflatable pool with filter. And I have to admit it was a better choice than a swingset. And much cheaper too. If we get a second year out of this pool that will be a bonus. As you can see we have it on our deck. The deck IS very large..I think it is something like 25 x 40ft. A seriously large deck with decking in seriously bad shape hence the grass carpet. The pool is the perfect size for Boo and Yum Yum and in the past 2 months they have FINALLY progressed to puttting their heads in the water. Yum Yum has even swum under water! That alone is worth the $. When the weather is warm enough the girls play in there for hours (they are good about bathroom breaks!). This summer has been exceptionally warm!

Last summer they were "swimming" in this....

They were just as happy!!

Away.... Club Med Florida

Our first trip away this summer was a wonderful surprise from the Breadwinner. He found a deal...and off we went to Florida to see what Club Med Sandpiper on the Port St Lucie River could do for our tired family. First things...it was hot, really hot. And stormy. Florida in June. Being on the East coast and on a river, there was no oil from the Gulf present.

Our previous experience with Club Med was many moons ago and far far away...we visited Club Med in the Maldives last century, just for a meal. We have been waiting for the twins to be old enough to make use of the kids club. Our research on Club Med Sandpiper led us to expect a slightly run down resort with a Circus School, Kids Club, Mini Kids Club and thoroughly happy busy, well fed families. And that is exactly what we got.

Our trip was successful in that Bear was happy to hang out with some kids her age, do archery, try the trapeze, and sail on the river with her dad. Boo and Yum Yum were over the moon happy to be swimming, it helped their confidence in the water so much. Mini Kids Club was not such a big hit for them. They needed just another few days to be comfortable and get into the routine of kids club. There were many moments worth remembering and we all got tans.

The girls were good travellers, they LOVE airplanes, airports and hotels, and they were delighted at vision of the big swimming pools full of inflatables, by the variety and quality of the food available (as were we), not the least the soft serve ice cream machine. Yum Yum developed a crush on an acrobat and almost attempted the trapeze..she was on her way up the ladder up when fear overcame infatuation. Boo managed to tear the end of her big toe just two days before we left... but it wasn't long before she ventured into the pool despite being adamant that she would NOT be swimming because of her booboo.

On day 2 in Mini Kids camp we were summoned to collect our girls because they were both howling inconsolably. It turned out that Boo had been lifting Yum Yum off the ground ( a game that they seem to enjoy) and they were fine until Boo accidentally dropped her sister. All would have been well eventually had another child not tried to join the game and lift Boo. She was dropped. Boo does NOT do well with rough housing from kids she does not know. It was a perfect little storm that would have made no sense to the young women taking care of them. I could say it was a bit of a twin thing, but it probably just a Boo thing. An INTENSE Boo thing. Sigh. Each year gets a little easier- truly.( I'm hoping very much that they will be ready for ski school this winter.)

The staff are responsible for keeping everyone as happy and involved in activities as they wish to be. So when storms closed the pools down and people retreated to the large bar, they would set up games. We teamed up with a woman who was with her son and managed to do well in one such game... her teen son had downs syndrome so I think she was happy that we didn't shy away from them. We actually managed to watch a few World Cup Soccer games in the bar so maybe we got more of a break from the kids than we realised. I didn't manage to read anything though.

The accommodations were definitely dated but were roomy and clean. We had adjoining rooms, the girls had their own bathroom and walk in robe. Our only suggestion would be that some space in the large walk in robe be traded for some extra space in the bathroom. It's never good to have a door that just grazes the loo as it swings open. (Actually..why don't bathroom doors open outwards here in the US, makes me crazy..have they not heard of pocket doors?).

Would we return? Definitely once the resort is upgraded we would consider it. On the other hand we are loath to go to the same place twice when there are so many places still to see! Perhaps we would pick a different Club Med. We would stay longer than 4 days so that the kids could get into the rhythm of the place. The over-riding factor of course is the cost. Club Med is an all inclusive resort so up front it is an expensive proposition. In practice it means not worrying about each and every drink or snack you consume. The kids can help themselves and they will not be served alcohol. You have no need to leave the resort and why would you if all your meals are paid for and there are activities galore. As I said earlier..the variety and quality of the food was really impressive- whilst the standard American fare was available there was great salad, breads to die for, delicious fish dishes and a rotating menu of dishes from all over the world.

