2009 What a year!!!!

What a year...... definitely one filled with hard work, excitement, happiness & joy!

We settled on a house in Jan 09 in Warfield & went about the stressful task of moving...even though we had movers who packed, the onerous task of unpacking at the other end, was enough for me to vow (again!!) never to move!! As we were moving from a semi furnished house to an empty one we had to buy everything, from toaster, microwave, washing machine to lounge, beds etc.... OMG what a mammoth challenge & to do all this in a month, as ah yes, I was 8 months pregnant & due on the 3rd of March. But after a lot of hard work on w/e's (yes we were both still working), we moved in, ordered all essentials & began to slowly settle in.

We celebrated a milestone on the 22nd of Feb, with David celebrating his 40th. The plan was to go skiing in the Alps, but with the little one due so close, we decided to stay home. My penance (yes it was my fault we were pregnant & impeding David's skiing!!) was to play board games with him all w/e!!!....

Well I think the stress of playing board games :) (not lovin it as much as DAC!!) lent to little missy (Inara Kay) arriving on Sat 28th Feb at 7.36am. Weighing in at 6lbs 14.5o & 53cm long. Healthy with a full head of hair!!!

Childbirth not loving it, but being mum to Inara is a such a joy! She is such a lovely girl, got David's lovely quiet disposition & am enjoying her grow & develop & discovering new things.

Met some wonderful girls as part of my antenatal class & we have all kept in touch after our babies were born. They have been my social network & a great support whilst journeying through motherhood. We have become stedfast friends, enjoying nights out, meeting up for coffees/lunches & generally keeping in touch. With my family & friends in Oz, this group of girls have been a great support.

Dac bought himself a car, after braving it in the little Peugot on the M4 for long enough, so we are now an Audi household.

In July, David & I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary....wow! Still enjoying married life. Marriage Tip: be kind to each other.

We went for our 1st family holiday in August when Inara was 5mths to the Isle of Wight (island south of England). It was really great.... we drove all around the island visiting the sights, went for swims, long walks, ate great food, drank beer & wine and had a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.

6 months absolutely flew past, with that came, me facing work again & leaving Inara in a nursery. We gradually transitioned her into nursery part-time for a couple of months & then full time. The 1st month was hard on all of us. Leaving her at nursery was hard enough but then going to work, doing domestic chores etc... has been a bit of a nightmare. We are still trying to find a routine, which is extremely hard when both partners are working in demanding jobs. Still fine tuning the juggling!!!

Our plans had been to visit Oz in 2010 when we were more settled, but luck (good luck!) would have it, that our mate Bruce was getting married in Dec 09. With David as best man, we decided that we would all travel back to Oz for the wedding and of course perfect timing to spend Christmas with our families. More good to news to follow, my sister got engaged and as we were coming to Oz decided to bring up the wedding date so that we could attend. Too nice.

So on Dec 8th we caught our flight back home. As its such a long trip with a baby, we decided to spoil ourselves & travel business class with Singapore airlines. We must say the new A380 airbus is fantastic, so much space & Singapore staff were great....our trip was really smooth & Inara was a gem!

Being there for my sisters wedding was amazing! A great day, with the sun shining, great location & it was a wonderful family affair. A big thanks to them for having their wedding in December so that we could be there to share this amazing day with them.

We then headed to Melbourne for the week where we witnessed our mate Bruce marry Danielle. Another fine day & great wedding. David's speech was fab, a good dash of humour mixed with sentiment!!!

Then we headed back to the gong where we spent quality time with our families. Christmas was great & Inara got thoroughly spoilt. We had to get another suitcase just to bring home her presents (honest!!) We met up with friends, went to the movies, ate a lot & thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The BBQ on the 27th went brilliantly... it was threatening to rain, but the sun shone & we had a marvellous day, with loads of friends & family hanging out with us. Thank you guys for coming it was so wonderful to see you all, it was like we never left the country.

