Hurry Up March and End Already!!

All dressed up in one of Auntie Binny's dresses and going to school

Nothing of great excitement happened with us this week. As the title says I'm just wishing this month away! We are now down to just over two weeks until John gets home, but it still seems like forever away. I think once he gets to that last port it will seem a little closer. I'm thinking that that will be sometime this week, but at the moment I'm just waiting to hear that they are there! I have also fallen into the trap of crossing days off the calendar and sometimes I wonder just why I do that to myself because until it's close it just looks like you have forever to go. As much as I'm complaining though I know he'll be here before I know it and I'll be stressed out because I haven't gotten the house ready!! =)

We always take Minnie with us now!

Mackenzie is doing great and had a good week at school. She is talking more, eating more 'big girl' food and is so confident in her walking now that she walks from the car to school and from school to the car. Sometimes however her confidence is a little unnerving because she doesn't think that she has to wait for me! John is not going to recognize her when he gets back. He left behind a baby and is coming home to a toddler.
She has been dancing all weekend! Last night we watched a little of a Pink concert and she stood at the TV shaking her little butt. She also cracks me up because one of her favourite songs is Beyonce's "Single Ladies". When she hears it she starts dancing and smiling and if I sing it she dances. Now when I sing it she goes "Oh, Oh Oh"! It's the cutest!! One of the girls at work found it funny to that when Mackenzie hears any Keith Urban she starts to dance too! The other day we were playing a CD that had lots of different country artists on it and the first guitar strum of Keith Urban Mackenzie stopped what she was doing and started to dance. I've taught my girl well! =)

All buckled in and ready for the trip!

This Friday at school/work we are having a little party for Easter. We are having a lunch which I signed up to make sandwiches for our class and we are also having a egg hunt. I have a bunch of plastic eggs here that I need to fill with goodies to take along so I think she should enjoy that. We will also be making a little basket to put the eggs in so it should be a busy week for the kids. I also have some eggs for the house so Mackenzie can do a little hunt at home and Mum and Belynda have put some "real" Easter eggs in the mail for her so I hope they arrive in one piece and on time. Being just me and my girl we won't be doing anything big for Easter.

Showing off her new thongs/flip flops! (and dancing too)

Today we had to run a few errands and I ended up buying Mackenzie her first pair of thongs/flip flops and she loves them!! Sometimes I wonder if she'll ever show any signs of her Australian heritage and today she didn't let me down. She loves wearing them as all Aussies do!! I took them off her at one point and she picked them up and bought them over to me to put them back on. She fell asleep wearing them...I think she likes them!
I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Easter weekend, especially all you Aussies with your four day weekend!!


Aren't they the cutest!!

A Kind of Sucky Week...

Doing some coloring at school

Another week over and closer to John's homecoming! Some days it feels like all I do is count my days away. We had a good week. There has been some stuff going on at work which kind of sucks, but I guess there is not a whole lot we can do about it. My director Theresa who is also my friend gave her notice on Friday. Basically the lady she replaced when she started working there has decided she wants her old job back and because her and the owner are best friends the owner has given her the job and basically demoted Theresa. I think they did it so she would quit, but the whole thing just sucks. We had a meeting on Thursday and the consensus I got from everyone there is they don't want this girl coming back, but I guess there is nothing we can do as it's the owners decision. Part of me wants to quit along with Theresa to support my friend, but I have Mackenzie to consider. She is very happy and settled there and is about to have some major changes occur in her life already so I don't want to disrupt her too much. My plan is to just wait and see what happens. I'm a little nervous anyway that they might try to get rid of me because I am one of Theresa's friends, but if that's the case I'll be glad to leave. I just feel real bad for Theresa though because she's done so much for the school and she gets treated like this.

A new favourite pic!

I took the camera to school this week to get some shots of Mackenzie at play. She is doing great at school and really does love it there. On Friday she even stood up for herself which made me very proud. We have a few kids in the class who are just plain bullies. All they want to do all day is push, pull hair and attack the other children. Most days they tend to pick on one another, but occasionally they get the other kids. While I was out of the room apparently one of them pushed Mackenzie over. Mackenzie picked herself up, told him what she thought of him and pushed him back. I'm not about to encourage her to be a bully, but I'm not going to stop her from defending herself either. Later that day the same kid approached her again and she got right on him before he could do anything to her. He didn't go back again!

Playing on the slide.

