We have finally moved upstairs. This renovation has gone on far too long. Delay after delay and we are still not really finished. However the children are settled comfortably. They are enjoying having baths again and no they weren't dirty just having showers instead.
At the moment we are waiting on fabric for our bedroom's curtains. The childrens' bedrooms have really cute curtains and blinds but we chose an "exotic" fabric for our room and waited patiently. Then after 2 months of waiting and pre-paying still no fabric. Finally got a refund then chose a different fabric with a different shop and then only to find out there is no ETA on that fabric since the manufacturer is out of stock and so it is back to the drawing board. Tomorrow we choose another fabric and hopefully it will be in stock!
Here is a cute photo of the kids enjoying their bath in the new bathroom. Oops sorry can't show any. Simon took the photos and there are too many moon shots. They obviously weren't being nice while the photos were taken so you'll have to wait!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Titi's Birthday
We celebrated Titi's Birthday this weekend. He was two and a very big two he is. He is a typical boy and loves all boy toys especially cars and trucks and heavy machinery. Sydney Water has been quite busy in our area laying new pipes and upgrading the system so there are usually plenty of diggers (front end loaders) on our streets and especially outside our house. He has become obsessed with the diggers or guggers as he calls them. So I decided to make a digger cake and here it is.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Spring is here
What a glorious day we have just had. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the kids were happy. It was 24oC and tomorrow will be 28oC. Spring is well and truely here.
We have finished tidying the yard after winter. The hedges were a bit hairy and they have all been trimmed. It took about three days to do this by doing a bit at a time. There are a lot of hedges in the garden. The garden has also been weeded which was a relatively easy job but there is more to come. Over all the garden is quite low maintenance since the last time we trimmed the hedges was in March. Luckily they are a very slow growing variety.
The kids have enjoyed keeping me company. Titi loves power tools and rakes and brooms, so he was in his element. Arabella loves company so she would chat all the way through, giving you a running commentary on what you are doing. It is so cute.
Simon took Arabella and Titi to a park in the morning and Titi came home absolutely wrecked. Apparently he was practising his balancing and walked round a low wall for most of the morning. He slept for 3 hours when he got home.
Coco's table won the table points for the week (got the most points for doing good work at school and listening) so she came home with a "Caught being good" card. They start the competitive streak early.
It was bliss today - no builders. The house was quiet and peaceful. We are still finding dust but that is a part of life now for a few more weeks (months?).
We have finished tidying the yard after winter. The hedges were a bit hairy and they have all been trimmed. It took about three days to do this by doing a bit at a time. There are a lot of hedges in the garden. The garden has also been weeded which was a relatively easy job but there is more to come. Over all the garden is quite low maintenance since the last time we trimmed the hedges was in March. Luckily they are a very slow growing variety.
The kids have enjoyed keeping me company. Titi loves power tools and rakes and brooms, so he was in his element. Arabella loves company so she would chat all the way through, giving you a running commentary on what you are doing. It is so cute.
Simon took Arabella and Titi to a park in the morning and Titi came home absolutely wrecked. Apparently he was practising his balancing and walked round a low wall for most of the morning. He slept for 3 hours when he got home.
Coco's table won the table points for the week (got the most points for doing good work at school and listening) so she came home with a "Caught being good" card. They start the competitive streak early.
It was bliss today - no builders. The house was quiet and peaceful. We are still finding dust but that is a part of life now for a few more weeks (months?).
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
That Damn Bath!!
The bath may have arrived in Australia but it is still not here. Work on the renovation is at a virtual standstill. Luckily we are not paying for the delay.....yet. All materials have arrived except for this bath. It had better be worth it. Although it looks fabulous on the internet. Here is a link so you can see for yourselves http://www.vandabaths.com/aus/bath.php?b=nice.
The boat arrived today so hopefully it will get to us next week. However, this is not going to be some run-a-bout boat. There will be hundreds of containers and they all have to be unloaded, and transported on trucks. Please let the right container get to the distributor!!
Please, please, with acherry on top.
The boat arrived today so hopefully it will get to us next week. However, this is not going to be some run-a-bout boat. There will be hundreds of containers and they all have to be unloaded, and transported on trucks. Please let the right container get to the distributor!!
Please, please, with acherry on top.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Wet weather weekend
It is absolutely miserable today. We have stacks of washing to do and it is pouring with rain. The house needs a good scrub after all the building work and dust. At least the builders have tidied up after the demolition.
We can now see what the end result will be like. The new walls are in but they still need to be gyprocked (plastered). The lights and new ceiling fans are in. The downlights make a huge difference since the place sparkles - even though it is very unfinished. I can't wait to take down the old curtains and tracks.
The building project has come to a standstill. The bath that we ordered 2.5 months ago has not arrived. Since it is a non-standard bath, the plumber needs to see it to make sure the plumbing will fit. Since the plumber can't do his thing, the floor cannot go in and since the floor cannot go in, the bathrooms cannot be waterproofed. It is a real snowball effect. Another week and the project should be moving again. Don't tell the builder but the delay is not too bad since I have ordered fabric for the master bedroom and it won't arrive until the end of the month. And we can't really move upstairs without curtains. But still it is delaying the painting and the re-carpeting.
