What a beautiful little 8 year old boy William has become. So kind, thoughtfull, determined, loving and honest, such a good roll model for the others to look up to. Happy birthday my boy, we all think you are wonderful!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
8 today!
Well, our first little baby William has turned 8! Yes thats right 8!! Wow, how has all that time passed in such a big blurr?. It doesnt seem like all that long ago we were living in Perth and the little man came into our lives, but at the same time so much has happened since then it feels unbelievable we have fit it all in, in 8 years.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Usual Suspects
Well now that William and Jacob have gone back to school its back to normal at home for us 3. Feels rather quiet although there is still always plenty to do. Me and my little fellas enjoying some left over birthday cake from yesterday, the usual supsects just hangin out.
Remember that song - part 8
What I found interesting about listening to music over in Italy was that we could enjoy an Italian sung song just as much as an English one. Thats a great thing about music, you dont even need to be able to understand the words to still appreciate the feeling in what the singer is trying to portray.
We had a few favourites whilst living over there, from 'Elisa' to 'Eros Ramazzotti' to 'Tiziano Ferro'. But this particular song stands out for me, not because its a great song but because I had a real hard time trying to find out what it was called. I had to sing a part of it in this wierd combination of rubbish Italian and half english to a few people including finally a team mate to tell me the singers name.
We were at a roadside cafe on our way to a game and I had heard this song a number of times that I couldnt get out of my head but had no idea what it was called or who sung it. So we were looking through some CD's when I broke into song and I asked my Italian teammate if he knew what I was singing. I sang what I thought was the chorus in my crazy translated rendition and somehow after a few attempts he was able to decifer what I was on about and pointed to a song on the back of an Italian version of a 100% hits CD.
We had a few favourites whilst living over there, from 'Elisa' to 'Eros Ramazzotti' to 'Tiziano Ferro'. But this particular song stands out for me, not because its a great song but because I had a real hard time trying to find out what it was called. I had to sing a part of it in this wierd combination of rubbish Italian and half english to a few people including finally a team mate to tell me the singers name.
We were at a roadside cafe on our way to a game and I had heard this song a number of times that I couldnt get out of my head but had no idea what it was called or who sung it. So we were looking through some CD's when I broke into song and I asked my Italian teammate if he knew what I was singing. I sang what I thought was the chorus in my crazy translated rendition and somehow after a few attempts he was able to decifer what I was on about and pointed to a song on the back of an Italian version of a 100% hits CD.
The song was 'Latin Lover' by Cesare Cremonini, lovely and easy to listen to.
Dummy Gone
All of our boys except Jacob have had a dummy to settle them to sleep. We have used them prodominantly just for bed time but when they were younger, out and about aswell. But there comes a time in a little poppits life when dummies are no longer considered acceptable and for our boys that has been around their second birthday.
We got William to throw his out into a bin when he was 2 which seemed to work well as he knew they were gone and werent coming back. That method seemed to work with Sam aswell and today was Lucas's big day of binning the dum dums. He said his goodbyes and we chucked them in. He has just fallen asleep without them for the first time after about 15 minutes of pretending he was devastated. So cute and such a big step! Now he is a big boy!
We got William to throw his out into a bin when he was 2 which seemed to work well as he knew they were gone and werent coming back. That method seemed to work with Sam aswell and today was Lucas's big day of binning the dum dums. He said his goodbyes and we chucked them in. He has just fallen asleep without them for the first time after about 15 minutes of pretending he was devastated. So cute and such a big step! Now he is a big boy!
Dodgy
Its a shame these days that you can instantly get a bad impression of someone for the way they look or where they are at the point in time you see them.
We were out for dinner the other night and William needed to go to the toilet, so he went by himself. A few mintues later Jacob and Sam needed to go so I took them aswell. It turned out that the toilet of the restaurant was a communal one for a part of the shopping centre it backed onto. Therefore it was quite busy and there were a lot of interesting looking characters in there. Its not like they were really doing anything suspicious but I found myself instantly relieved I had been in there while my little boys were doing their business. I, from one swift glance decided they were dodgy when quite probably they were your normal everyday person. You hear about so many terrible stories of horrific things happening to young children, so I couldnt help but think the worst in that dingy toilet.
