ArpaandArma

Arpa and Arma on Frontierlibrarian

2010-04-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

Arma and Arpa's adventures are now reported exclusively on FrontierLibrarian.

Auf wiedersehen

2009-10-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

Arpa and Arma drove Mads and Mummy to the airport to catch their flight to Singapore where they stayed at the Pan Pacific, one of Mads's favourite hotels. After that they flew to Frankfurt. Daddy was at the airport to pick them up. He was very very very pleased to see Mummy and Mads home at last.

Arpa and Arma were a bit sad after Mummy and Mads left but now they have booked their flights so that they can spend Christmas in Germany too. They don't feel so sad any more - they are getting very excited. It is really not very long to wait!

Botanical Gardens at last

2009-10-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

The day after the nearly 4 party was the last day of Mummy and Mads's holiday in Melbourne. In the morning Mummy had to see her editor so Arpa and Arma took Mads to the Botanical Gardens to give her some exercise before the long flight.
Arma and Mads had a hurdle race. Arma didn't realise that it was a handicap event and that she was running off scratch. Can you guess who won?

Mads had a good play and did a dance. Then it was time for a Devonshire morning tea and a quick trip to the souvenir shop to buy some koalas for Mads to take to her kinder friends in Frankfurt.

Nearly 4 Birthday

2009-10-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday 13th September was Mads's 3&11/12 birthday celebration. A picnic was planned at the Botanical Gardens but the weather was threatening so we decided to have the party at Arma's and Arpa's. Lots of people squeezed into their apartment where we played some traditional birthday party games and had some yummy food. Auntie Hil made a beautiful echidna cake complete with chocolate spikes. It looked and tasted amazing.

Mads and Sebastian dressed up as stormtroopers, Ol dressed up as a dragon and other kids dressed up in whatever Arma could find. They raced round and round and up and down the balconies and stairwells having lots of fun.

There were some lovely presents for Mads - best of all was the bed quilt Auntie Hil had made her to take back to Germany.

Melbourne, Mads and Mummy

2009-09-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Melbourne's Spring blossoms

2009-09-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Mummy took these enchanting pictures of blossom trees against a sunny sky.

Stormtroupers

2009-09-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

Are you ready?

Steady!

Go go go!

A dragon comes to help Arpa light a fire

2009-09-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

Mads gets out and about and plays at home too

2009-09-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

Mads and two mates dig a large whole

Mads poses for the mandatory leaf photo

Mads makes words

A few more pics of Mad's holiday in Melbourne

2009-09-28T01:37:00.001-07:00

Freezing but fun

2009-09-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

The weather was cold while Mads was in Melbourne but she bravely worked through her 'to do' list: having fish and chips at Half Moon Bay, tackling the rides at Luna Park and trying some new places,like Monkey Mania too.

Mads catches up

2009-09-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Maddles had a good time in Melbourne catching up with old friends and visiting her favourite playgrounds.

One day Arma and Arpa took her to Monkey Mania. Everyone had such a good time they went back again the next week.
http://www.monkeymania.com.au/index.php/docklands.html

Mads makes cabbage soup

2009-09-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

Mads and Mummy visit Melbourne

2009-09-21T02:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 16th August Arpa and Arma got up very early and drove to the airport to meet Mummy and Mads. Everyone was excited to see each other after such a long time.

Mads was soon catching up with all her old toys.

On Wednesday Arma took Mads to her hairdresser,Simon to have her hair cut.

Mads looked beautiful with her new hairstyle. It was 1.30 and Arma, Arpa and Mads were so hungry they had to go straight to Sushi Sushi and then to Prahran Central for a rainbow ice-cream.

Three more sleeps to go

2009-08-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday now and Arma and Arpa are nearly ready with the preparations for Mummy and Mads's visit

4 more sleeps to go

2009-08-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

This is Wednesday so Mads and Mere will be here after 4 more nights and days!

Only 5 more sleeps to go!

2009-08-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

Now it's Tuesday so there are only 5 more sleeps to go before Arma and Arpa get to see Mads and Mummy again.

It is rainy and cold today but the weather man says it will be warmer on the weekend - maybe 20 degrees

2009-08-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

Mads and Mummy will soon be visiting Australia
After six more sleeps Mads and Mummy are going to Melbourne for a holiday. They will stay some of the time with Arpa and Arma and sometimes with other friends.
Arma and Arpa have been getting ready. They have bought a bunk bed and are storing stuff away so Mads and Mummy will have somewhere to put their clothes. Colleen Hippo and Dermie will be very pleased to see Mads again.

