There was jumping castles, Frozen karaoke - yes, we walked around with Let It Go in our heads, slides and more. E and his little friend H had a ball watching Nemo and checking out the life-sized Buzz Lightyear and Woody at the Toy Story zone. It was definitely busy but not crazily so and we lined up for a few attractions before calling lunch at just the time things started to get crazy.

We had some success getting both boys to sleep over lunch (at the pub of course) much to my shock (and disappointment - I would have preferred they hold off for the trip home) and headed for the car to go home. Of course the rain that had been threatening all morning finally fell and the pram rain covers were still in the car. The boys remained mostly dry although a little damp but we got soaked trying to sprint for the car.

Once strapped in and on the highway, C decided to completely lose it. He hates the car at the best of times but this was the worst and he wouldn't calm down. He actually started holding his breath which scared the life out of me and I screamed for S to pull over. We ended up taking the next exit and had to stop for half an hour to get Charlie out and settle him. Not quite the way I wanted the day to end.

It was a great day overall as I had S home on a weekend for a change so it was fun to get out as a family and spend some time with lovely friends.

In between toddler meltdowns over here, we actually doing really well. C is the best little night time sleeper and has great day sleeps given half a chance if E keeps his cool and minimises the screaming, floor bouncing and tears when something doesn't go his way.

Its been a crazy time lately with my nesting instincts and control freak desires all conspiring to make me feel disorganised with an all consuming urge to clean, organise, declutter, prepare... you get the idea. That's fine of course but throw in full time work, a strong willed toddler and a husband who works weekends and you have a recipe for chaos right there.

Over the weekend, my time for getting household chores and errands done, E was at his most uncooperative of course. We started Saturday with a trip to Target for their one day sale with my mum (Grammy) and my niece Hayley. I took the Donkey to restrain the pair of toddlers and mum and I set off in high spirits. Fast forward 45 minutes later and the toddlers are carrying on like you wouldn't believe, I couldn't pick up or look at a single item and was the recipient of sympathetic looks everywhere - everyone just assumes E and my niece are twins. I did what any other pregnant mother already juggling 2 under 2 would do ... I left mum browsing racks and hightailed it to the nearest cafe for milkshakes to stop the screeching. To my absolute utter delight, the cafe had a back raised playroom with only one entry point so I set the munchkins loose, parked myself at the doorway and let them go until mum finished and we headed home - I was in no mood to shop by this point. After such a 'fun' morning we headed home for naptime (I should have napped but spent the time baking bread instead) and stayed in for the afternoon to play and enjoy the air conditioning rather than the freakishly humid temps outside. I admit, the morning took all my energy and patience so it was better for us both to stay home.

Sunday was a little lot more fun for us both with an outing much better suited to an active toddler. We met a friend of mine and her two boys at the rockpools for a play, swim and morning tea after. E was in heaven running around, splashing, investigating and having fun ... which meant I had a blast too and enjoyed some adult conversation.





Here are some pics of our adventures lately:

Cuddles with Grandpa

Brekky with my boys - this was amazing!

Just chillin' like a teenager

Helping with the household chores aka child labour

New kicks - Ltd Edition Batman Converse

Testing out the new wheels with cousin Lillee

Seal show at Seaworld with daddy

Visiting Grammy in hospital and into everything with his number 1 partner in crime

Fresh bread made in the Thermie for lunch

Rare treats with mummy - I may have eaten most of this cupcake

We had a bit of an unenviable early start to our weekend when we were woken before dawn by the sounds of E's very laboured breathing. Concerned as he appeared to be struggling for air, we woke him and were greeted by a very sad baby with a harsh seal like cough that frightened him (and us) each time. Poor babe also had a temp spike of 38.6 (not bad considering how many times we've nursed 39+). Whooping cough was the number 1 illness that popped into my head and given it appeared his breathing was affected, we made the decision to head straight to emergency. Luckily it was a surprisingly quiet night/morning and the triage nurse had one listen to E and admitted us immediately saying that we did the right thing bringing him in as he very much needed to be there.

If you lived in Queensland or NSW, you were lucky enough to enjoy a long weekend like us and here, the weather was perfection for the most part.

We did lots of swimming, ate healthy lunches on the go, had a Japanese lunch date with my sister and niece, celebrated the Roosters' grand final win with a party at my parents' (thank goodness as the alternative would have devastated my dad and sister), visited Wet'n Wild,





 
ate lots of frozen fruit - my new addiction ... and a few ice creams, and caught up with wonderful friends and their children.

As always, the weekend goes far too fast, even with an extra day but the plus side, its a short week!



I also did some shopping, kitting out Ethan's summer wardrobe with some new shoes, funky new tees and shorts - Scott of course is a big fan of the Atari inspired Space Invaders tee. Best part, everything was at least 50% off. Although I'm on a bit of a ban, I snapped up this gorgeous Charlie Brown 'Masai' print wrap dress for me as well. The print and colours are so beautiful in real life and this dress will be ideal for work or play I figure.




I discovered a new TV series, The Blacklist, and I'm hooked. Got to love James Spader in pretty much anything but throw in some secret agent FBI mystery, a reasonably entertaining plot and I'm happy. The only problem is, we're too used to having a series available all at once but this one only has 2 eps so far and a week is a long wait!


We also made a big purchase yesterday morning but more on that another time :)