We happened to share our airport transfer with another family who caught the same flight as us. They have done other "all inclusive"s with kids clubs, actually they do it every year. They were far happier with what was on offer at Club Med for their family both activity and cost wise.

If you were looking for the singles scene that many Club Meds cater to, don't go to Sandpiper (try Cancun). Sandpiper is definitely a family place although there is an "adults only" pool for quiet time away from pool games. Then again...I doubt there are any party animals reading my blog.

Now where was I?

Oh my goodness, I kind of wandered off there for a bit. Do you know what happened?

Summer... just summer... getting outdoors, having a short break away and Bear, Boo and Yum Yum at home to entertain. Summer is the best kind of thing that can happen to me because I was really very tired of winter.

We celebrated with a girly manicure session... all of the colours of nail polish that are popular now inspired me to round out our collection of pink... to the entire rainbow.

The girls have been attending summer camp at the local elementary school and a gymnastics camp this week for Boo and Yum Yum. Boo and Yum Yum were so delighted after their first session , it was a bonus when they had face painting on the next day!

Back in the spring they had some rather stylish face paint done...

And so when I spotted a set of body art crayons in Claires, I bought them a put them away as an activity they could do with their big sister . Today was the day...

They enjoyed having their big sister's full attention, and Bear did her best to satisfy their whims by making butterfly and dragonfly faces , and flowers on their arms. Bear just scribbled all over her face in her excitment to see how the crayons worked. They went on easily and the colours remained lush.

Today we also had a visit from Mr Andy our plumber. For several weeks now, the girl's bathroom upstairs has had no hotwater to the bath/shower. We ignored this because we had some other more pressing repair situations - dishwasher and air conditioning had priority!

We have been a bit err, umm , less strict in the daily bath requirement for Boo and Yum Yum as a consequence. Stiff hair has become the new indicator of bath readiness, and we have been dragging them into our ensuite shower. Bear, being of a certain age, is required to shower more often of course, I could never let stiff hair happen to her- dreads!

So today, after a new tap/shower unit was installed, Boo and Yum Yum resumed the Barbie bath routine and guess what.

That Claire's stuff...it doesn't come off easily. I'll be carting around some odd looking children tomorrow.

Weekend in NYC-Sunday

I am doing this a little backwards, I am recapping our visit to NYC this past weekend with Sunday first as that is freshest in my mind. Please feel free to ask any questions.

As is usual with our family...we struggle with organisation especially for a trip on the spur of the moment, as we two adults are always extremely tired. And then we have the twins, Boo and Yum Yum, who alternate between having broken legs or being able to scale tall sidewalks in a single bound. We stupidly thought we could manage with just one stroller. I had packed both but we had second thoughts. My back wishes we had third thoughts. So, most of the day we had one being pushed and the other being carried...and intermittently both were skipping along. They were the ones running UP the Subway Stairs. I just wish they could pace themselves.

I should explain, for fellow twin parents, that we don't have a side by side umbrella stroller. Generally we always go out together and we prefer to have the two smaller Maclaren strollers so we can split up and take one twin each if necessary. We also take up less room on the frequently busy sidewalks of NYC. If we are spending all of our time in Central Park on a day trip, we sometimes take the larger, more comfortable double urban terrain Tike Tech stroller which takes up the entire trunk of our Town & Country van. This bigger stroller reclines each side individually fully flat and that was great for when afternoon naps were a daily occurence.

The combination of strollers worked for us because the bigger stroller is mostly for at home where there are no sidewalks. In hindsight (not much help to us now of course) an additional umbrella fold side by side would have been useful for days like this and for travel overseas. I understand now why some families end up with a fleet of strollers.

