mmmm where have I been?

After a few gentle reminders that I actually do still have a blog (Hi Uncle John, Hi Mum!) I thought it was about time for an update. So where have I been?, well to all the usual haunts, School, Kinder, Playgroup, Swimming Lessons…..Hong Kong.

Mum, Caroline and I made our long awaited trip to Hong Kong earlier this month We had a wonderful time, I survived the flights (only just with my weak stomach) and we all survived the heat. Boy was it hot, around 28 in the evenings and 34 during the day.   Luckily every shop, train, bus etc has wonderful air conditioning so it was easy to get break from it.

After flying all night we arrived very weary for our first day in Honkers.  We ventured down to the Harbour and took in the amazing view both during daylight hours and at night.  I must admit Hong Kong looks its best after dark.   This also seems to be the busiest time of the day with most shops and markets open from 11am – 11pm, with the peak shopping being around 10pm, the streets are just packed at this hour.

I ate noodles everyday for breakfast and even tried truffles with smoked duck.  We had a half day tour of the city including a ride on a Sampan (boat)  through one of the fishing villages and a cable car ride up the peak for more amazing views of the city. 

We visited a temple and rode the local subway many times.  It is so clean and fast and efficient and cheap.  On one day we changed trains and lines more times than I care to remember but it was so just so easy to do.

 

We spent the day at Disneyland which I think was my favourite part.  It was lots of fun and so clean.  Mum spilt some of her tea on the footpath and within 1 minute there was a man there cleaning it up with water and paper towels? .

We took a day trip to Shenzhen in China. It was certainly different.  Our tour guide worked for her “government” , who were of course the most wonderful people in the world, mmmm.  We visited the smallest museum ever with the largest shop, ate at one of the locals restaurants, much to their amusement, visited the most chaotic shopping centre/market and yes, even used a chinese toilet!  I can honestly say I never felt at ease in China and was happy to cross the border back into  Hong Kong.

I did indulge for a moment in my love of taking photos of flowers and even managed to take and nice “soft” photo of one of the waterfalls at Disneyland. That right there is my $200 photography course, see I did learn something!.

We did see some unusual sights as well.

1. Dont hang your washing or linen out to dry at the square/plaza in the heart of Hong Kong?

2. All the scaffolding in Hong Kong is made of bamboo, even if the building is 20 stories high.

3.  Pizza and Jelly in the shape of Micky Mouse in Disneyland

4. Nearly every ride at Disneyland included this sign stating you must be sober to ride.  Dinsneyland never really struck me as the place to go to get sloshed.

The trip home was made a little better as we flew part of the way on the new A380  Airbus.  It was a very quiet, smooth flight. It was also nice to see that earphones on planes have improved and with the addition your own personal entertainment system the long trip was a little more bearable.

We all had a wonderful time and I would highly recommend Hong Kong as a holiday destination.

Helen xxxxx

M*I*A

 Wow, that was a long break!.

A week before the holidays started I got some “ink” done Its been an idea in my head for over 2 years but I finally got there.  Very very happy with the result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days later Declan was unwell. Just the usual temp/sore throat/cough.  This “bug” has been in our house since the end of term 1 and we are a little over it!.  This continued and moved around the children for the entire holidays, hence why they were very quiet at this end.  We did squeeze in a few birthday parties but other than that there were lots of days like this:

Hanging out in our PJ’s, and sunglasses of course!.  Miss Matilda making her breakfast, or is it lunch?

Declan colouring in this HUGE poster,.

There were many hours spent in front of the fire playing lego/games/playstation. By this stage Riley had croup.

As cabin fever was about to set in the weather improved and we spent the morning at the park with our cousins and a few friends from playgroup.   Now it was Matilda’s turn, UTI, calls from doctors at 9:20pm to change antibiotics, all the usual dramas.  On this day she was still not well but honestly we just needed some fresh air.

During all of this, poor Steve was working 80+ hours a week and was not well himself.

On the very last day of the holidays we finally got to spend the day out as a family. We all headed to Melbourne Zoo to help Piper celebrate her 3rd birthday. 

 Here are some of the beautiful animals we got to see,

and here we are, having a wonderful time

We have just been struggling through this past month or so.   Hopefully we will all be feeling 100% soon as currently its my turn to feel poorly.  I do have a doctors appt at 8:50pm tomorrow (it was the only time I could get in!) so fingers crossed I will feel better soon.

