Valentine Date Night

Dave and I had our second date night with Josh looking after all the kids. Last Tuesday we went to a restaurant in our street and Hamish and Isabella behaved beautifully and they both slept while we were out. It was wonderful to spend some time together with no kids around! This last Tuesday we weren't quite as lucky. We had just started on our mains when there was a call from 'home' that put us both into high alert mode. Dave answered with, "What's wrong? Is Hamish okay?" (We told Josh if anything happened he should call us, even if it was minor. It didn't stop us from stressing when that phone rang.) Luckily all was well but Hamish had woken up and Josh was unsure of what to do. We told him to hold him and watch TV quietly with him on the couch and the lights down low. We told him that we'd be back shortly. The restaurant was about a 4 minute drive from our house. We then finished our dinner, had a quick dessert and hurried off home. It was a set menu and so we had to pay for dessert anyway so we decided to stay and eat it. We told Josh to call if Hamish started crying. Josh had said he was fine and just lying with Sammy on the couch. When we got back we gave Josh a little extra money for coping with a more stressful situation. I have to mention too that Josh made dinner for the girls and him both last week and this week. Last week was omelettes and this week he cooked cheeseburgers. I'm looking forward to our next date night. Maybe we'll be able to go and watch a movie. If we're brave.

Newcastle Holiday 2012

As you can see from the heading I'm finally going to post about our recent January holiday. We actually hadn't planned on going away during the school Christmas holidays because of the expense, work commitements, too many of us, etc etc and I'm really so glad that we did!

Newcastle is only an hour and a half from us and is almost too close to be a holiday destination. That didn't deter us though. We figured that if we were to go away somewhere warmer it would be at least a four hour drive, which you could easily multiply by four now that we have Hamish with us as well. So we decided that somewhere close would be much better. I don't really know Newcastle well and Dave would really like us to explore more of Australia, so we really killed two birds with one stone. Plus to top it off, we had a great time and came back well rested and recuperated.

Here is a few slide shows of our time.
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

We took a 1000 piece puzzle with us and managed to complete it over the week. We left it at the holiday apartment for someone else to enjoy. It was a great quiet activity for the older people in the family.

It was a great holiday and of course I can't wait for our next adventure.

20 sleeps to go and in overdrive

The day started at 6:15am this morning when Hamish woke me for his morning feed. I grabbed him, unzipped him from his sleep sack and hurried back to the warmth of our bed. His little hands and feet were cold and I tried to warm them on me while I fed him. It made me cold, but also a little less guilty about him sleeping through and not being warm enough. That silly thing they call 'mother guilt'! Hamish feeds very quickly now and so I lay in bed listening to Dave breath and waiting for the alarm to go off before I ventured out of the warm bed. I was very reluctant to get up, but today was a special day for Sammy and so I asked Dave to look after Hamish while I had a shower, washed my hair and blow dried it. I'm pretty quick at my hair now, so I probably only took half an hour and then it was time to wake everyone up, have breakfast, get everyone else fed, dressed, hair done and out the door by 8am. We couldn't have done it without everyone's help and the house was upside down when we left!! I dropped Josh near school and then the four of us drove to Sammy's new high school, parked and unpacked what felt like the whole house to take Hamish and Bella into the high school and keep them quiet while we bought uniforms, book packs, checked bus timetables and paid school fees. The kids were all beautifully behaved and Sammy was so excited to get all her school uniform bits and pieces, find out what house group she is in and watch the high school students perform for us. My baby is growing up! She was very nervous about sitting the placement test and had asked Josh about it. In the end she did well and said that the test was very easy. I think it gives the school a chance to stream students from the word go instead of waiting for their results at the beginning of the school year. It was great to see her dad make the effort to come along to the high school orientation. It took him two hours to get to the school what with peak hour and school traffic. Sammy was pleased she got to spend some quality time with him without Josh or her dad's partner and baby around. I know I try and make the effort for Sammy to spend time with just me, but it is hard to find the time to do that. I hope they had a really nice time.
After orientation it was off to Top Ryde City to catch up with two lovely ladies, Sim and Kez and their four treasures. We gave them donuts and milkshakes and got a caffeine hit while the kids played imaginary games that involved moving chairs around, using the equipment on the activity wall (specifically a plastic phone) and even lying on the floor at one stage. It didn't really matter what they were doing as long as they weren't hurting each other or any passing strangers. It gave us a chance to catch up 'adult' like which is always so good at recharging the batteries!! I'm looking forward to our dinner out without the kids! That will be even better!! AND I'll be able to leave Hamish at home and have a glass of wine!! OMG!!
Dave had a meeting today and was dressed in a suit for a nice change. I asked him if he wanted to have lunch up with me at Top Ryde and he didn't need asking twice! Almost like a date!! We went to a place in the Piazza called 'Grill' something. The food was okay, nothing to write home about. It was the company that was delightful. Yes you honey! You looked great in your suit by the way! I love you!! XXOOXX
Dave left me after a quick lunch to get back home and do some more work before the end of year Scout party and dinner this evening. The weather went from bad to worse and I was sure that they would cancel, but they didn't. Dave suggested that I stay at home because it was so cold. I took him up on his offer straight away. No arguments from me. I'm sitting here with thick socks and slippers on and am still a little cold. What strange weather for December. It's supposed to be our summer!