On Sunday the furniture and the carpet in the living room were cleaned so Mads could play without catching germs. The sofas and chair are still wet so Arpa and Arma are sitting on picnic chairs until they dry. The furniture smells like a wet dog so everyone will be very happy when it is dry again.

On Saturday Arma will buy some of Mads’ favourite foods and she has already been to the Stonnington Library to borrow some DVDs and books.
On Sunday Arpa and Arma will be at the airport at a quarter to five in the morning to meet Mads and Mummy as they get off the plane. They are very excited to think they will soon be able to give them a big hug.

Only six more sleeps to go!

Birthdays

2009-08-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday all the horses in the southern part of the world had their birthday. Arma wanted to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to a horse but did not see a single horse all day. No horses at the Prahran market (except on the merry-go-round), no horses on the St Kilda Beach tram and no horses at Ikea.

Never mind! The next day was Arpa’s birthday and there he was, right beside her so Arma could easily say ‘Happy Birthday Arpa!’ Arma gave Arpa a new bathrobe because the old one was split right down the back and every morning when Arpa leaned over the basin to brush his teeth his botty got rather cold.

The Dracula Sneeze

2009-06-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

First of all lots of pigs got sick.

Then some people caught flu from the pigs. Now hundreds of people have piggy flu.
So now we all have to do the Dracula Sneeze when we feel an achoo! coming on. We point our nose into the crook of our elbow which makes us look just like Dracula wrapping his cloak around his face. This stops our sneeze landing on anyone else.
You can make your own mask so that you won’t breathe in germs.

We all have to wash our hands for 20 seconds which is the same length of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday”. Every time I wash my hands I sing “Happy Birthday To You” so I will know when to stop.
It is the Queen’s birthday on Monday so we are having a holiday from work. But not a holiday from washing our hands

Librarians rule!

2009-05-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Librarians all over Australia are celebrating how great libraries are. Colleen (not the toy hippo, the REAL Colleen) made a large chocolate cake with a bookworm decoration on top. It looked amazing and tasted delicious.

A popcorn man came and made hot, buttery popcorn for all the students at Arma’s university so they could eat it while they watched movies in the library. There was also a barista who made hundreds of coffees and hot chocolate for everyone. Famous Author James came along and told us about clever people who write books – just like Mads’s mummy.

We all had lots of fun but no-one has done any work at all this week!

Mothers' Day

2009-05-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Mothers' Day in Germany AND Australia. Arpa, Arma, Mummy, Daddy and Madeleine talked to each other on Skype and said, "Happy Mothers' Day!" Madeleine showed Arpa and Arma the wonderful things she had made at kindergarten during the week. One was a magnificent dragon with a long tail and scales. It looked very realistic.

Later, Arpa and Arma went to Auntie Hil and Uncle Rob's place for dinner. Rob cooked tuna on the BBQ and Auntie Hil made a beautiful Salade Nicoise. Arma was amazed to see her poaching eggs by wrapping them in Gladwrap and putting them in a pan of water. They turned out perfectly.

The highlight of the meal was dessert - Crepe Suzette! This is a delicious pancake with orange, Cointreau and brandy sauce poured over it and then set on fire at the table! If you look very carefully at the photo you can just see the blue flame in the ladle of brandy.

There was a present for Arma to take home too. It was a very good Mothers' Day all round.

Second Cousin Once Removed

2009-05-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Isobel Nicole Tate. She was born on 20th September and is Mumma’s second cousin. In one of the pictures Isobel looks very like Hard Donnie, don’t you think?

The other pictures show Isobel with her brothers Stephen and Bailey.

Emily’s Aussie relatives

2009-04-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Emily Rude’s cousins live in Melbourne, Australia. They have never meet Emily but they know they would like her a lot. They have written a poem for her:

When Emily Rude
is in a bad mood
she fills up her mouth and spits out her food
(Even the bits she has already chewed).

But when she feels good
She eats as she should
Mouth neatly closed - we wish everyone would!

School for Clever Dogs

2009-04-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Mummy's cousin Bonnie has 2 dogs. Molly is a Springer spaniel and Clancy is a beagle. Clancy likes to chase bunnies up and down hills but cannot catch them. Molly is very friendly but also very messy. She likes to play ball at the beach and recently swallowed too much salty water and had to go to dog hospital until she was better.

This photo was taken on the day Molly and Clancy started at Dog School. This is where they learn to do what Bonnie wants them to. It was very tiring and Molly and Clancy were all tuckered out.

