That's my Elly.

Today Elly and I were playing with playdough, while Noah was napping. My job during playdough time with Elly, is to usually sit there and be instructed by her on what to make and how, all while I listen to her chitter-chatter. She is the biggest chatter box! As I sat there making some  playdough jewels for the princess crown she was making, I couldn't help but marvel at her language, and for a second, I questioned her age.

For instance, this is just a little snippet of what I mean...

Elly: "Mum, this is a princess crown. 'It needs a lot more detail before it can be completed..."

See what I mean? Don't 4 year olds (and even most adults) usually say "stuff" rather than "detail?" Or say "finished" or "done" instead of "completed?" Well, that's what I was thinking anyway, and just as I was about to ask her how old she really is, Elly dropped one of the jewls she was placing on the crown, and says, "Oh, you little rascal!"

So just like that, my question was answered. She was still my cheeky little 4 year old, Elly belly.

Future BIG brother

I can just tell, that Noah is going to make such a good BIG brother...

Noah is such a kind and loving little fellow. Lately, he has taken a liking for 'Boy' (that's what Elly named the doll when she was two). He takes him to the park with us everyday, shares his morning tea and drinks with him, holds on to him tightly in the swing, wraps him up in blankets when it's cold and just takes good care of him... just like a good big brother should. I'm sure that with all this practice, he will be the best BIG brother for when the real baby BOY arrives!

I don't get it.

So Noah refused to wear his new warm winter jacket during those freezing cold days we were having.

But on a hot day like today, there was nothing else he wanted to wear, but his warm winter jacket!

And Noah, just because you wear it with no pants, it still doesn't make it weather appropriate!

Cute Elly things

Cute thing no. 1:

This is Elly Belly in her kindy group photo. She stands out for two reasons:

 1. She is the cutest ;)

2.  Her filthy pants!

Though at first I regretted not putting her in a black pair, I'm actually glad that those dirty grey pants capture just how much fun she has and is!

Cute thing no. 2:

She wrote this letter to me (even though it looks like it's addressed to her) at kindy. When I opened it,  I asked her to read it to me but she said "no, mummy you can read it!" 

So I assumed and hoped that the letter said "dear mummy, I love you very much, love Elena."

Apparently, I was right (phew!) but I left out a little fine print at the bottom, which she read out to me... "and can you please make me a nutella sandwich, thank-you."

Just goes to show what a cheeky little thing she is. :)

Cute thing no.3:

She decided one afternoon, that she was going to be an 'abstract artist,' and sell her artworks for a whopping $1 each. She was so excited when her first customer (me) bought one of her paintings and gave her the money. But soon after, she decided that the artwork was no longer for sale. I still haven't received my refund.

Just goes to show her potential business skills, and sneakiness. 

Cute thing no. 4:

El loves to play dress up. Whether it's at home or at our local op-shop. She found this little ensemble a little while ago. Just goes to show what a little character she is and how much entertainment she gives me!

Cute thing no. 5:

When our friends Cassie and Callie came to visit us one day, little Callie had a runny nose. Cassie asked Elly if she could get a tissue and wipe Callie's nose, "of course!" replied Elly, and did just that. A little later, Cassie  called on Elly again, and asked if she could please "blow Callie's nose." This time Elly took it literally, and walked over to Callie, puffed her cheeks and blew on Callie's nose. Cassie and I just cracked up laughing as we watched Elly "blow" Callie's nose! You had to be there. 

But it just goes to show how helpful and funny she is! 

Elly Belly, you're one of a kind. Thanks for the laughs and cute things you do and say, amongst those little headaches. :) 

A whinge...I'm good at that.

There are some things that suck (for lack of a better word) about living here in Emerald. For starters (and this is the biggie) we have no family here. No mami or papi, granny or pop, brothers and sisters, aunties or uncles and all our cute little cousins to play with. Instead, they're miles away. Also, no matter how hard we think about where to go or what to do around here, we just seem to end up in the same 3 places;

 1. The park  2. Coles  3. The muddy dam.

Lastly- and this is what kind of brought up this whole whinge- when you need something, wether it's something as small as an easter egg basket or something more useful like a new car battery, you might as well be looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!

A few days ago, my car battery died. Of course, no-one in Emerald had my battery in stock, and of course because Brisbane is on the other side of the world (NOT!), it took 10 days for my battery to finally arrive.

 I did a lot of walking during that time....a lot! But still, that didn't stop El and Noah from getting cabin fever... or myself. I felt like the whole time it was just me, the kids, and my thoughts. Then, the evenings would come and the kids and I would bombard Joe (a new person, some-one different, another adult!) and fight for his attention. Of course,  I'd step back, and let the kids have all the time with their dad.  But then, when the kids are in bed and Joe at the gym, I feel like it's just me again, just me and my thoughts.

