The end of the week...

So I can finally boast a good week. Hooray!! And my first 'pay cheque' since returning to work. Woop Woop! Of course, I won't get to even sniff at it as it's already gone on bills. How BORING. But it's nice to know that I can finally divorce myself from the credit card.
And to top off my tip top week, one of our little shining lights said to me before nuzzling into his pillow;

Mummy, I wuv you
I love you too Jack
Mummy, I wuv you so much
Oh Jack, I love you so much too

And my heart skipped a beat....

The Tree

This film has just had a 7 minute standing ovation at Cannes...

Retail Therapy

Finally we actually had a week without mishap or major disease. Don't all pass out, but we also fitted in an ACTUAL date too. Dinner on Friday night, followed by a full weekend of family fune. Hmm that hasn't happened in a while, and trust me, it was GREAT!
Although temperatures have plummeted and we are now sleeping with 2 duvets, 1 blanket and full sleep wear (socks too), the air is crisp and the light down here is really magical. Just as long as we don't have to do anything at night when it's 2 degrees, I am quite happy. Oh and before you think we can't afford heating, unfortunately, it's our bedroom that falls under the freezer dial. The boys room and living area is quite ok!
One of our tasks this week was to get new printer ink and so we took ourselves off to the local Officeworks, where Jack was handed a rather snazzy kiddy trolley. Of course, he took to it like a duck to water and was seen marching up and down the aisles, analyzing calculators and adding a much needed safety scissors to his collection of 'purchases'. Needless to say, I was almost hysterical watching him. Now all they need to do is introduce these into supermarkets and life will just have become more fun!

If I was a girl again..

 

              
...I would like to wear one of these pretty necklaces. Isn't it so sweet! A lovely accessory from Nest Decorating... Hmm, I think it's time I started to share and log some of the lovely non-boy things I discover these days. For my own pleasure really, sometimes it's just nice to window shop the pretty feminine delights around.

The week that was...

It is seven days now since I faced what was to be a week from hell. This is how it went.
Monday: Cold and cough - two boys and a mum
Tuesday: Food Poisoning - one boy and a mum
Wednesday: Daycare send one boy home with temperature
Thursday: 2nd official day of work, scraped through unscathed (minor miracle)
Friday: Contact lens removes top layer of cornea and damages both eyes - mum (not permanent, thank heaven)
Saturday: Cold and exhaustion - Dad
Sunday: Sneezing resumes - one boy
Monday: Cold takes hold once more: one boy

I think I might take myself down to the homeopath and see if they can mix us up a daycare diffuser that will allow the boys to at least have a full week without snot, red noses and encrusted sleeves?

Balancing Act

With the first snowfall on the mountain sighted this morning, winter is almost certainly upon us. With that is a whole new family routine as I return to work and the boys experience a cold season for the very first time.
My Dad always tells me that life is just one adjustment after another, and I am finally starting to believe him. Following our trip to Sydney, we have been inundated with colds, ear infections, coughs and food poisoning, all in the space of a week. Really, when will it end?! Now that it's getting chilly we have to educate ourselves in proper outdoor attire and how to keep warm indoors without blowing the lid on our electricity bills. Something we never had to really consider in our former abode, and something easily forgotten after ten years away from our countries of origin. So, adjusting to the cold, adjusting to another sickness, adjusting to working, adjusting to more organisation, it's all really quite a tiring experience! Really I need to be in bed by 8, up at 6, have a magic wand and super tidy management skills to get myself through the next few months. Oh and remember to keep some time for myself, exercise, eat well, socialise and spend some time with my husband. Hmmm, a balancing act that will be fun to observe. Pity I can't be the one watching!

Happy Mothers Day

I have been treated to Mothers Day treats a little early as the boys presented me with their daycare delights this week. I am now the very proud owner of a very tasteful beaded necklace (photo not included as the maker has now taken um-bridge to me actually wearing the gift and has negotiated to 'buying' it for a while). My second gift is this beautiful laminated lavender heart with sparkles and shiny paper galore. What Mummy in this day and age doesn't own one of these?! It's now hanging proudly in the kitchen window where I can marvel at it 24/7. Precious! Happy Aussie Mother's Day friends x

Hi Ho...

It was always going to be a challenging trip. Going back to Sydney for the first time since our big departure...how would I feel about being back? Well, kinda ok actually. Yes I miss my friends, the hustle and bustle, the proximity to EVERYTHING, the warmth, the beauty, the cooking smells in the air of an evening, but I didn't pang for life back there quite as strongly as I had first imagined.

So that's a bit of a relief! It made me think how really, having everything and anything on your doorstep is not really all that healthy. Looking for a pair of cowboy boots for winter, the only ones I could find were a stupid price, not one that I could justify today or tomorrow, even with a Lotto win.

The boys enjoyed seeing their little pals, but was it more me who felt guilty that I was taking them away from their first friends, than them actually worrying about it in the SLIGHTEST! Of course not, they'll have their pals here shortly and will enjoy the added benefit of having all these people dotted interstate and overseas to hang out with in later years. I'm actually doing them a favour!

I'll ponder more on my trip in later posts, but in the meantime I'll try and recover from my monster cold and share with you this crazy front garden we passed in Summer Hill. Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's home it's home we go...