The School Holidays Come to a Close

Tomorrow it is back into routine. Tomorrow Kate starts Year 4, Ella starts Year 2 and Ruby starts Pre-primary. Both Ella's and Ruby's teachers have taught Kate and Ella so we are well familiar with them and very happy.

Kate is in a Year 4/5 class. There are only 6 Year 4's and the rest are Year 5's.
Kate is the only one from her Year 3 class in this class. She does know a couple of the girls though, so I'm sure she'll settle in okay. Mrs Kriegler is the teacher. She's worried though and I know she will have trouble getting to sleep tonight.

Ella is in the same Year 1/2 class Kate was in. We asked for Mrs Menezies to be her teacher, she is wonderful and I know Ella will thrive being one of the older kids in the class. She has a few friends in there from her last class.

Ruby has the lovely Mrs Morcombe that the others had in Pre-Primary. We requested her as well. Ruby will thrive in there. She will now be 5 days a week as opposed to 2 days a week last year in Kindy.

After school tomorrow dance enrollments need to be done, swimming lessons to be booked and Kate is eager to play the violin this year, so need to organise that.

Uniforms are all ironed for the week. We've made American Fudge Brownie for the lunch boxes, all the stationery is labelled - we are all set!

Visiting Amie

Today we all went into town to have lunch with Amie. The run into the city wasn't too bad considering and we made it in in about half an hour. We found a park right behind her shop which was good. We decided to go to Siennas to eat as it was only a couple of doors from Amie's work, plus they had a playground - bonus with 3 kids! Ella & Ruby had a kids meal of nuggets, chips, drink and ice cream, Amie , Kate & I shared a pizza. Kate & I both had ice cream as well but Amie had already gone back to work by then. We had to eat fast though as Jonah had had enough by then! Afterwards we did a bit of shopping and then headed home.

Australia Day - Tues 26th

Yesterday we visited some fellow kiwis that moved here from Ashburton nearly 3 years ago. We meet when their eldest daughter Jamie started in Kate's class. They live on the same street as the school, and ironically their house is the exact same design as ours. They also have a little Aussie as their youngest daughter Zoe was born here 14months ago. They also have a six year old son Macsen. So for Aussie day we thought we would join forces and celebrate life in Australia and our little Aussies. We arrived at morning tea time and didn't leave until mid afternoon. The girls enjoyed a swim in the pool. Mascen didn't swim but was busy playing on the Wii.

Getting ready for school

We had a full on busy day out today getting all the gear needed for school. We left the house at 8:30am and headed to Spotlight where Ella picked herself out a chair bag. From there onto K Mart to work our way through the book list. They had already run out of alot of stock, but that was okay as we had other shops we were going to anyway. After grabbing some morning tea, we drove to another shopping centre where we met up with Amie, Ruby & Jonah. We helped get Ruby's list done with what we could in BIG W, and a few more bits and pieces off Kate & Ella's list. Ella got some new sneakers too. Both the girls needed new school bags as their last ones had worn out after 3 years wear and lots of washing! Tried to find Kate some sandals but no luck in her size. Onto another shopping centre where after a few more shops we found everything we needed, except Kate's sandals. We'll have to look another day. We arrived home about 4pm totally exhausted. The girls are so excited, they came home put their uniforms on and played schools! Funny things they are!

A new find

I've discovered this magazine recently full of gorgeous homes and places. Inspirational gardens and mouth watering recipes. Lots of good reading with a glimpse into other peoples lives and homes. Get yourself a copy and see what you think.

Jonah's First Swim

What do you do when it's 44 degrees?
Head to the pool of course.
Jonah loved his first time in the water.
As soon as it was over
he promptly fell asleep.
All that swimming makes a wee boy tired you know!

Updating Our Bedroom

Our room is long overdue for some TLC. The curtain track broke last week, the day after Phil left and I can't fix it, so I have to wait until he is home again. I have to hang a sheet up at the window in the meantime. Anyway, I've decide to replace the curtains now that they have fallen down. They were here when we bought the house - and they are brown! Our doona cover is brown too (I didn't pick it out) and after 8 years of continual use, it's getting a bit old and tired now. The pillowcases are long faded and very thin. So I'm on the look out for something fresh and more feminine. Maybe cream or white? I was going to paint too, but the paint is in excellent condition and a great colour, so for now I'll leave it.

I love these gorgeous chairs

Day 58 with no rain!

Please send us some if you have some to spare. It's very dry and not to mention hot hot hot. Heading for over 40 degrees today and tomorrow.

Clean-Up the Desk Day

Today was clean up my desk day! It was well overdue! Last week I was hunting through for some important tax papers and realised I couldn't find anything! So I got cracking and gave it a good clean out. Ended up with a big bag full of rubbish, and it really only took about 45minutes. Wonder how long it will last?


before ..




before ... what a mess!





after ... so much tidier




the cupboard before ...



and after




top drawer before ...





and after



bottom drawer before ... and after

New Books

The girls got a ton of new books for Christmas plus they got a new one each while away on holiday as Dymocks were having a 40% off sale. Too good to pass up really.

Kate - age 8

Ella - age 6

What books did your children get? I would love to see what your kids are currently reading & enjoying!

Clean-Up Thursday

Ella was in desperate need of a small bookcase to put some bit and pieces on beside her bed. Since she moved bedrooms, she really hasn't had anywhere in her room. Most of the books and toys are in the spare room on our huge bookcase, but she has a few special things that had just been dumped on her dressing table making it very untidy, so we set off this morning in search of a six cube one. We found the perfect one at Officeworks for a great price. I didn't have fun putting it together as the electric drill was flat so I did it the old fashioned way and I am now sporting a huge blister :(
Anyway it's all done and Ella had fun putting all her treasures on it.

A favourite Christmas present was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Doc even whistles as he goes off to work :) So cute! She just needs a Prince Charming now.

Ella with her most loved Christmas present - A Barbie Campervan! Complete with Barbie, Ken, Skipper, Staci and Kelly! She plays with it everyday for hours!

I went to see where Kate was as she was very quiet. I found her playing with the lego house and other bits and pieces she got for Christmas. It's great for some quiet play time. I love the concentration on her face!

A Day at the Pools

Seeing it was another hot day, we headed out to the pools today for some relief. The place was packed though, meaning we could hardly move. The girls saw some of their school friends there, so had a wonderful time with them.