The girls are about to turn 4, theoretically they shouldn't need strollers for much longer. However Boo suffers from anxiety in new environments, NYC can be a very intense experience with it's crowds, noises, smells and traffic. When distressed she needs the security of being carried or feeling the protective cocoon of the stroller (she will pull the hood down over her entire upper body). Yum Yum is so fearless that it is pure luck that we haven't lost her altogether but of the two she is more likely to need a nap in the afternoon. Whilst I think the girls weigh close to 300 pounds each when I have to carry one, the reality is that they are not Sherman tanks, they are still on the petite side, and walking all day is, for the time being, still an unrealistic expectation.

10 year old Bear LOVES NYC, and she carried her life savings of $5 and looked for opportunities to spend it (or lose it).. the $5 simply can't be kept in the purse but must be admired, fondled, folded and flaunted. Her sole agenda is to find something to spend it on, eat sushi, dumplings and to divert us to the Nintendo store at Rockafellar plaza.

On Sunday morning all the girls woke up to play with their Barbies/Nintendo and have a bowl of special occassion Fruit Loops; they were happy. This was a good thing as we didn't get up until close to 9am. By 10am we were showered and dressed and had settled on Bubby's in Tribeca for brunch. There is no booking a table at Bubby's so our plan was to catch a taxi and suck up the wait. We have eaten several times at the DUMBO branch, the food is always good.

Downstairs we emerged into a strangely quiet sunny morning to discover that 56th St and 7th Ave were closed. The police, the barricades, the alarming number of green paper cups strewn across the empty roads? Was there an explosion at Starbucks? No, closer inspection revealed the sponsor of the cups to be Gatorade. Ahhhh, a herd of runners doing a half marathon had recently passed through leaving police, film crew, communications, transport and sanitation workers in their wake.

The closed streets were causing much angst in the taxi department. I felt especially bad for those toting luggage clearly intent on a trip to Penn Station or the airport, and particularly for those who hadn't clued in that the street was closed but still stood there in hope.

We walked a few blocks (Boo on shoulders) to find that the problem was quite extensive so once again we ended up on the subway. Having just the one umbrella stroller is a blessing when it comes to navigating the subway unless you are doggedly determined to make use of all disabled entry ways and elevators. Emerging in Tribeca we were in need of some help to get our bearings. Coming out of the Subway is often a disorienting experience. One of New York's finest pointed us in the general direction and off we traipsed with visions of pancakes dancing before our eyes. Along our path was Hook & Ladder No8. In the fresh morning light Ladder No 8 emerged along with the crew. Had we had a little boy among our group THIS would have been THE BEST THING EVER. A sparkling red fire engine and big burly firemen. We even got a wave. My girls? mostly oblivious ( I googled it later to find that it is the Ghostbusters/Seinfield Firehouse !)

The Fruit Loop euphoria was starting to fade and our mission to find brunch was now a little more urgent.

We marched west along North Moore St passing groups of people milling around the doorways of other eateries. Some looked as if they could have been out running that morning. Some had foil heat blankets draped around their shoulders and medals hanging from blue ribbons. Awww crikey..we must have been seeking brunch at the finish line...yep just several blocks away. The crowd around Bubby's was so big it wasn't even a matter of crossing the street to enquire as to waiting times. We turned around and rocked back along the street. We passed Walkers which also looked packed to the gills. Mental note- that looks like a seriously good place to try at a less crowded time.

At this point Yum Yum announced her dire need to pee NOW!

So we headed directly to what looked like a promising cafe , Cercle Rouge Brassierie at the end of the street in the hopes of at least finding a loo if not breakfast. There were people seated outside as I hightailed it in with Yum Yum. My eyes noted at that same time that not a single person had any food in front of them. When Yum Yum and I returned from the first of four trips I made to their basement loo, the Breadwinner had scored a table inside. YAY!

And then the waiting began........there was whingeing from the Breadwinner, whining from the Bear...and my persistent attempts to keep Bear and Yum Yum occupied by drawing pictures of pancakes for them and playing eye spy.

