Jean Genie

Since having Audrey, it has become a habit of both mine and Trevor's to make up silly songs about nearly everything we do. Sometimes we're inventive and make up our own words and other times we use other people's lyrics - usually in a different context to what the writer originally intended.

When we get Audrey into a pair of jeans we automatically sing David Bowie's Jean Genie to her - usually just the chorus part "Jean Genie let yourself go" at very loud volume. Trevor decided to introduce her to the real song the other night and the look on her face was priceless. She did a double take and then gasped "Jeanie song, Jeanie song". And that was it....there was a lot of foot stamping and shaking of hair and singing along (as best you can when you're 2) and requests for it to be repeated and then for another song. She ended up dancing to about 3 or 4 old Bowie tunes. Now when Trevor comes home from work she requests that he put the "Jeanie song" on for her. Bowie would be pleased I'm sure - a new generation of fans!!

A Round Egg

The egg carton in our fridge contained this rather curious round egg - masquerading as a table tennis ball...

See also
and also

Piallago Garden Centres

We've recently discovered an area of Canberra near the airport called Piallago. I say discover, but we're not exactly up there with Captain Cook or Columbus as it's right next door to the city's airport and has a dual carriageway racing by.

It's probably how Canberra was 20 or 30 years ago; there are fields with horses and farms with geese, cows and pigs, all this neighbouring Canberra airport, which meanwhile has high ambitions on becoming an Australian transport hub. I wonder what international visitors landing in the Australian capital think as they touch down and the field next to the runway has cows in it.

Anyway, hidden from the road are a mass of garden centres. There must be about 10 of varying sizes, all competing for your dollar, and all now resplendent with spring and summer flowers. Most of them have cafes a lot of them seem to have children's playgrounds.

We spent a nice morning at one this morning (tomato plants a bargain at $2 each) and Audrey enjoyed some time on the slides. The centre we visited also had half a dozen peacocks strutting about (terrifying the children every time they landed in the play area.) I guess peacocks never get high enough off the ground to trouble the planes, but a potentially messy accident is certainly a possibility.

our little boy is growing up

In the back garden

Here are a couple of snaps of Audrey and Eli enjoying some sunshine in the back garden.

Yummy biccies Mum!

Long live the Queen

Audrey has been learning the letters of the alphabet with Trevor at bath time and is now very good at it - A for Audrey, D for Daddy, G for Grandma, M for Mummy and Q for Queen - "What?!!". Yes, Trevor is unashamedly brainwashing our daughter...not only that she then breaks into a rendition of "God save the Queen".

Today at lunch she had a 10 cent coin she had found and was keeping to put in her piggy bank and she was saying "Where's the Queen?" and then flipping the coin over and saying "There she is" (yes, Australian coins still have a picture of the Queen on them!). To top it off she was then saying "She's a nice lady" and singing "God save the Queen". Hmmm...perhaps I'd better take over at bath time from now on....R for Rabbit? - oh no, Audrey R is for Republic!

Fruits and Seeds

Today we went to the Botanic Gardens to take part in a school holiday programme celebrating the 21st anniversary of Australia's national emblem, the golden wattle. Today's session involved planting red-stemmed wattles. All the kids loved getting their hands dirty and the fact that they got to take their plants home; one planted in seed form and one sapling.

A waratah - not a wattle but pretty nonetheless!

Out of the mouth of Audrey No.2

Over breakfast I was trying to teach Audrey the difference between her 'Right' hand and her 'Left' hand. She was humouring me by saying 'No!' everytime I said right and left, holding up my hands in turn. Eventually I asked her what her hands were called and she said 'this one' and 'another one'.

Funny Face

Day trip to Murrumbateman

We have been meaning to check out some of the region's vineyards since we arrived over a year ago and on Monday we finally managed to visit a couple in Murrumbateman (30 minutes from Canberra). Luckily, both Audrey and Eli obliged us by being on their best behaviour.

The town of Murrumbateman consists of a service station, beauty parlour and a take away food shop (closed due to public holidays) so there wasn't a lot to look at there. However, there are about 10 vineyards close by. The two we went to - Yass Valley Wines and Dionysus Winery - were just a short drive from the 'town'.

After sampling wines at each of the wineries we enjoyed our picnic lunch at Dionysus Winery (very kind of them to offer us their tables under cover as the weather was a bit patchy). Audrey had to fight Eli off of her sandwiches so he had to make do with a couple of her crusts. Despite being only 5 and 1/2 months old, he has a voracious appetite and I think Audrey will be fighting for her food for many years to come!

Mind reading

I must own up that this isn't a completely original post (I must credit ABC 666 radio for a similar article) but I thought it was pretty amusing.

The article comments that despite scientists best efforts computers still can't read our minds.

When I'm sending a text my mobile phone tries to guess my next entry - this is particularly odd as I bought the phone in Poland and so it attempts to Polish-ify my English. Likewise when I'm writing something in Microsoft Word, the computer will often pick up my atrosious spelling, or sometimes (dependant upon the settings) try and American-ise my writing (in someways more insulting than my phone's efforts to convert it into Polish). Similarly Excel will try and do clever things to fill in cells where it thinks I should have values that I've typed in elsewhere.

The article on ABC highlighted how this has spread to search engines. Google comes up with some particularly amusing ones...(try them for yourself if you don't believe it)

How can there be in excess of 14,000 references to replicating a dinosaur lifestyle? and what is a mischievous badger anyway?

and entering just 'why' raises probably some of the great mysteries of the universe....

I must go and explore them - straight after I've got that tape off my thumbs...

Party on!

We enjoyed another long weekend, with Monday an official holiday. Adding to the celebration of our do-nothingness we had been invited to two parties, Claire (aged 1) and Makai (aged 4). Ok, I guess put another way Audrey and Eli had been invited to two parties and we tagged along.

Audrey had a great time at both, enjoying the company of other little people, and most of all enjoying the amped-up effect that the fairy cakes resplendent with colourful icing gave her.

I've read recently that the effects of sugar and hence sugar-rushes on kids is exaggerated, but personally I believe Audrey provides sufficient evidence. Aside from parties we're actually pretty good about the amount of sweets and sugar she consumes. As parents we stuff our our own faces with chocolate and snacks once she goes to bed, but Audrey lives a fairly healthy lifestyle. Thus the addition of sugary snakes, fizzy pop and bright icing really seems to hype her up. It doesn't make either her or us overly anxious and/or uncontrollable but it's pretty funny to watch.

Eli looks on at his sister and her behaviour - making the occasional grab for cake/crisps himself. I guess the day will come fairly soon when we'll have both of them operating on full power after doses of sugar and food colourings.

mmmm.....cake!