On Thursday, Coco took part in a walk-a-thon at school to raise funds for the school. She walked for about 20 mins and I (Zanthe) was a marshal. Making sure the children and the teachers kept to the route. It was the perfect day for a walk. Overcast and not too hot. I think the children enjoyed being out of the classroom since a few said the walk was too short. However a few teachers were huffing and puffing and puffing and huffing.
The children are looking forward to Fathers Day tomorrow. Coco bought a present at the Fathers Day stall at school (another fund raiser) and Arabella is looking forward to the presents and the food. Titi is not really sure about it all. He will be 2 in a week and a half and he adds new words to his vocabulary each day. To outsiders he still needs a translater but we all understand him now.
Wet weather equals cabin fever......AAAHHHHHH. Can't wait for clear weather and the kids can have a run.
We can now see what the end result will be like. The new walls are in but they still need to be gyprocked (plastered). The lights and new ceiling fans are in. The downlights make a huge difference since the place sparkles - even though it is very unfinished. I can't wait to take down the old curtains and tracks.
The building project has come to a standstill. The bath that we ordered 2.5 months ago has not arrived. Since it is a non-standard bath, the plumber needs to see it to make sure the plumbing will fit. Since the plumber can't do his thing, the floor cannot go in and since the floor cannot go in, the bathrooms cannot be waterproofed. It is a real snowball effect. Another week and the project should be moving again. Don't tell the builder but the delay is not too bad since I have ordered fabric for the master bedroom and it won't arrive until the end of the month. And we can't really move upstairs without curtains. But still it is delaying the painting and the re-carpeting.
On Thursday, Coco took part in a walk-a-thon at school to raise funds for the school. She walked for about 20 mins and I (Zanthe) was a marshal. Making sure the children and the teachers kept to the route. It was the perfect day for a walk. Overcast and not too hot. I think the children enjoyed being out of the classroom since a few said the walk was too short. However a few teachers were huffing and puffing and puffing and huffing.
The children are looking forward to Fathers Day tomorrow. Coco bought a present at the Fathers Day stall at school (another fund raiser) and Arabella is looking forward to the presents and the food. Titi is not really sure about it all. He will be 2 in a week and a half and he adds new words to his vocabulary each day. To outsiders he still needs a translater but we all understand him now.
Wet weather equals cabin fever......AAAHHHHHH. Can't wait for clear weather and the kids can have a run.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
End of another weekend
Another weekend has gone by. Saturday was filled with finding items (tiles, fabric etc.) for our renovation. It was a day of disappointments to a certain extent. One was re-visting a tile shop only to see the same tiles kept aside for us that we had seen previously and rejected. We have given up the search and will select the more expensive tiles - damn. The other disappointment was finding out that to order the fabric we liked cost 10% more than buying off the shelf even though it was a line that the shop normally has in stock. Did a quick search on the internet and found the same fabric at a cheaper price - bonus.
Coco and Arabella have changed their swimming lessons to 8am on Saturdays so off I went taking the girls to swimming. Arabella is enjoying her new teacher and is actually listening! She still hasn't got the hang of "big arms" but she'll get it soon. Coco continues to swim well. She does lap after lap after lap. I am sure she is exhausted at the end of it.
Today we finally had a free day to just enjoy ourselves without thinking about the renovation. It was one of those dull grey days in Sydney. So we decided to go to Wild life world in Darling Harbour. The kids loved looking at the snakes and spiders. I am sure Arabella will be a snake handler one day. She couldn't keep her hands off the poor diamond python at the exit. She was stroking and while noone was looking squeezing the poor snake. Titi loved the spiders and the nocturnal animals. It was so cute, this morning before we got out of bed, Titi loves to bring books over for a read. He pointed to a butterfly in a book and said "buttie" but by this afternoon he had corrected himself and he said "butterfly" in the butterfly enclosure. He was wearing a yellow jumper and the butterflies were attracted to the colour and kept on landing on him which he found a bit unsettling.
After wild life world we went for a walk around Darling Harbour and discovered a Malaysian Festival. We ate some Malaysian food that I needed a translation for. Coco and Titi loved the food - Nasi Lemak and Matubarak (I hope I got the spelling right). The kids had a play in the playground - Arabella loved the big slide and sandpit (she enjoys anything that will make her dirty and/or wet) and Titi once he finds a good circuit will do it again and again - Up the ramp, into the tower, down another ramp on bottom, round the tower and then up the first ramp and so it continues. We then had some icecreams and then homeward bound. The kids were exhausted by the end of it and we had 2 sleeping beauties on the way home.
Time to start preparing for another week so we can do it all over again.
Coco and Arabella have changed their swimming lessons to 8am on Saturdays so off I went taking the girls to swimming. Arabella is enjoying her new teacher and is actually listening! She still hasn't got the hang of "big arms" but she'll get it soon. Coco continues to swim well. She does lap after lap after lap. I am sure she is exhausted at the end of it.
