Canberra Zoo and Aquarium

I took playgroup (and my children) to the zoo today. It was SO much fun. Ben loved to otters the best, Matthew loved the zoo map the best and Ryan well I'm not sure what he loved but I'm pretty sure he loved it. I think he gets overwhelmed by his thoughts. Actually, what I really think is he is like me. I like to go and read all the notes about the particular animal in the enclosure, observe it for a while, ponder the animal and if i like it's lifestyle before i decide if i like the animal. And i think Ryan is still pondering all of this. Or he could be thinking if he liked his lunch!! Oh! But it was so much fun. Those little faces where amazed by what they saw today and when you think about it so they should. I think the boys (well maybe Matt and Ryan) realised the things that they read about in their books can be real. We read Edward the Emu about an Emu in a zoo. Well they had two roaming a walk through enclosure today and Matt and Rye Rye recognised them as Edward and Edwina. We talked about the favourite animal at the zoo and recited the words from the book. The picture books we read on wild animals and the shows we watch on TV became real life today for the boys. And the looks on their faces was priceless.


So back to what the boys liked. Ben LOVED the otters. They were playing when we arrived. There are photos of him watching them further on down the page. Benny did not want to leave them. Many of the other animals he couldn't see. Like the Koala curled up in the tree and the red panda high in the trees and the cats asleep in long grass. But the ones that were moving he could see and he loved. He liked the aquarium with the brightly coloured fish. But what he loved best (after the otters) was being apart of the group of kids. He walked where they walked. He climbed on fences when the other kids did. He was one of the big kids and he loved that!


Matthew loved the map! He followed it and referred to it all day. Thank goodness it had pictures! And since we have been home he has been going over our entire day with the map. Daddy got the blow by blow account. "First we started at the cafe then we followed this path to the aquarium....." The whole spiel takes almost as long as we were there! As for a favourite animal i don't think he had one, well maybe the fairy penguins were a fav (Poppy will be thrilled the penglins got a mention!) I think his favourite part of the zoo was being able to recognise all the animals we were looking at. Although he did come tearing up to me to tell me he found (he found a lot of things that i thought were already discovered!) an owl which did turn out to be a tawny frog mouth but an easy mistake to make!


And Mummy's favourite was her exceptionally well behaved children. They were a joy and a pleasure to be with. When some of the group where naughty, my boys were angelic. I didn't have to grump to get down from the fence beside the lions cage or scold for trying to feed the tiger a biscuit. (I was totally convinced that i would have to rescue at least one child from an enclosure containing a scary animal).They were perfect. I have nothing to complain about and once again are proud of my little men. But enough bragging! Here are the photos! (I didn't take many as i was too busy watching and enjoying their reactions to remember to take photos)

Why do we buy expensive toys?

Today the boys were playing happily in the backyard. I then snuck inside to get some housework done. After a while i thought it was quiet out there, so quiet in fact I could hear children in the park. They sounded an awful lot like my children. So i looked out of the window. Ben was riding his trike happily so i thought "yep they're all good". I resumed my house work only to hear more children's voices coming from the direction of the park. Surely my children couldn't have got through the new 150cm high colourbond fence or the new gate that Nath put the latch on so high i can barely reach it. So i listened and it sounded an awful lot like my kids. So i raced outside and there they all were in the sandpit filling my empty Pepsi bottles with sand. (I had left them earlier using the bottles as swords!) They were having a ball. Ryan was mulching the leaves by pushing them into the bottle then tipping them out. Matthew had filled his to the brim with sand, which was according to Matthew the best tasting coke just for Mum (it was also the best coke ever in mummy's opinion as it was calorie free!) Then after Barkley had had a particularly nasty cough the sand filled bottle became medicine for him. Which was very carefully administered by Vet Matthew. (By the way Barkley took it very nicely) So tomorrow I'm off to buy some more coke, I can only hope that it is Matthew calorie free kind!

Aunty Yucky

My sister Jackie (otherwise known as Aunty Yucky to the Rickard boys) came for a flying visit this weekend. We were all very excited for Jackie and Eli to spend some time in our house where boys rule the roost. The boys all had a great time and Jackie went home with a boot full of no longer used/worn/played things from this house. Here are some photos. Please note that Eli certainly isn't a morning person. (I wonder where he gets that from Aaron??!!)