Our 2011 Christmas decoration. A glass church.

Silver ornament ties to replace the red ones.

After Dave left Isabella and I went looking for a Christmas decoration to buy for this year. I've been looking all over and haven't seen anything I like until today. Today I saw a shiny, sparkly, cute, little church and so bought it straight away. It was from 'Bed, bath and Table'. Love that store. Also bought some new silver ties to replace the red ones on my white and silver Christmas tree.

Bad lighting. It was 8pm when I took the photo. These are at my front door.

I then raced home and put Hamish straight to bed. I needed the break more than him I think! While he was asleep I changed the ribbons on the ornaments on the silver and white tree (the red ribbons were very obvious and although I know many of you are probably rolling your eyes right about now I needed to fix it for me), put up our new church decoration after writing on the bottom of it in permanent marker "Top Ryde 2011". I then finally planted the succulents that I'd been given by my girlfriend Jo from a couple of weeks ago. They look amazing! Thank you.

I have two of these inside now.

 Finally the 'activity' or 'task' for today was to make a treat. Well Isabella is turning 5 tomorrow and for breakfast she would like to have pancakes. Well I cheated slightly and made them tonight already. It meant that the task for tonight was completed even though the older two were out and Isabella was too busy playing school to help. It also means that in the morning when I get up feeling exhausted I can appear to be organised with breakfast when all I'm actually doing is heating up the pancakes. We're going to have them with either banana, blueberries or chocolate chips or chocolate Hershey kisses and maple syrup. I don't eat pancakes so I will be having a cup of coffee and WATCHING everyone else eat the pancakes. No I'm NOT on a diet, but I forgot to buy gluten free pancake mix and I can't be bothered trying to make some just for me. It seems such a waste!!
What a day!! I'm sitting here with Hamish and Isabella in bed, Dave at Scouts and the older two out with their dad. It's 8:54pm and I'm exhausted. I had every intention of doing some more of my Christmas tree skirt, but I think I will finish Dave's stocking while watching tele and then go to bed. But of course not before wrapping Isabella's presents that are hiding in my cupboard.

Lunch with Jo

On Friday I took myself, Isabella and Hamish out west to visit a dear friend that I've known for 14 year for a 'playdate' fo me!! I had to tell Isabella it was mummy's 'playdate' and not hers as she really does like to talk. Once we arrived I unpacked enough stuff for a week! Jo's house became a see of baby and little girl paraphenalia and didn't quite look the same until we packed up our stuff to go home. We had a great time catching up and luckily the kids were really well behaved and Hamish didn't stink out their house too much with a couple of almighty poos. lol When you are past the poo stage you really don't want to go back there in a rush. I even double wrapped the suckers so that they wouldn't stink out their bin too much. Unfortunately with the weather being quite as hot as it has I don't think the double wrapping will have done very much to contain the stench. Sorry Jo!! After morning tea at her house, a wonder around her lovely garden and a quick feed of Hamish again we drove to Rouse Hill shops and had a quick bite to eat and a coffee. I got to come home with a bagful of mint and some succulents which not only made the car smell wonderful but are now sitting on my kitchen bench in a variety of containers waiting to be planted and giving off a delicious aroma. Thank you for a wonderful day Jo! Can't wait to catch up again soon. Perhaps for some craft!!

Saturday dance lessons and a first time treat for Josh

Aren't they so handsome!