The staff were clearly unprepared for the throng that had descended upon their restaurant before they had even heated the coffee. The manager/owner wandered around and offered explanations and apologies. A full house the minute they opened.

Hey, just an idea for the manager of that place...put a note in the diary for next year...1/2 marathon, finish line nearby?= loads of hungry people times 100 if a sunny day...and get your staff in early! Those tables should have done two seatings, possibly three in the time we sat there.

It took a long time for a drink order to be taken. An even longer time for the coffee and juice to arrive. The staff were looking a little stressed. Fortunately, just when we were all about to pass out from hunger, a small tin bucket of sliced baguette was given to our table with a slab of nice cold butter. And another. That kept us all busy for 3 minutes. The sight of a funny yellow hat gave us hope that there might at least be entertainment. Finally our orders were taken and after another 45 minute wait, we had our meals. Until then "The Great Ragidy Supreme" Magician (and apparently a hip hop artist) enthralled the girls with some simple magic tricks and balloon animals. As far as our family was concerned, his efforts single handedly saved us from a potentially very nasty low- blood- sugar toddler (and adult) meltdown.

When our brunch did arrive, it was delicious. Maybe we were just ridiculously hungry? But I did notice that every plate in that restaurant was "licked clean". Seriously , not a shred of endive left on a plate. I had a wholewheat crepe stuffed with shrimp and asparagus. It came with a pile of greens topped with a huge slice of beef tomato. I joined the clean plate club. I'd love to go another time for a meal. Brunch was $20 each and it included fresh baguettes, freshly squeezed orange and good coffee, and of course a choice of several tempting brunch dishes. We managed with 4 brunch dishes between 5. We didn't need lunch...and in any case it was close on 1pm when we left and moseyed up the street.

We quickly came upon a small park. Tribeca's Beach Street park. There our girls got some exercise chasing each other, the pigeons, greeting numerous cute little dogs out for their walkies and being caught and squished by their daddy. There was sunshine and daffodils in this wee park...and what seemed like fresh air.

We had tickets for a children's show at 3pm. It was advertised as being 2 blocks from Bryant Park so we headed there. Bryant Park is generally known as being the venue for NY Fashion Week. This past Fashion week will be the last in Bryant Park. I understand the very large lawn is curently being re-turfed. It does indeed feel as if you are in Paris. The sweet Le Carrousel plays French music which supports the pretty illusion. After playing with the water in the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial fountain (and Yum Yum giving it a dramatic bruising head butt-ouch) there was a few turns on Le Carrousel ($2 a turn).

Across the road we spied Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread). We love LPQ ever since our first visited their restaurant in Brussels. The breads are delicious, the chocolate hazlenut and jams are yummy...and the pastries! We looked forward to seeing the day when LPQ would be available in Australia (we even daydreamed about taking up the franchise but of course time has past and someone else has taken up the challenge). There are several outlets in NYC but when Boo and Yum Yum were babies we had to give up going as the spaces are generally cosy (not always stroller friendly). Now that the girls are older and this outlet of LPQ is HUGE we celebrated with lemon tarts. MMMMMMM Delicious. It is a great spot for breakfast, lunch or coffee. One of the features of LPQ is the huge communal table and the table here was ginormous! We didn't subject other grown ups to the antics of our tribe, we sat at our own table. In hindsight (hindsight is such an amazing thing) we should have ordered take out drinks and pastries to eat in the Park although the restroom was a vital element to our stop there.

NYC is always full of sights to delight and amaze youngsters. For example the tattoo art on the lady seated nearby was extensive and colourful... but not only that, on her arm was a large illustration from Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit! Turn head to right.

We walked the two blocks and found the Galli Theatre without much trouble. It is a very low key, low budget, small affair. The girls were happy with their pink princess seats,and rearranged themselves several times. They perform interactive kid friendly versions of Fairytales, sometimes with a strong accent...Russian?. They also do workshops afterwards and on this Sunday most of the audience were set to celebrate a birthday after the show. The show, Sleeping Beauty, was certainly amusing for the parents because of the over the top performances, but the Breadwinner and Bear will beg off future visits. It was perfect for Boo and Yum Yum, they really enjoyed themselves and we got loads of pleasure from their reaction. There are several other theatre experiences (eg Pinkalicious) that I would like to see with the girls but they were sold out. We won't be paying for a Broadway show until they are at least 5, probably The Lion King late next year.

