This ones for Nick

HK Xmas

Christmas Eve started well with a warm sunny day, mulled wine (that's not a coffee!) and Santa Clause


Time to cook dinner. Julia did not like the surprise pasta waterfall. Neither did we, really





Roast check. Hmmmm. The ginger has turned blue. Google tells me it is still edible, so I carry on.

Onto the white wine!






Ella's Santa face painting.





Presents from Auntie Leah








After the kids were to bed we had a marathon gift wrapping session.







Wrapping gifts is hard work! Suds fell asleep waiting for Santa to arrive



Xmas morning was pure excitement













Christmas is a perfect bike riding day






A typical big sister grab





Julia in her Christmas outfit courtesy of Aunty Tiff (via an Ella stopover)












Walking along the beach Ella spies a monster bug




Playing around in the plaza before dinner












Dinner made all the better because I didn't have the stress of cooking it myself!







Ella's favourite part was dessert

A couple of goofballs....

RIP praying mantis

She is catching crickets in the sky

Our Christmas tree

Hmmmm...
maybe the girls need a little advisement on how to best decorate the tree
















Ah yes. That is looking better!


















I know I am biased, but seriously. Ella is going to be a knockout when she grows up, isn't she?







































Ella reaches for the stars





































Daddy needs to help put the star on top
















Beautiful!!


















Yay!!

Julia hearts Ella

Julia LOVES Ella. Her little face lights up every time she spies her big sister.

Why I am not sure.

Ella doesn't change her poopy diapers. She doesn't go to her in the middle of the night and settle her back to sleep. Ella doesn't kiss her owies away.

Ella snatches Julia's toys away. She rips her soother out of her mouth and throws it across the room. Ella eats all the raisins and yogurt melts and leaves Julia the cheerios. Ella is the reason Julia doesn't have new clothes and why the flaps are torn off her books. Ella pulls Julia's arms up and behind her back until they nearly rip off her body. Ella slaps Julia hard and shouts, "Mosquito!". Ella pushes Julia over, kicks her, pokes her in the eye, puts rocks in her mouth.

And still, if you want to see a huge grin on Julia's face, just bring Ella over.

I'm a little diyas
small and bright.
Tiny little lamp
with flickering light

On Diwali evening
I show my flame.
To fight off darkness
that's my game!

dum dum da dum

Ella recently received an invitation to her classmate Frances'
"Getting Married/Turning 4" party.
The invite looked like a proper wedding invite with vellum overlay and everything.


After several hellish weeks of hand sewing Halloween costumes, this task reinvigorated me. I was inspired!!




Ella's veil, complete with blusher is my most proudest achievement!

Party is Nov 6. More photo's to come I am sure!!

I try to be a crafty mom. I try to let Ella be a kid and have fun in a safe way. I scour the internet for fun ideas we can do together. I've printed the ideas off and have assembled them into a book for quick and easy access for whenever one of us has a free 15 minutes to kill. And we use it, too!

There are literally thousands of blogs out there by brilliant and artistic and patient mom's. They are homeschooling their kids. They are making crafts with their kids. They go on fun local adventures with their kids. They have pictures and how to tips to help the eager like myself. It seems to go off without a hitch. Everyone is happy and enjoys themselves.

Why don't these blogs reflect MY reality? Why aren't their kids throwing hissy fits, dumping paint everywhere on purpose, not listening to my simple and clear instructions and generally sh*tting all over my fun plans? I don't want to make paper bag pumpkins but I thought you would enjoy it. I guess not.

Why aren't these mom's totaling losing it and declaring "Never again....."

Maybe this is what the internet needs? An honest blog about raising kids where the kids are monsters, the parents hopes dashed anew every day and end up drinking their disappointment in themselves at night.

Nah. No one wants to see THAT.

Ella running amok in a water fountian

heteropoda venatoria

The brown huntsman spider, Heteropoda venatoria, is found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world, including Asia, some Mascarene and Caribbean islands, the Southeastern US, and (especially) Australia. In Hawaii, where it was introduced, it is known as the cane spider. They are fairly large, some having a leg span of approximately five inches (13 centimetres). Although they are rather fearsome in appearance, they are very easily alarmed by the approach of humans and will very rapidly flee.

The male typically has a slender body, longer and thinner legs, and a distinctive pattern on his carapace. Both male and female are reddish-brown to grayish-brown in color, and slightly hairy.

Brown huntsman spiders do not spin webs. These spiders are known to hunt by waiting quietly on a vertical surface (or even a ceiling) and then rushing forward when their prey gets within close range. Their exceptional agility and speed, as well as their ability to contort and squeeze through tight spaces, give them a strong advantage both in capturing prey and evading predators. They feed at night. Brown huntsmen are welcomed in some homes, as they feed on pests such as roaches and silverfish. The brown huntsman spider is also known as the "laya" in some parts of the world.

Ginger 62

My last night in Vancouver Shannon and I went a little off the rails.





Here is the photographic evidence...




I think that my bright idea of doing shots at 3PM wasn't so bright after all.



But the shots we did at 6PM were a gift so those aren't my fault












Poor Whit looks a little shell shocked. Thankfully she did a fantastic job of catching up!

HUGE spider!!!

I want you to open your hand up all the way.
Without a word of a lie, that is how big this spider is that we found IN OUR HOME!

Where's Ella??

Can you find Ella?

She's in the middle about 3 rows from the front

an oldie but a goodie

Remember when a tiny kitten found it's way into Dad and Judy's house?

Ella has a real way with animals!!

Ella and Bango playing in the grass

Mid Autumn Lantern Festival on the beach

A and G came for a late night playdate on the beach to celebrate the Mid Autumn festival




Ella with her glow stick necklace so we wouldn't lose her in the dark. Of course she lost the necklace within seconds and then ran around all night in the dark


A and G in their glowing bunny ears

















Julia bunny















Even Bango came to celebrate!
(Why does Suds take so many photos of me with my mouth full? Or maybe why am I always eating is the better question?)