Today we finally had a free day to just enjoy ourselves without thinking about the renovation. It was one of those dull grey days in Sydney. So we decided to go to Wild life world in Darling Harbour. The kids loved looking at the snakes and spiders. I am sure Arabella will be a snake handler one day. She couldn't keep her hands off the poor diamond python at the exit. She was stroking and while noone was looking squeezing the poor snake. Titi loved the spiders and the nocturnal animals. It was so cute, this morning before we got out of bed, Titi loves to bring books over for a read. He pointed to a butterfly in a book and said "buttie" but by this afternoon he had corrected himself and he said "butterfly" in the butterfly enclosure. He was wearing a yellow jumper and the butterflies were attracted to the colour and kept on landing on him which he found a bit unsettling.
After wild life world we went for a walk around Darling Harbour and discovered a Malaysian Festival. We ate some Malaysian food that I needed a translation for. Coco and Titi loved the food - Nasi Lemak and Matubarak (I hope I got the spelling right). The kids had a play in the playground - Arabella loved the big slide and sandpit (she enjoys anything that will make her dirty and/or wet) and Titi once he finds a good circuit will do it again and again - Up the ramp, into the tower, down another ramp on bottom, round the tower and then up the first ramp and so it continues. We then had some icecreams and then homeward bound. The kids were exhausted by the end of it and we had 2 sleeping beauties on the way home.
Time to start preparing for another week so we can do it all over again.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I can hear
I finally feel better. For the past two weeks I have been feeling yuck - viruses, deafness etc. Ailments that make me feel as though my body is falling apart. Went to the Dr - got my ear syringed and wow what a difference. I feel a part of life once more. Not just one sense has been restored but amazingly all. I can see better, taste better, feel better and most importantly hear better.
The builders are still demolishing the bathrooms. Today the jack-hammers started to remove the floors. The concrete might be 2 inches thick but has been treated with a substance that has made it super strong. Light fittings downstairs have been removed, dust is falling around us and the house is shaking. We still have a rook over our heads.
The noise has kept Titi up from his lunchtime sleep. The kids became feral just before dinner. Thank god we decided to cancel our dinner out arrangements otherwise it would have been mayhem in public rather than the relative privacy of home. Apologies to the neighbours for screaming outside the back door after one was relegated outside to calm down.
Ahh peace at last - all three fed, washed, read to and tucked up in bed. The reset buttons have been pushed and they are quiet and peaceful. WHERE'S THE CHOCOLATE!!
The builders are still demolishing the bathrooms. Today the jack-hammers started to remove the floors. The concrete might be 2 inches thick but has been treated with a substance that has made it super strong. Light fittings downstairs have been removed, dust is falling around us and the house is shaking. We still have a rook over our heads.
The noise has kept Titi up from his lunchtime sleep. The kids became feral just before dinner. Thank god we decided to cancel our dinner out arrangements otherwise it would have been mayhem in public rather than the relative privacy of home. Apologies to the neighbours for screaming outside the back door after one was relegated outside to calm down.
Ahh peace at last - all three fed, washed, read to and tucked up in bed. The reset buttons have been pushed and they are quiet and peaceful. WHERE'S THE CHOCOLATE!!
Monday, August 25, 2008
The tooth fairy and the destroyer
Arabella had her front tooth extracted today. Wow she was brave. She is currently high on codeine and feeling mighty fine. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30am and she was very good at waking up and getting ready. Here is a before and after image of our little treasure. She loves her new look already since she can now eat with the front of her mouth.
Building work or should I say demolition has started with our renovation. Upstairs is looking a great deal larger with a few walls knocked down. Can't wait for it to finish and they have only just started.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Upside down
Today we are moving all our belongings from upstairs to our downstairs rooms. Packing boxes so that the kids don't rummage through piles of pillows, blankets, towels and clothes. Keeping the bare minimum out. And why are we doing all this? Well the builders arrive tomorrow and will demolish two bathrooms, move a few internal walls and knock this house into shape! We can't wait - new bathrooms, new paint, new curtains, new lights and new carpet. Almost like having a new house. Everything should be back to normal in about 2 - 3 months. And then we can think about downstairs.
Tomorrow will be quite a sombre day however since little Arabella Miller will have a front tooth removed. It is quite an operation since it has to be done under general anaesthetic. She lost her front tooth in an accident about 5 weeks ago. The tooth was re-inserted but since an abcess has formed she needs to remove this tooth or else she may lose more. She is such a brave girl. When the dentist told me she would have her tooth removed she said "Mum, I will be just like Coco". You see, Coco lost a tooth 2 weeks ago but unlike Coco, her tooth won't grow back for a long time (4 years). She will be our gappy little girl.
Tomorrow will be quite a sombre day however since little Arabella Miller will have a front tooth removed. It is quite an operation since it has to be done under general anaesthetic. She lost her front tooth in an accident about 5 weeks ago. The tooth was re-inserted but since an abcess has formed she needs to remove this tooth or else she may lose more. She is such a brave girl. When the dentist told me she would have her tooth removed she said "Mum, I will be just like Coco". You see, Coco lost a tooth 2 weeks ago but unlike Coco, her tooth won't grow back for a long time (4 years). She will be our gappy little girl.
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