Here the girls in black are the thorns surrounding the castle where Rose (under the cloth) sits sleeping. A number of hapless Princes come along to try and pass the thorns but of course only the right Prince succeeds. You can see below that Rose was definitely a beautiful Princess.
A workshop is available after the show and we may try this on our next visit. The girls ears pricked up when they heard the next show would be Snow White. I will be happy to bring them back to this small theatre... mainly because of it's location! We walked right by M&J Trimming. I think I can convince Boo and Yum Yum to do some button shopping next time.

We decided to head back to the hotel, the Breadwinner (in charge of the map) decided it wasn't too far to walk..and we were only a few blocks from Rockefellar Center so Bear got her wish after all, a stop at The Nintendo Store. By the time we arrived Yum Yum had nodded off. But once in the store she woke suddenly and exclaimed I HAVE TO PEE NOW!

So I dashed downstairs with Yum Yum to the Plaza below and took care of that. The Breadwinner treated the twins to some candy (in the cutest Mario mushroom tins) and Bear scored the freebie Pokemon drawstring bag. They were all happy campers .
We stopped briefly to watch the ice skaters...there were some seriously good skaters doing jumps alongside some small kids...there were a few collisions!
Along the way back we went past my favourite store Anthropologie to admire the windows. They were festooned with flowers made from plastic bottles. I can't upload the photos into the right spots- haven't figured that trick out just yet, so I will post some more photos of the windows amongst other things, in a separate post. We also found some other things to look at on the way back.
Yum Yum is our star! Life is wonderous and strange, perhaps in the future she will indeed have a star of her own.

After a rest in the hotel we headed by taxi to an Italian Restaurant called Patsy's Pizzeria on 60th. The simple pizza, salad and the cabonara were really delicious and the chianti went down easy. We will be going back. It was busy, efficient and well priced.

But the REALLY BIG DEAL was that this restaurant, by HAPpY HAPpY HApPY co-incidence was opposite DYLAN"S CANDY BAR! I had decided not to bring the camera to dinner, that was dumb, sorry no photos. The building looks awesome in the evening. I have had Dylan's on my wishlist for a while and had already checked out the offerings online. Had we not been so full of delicious pizza it would have made a perfect dessert stop (there's a cafe on the top floor). I wasn't after candy so much ...the lord knows my girls have way too much candy. But candy covered nighties...YES. My little ones have been asking for nighties and these were very special. The little girls were happy with $1.50 ring pops as a treat and skipped happily back out of the store. The Breadwinner and Bear filled some bags with their candy choices. I didn't have any. I don't think I would make that trip JUST for Dylan's but combined with a decent meal at Patsy's Pizzeria, it qualifies as a PLAN your kids will be extremely impressed with .

We went back, loaded up the car by 8.30pm and then sat in the traffic....for what was a long time. It is what it is. The yellow M&M looked as dismayed as the Breadwinner was.
But once through the Lincoln Tunnel the drive home was speedy enough...the dirty sticky children were transferred from the car to their own beds by 10pm. We were also tired but pretty happy with our weekend in the city.

Spring? Is it you? Is it REALLY you?????

Is that you Spring? It would be really lovely if it was you. That storm we had was a doozy.We hope it blew winter far far away. It was certainly strong enough. We were lucky not to lose power. So what have we been doing ....

We've been to visit some sheep but we were told it was too cold to bring the bunnies out. Boo and Yum Yum tried to feed the sheep. It wasn't entirely successful.

We went to a zoo and saw some hungry sheep, some prairie dogs, bison, alpacas, llamas, penguins, a pig , a leopard, a randy kangaroo and almost a bear. Boo and Yum Yum cared only about the carousel and the bunnies that were not there. It was a nice day for a walk.

