Proud

A little bit of bragging.....

Michael and I went to Isabella's 3 way student, teacher, parent interview last night.

Isabella presented some of her digital portfolio to us (video footage of her doing a weather report and front row and centre in a class dance performance).

She did such a fantastic job!

Her teacher then told us how she is progressing and by all accounts she is doing great!!

Miss Carey said isabella's handwriting is neater than her own!

Isabella is very mature and helpful in the classroom. All in all a fantastic report.

I'm so proud of her!!

Love you Darling!


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Tahlia

Tahlia is a card sometimes.

We went to church this morning. As a family. Before going to the church/school fair.

The girls went to Sunday school and came back after the homily.

Father Peter had a bandage on the side of his face. Tahlia looks at him and exclaims "what happened to Jesus' face?".

Hahahaha!!!!!


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Nearly August!

Where has half the year gone?

We are all busy busy and the weeks fly past.

Isabella continues to enjoy playing hockey and Tahlia and I love to watch.

Tahlia and Bella are still swimming.

Michael had his final operation to remove a stent following surgery to remove a kidney stone. He seems to be making a full and speedy recovery - praise God.

Another financial year has begun and work for me is as busy as ever.

Here are some recent photos, including one of the girls taken on Bella's 7th birthday.




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Grandma

My Grandma in Canada passed away recently. Although she was almost ninety it was still a shock to get that dreaded phone call.

Worse still was the fact that we were unable to make contact with my Dad and Step-mum and Aunty and Uncle who were traveling together in Alaska/BC at the time.

5 long days of praying.

My Grandpa passed away in 2008 shortly after my Dad and I made a trip over to see them.

I have such fond memories of that time; games of crib, cheesies and cinnamon hearts, lots of chatting and great stories of Grandma and Grandpa's early married life together.

I miss them both.




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Echidna in the bones

Well what a week!

I took Michael to hospital last Friday morning with severe pain in his back and side.

He was admitted and an MRI confirmed kidney stones. Isabella was relaying the drama with her bestie on the phone when she came over to me saying Natalie's mum wanted to speak to me.

Natalie had told her mum that Michael had an echidna on his bone!!! HahahHaha think Chinese whispers gone wrong it was a kidney stone!!

Anyway back to Friday. Michael in excruiating pain and pumped full of pethadine and buscopan. He announced to me after 3 shots of pethadine when he finally found some relief that he felt "at peace"!! He was high as a kite!

Turned out he needed to have surgery to remove a blockage in his urethra and have a stent inserted. He also had a raving infection and so spent two nights in hospital following surgery being pumped full of antibiotics.

He came home on Sunday feeling much better although in some discomfort from the stent and I suspect the infection - we found out today it could have been quite serious had it gone on for too much longer as the infection was affecting his kidney badly.

He saw his doctor again today and has acheduled surgery for the 28th to remove the kidney stone and hopefully the stent. Until then the poor man is like a pregnant woman going to the toilet every hour!

I am so greatful that things have turned out ok!


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My new tattoo

I had a love note from Isabella made into a tattoo last week.

She wrote it only a couple of months ago and when she saw it she said "they put the letters around the wrong way!".

I find it amazing how quickly they progress learning wise. A couple of months ago she got letters around the wrong way and now she's clever enough to know it's not quite right!!

In anycase I love my kids and i love my tattoo and it's a constant reminder that my kids love me!!




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Playing in the park

I took Tahlia, Bella and Natalie (Bella's bestie) to the park yesterday.

The weather is starting to cool down now but it was still pleasant enough.













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Mummy's Day

My haul of "made with love" gifts from Isabella and Tahlia.




We also had a lovely dinner with Michael's parents, his sister (her boyfriend and kids) and my mum.



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Bits and pieces

Another long weekend come and gone and another coming up!

This weekend was ANZAC day and despite the threat of rain so many school children turned up. Isabella marched with her school for the second year. It was lovely to hear the bystanders clapping for the children as they marched past.

Tahlia had her first playdate at our house on Monday arve when her bestie Emmerson came over. Much fun was had until it wasn't fun anymore and it was time for her mummy to come.

