Well Hello Sailor!!!  This is a photo of the fleet visiting NYC......spectacular site watching them come up the Hudson River....just something else to see.  Don't you just feel for the mums & dads that serve on these ships?  How they must miss their little ones and miss their families??  How they protect our way of life every day??  How they put themselves in the path of danger so we are all safe and we sleep well at night??  These men and women are so brave.  They deserve nothing but the highest respect from us.  Anyone that dares say anything negative about them should stand in their shoes for a day or so.  Go live their lives.  It is so easy to forget what danger they face every day just so we can go about our every day errands, school, go for that run in the park, go ride your horse, take your kids to a movie...whatever we do.  I salute our troops.  I am in awe of their bravery. 

I thank them for making my little boys world safer.  

This is my horse Joshua.  I called him Josh.  I bred him and broke him and trained him.  He was a wonderful loving, happy, eager to please, fun loving horse....He was a pure Arabian and he won at many many shows.  He was my friend.  During times of extreme darkness in my life he was there.  Always a friendly soft nose in my face....a nudge in my side, a look that would just make me laugh.....I swear I would get to the stables early in the morning for our ride, and during winter, when it was still dark outside, he would be all snuggled up under his blankets and laying down in his stable.  He would absolutely refuse to get up. No joke.  Would not budge.  I mean you could sit on this horse while he was laying down and he would just look at you as if to say "you can sit there all you like but I ain't gettin up"....  If I was late to feed him, he would push his butt up against the stable door so that I could not get in.  He would turn his head just enough so that I could see the disgust on his face.  Do you think he would move this butt???? No.........Not until he was ready.  No slapping that butt would move it.....I would just end up having to laugh.  He was simply teaching me a lesson.   Josh was one of those horses that would gallop up to you in an open field.  You would call him and his head would pop up and his ears would go forward and he would call out to you and come at you at a FULL GALLOP.....hahahahahaha.  It was truely an exercise only for the brave because he would gallop right up to you and then suddenly slam on the brakes so he did not hit you.....He thought this sooooooo funny.  Ah Josh.  When he passed away it broke my heart.  Our pets are our family - Yes??  What would we do without them...He was so wonderful in so many ways......I still miss him today.  Hopefully he is galloping around in a huge sunny field filled with wonderful green grass and lots of other happy horses to play with......oh and maybe a couple of human souls to mess with just for fun.......

My Little Comedian

It is 9.10pm and  am sittng in my sons room trying to get him to go to sleep - the past couple of nights have been a nightmare.  He will not go down to sleep - he babbles hysterically - it is not crying, it is babbling.Hysterical babbling......"dadadaddadaahahahahdadadamamamamama" yelling this.  

I am not a let them cry it out fan.  I am not emotionally equipped to do that.  I would drink us out of every wine and liquor in our apartment and then go get more......Then I would become more emotional and my husband would want to jump off the balcony.  Not pretty.  

So, I sat him up in his crib, and he stopped his babbling immediately..........ahhhh peace.   But now he is currently  peering at me thru the slats....actually quite funny as he goes from gap to gap to get a better view......but if I laugh at him I am done for.........so I am trying to ignore him....so friggen funny tho........hahahhahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa oh goodness I need a glass of wine....
Last night we did this until around 9pm when he finally did go to sleep, and then slept thru until 6.30am.  Nice. 

 I think he is starting to suffer from separation anxiety of some sort at nght.  He is quite happy to go down in the morning for his nap - this is what I don't get.  Why is he happy to go down in the morning yet the night is such a different story.....???

So I figured that I would just sit here and answer emails while he works out whatever it is in his head that he needs to work out.  He is being so funny right now - just gooing and gahing me - and peering at me....honestly....WTF???  HAHAHAHAHA.  such a friggen comedian.

 He has his butt in the air right now and is sucking on his sheets......it is so bloody hard not to laugh at this little comedian....now he is lying on his tummy talking to me and perring thru the slats at me.........I am biting my lips not to laugh at him........Where do they learn this??????  He is so tired.  But so determined not to sleep......

G'day folks,

Good morning New York!!!  I mean does a spring morning look any better than this???  That is downtown NYC taken from my terrace.  What a day.  Makes you happy to be alive eh???  Would not be dead for quids.  The Hudson is sparkling in the sunshine.  New York welcomes us with open arms.  Life is good.  