The last night ended with a high, as I had been dreaming all this time to eat my favourite food in the world - chicken curry with chillie from the Malay restaurant in Sydney, but being so busy, had unfortunately not been able to go & get some. So when my sister asked if I wanted anything before I left, I asked for the curry & she kindly bought it & delivered it to me in the gong...... oh my goodness did I enjoy that last meal in Oz!!! Still salivating!!! :)

Well the time came when we had to head back home.....tho' we still had a day/night in Singapore. We stayed at the Hilton on Orchard Road, highly recommend it & checked out the shops on orchard road....about all we could do in such a short visit....& sleep!!! We slept a lot!! So many designer shops on one street (actually in every mall), never seen anything quite like it! Would love to have spent more time in the country....next time!

When we got back to the UK, we were greeted with the cold weather & lots of snow still to come.....

Well I must say, 2009 has been packed with love, happiness, adventure.....

Looking forward to 2010....& all its surprises.

Next week.....

Can't believe it but next week we will be in Oz - cant wait!! Looking forward to seeing all the family and friends, introducing Inara to all of you & attending 2 weddings! Quite a fab holiday!

There'll be a BBQ on the 27th in North Wollongong, so please come with the fam!! Should be a great fun day!

Its cold, dark and rainy over here, so very much looking forward to some sunshine!!

See you all very soon xx

I love this post.....

These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA )
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane , Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not
... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.

Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )
A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...

Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is
Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK )
A: You are a British politician, right?

Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.
Milk is illegal.

Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can Dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA )
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.

All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA )
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? (France )

A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!! Well quite suburban this year, we sort of celebrated halloween. Inara's nursery embraced Halloween in a big way, with the kids getting dressed up, the nursery & the baby room getting decorated. Inara did her first painting(Jackson Pollock eat your heart out :-)) and made a little pumpkin from dough! Oh the painting right above her head on the wall in the picture where Zoe (room leader) is carrying her, is missy's handiwork!! She also made the plate, sprinkling glitter & spiders!! Like her cute halloween t-shirt?!! We also bought choccies & had all the neighbourhood kids knock on the door for trick a treat - all so cute, dressed up in their costumes.

Its been awhile...

Hello all, its been awhile....

September was a blur for us, Inara started nursery part-time & I went back to work part-time for the month. David also took a few days off, so that we could slowly transition Inara from full time being with mum to going to nursery. We started with 2 days/week and then 3 days. It was tough going for all of us, trying to find a routine, juggling parenting & working. Also, within the first couple of days, she caught a cold and we've all had it for the past 2 months in varying degrees.

We seem to have found a firmer footing this month. She sleeps through the night which means we all get a good nights sleep (wow that makes such a difference!) She doesn't get upset when we drop her off at nursery and generally we are starting to find ourselves into some semblance of a routine. We are both exhausted & crash as soon as we possible can - gone are the late nights!!

On to some good news, we are heading back to Oz in Dec for Bruce and Danielle's wedding in Melbourne & Xmas in the gong with the family. Can't wait to see all our friends and family again & to introduce Inara to all of you.

We hope to catch up with you all & have a few nights out!

August Update!

Hi all, another very packed month. Doesn't seem like we've slowed down since Inara's been born. Well as all David's friends know, since Inara's arrival I have been using the A3 quattro (safer car) & David has been left with the little Peugot to drive to work. His drive takes him on the M4 & he hates driving this little car on the motorway. So he's been looking for a new car, which now comes with a few changed criteria - it needs to have more than 2 doors & big boot to hold Inara's equipment!! :) Well of course this was a challenge, as he wanted the performance of a sports car in a sedan... hmmm... Also, in England most sedans are diesel rather petrol, which of course affects the performance. After months of research & test driving, he found the one... he is now the proud owner of an Audi S8 Quattro. Its fully optioned up with things I don't even know about, but the Bang & Olufsen sound system can rival our home cinema, it doesn't need keys & starts with David's fingerprint, apparently ceramic disc brakes are expensive but I do love this feature that you gently push the door to close, & it closes automatically & very silently. It doesn't need to be slammed shut like ordinary doors!! Well its also petrol & I've been told not to ask about fuel economy, but the man is happy..... another new toy to play with!!