It's moment like these...

That you thank God for the blessed gift of children! I am so proud of Matthew today I could burst! Today is the last day of Matthew's first term at pre school. So I asked his teacher how he was doing. Debbie said Matthew is THE most caring and compassionate child she has ever taught! She says he is very responsible and a pleasure to teach. But whilst we were talking a mother interrupted to also thank Debbie as her child had found preschool tough and she genuinely was thanking her for her patience. They got talking and I heard the mother mention Matthew. So I jumped in with "Who is your child" and she told me so I said "I am Matthews' Mum". She then went on to tell me what a "godsend" Matthew was and how much Matthew means to her son and if it wasn't for Matthew being there for him every day they would have considered pulling him out! I then put it together that the father I had been talking to that morning, who was very keen on a play date with Matthew was this child's Dad. He had said this morning that Matthew was his son's rock at pre school. I had no idea that this child had been having difficulties but I did know that Matthew was very fond of this child. So I have put all the pieces together and am so proud of my son!
Debbie's other example of Matthew's compassion was with the chickens that the children have just hatched. Apparently, Matthew asked Debbie to put them back in their light box as he was fearful that the chicks were cold and no longer enjoying playing! She said his face was ashen with his concern.
To me this is heart swelling. I don't care if my children become Olympians or brain surgeons or millionaires. What I want for my children is for them to be caring, compassionate, happy and healthy people. And it warms my heart to know that we are on the right track.

Cyclone Ryan

Today Ryan had a tantrum of Indooroopilly proportions. Ask Nathan's mother about Nathan's tanty at the Indro shopping centre when he was little, she is still scarred! We were at the post office, trying to post Kylie's parcel (sorry Kylie, Oliver's parcel will eventually make it to you before he turns 21!) when Ryan cracked it. I let him press the button to get the ticket but the mean Mummy i am didn't let him rip off the ticket. So that was it. He threw himself on the floor, shrieking as if his liver had been pulled out of his body via his nose. I walked on to get the post pack with a "Ryan, I'm leaving to get my things now!"thrown over my shoulder. The old bitties in the queue shook their heads. Ryan's response was to flail about as if he was a helicopter, with the rotor noise to match. So I gave a stern "That is enough Ryan!" This was met with the noise equal to a jumbo taking off and "Tut, Tuts" from the bitties. So I said "Ryan, if you don't stop this nonsense now we will go straight home! One..... Two..... Ok! That's it were going!" The bitties jumped out of my way (with fear in their eyes!) and I scooped him up took him to the door and said "We're leaving". The howling at this point was hysterical. So i walked off, a mother in law I know has advised that his is good practise. So off i went and Ryan came tearing up beside me and grabbed onto the stroller handle. When I wouldn't stop, even with his pleas of "But Mummy you have business to do!" I walked on. Even when he took his feet off the ground and was hovering above the ground I walked on. Even with the echo's 4 times louder in the underground car park, I walked on! He was dumped unceremoniously into his car seat with a "I'm very cross, Ryan!" By the time we got home he was apologising profusely for his behaviour and crosses his heart and hopes to die he will never throw a tanty again.
And me..... I think I will have the same scars as my mother inlaw!

Here's a question for you!

That's what Nathan says to me every time he has something BIG he wants to ask me. Before the move to Canberra "Here's a question for you, would you move to Canberra?" and before we got engaged "Here's a question for you, will you marry me?" (Just jokes, but nearly!) So when we got into bed last night and he said this, the sense of dread was enourmous! All he wanted to ask was if I was ok with him doing a masters degree in operation research at ADFA??!!! And of course the answer was "If you think that is what you need to do for your career, darling, I will put my ambition of being a midwife aside!" No really, my greatest ambition is to raise three well adjusted, happy, healthy and gorgeous boys and if more study helps him along in his career I'm all for it. Good luck Nathan B. Eng, M Eng(res), M OR. (Could he want anymore letters after his name!)

Lockdown

It is a coincidence that Matthew is having a lockdown drill at pre school tomorrow. After what happened in Sydney yesterday it has made it very real and very frightening. Who would have thought that such a drill was necessary, but apparently it is. Nathan and I were discussing it and we cant recall having "lockdown drills" at school. However, it appears that it is necessary for our children. And that is sad. What else will our children have to deal with that we could never have comprehended as children?