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.

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?).

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.

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.