Gone are the days of letting your kids roam the streets and go off all day by themselves, putting your money at the end of your shoe at the beach because no one would think to look there! or locking your bike up to a pole using your inpenetrable helmet strap. Nowadays your childrens safety everywhere is and has to be number one and the security of your things is also of great importance.
What has changed? Are people that different these days?
We were out for dinner the other night and William needed to go to the toilet, so he went by himself. A few mintues later Jacob and Sam needed to go so I took them aswell. It turned out that the toilet of the restaurant was a communal one for a part of the shopping centre it backed onto. Therefore it was quite busy and there were a lot of interesting looking characters in there. Its not like they were really doing anything suspicious but I found myself instantly relieved I had been in there while my little boys were doing their business. I, from one swift glance decided they were dodgy when quite probably they were your normal everyday person. You hear about so many terrible stories of horrific things happening to young children, so I couldnt help but think the worst in that dingy toilet.
Gone are the days of letting your kids roam the streets and go off all day by themselves, putting your money at the end of your shoe at the beach because no one would think to look there! or locking your bike up to a pole using your inpenetrable helmet strap. Nowadays your childrens safety everywhere is and has to be number one and the security of your things is also of great importance.
What has changed? Are people that different these days?
Journey
"You miss 100% of the shots you dont take" I think the great Michael Jordan may have said that at some point.
Its a great way to look at life also. I think we tend to get cought up in the regimented 'day to day' and sometimes forget about taking on new challenges and exploring life. When the time is right in our lives as a family unit we want to get out there and explore not only this wonderful country but other countries around the world. It can seem a bit daunting to take a large family on an extended holiday with lots of travel, dealing with lack of sleep, tired grumpy boys and uncomfortable conditions. Its actually something that we deal with pretty well and ultimately through the hardships it brings us closer together. If you think about the best holiday's you had as a kid, you wouldnt remember so much about where is was but what you did together as a family.
Em, Rich, Jack and Jo are deep into an amazing adventure across the country where they have left everything familiar behind in Perth to tackle a new challenge over east. I admire and respect what they are doing and think its a brave and bold move, and one that I'm sure will be so benificial for them as a family. Good luck guys! Be safe, enjoy it and we will see you over east soon.
Its a great way to look at life also. I think we tend to get cought up in the regimented 'day to day' and sometimes forget about taking on new challenges and exploring life. When the time is right in our lives as a family unit we want to get out there and explore not only this wonderful country but other countries around the world. It can seem a bit daunting to take a large family on an extended holiday with lots of travel, dealing with lack of sleep, tired grumpy boys and uncomfortable conditions. Its actually something that we deal with pretty well and ultimately through the hardships it brings us closer together. If you think about the best holiday's you had as a kid, you wouldnt remember so much about where is was but what you did together as a family.
Em, Rich, Jack and Jo are deep into an amazing adventure across the country where they have left everything familiar behind in Perth to tackle a new challenge over east. I admire and respect what they are doing and think its a brave and bold move, and one that I'm sure will be so benificial for them as a family. Good luck guys! Be safe, enjoy it and we will see you over east soon.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Wagga Mammas
Jems birthday dinner out with the crew at a lovely Japanese restaurant in the city called Wagga Mammas.
31 and back to school
Jems turns 31 today! Happy birthday!!! We are heading out to dinner tonight as a family to celebrate and she is also only working a half day. She really wanted to come home for a bit then go and pick the boys up from school as they started back today for the new year.
I cant believe Jacob is in year 1 and William is in year 3. They were both so excited about going back this morning, each had their school uniforms on, shoes on and bags packed by 7.30am (We dont leave until 8.30am, so they had some waiting to do). They have new teachers and new class rooms which Jem will find out about when she picks them up this afternoon. Hope they stack up to last years teachers as they were great.
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I cant believe Jacob is in year 1 and William is in year 3. They were both so excited about going back this morning, each had their school uniforms on, shoes on and bags packed by 7.30am (We dont leave until 8.30am, so they had some waiting to do). They have new teachers and new class rooms which Jem will find out about when she picks them up this afternoon. Hope they stack up to last years teachers as they were great.
