yep, it's me!

I know I have not been as good as writing here as I should. I have been trying to get inspired and write meaningful things but to be honest, I can't seem to find my light.

What have we been up to? Well... not much. You know the same old wake up-get ready-clean-cook sort of routine. I have been venturing out a little but the weather has been so miserable that it's hard to plan anything. Ughhh, wet weather is not great is it? The lawns are so long now it looks like we live in the jungle. But can't mow them until this rain decides to give us a break.

I found a really cute shop in town, it's an antique shop and I love it. I also have been browsing around, getting to know this place a bit better.

Other than that, I am planning Allyah's birthday party which will happen next weekend. It will be at the park - weather permitting of course. For the first time, I will be making the decorations, so watch this space....

If there is anyone that even still reads my blog, don't be shy! Say hello! Make my day :)

Who's the bargain queen??

I AM THE BARGAIN QUEEN!
Well. I have to admit. I NEVER pay full price when it comes to clothes or shoes. I actually mean it, our money is hard earned and I dare not pay $50+ for a pair or pants of shoes. No my friends, this mum does not do that. And I must add that I don't have anything against people who does, just so we're clear. I love second hand shops and half of my wardrobe is thrifted!

So today I was in town and after I got a call from school to come and get Isabella who apparently was sick (trust me, that child is NOT sick, she can really put it on - so we're home and she wants to play outside, hmmm, sorry dear, sick people stay in bed...) I ventured into one of the shops here and I was giddy! Give me $20 and I can get a lot. To be exact, I spent $18. I got two jackets for me, one pair of really good pants for Isabella, one for Allyah, one for Elijah, a toy spider man and toy ten pin bowling game for the kids! So, two jackets, three pair of pants and two toy items for $18!
Not mentioning when I went to K-Mart I got a jumper for $5 and a maternity skirt for $3 (the skirt is very vintage and I wear it as a top... I should take photos!)

I only buy good quality and I have to like it, I don't buy it just because it's cheap. But it is always cheap and that's a bonus!

Like I said, bargain queen is my middle name!

Maybe I should expand and share my bargain hunting tips? Would anyone be interested in that? Leave me a comment if you would!

I LOVE fridays!

Even if I am at home and my days are pretty much free (well... we are not counting housework and climbing Mt Laundry here - even though they do take a lot of my time, humph) there is something about fridays. Would you agree?

Is it the " I don't have to get up so early and rush like a mad woman to get the kids to the school bus" feeling?
Or the "even though hubby is working this weekend we still get to spend time together as a family" feeling?

I don't know but whatever it is, I just have to declare my love publicly: Friday, I love you. You are wonderful and you make my heart sing!
Hehehe

Now that that is out of the way, here is the linky party for today:


If you are here for new friend Friday, welcome!! Make yourself at home :)

who knew

that moving here would keep me away from blogging? Ugh, I am finding hard to find words to write even though we got lots going on, there is nothing going on really if you know what I mean.

I have been busy being a stay at home mum and trying to conquer Mount Laundry - the weather has been atrocious and we haven't got a dryer. We have an awesome fireplace that has been on non-stop and I do try and dry the laundry but it takes two days to dry and I can't keep up.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with a doctor - to enroll in the system which will be handy. There is so much that needs to be done and I am so not used to being at home. Sometimes I get so tired, just because I am not doing anything, like yesterday, I could have gone to bed mid morning, I was so tired - but my handsome little boy is not interested if mum is tired or not.

My house is starting to look normal. I finally organised the boxes we sent over and the kids are sleeping on beds, unlike hubby and I - we're still floor bound until we decided to buy a new bed due to Jason's back pain issues - but that might take a while yet.

So even though life is busy, it is uneventful.

I need something to do though. I don't like staying home all that much, I need some brain stimulation.

Feeling crafty and church news

Yesterday for the first time I got my stuff out and created something. I had no idea what it was going to be when I first started but I ended up with this:

I know everyone is making these, but they are so awesome, and I really love fabric flowers, so why not? Isabella loved it too and she wore it the whole day and everywhere we went, people asked where I got it from, so it's specially nice to say I made it myself.
(I must say photos are not great as I have not got a camera and I have been taking photos with my Iphone)

Once the girls start school next week I will have a bit more time to start all my crafty projects, I have been craving for some crafty time - but it is specially hard to do anything when the kids are around.

I have been here for three weeks now and I can say that we found a church to go to. This is such a relief, we can start to become part of a family again. It's amazing how God's people embrace you just because you love Jesus! No matter who you are or where you are from (cheesy Backstreet Boys song, hehe).
Last Sunday we went to the Mount Gambier Baptist Church and I was truly overwhelmed by people's friendliness. Everyone took their time to come and introduce themselves and talk. So we were the last ones to go home, I think for a first visit that is pretty good. We were invited for lunch, for dinner and a birthday party! We couldn't go for lunch as Jason was busy, but dinner and birthday party was great, it is so good to meet some people, people you get along with and have lots in common with!
So we went back to the same church yesterday, and again, people are so friendly! So we got a couple more invitations and met some more people. I don't think there is a better way of connecting with people and forming friendships. I just feel like one of them, there were no clicks, no exclusion because we are new, they made us feel welcomed, no matter what!

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 13:34-35


PS. I am linking up to:



:) Leave a comment if you feel like it!