 I could count on just one hand how many hours I've spent talking to another adult or used my brain in a non- mummy way over those last 10 days. This worries me a little. What if my brain turns to mush!? Seriously.
I even considered starting that children's book I've always wanted to write, just so I could use my brian again. But I'm worried that i'll just end up with something lame about a lonely puppy or a 'misery moo'- kinda like the subject of this post.

Clearly, I'm home sick. I miss my girl friends who are also stay- at- home mums now. I miss having endless amount of fun places to visit, eating-out options, big shopping centres... oh shopping, how I miss you! And of course, I miss being close to family. I'm hating that I have a brand new little niece right now, that I could be kissing and cuddling. But instead I'm here, in little ol' Emerald... whinging.

 Arrrgh! What a sob story, forgive me. At the end of the day, we chose to be here. Things could be worse.There are so many other things to be happy about. I am a whinger and knowing what I'm like, I can already see myself writing that other post in the future, the one I'm going to title as "I miss Emerald..."

 But the whinge is out now, and I feel better already.Tomorrow is a new day. I have a car that moves again and though I have no where to go, the option is there. I'm sure i'll wake up in the morning and be my lovely, happy, optimistic (I wish) self again. Until I find something else to whinge about... because clearly, I'm good at that.

New babe

I'm a proud aunty once again! Meet my newest little niece...

Lucia Josie Hurunui

born Saturday 20th August, 2011

at 3:10 in the afternoon.

8 pounds 50 cm long.

It was a tough pregnancy for Irma, but she was blessed with an early and quick labour and another beautiful, healthy baby girl.

Welcome to this world, little Lucia! We love you lots already. xox

Bebe news!

Ok, so this picture is not that exciting. But there certainly is a little bump there!  This was taken last week at my 18 week stage, but I wanted to also show you the maternity jeans my lovely sister Irma got me! Thanks so much Irma! I have no idea how I've survived 2 pregnancies in the past without a pair of maternity jeans?!

Anyways, this is me now at 19 weeks...

Ha! Ok, again not very exciting. But can you spot the difference!? Pictures can be deceiving, because I'm definitely starting to see my bump now! In fact, It's becoming more and more real everyday! I'm starting to feel more like a pregnant person rather than just a sick person... today more than ever!!! 

We had our ultra sound today! It was by far the nicest and most comfortable ultrasounds I've had. The lady was lovely, and not only because she kept complementing me on how well and easy I am to scan- apparently there's not a lot of fat between me and the baby- which is music to a 19 week pregnant lady's ears! But she was one of those Radiologists who take their time and explain everything nicely to you and who genuinely love their job. Oh, and note to self- or any other expecting mother- you don't have to drink a whole lot of water before it! I didn't, and unlike my other scans in the past,  I was focused on my little baby on the screen and not my bladder and the fear of wetting my pants! 

It was such a wonderful experience to see our little bebe today. Joe and Noah were both there (El was at kindy). Noah was just happy to play with the toys they had in the kids corner and looked and pointed at the screen just once... not really his thing, I guess.

But the most exciting and surprising news of all is that it's a... BOY!!! Here's the (little:) proof...

If you squint hard enough, you can see a little arrow pointing to his  little manhood :)

I couldn't help but get so emotional when I heard this little fact, and for the first time in my whole pregnancy, I felt a deeper bond with the little baby BOY in my belly. I really thought I was having a girl, and I'm sad to admit that I'm not psychic- just psycho, as Joe so nicely put it for me this afternoon. :) But I'm thrilled to be having another boy! We all are! Even Elly! She was so happy to see  the ultrasound photos of baby, and when I nervously told her that she was going to have another baby brother- her face lid up (hallelujah!), and immediately began roll playing her big sister duties of what she would do if the two boys weren't getting along- because of course, she's the peace keeper around here (*cough *cough). So all is well in our little home. All is well.

Cheeeeeesy!

El had photo day at kindy...

Gotta love those dimples, cheesy smile and that girl!

Sweet delights

Elly loves to bake. She asks me all the time if we can bake special treats for daddy while he is at work. The other day we baked an decorated these while Noah was napping..

I love that she loves to bake and we have fun together making things. The only problem is that no-one eats what we bake (well, sort off). Elly has never been a big fan of cakes, cookies or cupcakes. I'm not feeling like them much these days, and Joe pretty much thinks that cupcakes are the devil ( he's into eating healthy atm). So that only leaves Noah, and look what he thinks of them...

 He couldn't have been happier waking up from his nap to these sweet delights, and have them all to himself!

Guardian pigeon?

Every morning, the kids and I head out for a walk and play at the park. Last Monday, I woke up tired and not feeling well, so we gave it a miss. But instead, we received a little visit from this little guy or girl (how do you tell?)...

