172 + 68 Weeks

What a week this has been!  We were given the gut-wrenching news that we have to move out of our (rental) house, due to no fault of our own.  We love this house, it has the perfect layout for the kids, great location, safe back yard, etc etc.  Carmie cried when we told her.  So, we had two days of severe stress, until our realtor called and said they had found us a new house to look at.  It is pretty great!  It's a little over budget, but we are going to make it work.  It has 4 bedrooms, and the biggest playroom you have ever seen.  It sits on an acre of land on a hill, and has sweeping country views over Milton.  There is this very weird Stone Henge replica, complete with people milling around, in the front yard.  And it has a fantastic garage where Jeff can do his side of our business (making frames) without disturbing anyone (our neighbours aren't very close).  I think we will love living there.

So, apart from that, it was also a very busy week.  We had trips to the park, to play cafe, to the beach for little Nippers (the surf-life saving for kids), and Carmie went to her friend Cassie's birthday party.  We made it to Narrawallee Inlet, and Arley had his first real splash and paddle.  He also had his first swimming lesson on Monday, and it was awful!!  He is not like his fish sister at all!  He hated it, and cried the whole time, and wrestled with me, squirming this way and that.  He is such a chunker too, I was exhausted.  Trying to hoist him out of the water for the singing and swishing was no easy feat.  It didn't help that Carmie spent the second half of the lesson crying for me by the side of the pool.  And in the change rooms, Arley screamed and cried for a full 15 minutes.  Ugh, I have to take him again tomorrow.  Dreading it!

As far as work goes, it has been a bit slow, but things are in the works, and we are working on a big project this week.  Terrible timing, because we are moving in 12 days, and I have so much to pack!  My studio is a disaster, and the thought of trying to pack it up is a nightmare!

Arley's first drive

 Carmie likes to make a bed and rest on the trampoline

 At Cassie's party

 At Mollymook Beach for Nippers

 Carmie and Hannah running in the races

 At Narrawallee Inlet

 Picking 'roses' for Mum

171 + 67 Weeks

Our vacation in Byron was amazing - 5 child-free nights in a row, great food, live music, art and shopping.  We mostly hung out around town, although one day we rented a car and drove around to the neighbouring towns.  It is not as beautiful up there as it is down here (the south coast being absolutely breathtaking), but it hands down has us beat for things to do and great atmosphere.  We would dearly love to move there one day.  Perhaps when business picks up, we will!  As for Canvas River, things are moving along slowly, but we have some very exciting things in the works for the future - one I can't mention yet, but another is that we have been picked up as suppliers for Temple & Webster, and are having our first sale with them starting on November 4th.  It is all a little exciting.  Anyway, we are back home now, and right into the swing of things, almost like we never left.  There are just a few changes: while we were away, Carmie turned into an angel, and Arley into a monster.  Carmie is sweet and cooperative and fun to be around (except at dinner time, she can still be a pain in the butt), but Arley is another story!  We finally clued in today and gave him some Pandadol this afternoon, and he was much nicer afterwards, so maybe it is because he has been teething and in pain?  Basically, the second he doesn't get his way, he does this awful high-pitched screaming tantrum (which happens about fifty times a day), and he is grumpy for most of the day.  A real pleasure to be around.  He also wants me to carry him around every chance that I can, which doesn't make things easy, as he is a giant lump of a boy.  I think maybe he needs to spend some more time with his grandparents :)

We didn't take many photos while we were away (far too busy for that!), but here are just a few:

At the Crystal Castle

Brunswick Heads

Sunrise at Cape Byron

At the pub :)

Carmie & Arley's antics while we were away:

Jeff is very mad about this!

We gave Carmie a "crystal dress" when we returned

170 + 66 Weeks

It has been an interesting week.  Carmie is proving to be getting very grown up, and enjoys spending time colouring in and decorating paper with stickers.  Arley likes to annoy her by muscling his way into the desk where she does her 'work', and hitting her, poking her and pulling her hair.  When the kids are sitting at the kitchen counter, Arley likes to turn to his sister and yell as loudly as possible in her ear, which results in Carmen crying and begging for him to be put down.  Arley was still crazy fussy, still trying to kick his stomach bug, so Mum and Geoff took him for a day and a night to help us out, which we were very grateful for because we had to get ready for our trip to Byron Bay.  We realised while he was gone for the night and we just had Carmen to look after, how easy life is with just one child!!  Only one child to focus on = no noise, no mess and less stress!!  I never want to hear a single child parent say how tough it is ever again (even though I used to be one of those complainers)!  I can't even begin to imagine what life is like with more than two kids.

Anyway, on Wednesday we said goodbye to the kids, and safely made our way up to Byron Bay (for our non-Australian friends, Byron is the eastern most tip of Australia, and is a wonderful hippy/arty community with great restaurants, cafes, shops and galleries, and beautiful beaches and hinterland).  We are up here for five nights.  Last night was our first night here, and was lovely, with great food, live music, wine, a lunar eclipse on the beach...until...wait for it...I got food poisoning.  I spent more than half the night in the bathroom purging some poisonous airport food from my system, from about 11:30pm until about 4:30am.  Worst...night...ever...What a way to start our first vacation in almost 4 years!!!  Today I have been taking it easy, still a bit shaky and nauseous.  But I plan on making the most of the rest of our time, with a massage booked in for tomorrow, a lovely dinner reservation for tomorrow night (thanks for both, Dad and Colleen!), and a car booked for Saturday so that we can do a little exploring.  We are very much enjoying the peace and quiet, and the opportunity to take afternoon naps just because we want to.  And on that note, I am going to lie in bed and start watching a new series with Jeffrey, and stay up as late as I want!

Carmie wore her Little Bo Peep dress two days running, thanks Colleen!

 Water play :)

 Arley's favourite past time at the moment is to remove items from the bathroom cabinet and stack them neatly on the floor,

At Lolo & Dida's