We went to visit Daddy at his office and had lunch in the fancy schmancy "canteen" surrounded by "suits".

Boo had some trouble with the revolving door. Yum Yum brought Prince Charming with her.

One of the Breadwinner's colleagues squealed "oh, they are just like twins".

The girls WILL one day fall into this water feature.

Thankfully they wear visitors passes so that they can be re-united with their father when this happens- because I will pretend to not know them .

It was sunny today so Boo and Yum Yum bounced on the trampoline with their Barbies.

The Barbies were then treated to snow baths.

The oil cloth bicycle bags were filled with snow.

Later Bear came home and they played "Easter Egg Hunt" with empty eggs.

Tinky used Boo's new Crocs as pillows.

I washed Tinky's beloved bed. I tried to remove the fur from it with a lint brush. Then I tried damp paper towels. Ended using packing tape. I should have spun it and knitted up a scarf. Tinky is extremely relieved that there is sunshine. She's also looking a bit fat. So do I.

The lake has melted!

There are little plants poking up in our garden.

OMG OMG OMG. OH MY GOSH! The hyacinths are coming up again!

And we will watch these flowers until ours grow.

They spin and they are shiny. WIN.

We practiced helicopters at the playground with a playmate.

Boo had her first really huge public meltdown. Only two swings, too many little girls, too hard to share. She loves the swings. She is one of those children that adores bouncing, swinging, jumping.... she's waited a long time for the swings.

Laugh, then cry.

It was a typical Saturday morning in our house.

Saturday is my morning to have a little sleep in, which was very lovely although interrupted by a loud giggly game of chase that burst into the bedroom and lingered in our ensuite for a brief shriek, and then out again. I rose to join my family.

The Bear had installed herself under a blanket in the quiet of the lounge room to play Nintendo.

Later she lay still on the floor in a patch of sun watching her other tricky T shirt change from orange to white .

The Breadwinner and I were catching up over breakfast. The sun was shining in. He had fed the Boo and Yum Yum and they had run off to play "beach" because he mistakenly said "swimming pool". We could hear the twins via the baby monitor, they continued to giggle sweetly.

I remarked jokingly that they were probably doing something we wouldn't like. I was enjoying my breakfast. It was mellow. You know where this is going don't you.

A parcel arrived. The Breadwinner was excited. A new

snowboard and bag.

The bag he chose can only be described as hideous. Pink and green plaid???? Whatever was he thinking?

We started giggling too. We took photos of his latest purchase and shared his fashion vision online with friends. He already has a reputation for questionable taste when it comes to his snowboard gear. Our friends were very impressed. He is going to pay dearly for this, much more than the bargain price of $39 and free shipping. Silly man.

So Breadwinner, still rationalising his nifty purchase, wandered upstairs to shower in readiness for the monthly recycling trip.

Then I hear him scream and beg me to "come upstairs NOW!" . So I ask "how bad?"

His reply... "worse than you could ever imagine". The smell of nail polish hits me first...and then this.....

The photo just does not convey the horror. What you see is a very small section of a room sized Jackson Pollock masterpiece in blue nail polish. On the carpet (of our rented home) and on the rug of Boo and Yum Yum's bedroom.... on the beds, on the bed clothes (which were filling the gap between the beds.

......and on all of it....BLUE nail polish with face powder, face cream, DARK RED lipstick, CONCEALER stick and MASCARA.... the doll house had a paint job, the beds had been sprinkled with face powder. Everything.

(There was a whole lot more but I had to stop taking photos and start cleaning)

But we are not really sure who could have done such a thing...?

We don't know mum. They were hiding in the closet from who ever did that terrible thing.

They still have blue hands and feet two days later. I have battled some of the stain in the carpet (used one whole 6 oz bottle of non acetone nail polish remover and have another 2 ready) but for the most part I am in denial. I just want to pretend it didn't happen. The bedclothes remain in the washing machine until I feel strong enough to look.

I don't know either mum.

We grounded them.

They are not allowed to giggle. ever. again. The rest of the day wasn't so mellow.