The Big Sleep

Honestly, while parenting one does find oneself in the most bizarre situations. Last week I had to pick up our friend's daughter Sophie from school. From school. Can you imagine how weird it felt to stand outside the office of an infant school headmistress, waiting to pick up said charge? I felt soooo Old. This weekend, Scarlett had a friend for a sleepover for the first time ever. Milly was dropped off at 2pm and I immediately whisked the girls off to Sophie's 5th birthday party. The theme (because there it seems these days there is always a theme) was Princess. A look at these pictures will give you an idea of the slightly surreal quality the party took on. More bizarre was realising that we have turned into our parents. This struck me as we tried to get Milly and Scarlett to sleep in the same room, while high on a lethal cocktail of marshmallows and fairy bread (white bread and butter covered in hundreds and thousands). It is a revelation to hear yourself say the things your parents said to you when you wouldn't stop giggling when you had a friend to stay. Rob and I took turns going into the girls to speak to them firmly about the need for them to be quiet and go to sleep, then sniggering to each other in the hall outside. This soon escalated to threatening them with separation, to have Milly's mum come and get her and then finally making them cry until they submitted to our evil will at 9pm, two hours after normal bedtime. Hearing Rob shout 'Face the wall!' to Scarlett and Milly through the door was show-stoppingly funny. We were practically high-fiving each other we were having so much fun impersonating our elders.

Anyway, as expected it all ended in tears when the girls were so tired they started fighting and had to be split up. Rob put Scarlett in our room leaving Milly in Scarlett's room. Scarlett promptly jumped off the bed in the dark and walked into the edge of the bed frame causing a nose bleed. Milly in the meantime was crying alone in Scarlett's bedtime and asking for her mummy. Oops. We ended up having to lie down with them to get them to sleep. They then woke at 6am, making loads of noise in the process, and spent the morning charging about, being rude and naughty and laughing at me when I told them off. Milly's mum came to collect her, and Scarlett immediately returned to her usual delightful self.

In other news, the house we wanted went to auction and sold on Saturday. Unfortunately, we had our bridging financing knocked back 3 days before the auction and couldn't attend to bid. So it was particularly devastating when I rang the agent after the auction had finished and he told me that it sold for a price below what we were prepared to bid. Gutted. Still, the good news is that we now know that the kind of house we like and want and in the areas we like IS within our price range. So back to plan A which is to sell our house first, hopefully in April, and then buy.

Anyhoo, here are pics of the Scarlett and Milly off to the party, another of Scarlett with Sophie the birthday girl and one of Florence, the messiest eater in Australia, after the carnage that is a bowl of ravioli, and a short film of them on the slide at the park.

Carry on Camping

There was no sign of Barbara Windsor's thighs this weekend when we went away on the first Sydney Duthies family camping trip. We had a ball, the kids loved it, the weather was brilliant until the morning we left (when the black clouds gathered and it actually started to rain as we shut the boot) and the campground was in a top spot right behind a beautiful surf beach with a creek, ducks, pelicans, rock pools and headland walks. We arrived early on Friday afternoon and were given a pitch at the closest possible point to the beach, right on a lovely creek where a family of ducks waddled past. While Scarlett and Rob pitched our fantastic new tent, Flo and I did all the food and wine shopping, and we had time for a swim in the lovely campground pool before a picnic dinner of roast chicken and then put the kids to bed so we could sit back and listen to the surf. Poor old Zoe and Paul arrived closer to 9pm with a very tired Sam and Bronte, and Paul had to pitch the tent in the dark. On Saturday we woke to a mixed day weather wise, dark clouds looming, but they soon cleared and, after a full English, cooked in the spotless camp kitchen, we were on the beach and in the surf catching waves. Is there anything better? We spent our days divided between beach and pool, taking turns playing with the kids, taking them on walks and shouting at them to come back when they were about to disappear from sight at the end of the creek. Our evenings were all about chatting, eating and drinking, before snuggling up in our sleeping bags. Absolute bliss. Scarlett and Sam always play so well, whenever they are together, apart from the odd fight, it's great fun for them and us.This morning, while the boys packed up and Flo snoozed, I took Scarlett and Sam for a creek walk for stone skimming, fish and duck chasing and mud wading. We all agreed it was such a successful trip, we'd like to try to fit another trip in before winter, and have at least two more planned for next spring/summer. I can see an annual event coming on. Any takers?