Elly was the one who raised the alarm and told me the pigeon just flew onto our deck and that maybe it bumped it's head on the wall? The pigeon just stayed there and wouldn't move no matter how close we (Elly) got to it. This is when I wish I was one of those cool mums- the ones that wouldn't be afraid to pick up the pigeon and see if it was ok... Bindi Irwin/Diego stye... my kids would have loved that. But of course, I'm not one of those mums. I did get the little pigeon some water and bread... I thought that was nice of me, and Elly invited a complete stranger (the pakage/mail delivery lady) to come inside and meet our new pet pigeon when she knocked at our door. Which reminds me, I really need to remind her about 'stranger danger.'

So the pigeon stayed on our deck all day and only moved a little. At this point, I thought it was definitely injured and was hoping that Joe would get home early or before it died so that he could pick it up and take it to the vet- you know, be the cool Bindi Irwin/ Diego dad. 

The funny and strange thing was, that when Joe did get home in the afternoon, just as he got out of the car and Elly was telling him about our 'new pet'- over the veranda, the pigeon all of a sudden flew on to the veranda railing and off it went as Joe, El and Noah watched him fly away... just like that.

I missed the whole thing, and couldn't believe it just flew away after just sitting there the whole day! Now, being the superstitious little El Savadorian that I am (Yes, I totally blame my culture for this trait), I'm left wondering what was the deal with this little pigeon's visit? And why did it leave as soon as Joe got home? Do do do doo...do do do doo... (a little suspense tune, couldn't help myself :). So I decided to just think of it as a little guardian pigeon. But I'm hoping that it doesn't come back, because that would just freak me out... a little. 

I love Saturdays...

when Joe isn't working and we're not renovating!

I love it because the kids flock to Joe like bees on honey. They want daddy to get up and make them breakfast- even when I so willingly offer. They want daddy to get them dressed- even though I'm the one who can offer them an outfit that will match. They want daddy to play with them- because of course daddy is more fun...etc etc! So yeah, I love Saturdays!

Saturdays are especially great when we do fun family activities like hiking at Springsure. Ok, I should point out that we had every intention of going for a hike today- up until we got to the spot and feeling a little nauseated, I looked at Joe and said "I don't really feel like hiking..." Mind you, I wasn't the only one who wasn't feeling it. So the little walk and exploring we did around our little picnic area, the 4WD'ing, and play at the park was lovely and enough for us all...

I love Saturdays, and I love my little family even more!


Ps. The only thing that sucked about this Saturday, was that I dropped Joe's iphone and cracked the screen... just a little. But I'm sure we'll look back on this little mishap in the future and laugh... right, Joe ;)

Food for thought.

One of the things I love about food, are the memories- mainly childhood ones, that are associated with it. I know I sound like one of the judges from 'Master Chef', but it's true.

For example, to this day, every time I eat a mango, I think back to when I was a little 5 year old girl living in El Salvador, and sitting under our huge mango tree. My mami would tell me that if I wished hard enough, one would fall from the tree for me. So there I would sit for ages, eyeing out a mango and wishing so hard that it would fall so I could eat it.  I did this for coconuts too. Come to think about it, mum was probably just trying to get me out of her hair, but I so badly believed it would work, and it's probably the reason I'm always trying to telepathically communicate with Joe... aaah, it all makes sense now.

Anyways, I had another flash back to my childhood today, and to a sweet memory while enjoying our pancake breakfast. It is a tradition around here that when Joe has a Saturday off, he makes us all pancakes for breakfast. I'm sure that this will be one of El's and Noah's fond food memories when they're older, as they love pancake Saturdays! Sometimes, like today, Joe cheats and takes us to MacDonald's for our pancakes. As we sat and ate our pancakes in the car, parked at the netball fields - another little tradition we have, I thought back to my first ever McDonalds pancake breakfast.

 I had McDonalds pancakes for breakfast, for the very first time when I was 10 years old (I know, late bloomer) while we were in Sydney- on our first temple visit as a family. As I was telling Joe this, I couldn't help but get teary as I began to recall that experience. Of course, at first Joe looked a little confused as he saw me tear up over ''pancakes." He probably was thinking I was sad because my parents had deprived me of a McDonalds breakfast for so long, so I quickly had to explain to him that I was teary because of the special  experience of my family's sealing.

 I remember it so well. How I felt, what a saw, and what I heard. I think that one of the best things about about being a convert to the gospel, is that I got to see and experience being sealed to my parents and siblings for time an all eternity. It is one of my fondest  childhood memories and one that I will treasure forever. So it was so nice to just randomly think back to it today- as I enjoyed a simple pancake breakfast, on a beautiful winter day, with my own little eternal family.