Here are some photos and another love note by Isabella.











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Pray

With Michael doing a lot of travelling with work I often pray with the girls for God to keep him safe and bring him home to us.

Michael went to Bowen today and we said a prayer this morning together.

This afternoon we are driving home and Tahlia says out of the blue "we say a prayer for Daddy?".

How sweet it is to be loved by you!




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Games

I had a conversation with my dad last night about how I find it VERY boring playing games with my children and that I felt a bit of a failure because of it. He assured me that I wasn't but it got me thinking.

So this morning I dedicated myself to Bella especially and spent some quality uninterrupted time with both the girls.

We did beading, UNO, kerplunk, spider game, draughts, boggle jnr and trouble and all this by midday!

I actually had an alright time and I'm pretty sure Bella did too ;-). I plan on doing this again soon.

Then we made pizza dough and pizza for lunch.

Here is the end product.




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Day off

Tahlia and I had s day off today.

We took the car in for a service and walked to the library where we met my mum. Had a lively chat while Tahlia played on the swings.

Then we stayed in the library for a while and Tahlia befriended a little girl.

Walked then to Canelands for lunch. Tahlia requested a honey sandwich! Better than the usual chicken nuggets and chips!

We walked back to get the car.

We are now killing 1/2 hour before we pick up Isabella and take her to hockey.

A lovely day!


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Pictures speak louder than words

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I love ouy!

This morning I was in my bathroom getting ready for work when I heard the sound of Isabella's remote control toy being driven in my bedroom.

The sliding door was opened and in came (remotely) Isabella's remote control toy which is like a three wheel bike that a My Little Pony sits on.

However there was no pony but a torn corner of a piece of paper......





How good is it to be me???

Isabella is always writing me love notes and I adore them.

I took this mornings offering and stuck it to my computer monitor at work - I can't tell you how many times it made me smile today!!


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Cyclone Ului

We experienced our first cyclone this weekend.

First and last I hope.

The eye passed thru Airlie Beach about 1.5hrs north but I've heard winds here were up to 180km an hour.

Not fun.

The pounding rain I could handle, the howling raging wind however was something else.

We lost electricity between 10 and 11pm in Sat night (it was restored Mon about 5pm). Some people are still without :-(

The wind got wilder and wilder. By midnight all the girls were with us in our room but they were asleep.

I just couldn't sleep for the wind.

Then I heard the sound of tin and a l bit of a clunk and a few choice words later Michael and I were peering out our sliding glass doors with our torch.

The next door neighbour's shed roof had torn off and was dangling over our fence!

I was pretty scared by this so we relocated to our front room.

We all sat up for a bit (I was trying to keep it together because the girls certainly didn't seem as scared as I felt!).

Eventually we managed to get the girls back to sleep but I just couldn't sleep.

Whilst I had no electricity my iPhone still had Internet access so I checked out facebook to see how others were getting on and checked BOM website frequently.

An update told me the cyclone found land but still the wind roared!

I swore i could hear tin ripping again which further freaked me out (found out next morning across the road neighbours guttering ripped off).

Eventually fell to sleep sometime after 4am.

Neighbour woke us all up at 7am - he had come to fetch his shed roof which had made it's way half into our pool by now.

Quick survey revealed no damage (praise God) other than some broken plants.

We didn't have any mobile coverage at this point but the landline was working (it stopped working about 9am). Made a few calls to see how family had fared.

Michael's parents had some broken windows from lattice that lifted from their patio.

Amazingly my Mum's place was unscathed, although lots of plant damage and strewn about.

Driving around later that day revealed damage to fences, lots if uprooted trees and some trees on houses!

I've said to a few people now that I felt quite safe and secure in my house, I wasn't scared my house would rip apart, what I was scared of was something flying INTO my house - thank goodness nothing like that happened.

We are all so lucky. I'd be happy to never have to experience that again in my life.

Suz

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Final words on Melbourne

Michael and I had a wonderful time in Melbourne. Many thanks to my Dad and Step Mum for making our kid free getaway possible!

The weather was perfect. The food amazing. Jamie Oliver inspiring.

