Musical Taste

I'm a bit worried about Mim's musical tastes - we were watching It Takes Two last night, and she started singing along to Patsy Cline's "Crazy". I think I'll have to audit Michael's cassette tapes in the Pug.

But I've started some remedial therapy with her. Each time we go for a drive, I put on my CD with 'Had a Bad Day" and "Catch My Disease". She can sing those refrains really well.

Oh, and because I have the radio going during the day, she sings part of the Veronica's "Untouched" and has been heard wandering around singing "Too late to 'pologize, ewww, too late to 'pologize".

Nigella - eat your heart out!

I awoke this morning at 6am and promptly got out of bed, even though it is still dark and cold. Whilst Michael was having his shower, I was making and baking banana muffins for Caitlin to take to school for morning tea. Michael walked through the kitchen and screeched "eek, aliens have abducted Sharon! What happened to the person who's always sleeping!"

Naturally I told him where to go and what to do once he got there (like he needs a road map by now!)

When Caitlin got up, her first comment was "You made them without me!" (Yes, they needed to be done today, not 2011.)
Her second comment was "Do you put choc chips in them?" (Geez - can't someone be grateful they are getting fresh muffins for morning tea!!!!!!!)



By 7.15, the fog had really rolled in.


When I drove Mim to Kindy at 5mins to 9, the town was still slightly foggy. 10 minutes later, the sun had burnt off all the fog in town, but less than 1km out of town, it was still thick. Finally all burnt off by about 9.30.

How to annoy Mummy

This is how to annoy Mummy when she is stuck in Daddy's car!




Or ...

Australia is still safe!

It's good to know our defense forces are safe - no Michael hasn't joined them!

He has been asked to be involved in the Cadets - no doubt because of his parade ground bellow!

C+ in Home Economics

Caitlin walked in yesterday most irate.

"What's wrong?"
"I got a C+ in Home Eco! I didn't cut the fruit in the right shapes!"

Michael was trying soooo hard to keep a straight face. He now wants to ask the teacher what the marking criteria for cutting fruit is.

Looks okay to me.

The Kindy Girl

Have bag, will go!

The first day at Kindy, she told me not to stay behind and watch the session "Go mum, just go!" When I came to pick her up, I had to physically carry her out - she wanted to stay longer.

The second day of Kindy, she told me beforehand that I was just to drop her off, I didn't need to come in with her! I had to explain that the rules said I had to sign her in. "OK, but then you go!"

She LOVES Kindy, where she does painting, and reading, and playing, and eating her carrot sticks, and singing songs/nursery rhymes!!!

How do you know you're living in Hicksville?

Michael offered to take me to one of the (3) pubs in Hamilton the day after Valentine's Day - they were having "Air Guitar Championships". First prize of $300!!!

Michael wanted to enter, and do a Joni Mitchell number! (sigh)

Naturally, I declined that romantic gesture and we went to the Merino Pub instead!

Th not F!

We were wandering in different parts of Mitre 10, when Mim came up to me and in a loud voice said "Mummy, I want you to thock daddy" Unfortunately Mim has difficulty in saying the "th" sound, it comes out as "f". And thocking is the noise made when you smack someone on the back of the head for being stupid.

Caitlin burst into laughter and said that Mim obviously really wanted a baby brother. One of the salesmen walking past just grinned and kept walking. Me, I started saying "Thock, Mim, Thock, it's a THHHHH sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

We've now started saying Wallop instead.

Dinner at Merino Pub

Friday night, our usual fish and chips night, was a dud. There is no fish and chip shop in town, so we decided to go out to the Merino pub. Michael's aunt and uncle used to live in Merino and run the bakery, many years ago, so he likes the place.