Her new thing this week is saying "please" and "yes". She thinks that if she says either of them she can do or get whatever she wants. Where do they learn these things!! We had St Patrick's day on Wednesday and it was a horrible day so unfortunately I didn't get time to take any pics of her. I guess I'll just dress her up again and take some pics. She did look cute!

She is not scared of anything!

John is doing fine and keeping busy. I get to speak to him most days which is nice and I really can't wait for him to come home. I think they have just one more port call before they get here, but you know how it is, he can't tell me any of that stuff. I also got to speak to Dakota the other day and she is doing good. She was actually on a national news program here because she was interviewed at her friends memorial. Her Mom sent me the link so I will try and add it to the blog when I get the chance so you can see her. She said some really nice things about her friend. She will be going to Seattle for her Spring Break with her family and is doing good at school.

Enjoying the swing

That's about it for us. We are just enjoying the weather, getting the house ready for John and trying to keep ourselves busy. Have a great week....

Playing at home on her horse!


She wanted her hat on and she chose the bracelet herself too!


"Ride em cowgirl!"

Finally We Have a Date....Hopefully!

"Please Mummy can you read this to me?"

Today is the first day of daylight saving for us so we have lost an hour. So far it hasn't really affected us, but I'm sure I'm going to have a problem tonight and tomorrow when Mackenzie will probably go to bed late, then have to get up "early". Fingers crossed she adjusts without too much fuss!
As the title says I'm pretty sure we have a date now for John's home coming. It's going to be later than what I was anticipating, so he will miss Easter and my birthday. As you all know I can't share dates with you on this, but I'm sure you will get the general idea if you are aware of those days I mentioned. He will be coming in a day before the ship, and will be working until he takes some time off a couple of weeks after the ship gets in. At the moment he is in Malaysia and has been working most days. His job entails organizing the shore patrol (they are teams that go out and make sure everyone is doing what they are meant to be doing, and take people back to the ship who can't get there themselves) so that has kept him busy. He did go shopping for me and got me lots of my favorite Aussie goodies so I'm excited for that!

Doesn't she look cute in her dress!

As for us we haven't been up to a whole lot! Today we are taking it easy and I took the opportunity to dress Mackenzie up in her Minnie Mouse dress. I figured we spent a lot for it when we went to Disneyland so I should make the most of it before she's too big to wear it anymore. She's been spending the day dancing and twirling in it so I think she likes it! I have spent some of the weekend organizing her clothes and she has way more than I do!! I washed a whole bunch of the next size and took out all the ones that are too small for her so she now has almost a whole new wardrobe!


Holding the eraser she stole from Mummy's craft table that she loves to explore.

Work/school is fine. Mackenzie is doing great and has a lot of fun there. On Friday we made goop for the kids which is basically corn starch and water. It's really cool because it kind of goes hard, but then when you touch it it turns to liquid. Mackenzie was one of the few kids who actually touched it, but she along with the rest of them were not impressed! In the end me and my co-teacher had more fun with it! The kids were just happy to play outside in the sunshine. This week we are meant to be having some real hot days so I'm looking forward to some warmer weather. I just hope Mackenzie does ok.
Mackenzie has been cutting some more teeth over the last few weeks, but has handled it rather well. She now has two bottom molars and two top ones. She can often be found with her fingers in her mouth and I've had to give her some teething tablets every now and then. With the new teeth she has become a lot more co-operative when it comes to brushing her teeth. Teeth brushing can be a painful event in our house, but with the new teeth I think she like the feeling of the brush on them.

I didn't brush her hair before I took these photos!! Can you tell we're in weekend mode!!

Not much planned for this week either. I'm just counting down the days until John is home. On Wednesday it's St. Patrick's Day so we will be wearing green. I will make sure to get some pics of Mackenzie at school! Have a great week!

Not Much to Catch Up On

Showing off her art shirt

Sorry it's been a while since I caught you all up on our lives here in San Diego! Last weekend we had a lot on, so I never really found the time to write. Also Mackenzie has been struggling with a upper respiratory infection for a little over a week which has meant constant gunk coming out of her eyes so she hasn't looked picture perfect as you can imagine!
This weekend we are taking it easy. I really have a lot to do around the house before John gets home and it's meant to be a rainy weekend anyway, so they are always best spent at home. As I mentioned above Mackenzie has been a little sick. The whole time it never affected her and we continued to go to school, she just looked terrible because her eyes wouldn't stop producing gunk. We have also had pink eye/conjunctivitis going around the school which she never got, but I'm sure a few people thought she had it. On Tuesday though when her little boyfriend called out with pink eye I took her to the doctor just to make sure and I was right! Her eyes are beginning to clear up great now so I'm hoping she's over it!