We can't wait to go back - this time we'll take the girls too!

Here are some more pics.

Bathing boxes at Brighton.




City view over the Yarra River.



One of the amazing views from Eureka Tower - 360 degree views of Melbourne from the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere from the 88 th floor.


Just to prove Mackay has some food style too - Isabella's chicken nuggets and chips from Satchmo's.


Enjoy!

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2nd place

Isabella swam in her first school swimming carnival today and she came 2 nd in her race!

We were so proud and happy to be able to see her.

Here is her ribbon.





My dear friend Phyl passed away last Friday. I went to her funeral today. Rest in peace Phyl. I'm so blessed to have had you in my life.


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Lygon St

Tonight we had dinner in Lygon St with my uncle (mum's brother) and aunt.

Had not seen them since I was 8 so some 26 years ago! We have a changed somewhat since then.

What is undeniable is the resemblence between my mum and her brother. And even mire strange was how much my uncle reminded me of my brother.

Michael and I had a great time catching up.

We also had our "first" tram ride (well first one on this visit)!

Here's some photos, although Dale was Aldo taking some photos and he's a professional photographer so no doubt his photos are way better!!







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Lunch

We just spent the morning with Michael's cousin David, his wife Fiona and their baby Cooper.

What a fabulous time down St Kilda and another yummy meal ;-)

Tonight Lygon St with my Aunt and Uncle for dinner.

Can you spot the recurring theme?

Lunch



Luna Park



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15

Last night we had dinner at 15.

It was great!

Krista our knowledgable waitress guided us in our selections.

We both decided to try things we wouldn't ordinarily go for.

I had duck with figs and rocket for entree while Michael chose kingfish with orange. Mmmmmm

For main I had pork belly confit and Michael had some Victorian lamb. It was fabulous.

Was very full but the experience wouldn't be complete without dessert!

I chose a pannacotta with grilled peaches and almond brittle and Muchael's involved some beautiful lemon sorbet.

Yummy!

Bonus was seeing Tobey in the kitchen and out front a while.

So much fun!













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My Kitchen Rules

I've been so inspired in the kitchen lately.

I discovered Donna Hay last week (don't know how I didn't know about her sooner!).

Tonight I made basil, lemon and garlic roasted chicken which was not only scrumptious but so quick and easy!

Last night Tony, Jo, Declan and Nate came for dinner. I made my first attempt at Creme Caramel. The caramel was a little toffee-like but overall YUMMY!!!

For entree was my second go at bruschetta and it was mmmmmmmm!

I have lots of basil in the herb garden at the moment.

In other news Isabella is up to her third sight words level and her reading is just fantastic! I'm so proud and I hope she has a love of reading in her life I know how much i've enjoyed it.

Tahlia also surprised me this afternoon by showing me how she can swing herself on the swing! Very clever!

In sadder news a dear friend is in palliative care and we said goodbye to each other today :-(

Phyllis was my "adopted" grandmother growing up and we spent many many hours together. She is a wonderful cook, cake decorator, sewer, crocheter, rose, orchid and shell enthuist, listener and friend. I love you Phyl!




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School days

Isabella is enjoying year 1 so far.

We are getting into our groove; swimming on Tuesdays, show and tell and library on Thursdays and homework and reading each night.

Isabella seems to be picking up so much so quickly although it is clear she us s perfectionist (no idea where she gets that from hehe!).

She is also easily frustrated and down on herself if she can't get something straight away. So lots and lots of encouraging/praise going on.

Here are some pics of her first student of the week for the year and one of the girls, Bella holding her flash cards.

Thanks also for the words of comfort on my last post xoxo








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It's a tough job

Some days I do a terrible job at parenting. Today has been one of them.

I'm so ashamed at how little patience I have.

I see and hear all these terrible news stories of young lives gone too soon and think to myself I am so blessed, so lucky and almost the next breath or thought is one of frustration.

I pray tomorrow is a better day.


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Rainbow

Tahlia has desperately been wanting to see a rainbow recently.

And there was one in our backyard this afternoon.








And this was Tahlia.....