Cheers.

This is my nephew and his "girlfriend" - they have been dating for a couple of years now ... this photo was taken at Jindabyne Rodeo - in Australia.  It was at Christmas time - I went home to Oz to visit my family - we went to this rodeo which was just great fun.  My nephew came over to my sister (his mum) and asked her for some money so he could buy his girlfriend some hot chips (otherwise known as fries)....which he promptly went off and bought!  They shared them as they watched the bull riding.  My husband called them and they turned and just smiled and he took this photo.  I love it.  Just the best.  Oh did I mention that they are 7???  Oh just adorable.  They have their wedding planned.  I am not kidding!!!!!

I cannot wait to take my little boy to the farm.  I cannot wait for him to see the Kangaroo's in the front "yard" when he wakes up in the morning......to go out and feed the chooks (chickens) in the morning......to watch the shearers shear the sheep and see the lambs playing.  It is going to be a blast.

When people ask me what I miss about Australia, these are the things I miss.  Hanging with my family just for the fun of it.....my nephews...my neice....my sisters.  The morning sounds.  The smell.    Don't get me wrong - I love where we live now.  We have a spectacular view over the Hudson River and on a day like today it is just sparkling in the sunshine.....the boats are coming and going - on a weekend all the sailboats are out and it is quite a sight to behold......in the evenings the sunsets are spectacular.  The sun bounces off the buildings and the water and turns everything golden.    Just beautiful.  Driving out to see my horse, it is just gorgeous at the moment.  Everything is so green and lush.  So opposite to where my sis lives....everything so dry - yet so beautiful.....

We live in such a beautiful world.  I am so excited to introduce my son to it all.  He has so much to look forward to!!!!

Two Little Boys - ANZACS

ANZACS.....

Growing up in Sydney, Australia, this song was one of my favorites as a kid.  Has a great theme to it about friends......I thought I would share the lyrics with you:

You can paste this into Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmL3m2zcoOI .

This is a great song with a wonderful story and meaning to it........

Two little boys had two little toys 
Each had a wooden horse 
Gaily they played each summer's day 
Warriors both of course 
One little chap then had a mishap 
Broke off his horse's head 
Wept for his toy then cried with joy 
As his young playmate said 

Did you think I would leave you crying 
When there's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying 
I can go just as fast with two 
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers 
And our horses will not be toys 
And I wonder if we'll remember 
When we were two little boys 

Long years had passed, war came so fast 
Bravely they marched away 
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd 
Wounded and dying lay 
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out 
Out from the ranks so blue 
Gallops away to where Joe lay 
Then came a voice he knew 

Did you think I would leave you dying 
When there's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying 
I can go just as fast with two 
Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble 
Perhaps it's the battle's noise 
But I think it's that I remember 
When we were two little boys 

Do you think I would leave you dying 
There's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon by flying 
Back to the ranks so blue 
Can you feel Joe I'm all a tremble 
Perhaps it's the battle's noise 
But I think it's that I remember 
When we were two little boys 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmL3m2zcoOI

Watch this on YouTube.   This is a great Australian entertainer that we grew up on...........

This is my sisters property - 2000 acres about 1.5 hour drive from the closest town - and I mean a tiny town that consists of a school of about 20 students, a post office and a pub (of course).  It is in NSW, Australia.  We took this photo last Christmas....we were chasing a mob of Kangaroos on an ATV - (otherwise known here as a 3 or 4 wheeler) - awesome fun.....bloody things are so damn fast!!!  We were on a hill top.  Everything you see in this photo is her land.  You can get lost out there....if you lose sight of the homestead, it can be a bit scary.....They know the land like the back of their hands - but us????  Yeah right.....pulease!!!!!  

They are in serious drought.  I mean these are folks that go out and shoot their livestock so that they don't die of thirst.  Not kidding....With all the rain that NYC and New Jersey has had lately it makes me think of this dry and dusty land - so hot and so beautiful.  My sis is something else. She has 3 kids, 8, 6, and 3.  She runs 2 farms like this.  She is quite an inspiration.  She is always on the go.  