Bendigo Easter Festival

2009-04-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Arpa and Arma went to the Bendigo Easter Festival. There was a torchlight parade in the dark on Easter Sunday and a lunchtime one on Monday. There are lots of Chinese people in Bendigo and they brought their beautiful dragon. It was huge! Here are some photos of the daytime parade.

Weekend with Woody

2009-04-14T22:19:00.001-07:00

Auntie Hil and Uncle Rob holidayed on a houseboat on the Murray River over Easter so they brought Woody, their pet stick insect to stay with Arma and Arpa. Woody’s Eucalyptus leaves have to be sprayed with water everyday so that they stay fresh and she has water to drink.

Stick insects look just like sticks and pretend they ARE sticks so that birds will not see them and eat them. There are thousands of different types of stick insects. Woody is a Giant Spiny Stick Insect

Here’s an explanation from Auntie Hil,: “Rob took a pic of Woody to show where her eye is. Her mouth is to the right of her eye - it's that thing with the small arm-like bits sticking out (Rob calls them ‘mouth arms’). It's confusing that her eyes are behind her antennae, unlike ants which have their eyes first then their antennae.”

A new toilet seat for Arpa and Arma

2009-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Arpa and Arma went to Bunnings to buy a new toilet seat because their old one was rather manky. There were all sorts of toilet seats to choose from. There were lots of coloured seats and some had frogs, flowers or sea-shells inside their see-through lids. Mads would have liked those. But in the end Arpa and Arma bought a plain white one. It is much better quality than their old one and it is very nice to have a fresh, clean, new toilet seat in the bathroom.

Happy Easter Maddy!

2009-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Arpa and Arma say, "Happy Easter!" to Mads and her mummy and daddy. We hope you have a fun time exploring your new country and seeing what Easter is like in Germany.

Off to Singapore and Germany!

2009-04-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Arpa,Arma, Michelle, Fiona and baby Thomas all went to the airport to see Maddles, Mummy and Daddy off.
After checking in the luggage mountain there was time for a snack and a romp around the airport lounge.
Then it was onto the plane and away!
Bye bye Maddles, bye Mummy and Daddy! Have a great time! We love you!

The morning of the big day!

2009-04-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

April 3rd arrived at last and while Mummy and daddy were getting ready to go to Singapore Maddles, Arma and Arpa had a happy morning together playing at Kerford Road

The Last Night at Arpa amd Arma's

2009-04-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Maddles having her last bath, story and sleepover at Arma and Arpa's before going off on her exciting adventure to Singapore and Germany

Weekend in Anglesea

2009-03-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Madeleine, Arma and Arpa went to Anglesea to escape the Grand Prix. They stayed at their favourite 2-storey cottage which was lovely and cosy once Arpa got the fire going. They had great fun in the spa, went to the beach and two playparks, and had a ride in a paddle boat with Arma and Arpa paddling so hard that they went much further down the river than the man thought they could. They were very proud of themselves.

Mads drew some wonderful pictures. One is up on the wall in Arma’s office so she can look at it whenever she wants and Arpa is making frames for two others so they can go up on the wall in Arma and Arpa’s flat.

It was the last weekend before Mads goes off on her travels. Next weekend she will be in Singapore.

Sleepover at Oliver's

2009-03-16T02:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night Maddles stayed at Tricia and Oliver’s house and had a wonderful time. It was lovely to wake up on Sunday morning and have Oliver there to play with.
Arpa and Arma arrived and everyone went to a café for brunch . Maddles and Oliver had a sweet little cupcake each. Maddles had lilac icing on her cake and Oliver had green with silver balls on top. Arpa thought these were ball bearings but Arma said they were called cachous.
We played in the park and then went to the RSPCA Open Day. The RSPCA is where animals who don’t have owners live. The RSPCA needed some money to buy food for the animals so they charged us outrageous prices for very short rides and very small sausages in inferior white bread. The animals will have plenty to eat for a very long time. Madeleine and Oliver rode ponies and got a certificate to prove it. Maddles’ pony was called ‘Macca’ and Oliver’s was ‘Winnie’.
We were all very tired so we went home where Mummy and Daddy were waiting to give us a hug.

Madeleine as Madeline

2009-03-11T22:02:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of Maddles dressed up in a Madeline outsuit. Mummy and Daddy are dressed up too, but not as anything, just themselves. Don't we all look tres chic?

What Germany is like

2009-03-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

Germany is a country in Europe with lots of other countries joined on to it. Australia doesn't have any countries joined on. It has beach all the way round it instead.

A blog for Madeleine

2009-03-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

This blog is especially for Mads while she is in Germany and Arma and Arpa are in Australia