This was how she wanted to take her pics today!

She's been doing great a school and amazes me at what she is learning and doing. I'm actually beginning to see a more mischievous side in her because sometimes when she knows she has done the wrong thing she will lean in for a kiss or when she knows she's up to no good and I'm telling her no and trying to take something away from her she starts to giggle! It's very hard to stay serious when she does either of these!
We also had her 15 month check-up this week and she's doing great! We had yet another different doctor which is the frustrating part of having her with the Navy hospital. This guy I was not impressed with. He was nice enough and answered all my questions, but he spent more time tapping away on the computer than he did looking at Mackenzie, he didn't even ask about her eczema, I had to mention it and he yawned through most of the consultation! I won't be asking for him the next time I go! I have her measurements written down somewhere, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

Me and my girl

So last weekend was a busy one for us. On Saturday we had my friend Sasha's little boys birthday party and on Sunday we went to my friend Brittny's for a little get together. Nathan's party was held at this place called Pump it Up and it's basically this huge room with big jumpers/jumping castles in it. When I got there I was a little worried because everyone was going crazy! The adults were jumping around like kids and I was scared Mackenzie was going to get hurt. Mackenzie on the other hand did not care at all and if I had of let her go into the jumpers she would have gone! She had a good time walking around, playing with some balls and jumping on the exit parts of the jumpers and trying to climb in. I only got one photo of her there as my stupid camera got a flat battery and I forgot to pack my second one! (fingers crossed I get a new camera for my birthday!!) Mackenzie also had her first piece of chocolate cake there and loved it! She has a sweet tooth just like her Mummy!

Getting ready for lunch

On Sunday we were at Brittny's. She is starting to sell some stamping and craft supplies so she had a little get together to show off her supplies. They are real nice products and I'm always one to support my friends. I am actually very interested in making my own cards as I spend so much on them buying them! We made a really cute birthday card and a gift box which I didn't really make because Mackenzie did not want to co-operate. It was a real nice afternoon to be around friends and actually do something adult related! I don't have a whole lot of time these days to do what I want to do so it was nice to get crafty again. If anyone is interested in looking at Brittny's website the address is: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/brittnysmith/


Doing what she does best!

John is doing good and the ship has actually started to head home! I still have no idea where he is or when he will be coming home which is frustrating beyond belief!! I'm hoping they make a port call real soon so I can actually get a date. I especially want to be able to make sure I get the time off from work to go pick him up. I should just be happy that he's on his way home right?


At Nathan's party

This week and a bit has been a little depressing in San Diego. Some people within the US might have heard, but for those of you overseas last Thursday a seventeen year old girl went for a jog in a park and disappeared. Her name was Chelsea and she was an avid runner and went to Dakota's high school. On Sunday they arrested a registered sex offender in relation to the case and another attempted attack in the area last Decemeber, then on Tuesday they found her body in a shallow grave close to a lake in the park. The whole case has stirred a lot of emotion here. People are upset that this guy was out on the streets, especially when the courts were told his chances of re-offending were very high and I think people in general are upset that they can't keep their children safe. I know personally the whole thing has upset me, especially being the Mum of a little girl. I can't even imagine what her last moments of life were like and it makes me want to never let Mackenzie out of my sight.
On Thursday I received a message from Dakota's Mom saying that Dakota actually knew Chelsea because they were on the Cross Country running team together. As you can imagine Dakota is very upset by all this. Her Mom told me that they volunteered at the search effort over the weekend and went to the candle light vigil that was held on Tuesday. I spoke to Dakota last night and she told me that she's glad that they got the guy and that things at school are slowly getting back to normal. I hope that the lesson Dakota gets from this is that she should always be aware of her personal surrounds, that bad things can happen to anybody and that she should never go out running alone. Make sure you pass these lessons on to your kids too!

Lots of Photos

Opening up her Valentines gifts

Well I know how some of you live for the photos, so this entry should keep you happy! I was going to say that we had a rather uneventful week, then I went to load the photos onto the computer and saw that there were quite a lot, and that I do actually have some stuff to tell you all about. I guess it was just the monotony of the work week that got to me...but don't get me started!
Valentines Day was on Sunday and Mackenzie and I just hung around the house. We were meant to go to the zoo but John had arranged for a little something to be delivered to the house so we stayed home so as not to miss that. He sent me some beautiful roses! To be honest with you though I would trade getting flowers for him to have been home. (don't tell him that though as I'm always pestering him for never getting me flowers!)

