Package.
We got a package in the mail from Auntie Shell!! Ty loved his new Bozeman hat and t-shirt. Lily will look adorable in her sailor outfit. Ty thought the letter written just for him was pretty special. It was a nice surprise for me to get some old pictures of me and my Papa. He was a special man, wish he was around to hear about our adventure.

Cairns pics.
Riley had taken a few pictures on his phone that I wanted to put in the blog. The beach with the crab sand balls, the awesome signs along the beach – complete with a bottle of vinegar for treating jellyfish stings, and the jet ski crocodile tour that the boys wanted to do but I shot down because, well, wow…

Back.
Seriously. I am too young to have this many back problems. I must have overdone it on vacation and sent my back into another fit. It felt weak on Monday, stiff on Tuesday, and holy heck the worst pain so far on Wednesday. It was so bad that I had to have Jay stay home with me on Thursday to drive me to physio (physical therapist). Thankfully they were able to squeeze me in at 10:00. The physio checked out my CT and xray, had me try to bend forward and backward (ha!!! No such luck), did a bit of massage/manipulation to try to loosen up everything, and then he did acupuncture. Not the same methodology as the old Chinese medicine, but a more modern take on it. Two of them hurt a bit when he put them in, the others I didn’t even feel. I had to lay still for about 15 minutes. I didn’t feel much different immediately, but throughout the day I have noticed a definite improvement to my mobility and pain levels. I will go back next week and see how another round goes. He gave me a couple very minor exercises to try. Will give it a shot.

Crud.
Wednesday afternoon daycare called to say that Lily had a mild fever. They gave her Panadol and she seemed fine all evening and night. It looks like another tooth or two are making their grand appearance on the top of her mouth. We sent her to daycare on Thursday. We got a call around 4:00 saying that she had developed a rash. Diaper, mouth, hands, feet. We immediately took her to the dr but she said it was too early to diagnose Hand Foot Mouth. Mostly because Lily was too happy… So we will keep an eye on her, likely not go to work on Friday, and hope it clears up and she doesn’t have too much pain. :(.

I knew this type of situation would be one of our more difficult struggles. When we are healthy, we get on just fine. When we are sick, kids especially, we really miss our support network back home. If we were in the states, either grandma would have been packed and on the road to help out. I can’t seem to convince them to hop on a plane for a 24 hour trip quite as easily. :(. Neither Jay nor I want to let anyone down at the office, so that additional stress comes into play. But, I recognize that this too, shall pass.

Home.
Have I mentioned yet how much we are looking forward to our trip home in August?

11 months.
With all of the excitement around here, I finally had a chance to take a picture of Lily with her owl. She eats pretty much anything that is put in front of her. She was even sucking on a pickle at lunch yesterday, proving that she is my daughter. She is a bit of a stinker – looks at us and smiles before she does something she knows she isn’t supposed to do. She is fascinated by the kitchen cupboards and drawers. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. She can “walk” along stable objects, and if mom or dad hold a hand or two. A little wobbly yet, but so close to walking. We have closed down the nursing shop, sad day for mama but a bit of relief at the same time. Love our little chunk-a-monkey!

Rash.
I spent the day with Lily on Friday. Her rash didn’t seem to get better or worse, but since she had it she couldn’t go to school. She was extra cuddly, a bit fussy, and she insisted on sleeping in our bed for her naps. She took a 2 hour nap in the morning and again in the afternoon. I couldn’t leave her alone in the bed, so I got basically zero work done. But I did get lots of cuddles.

Couran.
Saturday morning Ty had gymnastics. We all got up and started getting ready. Lily was in her bathtub and she pooped. In the tub. So disgusting. Ugh. So that was fun to clean. After the unexpected delay, we made it to gymnastics. We realized the weather was beautiful so we rushed home and loaded the boat. Riley hadn’t been to Couran Cove yet, so we decided to take him there. But first we went up towards the seaway opening, in hopes of spying a whale. No such luck. Back up the Broadwater to Couran. We had lunch then I escaped to the spa for a pedicure and massage. Since my back has been messed up, I can’t reach my toes and they needed some TLC. Ty and Riley went for a kayak ride while they waited for me. On the boat, Ty discovered that he can go inside one of the cubbies, and it even has a light. He had fun playing in there. Ty also drove the boat for the first time and did a pretty good job! Lily slept most of the boat ride out and back. Good day on the water. Did I mention it is winter???

1953 Ute.
Jay may have found our newest addition to the family. Maybe… As you all know , he has been on the lookout for an old Ute. He stumbled across this one – a 1953 Holden FJ Ute. The son of a previous owner had tracked it down and restored it in memory of his father who was an Australian army veteran. The Aussie flag on the bed is a little much, but also kind of cool considering this is our biggest Australian souvenir. Not crazy about the paint job on the tail gate but I suppose that can be fixed. The interior isn’t as nice as the outside but Jay thinks he can fix that. The main problem is that it is in Perth, which is more than a 48 hour drive. Jay is investigating transport costs to get it over here. To be continued…

Goonies.
We introduced Ty to the wonderful world of Goonies this weekend. I knew Jay was a fan, but I didn’t realize that he was that much of a fan. Dude knew every single line. Ty loved the movie. Just the right amount of baddies and good guys and adventure. :).

Ends.
Random fact about Riley. He doesn’t eat the ends of things. We discovered this when Jay noticed he had a pile of little pieces of French fries on his plate. Apparently this applies to almost anything he eats. Sandwiches, hot dogs…so random. 🙂

Winter Solstice.
Saturday was the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. Maybe this is why I have been feeling down…the winter blues??? I probably just need a little more vitamin D to cheer up and get healthy. Thankfully we are on the path to longer days!

Not sure what is on the agenda for Sunday. Sleeping in, big brekky, then maybe the beach?? I am sure we will come up with something fun to do. Have a great day!