Lets see if I can update this thing before July finishes!.

I will try my hardest.

Have a great week

Helen xxxxx

Blue Monday

I have the back to school blues.  It was hard to get up this morning, so cold and wet. Yes I did say in a previous post that it wont rain now our water tank is hooked up, really I should have said it will only rain at 9am and 3pm on school days!.  It is just me or does that always seem to be the way?. I know, I am never happy (but my water tank is).

Yesterday was busy busy busy. Poor Steve worked all weekend so we spent the morning at Duffys Picnic Ground with some friends. The weather was divine and the place was pretty busy, it was so nice just to be out and enjoying the day .  We returned home to quickly mow the lawns, cook dinner, watch the Bike Races then we headed out to Cranbourne with my Dad to catch the convoy of bikes on their way home from the Island.  For those of you who don’t know, my boys love bikes, cars and really anything with wheels!

Tried to get the children to bed at 7:30 last night. Steve had a big talk with the boys to explain why they were going to bed whilst it was still light but it didn’t work, Riley was up and down for the next hour and Matilda was singing away for a while too.  Might explain why I had to wake them just after 8 this morning GGGGRRRRRR.

Now time for a

*** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ***

from Master Declan……

HE HAS A WOBBLY TOOTH  

He is very very excited and has been waiting so long for this to happen. Most his friends have lost quite a few teeth but his were stuck fast until now.  Will keep you updated.

Time to walk to school, still raining though so it might be a run!

Have a great week

Helen xxxxx

Look Mum, no training wheels.

Well after months of trying hes finally got there. Declan can now ride his big bike with no training wheels, see……….

He has been riding Rileys little bike since New Years Eve but this was his first day on his larger bike.  The only trouble with this is that Steve told Declan, sometime before Christmas (when he would not even try to ride without training wheels), that when he did he would buy him a Motorbike!. Well guess what?, Declan remembers that conversation and the first thing he said when he rode back to us was “how many sleeps till I get my motorbike”. mmmmm.

 We headed out to Duffys Picnic Ground for a morning of food and bike riding.  It was very quite there despite the good weather.  Even I had a ride, something I have not done for a very long time. I was on Steves BMX, made me feel like a teenager again!. I know I will probably feel like an old woman tomorrow when my legs are aching! 

Riley struggled a little with his bike and the uneven paths and in the end just ran everywhere. I was amazed at how far he went without even getting puffed or breaking a sweat. 

Matilda enjoyed spending some time crawling around on the ground and eating some grass and sticks I dont want to think what else!.  She is finally sitting completely unaided and without using her arms to support her.  She is also starting to crawl on all fours (sort of) but only if she has no top on and the floor tiles are too cold for her little tummy. Its a very funny sight

Here is a very cute foot shot as well. Now I am not normally a “feet” person, I really find them quite disgusting, especially my own, but baby feet are another story!.

Now an update on the previous post. We purchased a vacuum and are now extremely POOR. OMG how expensive can they be. We got a Dyson and the good thing is (seeing that it cost over $500!) that I love it. Its amazing how much “stuff” comes out of our carpet. I paid extra for the turbine head because its a must when you have a dog and carpet. Anyway its a great vacuum, as long as you dont look at it, boy they are ugly!.

Helen.xxxxx

{…Merry Christmas…}

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

and may 2008 be an amazing year

for you all.

Love Helen, Steve, Declan, Riley and Matilda

x x x x x

Joshua Scott RIP

2 years ago today, one of my other babies passed away.

Joshua Scott 1998 – 2005

Greatly missed by all the family, especially Butch.

xxxxxx

First party for the Festive Season

We attended Steves work Christmas Party yesterday at Jells Park. It was a really good day with heaps of activities to keep the kiddies amused.  We were there a total of 7 hours and all came home a little sunburnt and very tired. Declan took part in most games, including the classics such as sack races and egg and spoon races. Riley was not so interested and actually hit a brick wall by mid afternoon, which suprised me as I thought he had eaten enough sugar to get him through the next 24 hours!.

As our children had been so well behaved all year (hahaha), they received a visit from Santa and got some lovely gifts plus show bags, lucky dips etc etc. I even received a few goodies. Not bad considering Steve has only worked there 4 weeks. Already looking forward to the party next year!.

 

Oh and incase you are wondering, the boys had fire breathing dragons painted on their faces. They actually looked really good but you need to see them from side on.

