My New Website

I've bit the bullet. I've gone and got myself my very own domain name and website template!!!

*happy dance*

I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself. I've been a busy little bee the last few days playing around with it all. There is so much to do. It will take me quite a while to get it all sorted. Not only is there the website issue (i.e. the fun part) but I have to sort out all the intricacies of having one's own business (i.e. the not so fun part). I’m in no hurry. My website won’t be live until the second half of the year. For now, I'm just fine tuning it all and having fun at the same time.

Speaking of fine tuning, I've been trying to fine tune my ‘Lily’ photo technique. She is just so damn hard to get decent shots of. It really is a two man job. One person distracting her and the other – meaning me – taking some photos.

How do you think I went today?


I do just love this photo of Lily – her little eyebrow raised just so. Cracks me up when I look at it. Another one that cracks me up is her tanty shot…and boy did she pull a doozy tonight at bedtime. She is 19 months now – must be getting closer to the ‘terrible twos’.


And just so he isn’t left out…here is a shot of Byron from today - I love the intense aura about it.

Another Byronism – ‘bout time!

It’s been a while huh?

All Byron's funny speak just seems to roll into one these days. However, the other day he did come out with a cracker that I just couldn’t go past.

Byron has had a sore mouth the last few days. Apparently he hit it on a door – I don't recall this...but never the less, that's his story and he's sticking with it. Anyway, I was brushing his teeth and he started complaining about the pain. The following discussion took place:

Me... “Where does it hurt?”
Byron… (Pointing to the top of his mouth) “In here”
Me… “Perhaps you have an ulcer”
Byron… “NO! It’s not an old sore, it’s a new sore. I got it this week”

I rate this one right up there with the best!

The art of closing one's eyes

Have you ever watched a little toddler try to close their eyes on demand? It’s one of my favourite things to do; watch Lily try to close her eyes. It’s hilarious, the way she squinches up her eyes as if it’s the only way to keep them closed. The concentration on her face is just priceless. I close my eyes and she tries to copy. I must admit, as she’s getting older, she’s getting better. I’ll be kinda sad when she figures out how to close those big gorgeous eyes of hers in a relaxed manner. Until then, I plan on making the most of our little game!

While I'm here...some more pics of my gorgeous girl!

(wearing Byron’s macaroni necklace)

Beautiful Bronte!

She is just the sweetest little poppet. Such a happy little thing. I had so much fun taking shots of her. Can't wait to do it again. Here are some of my favourites...

...and this picture again in colour - I think I like the colour better. Hmmm...

Fairy in a forest!

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful little fairy in a forest. She was the littlest fairy of them all - so dainty and beautiful. She had long blond hair and eyes so piercing…very special eyes that would change colour depending on the light.

The little fairy was so sweet – by far the sweetest fairy of all! One day, the little fairy let a photographer named Aunty Nic take some pics. The little fairy was oh so accommodating. She played and danced and had fun like fairies do and acted like there was no camera around.

After all was said and done…the fairy hopped off into the forest with her little elf friend Byron to play happily ever after!

A Pleasant Surprise

I popped down to the house this afternoon to show my brother. I got the biggest surprise of my life when I drove past to see that it had been rendered. I had only been to the house the Tuesday before and nothing had been done, so given Friday was a holiday I didn’t think anything would be done in the meantime. It was a pleasant surprise.

The rendering looks blooming fantastic – way better then I thought it would look. It has been rendered with a light colour which has sealed the deal as to the colour paint we should choose – YES we haven’t yet picked the colour of the house!!!

Also, we were *lucky* that the bathroom window hadn’t been locked properly so my brother got to see inside. It was great for me too because I hadn’t been able to see inside since it went to lock up. The waterproofing had been done on the showers and also the tiles were in the garage all ready. My sister has scared the bejesus out of me because she doesn’t think the ensuite floor tiles match the wall tiles. Great! I went with the wall tiles that mum and Trevor liked even though I preferred something else. Man, they better match or I will have to pull them down or paint over them. I could never live with miss-matching tiles. Lets just hope my sister doesn’t know what she's talking about because if I recall correctly, they matched when we picked them out.

One last thing...we also have solar panels now! Woohoo!

Hmmm...I wonder how many weeks to go now?

(excuse the cuttering in front of the door)

(Alfresco area)

(Solar panels above the alfresco)

(Kid's bathroom shower)

(Main ensuite shower)

Happy Easter

You might recall that Christmas 2006 wasn’t exactly a fun experience. Byron woke up with gastro. The poor little mite was as sick as a dog that day. It was just plain horrible. Today, the poor little guy woke up complaining that his tummy hurt and it wasn’t long before it was evident that the dreaded tummy bug had arrived. It had arrived AGAIN on an important day in a child’s life. Sigh. It makes me think what is next on the horizon – birthday?!

We had made plans to go out for Breakfast with my family. Instead of all of us staying it was agreed that Trevor would stay home and Lily and I would still go out – this suited me as I am absolutely hopeless with the dreaded ‘V’ . I can not do it. I can not be around it without gagging. Give me anything else, just not vomit! Anyway, mum swung by and picked us up. We arrived at my sister’s house to see the family. Guess what?! My sister in law also had the dreaded gastro bug. It would seem both her and Byron had picked it up along the way - perhaps at Dreamworld? Where they picked it up is really neither here nor there at this point in time – let’s just hope no one else gets it!

The day was not all lost; although not as special without my Byron. We went out for Breakfast which was nice and just plotted along as you do on a long weekend (although I did spend a good part of an hour cleaning up Byron’s maxi rider car seat because Trevor had proceeded to take him around to his dad’s to pick up the paper. Apparently, Byron said he was ‘alright – I’m alright!’. Clearly though, as they rounded the corner to home, he was not. Men.)