Happy 31st Jem, your the best, even if you are slightly insane!
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Monday, February 6, 2012
New tunes
I tend to keep pretty up to date with most of the new music coming through, which led me to hear Matt Corby's new hit 'Brother'. Great song, I love the style in which he sings. This is the Triple J Live version, amazing voice. Enjoy.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Forde family day
Today was the suburb of Forde's community family day. We went last year and loved it, and its also FREE!. Thinking back, it really doesnt feel like a whole year ago that we were there. Nice day of rides, face painting, fairy floss, snow cones, sausage sizzle and dancing. The weather was good too, sunny and about 28 degrees as apposed to the continual drizzle we have had over the last 2 days or so.
Sam really feels the rythm of music and loves to sing and dance. They had kids 'Zumba' dancing there and he had an absolute blast.
Sam really feels the rythm of music and loves to sing and dance. They had kids 'Zumba' dancing there and he had an absolute blast.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Lucas talk 3
This morning Lucas woke up all chirpy and while standing in his cot he threw his dummy down to the floor and shouted "Geronimo!". Pretty funny, dont know where he has heard that before and also how he knew what context to put it in. He sure is a clever little boy.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Mess
I reckon half the time I spend at home with the kids (especially during the school holidays) is made up of cleaning up something. We try and get the older 2 to clean up after themselves when they make a mess but with Sam and especially Lucas it can be a little trickier. You sometimes find yourself tiptoeing around toys to find a pathway to where your going. A relatively clean room can turn into an explosion of toys in what seems like a matter of minutes.
Take today for example. We got out the little lego (Not the duplo) and set it up in the lounge room. We dont usually get it out as Lucas has a tendancy of spraying it around the room. It was going well for a while with all the boys sitting down to get on with some sort of construction, then the terror himself (Lucas!) decided the room was far too orderly and proceeded to fling the lego around like he was a sprinkler. Therefore once again I was on my knees and cleaning up!
Believe it or not this photo was taken before the attack of Mr sprinkler arms.
Remember that song - part 7
Coldplay is one of my favourite bands and one that seems to just keep evolving with the times and making better and better music.
In 2005 we took a rushed visit to England to see my critically ill Nannie before she died. William was about 18 months old and she had never seen him so it was great that she got to meet him before she passed. A very sad time for us all was made a little bit happier because of our beautiful little boy. I love to think that the last image in Nannies head before she died was his chubby little smiling face.
A song that had just come out at that time was 'Fix you' and its lyrics were very appropriate for the time. Beautiful song.
Where amazing happens
The NBA's motto is "Where amazing happens". Blake Griffin here shows you one of the reasons why!
This guy is on a whole other planet in terms of athletic abilty! Just amazing!
This guy is on a whole other planet in terms of athletic abilty! Just amazing!
Hoop Dreams
A few weeks ago now I let the new coach of the Gunners know that I wouldnt be playing in season 2012. It was a pretty hard decision to take the year off but it was one that I made in full confidence it was the right choice, not only for me but my family as well. After such a long time of playing at a high level and for the most part being consumed by the game that I love, it seems very strange that I wont be playing this year. On the other hand I can quite honestly say that I have hardly thought about basketball recently, being so busy with the kids and their hectic little lives especially during the school holidays. Maybe I'll have the urge and more importantly the time, to fully commit to season 2013, but right now I'm moving on with the next chapter.
Last night I had my first basketball dream for quite some time. I used to have alot of them when I was playing all the time and they generally left me feeling very frustrated. For some reason in my dreams I would be playing a game and although knowing I was pretty good, I was always only able to see a blurry vision of the court and the other players making it impossible for me to do what I wanted. I was always left feeling very annoyed when waking up. Last nights dream was different, I was selected for a particular team and was playing in front of thousands and able to see and play with full vision, I was on fire. It was great and left me waking up feeling all geared up.
Maybe in some wierd way thats me telling myself I have made the right decision. I look forward to whats in stall for the next chapter, hopefully what ever I do in the future there will be something that will fill that competitive void that Basketball always filled.
Maybe I'll start a professional child raising league!
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