Trying to create new normal

We have been here for two weeks now. Time flies doesn't it? Since we got here we have been trying to create a new normal, which has been kids hard as it is school holidays for the next week and a half, which means I still did not get the chance to explore town properly - I would not even attempt it with three kids in tow.

We knew it would be a big change, and it is. Everything is different from what we are used to. If you think about it, even things like TV programs and how the mail system works. So we still have a lot of discovering to do. I can't imagine what it would be like to go to a different language speaking country - at least that is the same, minus the Australian accent!

The kids spend most of their time playing outside, we haven't got any toys, well, a couple of toys, but my kids love being outside even if the weather is miserable like it has been, this week we did have a couple of days of sun which is great. So they make huts, they make houses, mailboxes, they cook in their little pretend stove, they breathe the fresh air, they spend a lot of energy!

As for me, I am still getting used to not rushing around. Going from full time work to being a stay at home mum is quite a big change. Now I do the laundry, dishes, tidy up after the kids... I have to admit, I do like being busy sometimes and I will need to find myself something to do soon, not work, just perhaps, recreational purposes courses? Hmmm... I really need to have a look and see whats available, I am thinking I want to learn to sew! So I can carry on with my crafts, I can't wait to get back into it again.

We finally bought table and chairs - something I always took for granted. After two weeks eating standing up (kids cant eat on the couch, the spill their food in the carpet - BIG MESS), it's great sitting at the table as a family again. Normality is slowly creeping in and I am happy about it.

ON Friday, Bella turns six! Can't believe she will be a big six year old. It's quite scary! We're having a little party for her, we have invited a couple of people, hopefully it will give me a chance to get to know some people better too.

I think that's it from me today. I am finding it hard to remember to write in here, I think I am still a bit out of sync with my routine, but we will get there... eventually.

Australia

Hey, long time no see. We did not have internet until last night so I have been trying to remember everything I need to write in here. We have been in our new home for a week and a half now and to be honest we're still feeling a little bit out of place with lack of routine, as it is school holidays for the next two weeks and the weather has been miserable.

Where do I start?On Monday when we traveled, our day started at 2.30am as we had to be at the airport at 4am. Not much to say from that until we got into our plane, saying good bye is never easy.
We got into our plane, a four hour ride which was not bad, all I can say is thank goodness for the Wiggles, it kept Elijah entertained for three hours! He ended up falling asleep for the last half hour of the flight and missed out on landing.

When we got to Melbourne, we walked around a lot, ate some food, walked some more. We started to get really tired and we still had 5 hours of waiting to do. I don't know how but we did survive and got into our next flight. When we got to Mount Gambier, hubby was NOT at the airport. I was not impressed, we were so tired and quite sick of each other by then. I thought he was hiding but no, he thought we were flying in half hour later. Anyways, we managed to get home after a very long day. Elijah fell asleep on the way home in the car and did not wake up until the next day.From what I have seen so far, Mount Gambier is bigger than Masterton. But I haven't had a chance to look around properly as I have had the kids with me the whole time and hubby has not had a weekend off yet - he is having this coming weekend which is great, it will give us time as a family to do things around, we will also go garage sale hunting, as our house is still looking empty and we still need quite a lot.

The girls will start school next term as the school holidays start tomorrow. We have decided they will attend the christian school in town. We already got uniforms and they went visiting for the day yesterday and they loved it.
I will write more as I remember more, here are some photos:
This is a cave, right in the middle of town


my guys, walking by the library
the kids playing in the tree hut

We made it across the ditch!

Just a very quick note to let you know that after a very long day, we have made it to our new home :) Will update some more tomorrow :)

Rejection

My kids go to a christian school, a great school. The teachers are awesome and my girls really thrive at school. I have never had any issues, apart from normal kids stuff.

When I picked my daughter from school yesterday, she was very upset crying. When I asked what was wrong, she said R had not invited her for her birthday party (which is friday - also Allyah's last day of school). She said she was the only girl not invited. They have a pretty small class and I thought maybe R had forgotten to give her the invitation. Then Allyah said 'no mummy, she said it to my face that I was not invited - the only girl of the class that wasn't invited'. Needless to say that my mummy heart broke into a million pieces.

What do I say to a sensitive 7 year old in a situation like this?

I told her not to worry about it, R was the one missing out on an awesome friend, that she is beautiful and there is nothing wrong with her. That friends like that are not real friends and she should not worry about people who are just mean. Not as easy as it sounds. I just didn't know what else to tell her. So I gave her a hug but she was so upset.

I just wanted to make it go away for her. I wanted to ring R's mum and tell her how unfair it was to treat a 7 year old like that. I wanted to say how she, as a mum, should know how kids can be mean and avoid this sort of situation happening. Now I would not care if this was a big school and random people being invited to this party. But it's a small school. And she was the only one left out.

Of course I did not ring anyone. I just wanted to make it better for Allyah. I can deal with rejection. Heck my boss completely ignores me sometimes when I say hello or good morning, or when I say something, I get nothing back. I am ok with it. We are always going to find people in life that are out there to make you feel awkward and out of place, or make you feel like there is something wrong with you. But how I get through to a 7 year old?

My daughter is lovely, creative like me, caring, fun! I love her too bits.

Why do kids have to be so horrible and mean?

What would you have done? Have you gone through something like that? How did you handle it?

I love new friends

It's that time of the week again!

Come on guys, follow me and I will for sure follow you back!

♥