What a week

It's been an emotional week here in Ashfield. We made an offer before auction on the house we want but have been told by the agent it's not enough for the vendors to stop the auction. So we have to go along with everyone else on Feb 23 and bid for it hoping the bidding will stop below our ceiling limit. Arrrgggghhh.
Also, Florence started at Scarlett's nursery Wattle Lane today. I thought it would be easier with the second baby but it wasn't. I have been sobbing on and off all week and blubbed all over a couple of the carers this morning. It's silly because I know all girls there and they've known Florence since she was 5 days old and she has been coming with me every week since to see Scarlett off so it's not as if it's all new. Here she is with Scarlett in the baby room just before I left. I just miss her so much. She's such a lovely little cuddler and it just feels weird sitting here in the house without either of my girls. I occupied myself this morning by shopping and am about to trim the rose bushes before going for a run. I am now up to running for 25 mins non-stop three times a week. It is hard as it is so hot. In other news, Scarlett is becoming quite the little cook. Here she is in charge of some chocolate muffins. On Sunday as the sun was shining we had 9 for a lunch of roasted salmon. As you do. Tomorrow we head off down the south coast to Kiama on our first camping trip with the girls, alongwith our mates Zoe and Paul and their two kids. Can't wait. (Bizarrely the real estate agent selling the house we want is camping at the same campground as us this weekend!) Rob and I haven't camped since Liz and Mike were here on their honeymoon and we were involved in an exciting rescue effort when a bloke jumped off a raised area of the beach into a channel of fast flowing water and snapped his ankle. Mike babysat the bloke's kids - the wife was in shock - Liz held the man's head out of the water and I had to keep his leg straight, and Rob ran for the ambulance. But that's another story.

We have found our dream house...

...but don't think we will have our finances organised in time as the auction is the weekend before I go back to work. Banks are soooo picky about seeing evidence of income before handing over large amounts of cash it would seem. It is big enough for us and our guests, is in a perfect street with a gorgeous park at one end and is close to the city. It has a ton of storage, high ceilings, formal living and dining rooms with fireplaces, as well as a great kitchen/family room at the back leading out to the little garden. It even has an external studio space with a bathroom that would be great for guests or as an office or teenage retreat one day. Rob even noted that one day the girls could walk to Sydney Uni from there. It ticks boxes we didn't even know needed ticking. We even have the deposit, but until we sell our house we are stuffed as settlements here are only 6 weeks and it will be more like 2-3 months until we sell our place. The auction is on Feb 23 so fingers crossed pleased everyone for a lottery win for us between now and then. Here are some pix and a hilarious estate agent film about the place. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wU_Cx5xl3zM
If nothing else, it has given us loads of ideas for what we could do with something similar.

Gymtastic!

I did gymnastics for years as a kid and Olga and Nadia were my heroes, so I am really thrilled that Scarlett has taken to her junior gym class so well. She loves it. Whilst trying not to appear like a younger, more attractive, version of Terri Shields I decided this year, as Scarlett is about to turn 4, she needed more activities that she does without us and where she has to listen to other adults. After all, in 12 months she will be starting school. Yikes! Anyhoo, here are a few shots of her bouncing on things, swinging off things and generally having a ball.

In the meantime Florence continues to charm all who meet her. It is only 8 days until she starts at Wattle Lane, but I know she will be fine. It is me who is falling apart. She does this lovely thing when she is tired or when she first wakes up, when she sucks her thumb and rests her head on my chest for a cuddle. It is pure bliss.

We have been getting a lot of rain lately and taking our amusement where we can find it. Did you know an old huggies box makes a brilliant car?

Finally, it's too hot/wet/muggy/pondy/swampy/steamy for long hair so I have had the chop. Everyone says Scarlett and I look like sisters. Gasp - can that really be true?

Am I getting old?

I suspect I am getting old because (apart from glancing casually at the calendar and noticing I am turning 40 this year) I have become obsessed with the weather, or, more specifically, the unpredictability of it. Last week it was so hot, we had sleepless nights, a full day at Balmoral spent mainly swimming and playing in the water and walking on dragon island in search of a view and a breeze,
and Scarlett took the hose to Rob one afternoon in order to cool him off.

Then this week it has stormed and rained and poured 'til old men across the land have snored themselves into hibernation. Yesterday, while Scarlett was watching Play School, I left Flo playing with some toys and took the chance to check my emails. All went quiet and I suddenly wondered what Flo was up to. A quick search of the house and I found Florence had worked out how to open the flyscreen and had crawled outside onto the deck where she was sitting most contendedly in absolute torrential rain. She was soaked through and very, very happy. Although my first instinct was to grab the video camera, I saw sense and picked her up and brought her inside before recording the event.


Here, finally, is a clip of Scarlett and Florence jamming with xylophone and tambourine. Hippies.