Roll on the next party!.

Helen xxx

Rileys Party

Cant believe how long its been again since my last post! Sorry.   Steves new job is going well though it means the alarm is going off a little earlier than it use to and its killing me!. I will get use to it again but its going to take a little while.

We had a party for Riley on Saturday. The weather was nice and a good time was had by all. Thanks for the pressies everyone. I kept it pretty casual this year and to a strict budget. Had a little drama with the Ice-Cream cake (dont get me started about that one!) but other than that it all went to plan.

 

We are enjoying having mum and dad back in the country.  Still getting use to them ringing and popping in on a regular basis. They had a wonderful trip but I think they too are happy to be back.

Another busy week planned with Wednesday being the worst/best day for the week (as it usually is). As well as being Rileys actual Birthday (yes he is a Halloween baby, cant you tell!!!!), we have School Orientation, Kinder, Swimming and as a treat dessert at McDonalds.

Matilda is not sleeping the best at the moment.  She is still cutting tooth #4, forgot how long they can take. She also started solids again as she is now 6 months old so not sure if its a sore mouth or upset tummy which is casuing her to wake at all hours of the night. I can only hope this phase passes quickly and we can get back to some sort of routine.  She is also rolling from front to back now but dont think she will be crawling or sitting anytime soon. She is like Declan, very content, so not that interested in moving around.

Started Christmas shopping last weekend. As usual I have decided not to leave everything to the last minute but I know that I will still be shopping Christmas Eve.

Have a good week guys.

Helen xxxxx

Hey there!

Can you believe the holidays are almost over?. Only 1 term to go and my little boy will be starting school OMG where does the time go??.  We have had a pretty quiet week compared to the last one.

*  Had a couple of girls and kiddies from Mothers Group around on Monday.  Its so good to catch up and it doesnt happen often enough!  I had a really sore eye most of the day (not sure what was wrong with it) but thankfully its all better now.

*   Tuesday was spent at Wilson Botanical Park with Caroline and Katrina. Had a lovely picnic and the children got rid of some energy on the playground which was so so so busy. Spent the arvo babysitting Piper and Isabella whilst Caroline had some running around to do .  I dont know how people manage with 5 kids!. A few hours is definately enough!!!!

*   Bit of a quiet day with a few visitors. Seemed to spend most of the day on the phone (Whats new??) and achieved very little. Spoke to Mum and Dad which was nice. Did I mention its only 17 sleeps till they come home. Its not long now (getting a little excited!)

* Oh I did achieve something today, I got tickets to see Operator Please in November, Friday the 2nd to be exact! (just incase my babysitters are reading !!!). I am just loving this band at the moment even if they are still in their teens.  Steve and I will probably be the oldest people at the gig, Oh well we can pretend we are teenagers again. Tickets were so cheap as well, $36 bucks for the two of us!!!.

*   Bathurst is on this weekend. Steve has a tradition of inviting the boys around for the day. They cook egg and bacon on the BBQ and crack their first beer when the race starts. It is usually a very long day. 

*   Steve got a new job! Yay. He enjoyed working for Pirtek but just couldn’t stand being on call every 2-3 weeks so he is leaving there and starting at PMP Print as a Maintenance Fitter.

Sorry but no pics to post this time   Have a good one

Helen xxxxx

???WHY???

Why do I feel the need to sit up until midnight every night when I know that Tillys new routine means she will be up at 6am??? . Seems to be my habit for this week and I am feeling soooo tired now. Maybe its because Steve has been working heaps and I have been busy every night so far so its really the only time we get to see each other.

Having a bit of a nothing day today. Yesterday I caught up on some housework but today we are all unsettled which means no much is getting done.  Baking a Chocolate and Banana cake at the moment. Its even a real cake and not out of a packet!. I managed to forget to put in the melted butter (I left it in the microwave) so that got added after it had been in the oven 5 minutes so not sure how it will turn out. That is why I usually go the packet option!!!! I will blame my lack of sleep for that.

I got the “bubbles” out for the boys on Tuesday. It was fun for a little while until Riley spilt his and then Declan gave him what was left of his bottle and then he spilt that and then Declan got upset………. I am finding that Riley is at a really difficult age at the moment and even a simple and fun time turns into an argument between him and Declan.

Will post more  another time, cake is finished, Tilly has woken and kitchen looks like a bomb has gone off in it.

Helen xxxxx