Aaaaawwwww

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Getting organised

I love to be organised. Today I made some inroads into that by preparing some meals for us for the working week to come. I've got spaghetti bolognaise (made with fresh herbs - see below) and sausage rolls. Isabella and Tahlia also helped me make cupcakes.

Michael planted me a herb garden this afternoon! I'm so excited. I've been inspired by Stephenie Alexander Kitchen Garden Companion and our upcoming trip to Melbourne to see Jamie Oliver live!

I've got; oregano, basil, chilli, parsley (flat leaf and curly), Rosemary, coriander, garlic chives and mint so far.

I've also been trying to lose weight and get fit so I tried Jillian Michaels 30 day shred workout this afternoon. Whoa!!! That is the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't think my face has ever seen that shade of purple before! It stayed that way for at least an hour! I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to be VERY VERY sore tomorrow!

Here are some photos - cupcakes decorated by the girls, my new garden and Tahlia.
















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Me and my girls

Taken at Cairns Esplanade one evening during our holiday.

First day of school

Bella's first day of Grade 1. She is sitting next to her best friend Natalie.








Bike ride after school down to the shop. We went again this afternoon - we are determined that Bella won't need training wheels all her life!








Michael and I had our first day back to work today. We made it through ok!


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On the eve of Grade 1

Isabella starts grade 1 tomorrow.

Michael and I had fun (NOT) covering Bella's books in contact on Monday. Only to later be informed of plastic book covers!

Michael told Bella to check out all the other kids books to find the best covered so we can pay their mother to cover her books next year!

This morning I made a batch of mini quiches and some jelly/fruit cups in readiness for lunch boxes.

I also ironed Bella's uniforms. Gone are the 'prep' polo's she will now wear the school blouse.

She is so excited!

I asked her the other day "do you think you'll cry?" to which she responded "no - do you?".

Maybe a little...... Although I'm also excited for her and everything she will learn this year.


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The Raw Prawn/Paronella Park

We are heading back to Townsville this morning after a great holiday in Cairns.

Yesterday was pretty miserable weather wise so we spent another day shopping! The back of our car is chock-a-block full of goodies!

Last night we dined at The Raw Prawn and I had the best meal of my life. Barramundi with kipfler potatoes, asparagus and avocado salsa mmmmmmmmm!!!!!

The girls had fun "drawing" on the tables too!

We have just passed Innisfail ( we are staying at Club Lenz tonight!) and we are going to stop at Paronella Park for lunch.

Paronella Park was amazing! We will return again (soon we hope) so we can explore for longer.

Here is a photo of my artwork from last night and the sign for the restaurant. I will post some pics from Paronella Park when we get home.







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Daintree, Port Douglas and visit with Gran

Another early start and about 1.5 hrs drive to the Daintree.

A bit worried about the weather as a cyclone had formed up north and we did have some heavy rain before arriving at Daintree.

We decided to do a River Cruise on the Daintree. The weather was better by then.

It was great! We spotted a couple of tree snakes and a couple of crocodiles! The scenery was just gorgeous too!

We travelled back down to Port Douglas and had some lunch before going to visit my Gran and David and Ticky.

We hadn't seen Gran since Tahlia was born. She turned 92 last year so she isn't able to travel anymore.

It was lovely to catch up and do some reminiscing.

We decided to have an early dinner at Port Douglas so Michael and the girls could look around some more seeing as they hadn't been before.

It was over 20 years since my last visit and I was astounded with the changes.

Isabella has hit Michael fir a night swim bur I think I might stay in the room with Tahlia who is quite exhausted by all the travelling we have been doing.

Not sure of our plans for tomorrow at this stage.

Bye for now. The photo is from the lookout at Port Douglas looking onto Eight Mile Beach (??) need to check on that beach name though.






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Kuranda

Today was amazing!

An early start to Freshwater Station fir a train ride up to Kuranda.

Some gorgeous scenery complete with waterfalls!

A visit to the Butterfly Sanctuary was probably the highlight alongside the candy shop demonstration!

Return trip was via Skyrail. I had to wipe from my mind the fact we were up sooooo high dangling nearly by a thread at one point!

Here are some photos. It was all too much fir some ;-)













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