6.30 saw us all in the Renault and zipping along the road to Merino. Lovely views! We were doing just fine until we got about 5kms from the town. Coming down a dip we came across a bit of a bingle. The ute's bullbar was fine but the front bonnet was crumpled and at least 30cm shorter then it should be. The corolla looked fine, but as it was sitting across the road, it must have been involved somehow. Two guys were looking under the bonnet of the corolla and wandering around the ute, one woman was helping an older woman with a cut on the side of her face. Michael got out to offer assistance.

Turns out the corolla (owned and driven by a bowls lady) decided to do a u-turn on a blind corner. Mr Ute, trundling along at the speed limit of 100, came over the rise and couldn't do anything to avoid it. He hit the rear drivers side of the car (could see all the damage when we drove past) and spun the corolla 180. Ute definitely a write off. As we couldn't offer any assistance, we continued to the pub.

Mr Ute came in half an hour later. He was not real happy about his loss of car. The cops have told him that he is totally in the clear, she was an idiot!! She's lucky she got off with only a superficial facial cut.

The meal was delicious. Only the basic choices available, steak, chicken parm/kiev, fish platter and mixed grill but they were well done and the salad was fresh. Michael's friend Dani joined us and then her son John (in Caitlin's year) also joined in. Mim was in seventh heaven, she adores John.

Mim kept disappearing from the table and going behind the bar to talk to Mick, the owner. She then played hide and seek with Caity and John.

A funny incident occured during dessert. Dani wanted to ask the waitress Ellen for a smaller spoon for Mim to eat her huge bowl of icecream (which she couldn't finish). She called out "Ellen", so Mim turned around and screamed at the top of her voice "Ellen!" All the guys at the bar turned and looked at her, and Ellen started laughing (she's got younger siblings).

The trip home was fun, driving in pitch black along a winding country road. We didn't come across another car, but did see a rabbit on the side of the road. (Rhett, if you are reading this, this would be a perfect road for you on your bike.)

Shearing Cyril

We had found a sheep, a very wooly sheep, running around the paddocks. It belongs to the previous owner, Annie, and she said that she would try to get it one day but it may take a while. Apparently the sheep (named Cyril by us) was a bugger to catch, despite numerous attempts by Annie, her kids and the neighbours.

So Michael's friend, Dani, arranged for her son-in-law to come over and shear Cyril. He hadn't been done for 2 years.

What an eye opener.

Tim and his working dog, Max had Cyril caught in under 3 minutes. Max was having a great time! Tim set up his portable electric shears in our garage, roped Cyril around the legs and then dragged him into the shed.

Tim didn't waste anytime in defleecing Cyril .... who turned out to be Cecily!

Mim was a bit concerned, "Will Cyril die?" "No, sweetheart, he just needs a big haircut".

Gomez was having a great time. Tim and Alice had bought both Max and a 3mth old Jack Russell called Chloe (who is still bigger than 3yo Gomez).

Max

Chloe and her dags

Look at the size of the wool!!! No wonder the poor bugger couldn't run properly! It was full of prickles and dead insects and bits of grass. Tim took the fleece so he could sell it on to the wool place, but left some pieces for the girls.

After Cecily was let go, she managed to evade the gate and took off down the drive towards the highway. Max stopped her but then Chloe and Gomez took over trying to round her back up. Very funny to watch Gomez - he'll never be a sheep dog!! But give him points for trying.

Tim has also suggested that I rethink getting alpacas. They are a bugger to shear and it costs about $50/head, rather than $3/head for sheep.

Snapshot of the last few weeks

The few days that Mim and I spent together whilst Caitlin and Michael were at school were filled with trips to parks and playgrounds.

(a cold day, overlooking Lake Hamilton)

Mim would get so excited when Caitlin came home. She also suffered injury to her pinkie when Caitlin managed to close a heavy glass sliding door on it. Despite our attempts, mother and father could not console her. It took Jenny and her biscuits with sprinkles to make it all better.

(Mim & Jacko, scabbing)

The house settled on a Monday, so we came out to visit our new house that afternoon. Mim hoped on Michael's lap and helped drive up the driveway. (Britney, this is how you do it!!!)