Well I think the guilt got to him, so he bought me a new Apple MacBook Pro as I have been whinging about my old Dell for quite some time. I love it!!!

Inara is doing great, growing up very quickly, 6 months at the end of August. She is sitting up on her own, so I can leave on her playmat with her toys & go into the kitchen to make a cuppa without taking her everywhere with me. She is quite contented playing as long as she sees me pottering around. This week, she has started solids, so quite a milestone!! She seems to enjoy eating, so crossing fingers that continues.

We went to Isle of Wight (island south of England) for a week long holiday & it was fabulous. We stayed at 2 hotels , originally at The Wellington in Ventnor on the beach & then at Lakeside Park Hotel & Spa in Ryde, so we could get some pampering. It was great to get away from the mundane day to day domestic stuff - let me tell you I still haven't come to liking this domestic stuff... but now with the bub do need to cook & clean more often than before. Do miss the lovely takeaway food in Sydney. Not much takeaway happening in England, only takeaway is junk food (Macca's, Pizza etc) Well getting back to the hols, Inara had her first swim, & like a good aussie it was in the ocean & not a pool. David bought her these aussie swimsuit(long sleeve top & pant) from Bright Bots & also a wetsuit (yes really a wetsuit) which goes over her cossie. Oh my goodness too cute. The ocean was cold, but after the initial shock, she loved it!!! & there were no tears. Her swim after that in a heated pool in the resort was luxury!!!

I went out on a girls night, with my NCT group of mum's. First time leaving boo with her dad for the whole evening & night & turned up home sufficiently inebriated & early in the morning. So still respectable partying for a mum!! :) Gotta keep young!! Tho' I must confess when we ended up in a nightclub where everyone was jumping up & down, I thought to myself, I ain't jumping, thats what an aerobics class is for...

Well we are certainly enjoying life. Summer is still going & its been wonderfully warm. Have been wearing T-shirts for months now, so hope it continues for a little while longer.

We are looking forward to some visitors from back home soon, so plan some hols....

Love to everyone xxxx

July - quite a month!

July was an eventful busy month, with many highlights!

• We kicked off the month, celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. To celebrate the 3 of us headed south to Brighton, yes the pebble beach, for a well deserved day out!! We dined at 'Due South' a seafood restaurant right on the beach with lobster and champagne. We strolled the boulevard, walked along the pier and generally enjoyed ourselves.
• We then had Inara's annointing (pre baptism ceremony), where the parents & kids are called up during mass, introduced to the community & then annointed with oil. We all dressed up, Inara the cutest of course & then afterwards headed out for lunch.
• The following week, was Inara's baptism & it was a fabulous day! The church ceremony went really well & Inara was a good little girl & didnt get upset when her hair was wet! We then had a luncheon party at home, where all the fam in the UK helped us celebrate.
• A few days after that & I was celebrating my 39th bday. Yes, getting on, but feeling great & really enjoying this time of my life. I sometimes cant believe I've been on this planet for 39 yrs, dont feel like I know enough, have so much more to do & just hitting my stride... well looking forward to big 40 (new 30's right!!)
• Then we had to say goodbye to mum, who has been with us for the past 6 weeks. Mum was a big help and she & Inara got to spend some quality Nana & granddaughter time! Inara pouted at the airport, cute but sad. She definitely knew something was going on!

Quite a month!! Inara is doing well, growing fast, 5mths now and still our little cutie pie. She has started teething, so a few painful days, poor little thing. No teeth yet tho'. Only another month to go before she is in nursery & I am back at work, so making sure I enjoy every moment with her.

Hope all in Oz, is well!! Well done to Weber, 1st win in 8yrs!! Not so good for our cricket team at the Ashes:(