Showing off one of her books

I got Mackenzie a little something and she loved it all. I got her some books, a Minnie Mouse drink cup and some toy keys for the car. The keys are actually kind of cool as it has the keys of course then a whole bunch of buttons that make noise and a little light. Some days though she likes to throw them across the car and I'm left to wonder if she is actually trying to hit me!

Reading her card


Testing out her keys


Having a snack at the zoo

We had a holiday on Monday so we went to the zoo then. I finally became a annual pass holder so now we can go more often as Mackenzie seems to really like the zoo. Unfortunately though this weekend just passed was unseasonally warm so we didn't stay for too long. Mackenzie didn't do very well with the heat either which has me a little worried for the upcoming summer. I'm not exactly sure how hot it got, but it was at least 70 (which for you Aussies is about 25) which really isn't that hot. I don't know how I'll ever be able to take her back to Darwin if she can't handle the heat! She ended up with a heat rash all over her and a temperature later that night. I actually had to run the air conditioner in an attempt to get her to go to sleep that night! The next morning however she was back to her usual self although she got another bit of heat rash during the week when we took the kids outside at school for a little while.

Trying to stay cool at the zoo

Work has been fine. We had a short week which was nice and tomorrow we have a meeting after work which will mean a long day for both Mackenzie and I. I just hope it doesn't go for too long! Mackenzie is doing great at school and is walking almost all the time now! I'm just so glad that I get to have her in my class all the time. I don't know what I'm going to do when she moves up to the next class.

All dressed up for Tim's birthday party

Today we went to Tim's birthday party which was fun. I used to look after Tim when he was a baby at my old job. I can't believe he's three already! Anyway I always got along great with his Mum (she's another foreigner) and we've managed to keep in touch which is great as I need all the company I can get over here. The weather was a little crazy, but it was a real nice party. Mackenzie went in a swing for the first time ever and loved it! I wish I had the camcorder with me because she giggled so much! It was the cutest thing ever!
Tim goes to a music class and his teacher came to the party and did a little performance with the kids. Mackenzie really liked that and danced a little. I also got to see two other little kids that I used to look after which was nice...they grow up so fast! Tim's grandparents and his Uncle and Aunt arrived yesterday from the Netherlands so it was nice to meet them as well.

I think she likes this outfit

John is doing fine and still has no word as to when he will be coming home. He tells me that the time frame is looking good, but still can't tell me a date which is SO frustrating as it's now only weeks away. Work is being a little bitchy about people taking time off work at the moment so I'm wanting to give them as much notice as I possibly can so fingers crossed we get a date soon!
Next weekend is going to be another busy one for us! On Saturday we have another birthday party to go to, then on Sunday we are going to a little get together for my friend Brittny. The birthday party is my friend Sasha son's birthday and is going to be at a place that I think has lots of jumpers/jumping castles (is that what we call them in Australia? I've been gone too long!) so that should be fun for Mackenzie. Then Brittny is starting her own business selling paper craft products so she is having a little party to show off her stuff! I guess sometimes it is a good thing that John is gone, that way he won't know how much I'll spend!
Anyway have a good week!

Self portrait time!


Having a snack at the party

Valentine's Party

All dressed up for her Valentines party at school

It's been a really busy week for me, and now we're enjoying our four day weekend. On top of the craziness that seems to be work these days we also had our Valentine's party on Thursday which meant a busy week for me as I made cupcakes for Mackenzie's party, brownies for her teachers, cards for her friends to put on the treats from both her and I and the little odds and ends from work that needed to be done! On Wednesday night I had a little laugh to myself because I had to finish off the cards the kids had made for their parents, and there I was making my own card!!
Mackenzie enjoyed her party! Her and the other kids made a great mess with their cupcakes! Most of that unfortunately I got on the camcorder so I don't have any pics of that. She has actually developed quite the sweet tooth and has begun to learn my hiding places and tries at most meals to negotiate for a chocolate chip cookie...that includes breakfast! At lunch yesterday she got most upset when my co-worker ate a cookie and wouldn't give her one. She rolled her eyes at her and refused to eat her much healthier lunch!