All in all, I just tried to make the most of the time with my nieces and what was salvageable for a happy Easter.

Fun at Dreamworld!

Today was the first time, in a long long time, since we actually did something as a big family – the whole family on an outing! Trevor, me and the kids, plus my brother, his wife and kids, my sister and her soon be husband, and not to mention mum all headed out for the day at Dreamworld.

It had been ages since I had been there – I think Byron was just shy of two the last time I went.

The weather was a bit hit and miss early on with a few sun showers but then it fined up for a good day.

The kids, including Lily went on lots of rides and had a great time. Aside from the real ‘kiddie’ rides Byron and Ashlie ventured on the dodgem cars, log ride and rapids too. Byron took it one step further and went on the new motor cycle rollercoaster ride. He just scrapes in at 110cm which therefore entitles him to bigger kid status. I’ll be honest, I was really nervous when we got closer to embarking onto the ride; nervous that maybe although he was a 110cms tall he wasn’t quite ready for rides such as these. I mean, let’s face it, it was a roller coaster and all – goes pretty fast! How wrong was I?! He came off the ride begging to go on again…clapping his hands and chanting how awesome and cool it was….boys!

The log ride, an old favourite, was another we ventured onto. Ashlie loved it – you couldn’t wipe the smile of her face. Byron on the other hand…burst into tears at the end in disgust at how wet he was (here I was thinking it was a light load in front so we wouldn’t get as wet – wrong!). He said, and I quote, “I am never, ever going on that ride again!”.

Mum played babysitter to 4 kids while all of us ‘big kids’ went on as many rides as we could, pending time of course. That’s the thing about theme parks – they’re great and all but jeepers it can take some time getting on the rides. Before we knew it, it was five o’clock and time to go home.

A great day though…

Here are some happy snaps from the day - not just taken by me (yippee, I'm in some!)

(As you can see from Byron's face, he wasn't happy with all that water)

(Note the concentration on Byron's face as he tries his little heart out to turn the tea cups)

(Byron with his Uncle Ross on the merry-go-round)

(Hmmm...somehow I don't think Lily and surfing go hand in hand)

(Little Ashlie with Wags the dog. Byron wouldn't go near him. He was too sared, and that was after he just concurred the motor cycle roller coaster - go figure!)

(Just because it's cute...)

Breathtaking...

Oh my gosh she is stunning! I knew she was gorgeous but jeepers I had no idea she was this gorgeous - photos simply do not do her justice (or at least my brother's ones don't he he he).

If this isn’t the cutest three year old going around town then I don’t know what is. Not only is she beautiful but she has the most endearing, sweet personality to boot.

I was so excited to whip out my camera today. I followed her around like a sick puppy. She was more then obliging with the poses. She would move around like some little model on the catwalk – striking poses everywhere – I loved it.

We had a BBQ at my sisters place with the whole family. Gee it was nice to catch up. I miss my brother and his family. The interaction between Byron and Ashlie was gorgeous – I got some cute photos of that but that will have to wait for another day.

For tonight, I just had to share my beautiful niece with the world!

Family reunion

My brother and his family arrived this afternoon for an Easter visit. I was so excited to finally meet my number two niece Bronte, and catch up again with number one niece Ashlie. As soon as I got home from work, I packed the kids up and rushed over to my sister’s place to see them. I mean, it’s not everyday I get to see my brother and his family. It was like a big ol’ family reunion…so much fun!

Bronte is around 13 weeks old and a cutie pie at that (Ashlie is just gorgeous but I’ll save her for another entry). She is so little – although not newborn like. She is tiny yet chubby if that’s possible. She has hardly any hair, cherub like features and a beautiful smile. She is the happiest little thing…smiling away.

Lily was a little unsure of me holding Bronte. She was trying to climb all over me when I was holding her – she must have thought ‘hang on I’m the baby…what the hell are you doing holding her’. She warmed up to her in the end and was very gentle giving her lots of cuddles and kisses. It was weird holding another bub and Lily at the same time. I couldn’t imagine having two that close together (15 months). I know people who do and I take my hat off to them – it would be such hard work.

I’m really looking forward to an Easter catching up with family.

Finally

The kitchen was paid for today. Sigh.

After much ado over when we might receive the money to pay for it, it was finally sorted out. The builder finally – I say finally because I could smack the financier in the head over how long they are taking to pay bills and for their lack of communication - received his third instalment of the construction bill; the biggest yet! He transferred the money over to my account and I transferred it to the kitchen people. Fingers crossed the kitchen should be delivered end of next week and maybe, just maybe, we can get cracking on this house. It has been sitting for a little while, waiting for the damn kitchen to get sorted.

Don’t get me started about the financier though…so so over it and I’ll leave it at that.

Thinking happy thoughts…happy thoughts…sigh.

Five minutes with a newborn...

Gosh newborns are just divine…aren’t they!? I could cuddle, stare and goo over them for ever.

Whilst many mums can’t wait for the magic six week milestone – getting past the difficulties of that period - I wish I could keep them that small for ever (well not ever but you get my drift).

Meet Master K…he’s only 7 days old. He is the newest edition to my mother’s group. I’m no longer the only mum with two kids (woohoo!). I went and dropped by for a visit yesterday evening. I was lucky to have the opportunity to take some pics although it was an impromptu shoot - five minutes because the light was fading fast. He kept pulling the funniest faces and squirming like little newborns do. You honestly forget how tiny your little ones were until you see a newborn again (although neither of mine were as small as Master K at around 6lbs).

I’m going back to do another session with him and his big brother shortly…can’t wait (I need my cuddle fix)!