Usually on Saturday mornings it's just Dave or I that take Isabella to dance class. Sometimes we do it together. Those are nice days where Dave and I have a quick breakfast (dance class used to be 45 minutes and has only recently changed to one hour now that she's gone up a level) a proper cup of coffee, sometimes a little read of the paper and a chat while I feed Hamish. He always seems to need to be fed at the same time as me!! We haven't let on to Isabella that we're enjoying treats away from dance class or I'm sure that she'll want to come with us!
Josh and Sammy have been spending most Friday nights to Saturday night with their dad which has really disrupted our lives. Luckily from this weekend we're going back to fortnightly Fridays and Saturdays and fortnightly Monday afternoons. That means that the kids will still see their dad weekly but without so much disruption to our lives.

Tucking into bacon and eggs.

Anyway Sammy had a sleepover on Friday night and so on Saturday morning there was just Josh to take along for a treat. (Dave was grateful for an hour of peace and quiet!)We quickly dropped Isabella at dance class with her brand new dance shoes (she was VERY excited to finally have proper jazz and tap shoes!) and we walked up to a local cafe for breakfast. I was happy to just have a cup of tea as I'd already eaten breakfast. So I fed Hamish and Josh got to have eggs and bacon and a milkshake. It was so nice to have my boys with me. I'm sure it won't be long before Josh's social calendar is filled on the weekends and visits to a local cafe with mum are few and far between.

Rockdale and Kernell

On Saturday we decided to go to The Heritage Building Centre in Rockdale to see if we could find some glass handles for the cupboard that I painted. I've seen some handles that I like and now I'm trying to find them. No luck so far! I also don't want to buy them off ebay until I've had a chance to hold them in my hand and find out if I actually still like them. So at the moment I'm just exploring places that many sell them. The Heritage Building Centre was like a treasure cave, but everything was seriously overpriced. Dave and I love 'The Pickers' (an American show on TV about two guys who scrounge for old things and then sell them for a profit) and this place is like one of the properties that they visit. It's full of interesting stuff. Unfortunately it's already been picked and a hefty price tag has been attached. Pooey! We didn't find the handles that I wanted!
So while we were in Rockdale we decided to get something for morning tea. Everyone was hungry and when we saw a little cafe with cute cupcakes on display and a parking out the front for our huge bus we quickly pulled in. I was sure they were closed as no-one was in there. But as we approached we realised that they were open and they had a shopful of treats to choose from. Yummy! They're called 'Cupcake Dolly' and unfortunately they don't have a website but they're on Rocky Point Road in Ramsgate and really cute. Sammy had the Tirimisu cupcake, Bella had the Chocolate, Dave had the Peanut Butter and Jelly cupcake (really!) and Josh and I had little dessert cup each. We had coffees and drinks and Hamish chewed quietly on his pram buckles while we decided where to go next. Dave decided that we should go and visit Captain Cook's landing site in Kernell. I can honestly say that I didn't know anything about Kernell and although I wasn't excited about the prospect of a history lesson on a Saturday afternoon I ended up enjoying myself and so did the kids. I think they may have even learnt something!

Tirimisu

Me and my Greek Rice Pudding. Yum!

Sucking on his strap.

A pudding called Chocolate Dirt.

Peanut and Jelly Cupcake.

She ate all the icing first!

Josh being silly for me!

Holding up the Cenotaph at Kernell.

Exploring Sydney

We were planning on going to see a movie, but of course there wasn't anything family friendly on!! So off we went for a drive into the wild west. We ended up in Canley Vale which is like a little Vietnam. It was amazing! We found a little cafe where we were hoping to have afternoon tea. There was a lot of confusion with the waitresses lack of English and our lack of Vietnamese. Here are some photos of our experience.

Truck stop lunch

We stayed overnight at Raymond Terrace and then after a Hungry Jacks brekky we headed off to Coffs Harbour. We stopped for lunch at a truck stop which was amazingly cheap! It also had wonderful junk to look at while we waited for our meals. I saw a set of retro anodized tea and coffee canisters for $40 which I thought looked really cute. I was tempted to buy them until I told Dave and he told me what he thought of them! So no canisters! The trip to Coffs was pretty uneventful and Hamish was very well behaved and slept a lot in the car. He had to make up for all his nights of partying late into the night.

Oliver Browns

We decided after Sammy got her birthday pedicure that we would go out for afternoon tea. Where else but Oliver Browns! We had two fondues for two to share and real hot chocolates. It was enjoyed immensely and very quickly by all.

Oliver Browns was delicious!

Lunch at Kazbah

Being on maternity leave means I can now go out to lunch during the work day. I caught up with Jenny and it was so decadent doing lunch while others were working! There were so many good things to choose on the menu, but since the breakfast menu was still on we both chose something from that. Yummo!