Showing off her heart (and her belly so it seems!)

We haven't really much to tell you! The weather is great, we both seem to be healthy and I'm looking forward to have a break from work! For Valentines Day I'm planning on taking Mackenzie to the zoo so I'm looking forward to that. As for the rest of the weekend I'm not sure what we are going to do. I think I just want to relax!


The brownies I made for Mackenzie's teachers.

John is doing fine and I have gotten to talk to him a lot more these days. This week the ship completed 100 straight days at sea! I don't know how he does it because I think I would be a little stir crazy! He wasn't as excited as what the captain was at achieving that! I think we are very close to having a home coming date which is kind of surreal. He called last night and wasn't able to talk dates of course, but told me that he would probably be flying in and that it could possibly be earlier than the previous date, which means he should be home for my birthday. Part of me wants to jump up and down with excitement, but the other part of me is waiting to be told that it's not going to happen. I will have to keep you all posted on this, but in the meantime please keep your fingers crossed for us...I really want my husband home!

The cupcakes!

...And We're Walking!

Playing at school before Mummy starts for the day.

So here are some long awaited photos some of you have been waiting for! When I spoke to Belynda yesterday she complained about the lack of photos which makes me wonder how many people come here to actually read what I have to say!?! (smile) It was a crazy week for me this week. Nearly every day this week we had at least two people call out sick which meant ciaos! We were shuffling kids left and right and a lot of the time I had more of other people's kids in my class then I did my own actual kids! I hate having to do it too because Mackenzie pitches a fit if she has to leave the room. We had no choice at one point last week and she got so upset. When I was able to get her back she has shaking because she had worked herself up so much. Unfortunately we also had a girl quit giving less than two weeks notice so next week is probably going to be just as hectic...thank goodness we have a four day week!

My little diva getting upset at me...I see this face a lot these days!

The highlight of the week however was that my little girl started walking!! She has gotten progressively better as the week has gone on and I'm guessing that by the end of the month she'll be mainly walking! She looks so cute doing it too! On Monday I almost missed her first serious set of steps because I had my back to her. We were in the process of moving to our classroom and Mackenzie decided she was going to walk out of the classroom we start our day in. The other two teachers in the room watched her before they realized this was something new for her and one of the said..."Jodi I think you need to see this." I turned around and she was half way across the room! I was very proud! Most of this has just been with socks or bare feet, so I guess now the next step is to get her doing it in her shoes too!

A semi-action shot!

Mackenzie is also feeling a whole lot better too! We've had no vomiting (knock on wood) and she has got her appetite back. In fact she seems to be eating more than what she previously did for me! Now when she's hungry at home she goes over to her high chair and starts pointing and babbling at me to put her up. She is also now eating stuff with more chunks and stuff so I'm hoping that I can eventually start cooking more and have her eating that! Unfortunately we don't seem to be getting anywhere with the breast feeding and I only have myself to blame because I feed her at night. This last week she's actually gotten worse and it seems that if she even moves a muscle in her sleep she is half waking herself up and crying. I try to settle her back to sleep but she basically screams until I feed her. I know I should just be strong and refuse, but at 2 in the morning I'm so tired I just give in. I wish I could just wave my magic wand and deal with weaning that way!


We haven't been up to much this weekend. We had a rainy day yesterday so we stayed home and did some things around the house. I attempted some house work, but it seems Mackenzie managed to make just as much mess so it looks like I've done nothing! I have also been busy as we are having a Valentines Day party for the kids on Thursday. I have been making little cards from Mackenzie for her friends and teachers and at some point I have to make cupcakes for her party and a little something for her teachers! I have to squeeze the baking into the week nights as I want things to be fresh! As I mentioned before we have a short week this week and it's actually a four day weekend for us, so I'm looking forward to the break. I don't have much planned, but I am going to take my girl out for Valentines Day. We are going to go to the zoo as she loves looking at the animals.
John is doing fine and there is still no word as to when they will be coming home. I'm getting so frustrated at the moment too as I've heard on the radio and seen on the news that ships are starting to leave Haiti and head home. Just our luck though I'm sure John's replacement ship is still there! How did we ever get so unlucky!? We have had an opportunity to speak a little more on the phone though which is making things are little easier. They have now done four months at sea which is crazy. Keep your fingers crossed for us that this week is the week we hear something!

A cute shot!

If you are planning to celebrate I hope you have a lovely Valentines Day and we'll be in touch again soon!