The furniture arrived on the Tuesday, some of the furniture hadn't fared as well as it should have. Michael tells me that the guy from Dial A Box wasn't letting my removalists pack it the way they wanted, that could account for it!! Michael's ropable about the couch having a few minor tears, his desk being obliterated and the top coming off our dining room table. I'm not letting it get to me, because we had planned to eventually get a new dining table, computer desk and lounge suite.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent unpacking. Well, to be more accurate, I spent more time on the phone to Telstra re a phone not working, and chasing Mim/Gomez around the place to do a lot of unpacking. Still, most of the rooms were unpacked and the boxes of books were stacked in the study.

Friday night (the first Friday night of Lent) was spent having a BBQ at Jenny and Warren's. We'd decided to continue sleeping at the unit until Saturday. Mim was sooooo pleased, Jacko was having a sleepover at Jenny's so she could play with her boyfriend. Jacko was in a bit of a mood. He managed to wet Mim's shirt and give Caitlin a nipple twister!! But he calmed down after food. Jen and I decided to go to sleep by 10.30, but Michael and Warren decided to play.

(making herself at home)

Warren spent all of Saturday recovering. Michael said he was fine, but when Jen brought over the breathalyzer, he blew 0.19. So, there was no driving for Michael on Saturday. We ended up leaving the Pug (and some luggage) behind and collecting them on Sunday.

(Caitlin in the backyard)

This is the view from our bedroom window around 7am.

And this is the view from the top of the paddock at sunset! How can you not be relaxed out here.

Last night, being the first warm night we've had, I lay on the trampoline for a while and just stared at the stars. Utterly gorgeous.

It has been very cold here at night and early mornings. Michael even put the fire on one night.

Mim was very excited to be able to sit on her bed and watch some cockatoos eating pears from the pear tree.

A big thank you to Margaret for sewing up the cushions for our chairs. I should have taken a before shot - these cushions are just wonderful! One of my projects (which has been in existence for the past 5 years) is to sand back the chairs and revarnish them.

We went to Portland yesterday to look at computer desks. Found what we wanted, on sale, but encountered a very pushy sales woman so didn't buy it. Will give the guy in Coleraine a chance to try to match the price, first. He's a genuine, laid back guy, so would prefer to support his business. Had lunch at Edwards' Waterfront Place. Got to watch two tugs bring in and turn around a large ship, ready for filling. Pretty impressive oilrig!

(spot the cool dude on the right)

The weather was still over 30 degrees at 5pm, so I took the girls to the local pool to cool off.

Will take a break now, and think of all the interesting/horrifying/amusing things the children (including Michael) have done over the last few weeks.

Caitlin's at School

Caitlin is really enjoying her time at Monivae. She loves her classes, her uniform ... and having her father at the same school.

The first day of school saw Caitlin awake, dressed, shoes on and hair done in under 15 mins ..... a feat never seen before (and not repeated since).

She had three days at school the first week, the second week started with three days off at camp at Port Fairy. At present she is travelling to and from school with Michael, but it has been suggested that she should catch the bus home so she can meet some others of her age in Coleraine that attend other schools in Hamilton.

Her attitude has changed a bit as well - now that she is in high school. Might have to bring her down a little bit soon! But, all in all, she is a good girl. Her uniforms are all a bit on the long side (not the bum freezers that some of the other girls wear), her hair is always kept neat and she obeys her teachers. Like she has any choice, you can imagine what Michael would do to her if she was caught misbehaving.

I'm back!

The internet is now up and running, we have moved into the new house, Caitlin has started school, Mim has started Kindy and it's all systems go!



I've sent around my new email address to most people in my contacts list, if you haven't received that email, let me know on the old address as we are keeping that for the next week.



I will try to do a few posts to let people know what we've been doing over the past two weeks (like you haven't already guessed!!)