We head home to this gorgeous place in December.  It will be my son's first visit.  A very exciting time for me.    We will be having Christmas dinner in 100 degree heat in a little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere....AWESOME......My poor husband???  He will be having shearing lessons in he shearing shed.......no joke.....hahahahahaaaaa

Working.....

So I am really new to not earning an income and it is really strange and really hard to get used to. I never felt guilty about buying anything or doing anything when I was working as well.  It was not even a second thought.......but now I find it really weird and I do feel guilty and it is a strange feeling living off someone else, even though my husband is great and just laughs at me when I mention this....he thinks I am being silly - which I am.  But still this lingering guilt.  With time I am sure this will all go away - well I hope!!!  I mean who wants to feel guilty about hanging at home with their little ones???  

In any event, I was scrubbing the kitchen floor this morning....on my hands and knees literally scrubbing, and I have decided to try and do some work from home - something that may bring in some kind of income, which will ease my irrational emotions and also put some extra cash in our pockets which is always welcome!!!!   But this is not as easy as it should be.....I mean you would think that these days of blogging, emailing, twitering or tweeting whatever they call it (and I have to admit I signed up today out of pure curiosity) that working from home should be a no-brainer.  But no such luck.  

Anyway - my little guy is 6 months old......he is trying desperately to crawl.  Gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, giggles away and then collapses.  Absolutely delightful to watch.  Makes me laugh every time.  He just seems to grow every day - bigger and bigger and his personality is emerging.  He is quite the comedian.  Thinks he is hysterical.  He sneezes and he laughs at himself, which makes me laugh which makes him laugh.  He gets mad when I don't feed him fast enough.....I mean where do they learn this????  

One of my favorite times with him is in the evening.....I love to give him his dinner, give him his bath and then snuggle with him in our bed for his last bottle of the day - he snuggles right up against me, with the pillows supporting him....and he drinks his bottle and falls asleep.  So cute.  Just a lovely mummy and baby time....I know I know, so many people would say this is a bad habit, however, I feel that it is just our time at the end of the day.  He knows and I know and it is just our quiet time......

We all need a little quiet time?  Don't you think?

My sick horse

My other baby, my horse, who truely is only a baby in the horse world has been laid up now for nearly a month with a sore foot (in the horse world, known as a hoof).  His name is Tee and he is truely my other child.  He became lame about a month ago just prior to a show we were to compete at (of course) and we called the vet....long story short this vet misdiagnosed my poor horse and he had to suffer more than he needed....he had an abcess in his hoof - quite a regular thing for a horse to get, however, the vet first decided he did have an abcess and put a poultice on his foot to try and draw it out.  After 2 weeks this did not work and he was still lame and in pain. I was getting very worried.  So we had xrays done.  The vet said nothing was there.  That he just had  a sore foot and we should put him on painkillers and anti-inflamatory drugs for 5 days and put a special shoe on (put on with glue rather than nails) and he should be good to go..........NOT.  5 days later my poor horse could not walk.  Seriously.  I was in my kitchen crying.  I mean he is a huge bay thoroughbred, gorgeous and gentle, and standing there holding his front foot up....looking at me as if to say "help mummy"....So enough was enough.  I called in a specialist.  He got there 2 hours later.  First thing he did was pull off that stupid glue on shoe.  This was an enormous pain in the butt to do.....but this vet was AWESOME.   Finally he pried this thing off and a huge spurt of black gunk came out of the bottom of my horses foot - not kidding.  Completely disgusting.  Needless to say this vet fixed my horses foot and he is now on the road to recovery.  My horse will be fine and we will be back at work and showing on May 22nd.  But this whole process is yet again a learning curve for me.  My horse has no words to communicate with me, it is all thru touching, the looks, the behavior, the understanding that comes when you listen without your ears.....Our babies are the same - yes??  They have no words, they are unable to express themselves our way.  They have to express themselves without words.......

There was this wonderful moment with my son and my horse......I swear my son, who is 6 months old, knew that Tee was in trouble.   We were sitting on a chair beside Tee while the (good) vet and his assistant worked on him to fix his problems.....My son was so quiet, he sat on my lap, never took his eyes off Tee, and gently patted my leg every now and then - as if to say to me - "It is OK mummy, he will be OK"........it was so sweet and so genuine.  This huge horse and this little boy, communicating.