Not much blogging going on!

It seems that my blogging has come to a screeching halt, along with the holidays. Hmmm. Not good!

Liv left on Sunday 15th Jan. It was a little sad putting Hannah down for her nap and them having their final "goodbye" (not that Hannah knew it was that - but still!). She looked for Liv a little that night when it was time to go to bed and say goodnight, but otherwise hasn't skipped a beat, which I'm thankful for. It would be very sad and hard to watch Hannah looking for Liv all the time!

I've been a busy little thing these past couple of weeks. Al & Steve and the kids went to Fiji for 12 days, so I was in the office every day packing orders and keeping an eye on the emails. It kept me out of trouble!!

It's only just over 4 weeks now until our trip to Perth!! It's coming around so fast. I booked the hire car today, and put a request in with the kennels for the dogs. We're looking forward to catching up with everyone again, and for my parents to spend a lot more quality time with Hannah this time around, given that we're staying with them! Not so much looking forward to the flights, with a now mobile toddler... but she's pretty good, and will hopefully sleep part of the way, so with any luck it won't be too traumatic!

We've also booked our Easter long weekend break, so exciting! The five of us (Norman and Macey are coming too!) are heading to Ettalong Beach on the central coast for five nights. We've rented a pet friendly cottage, with all the comforts of home, within walking distance to a dog beach, shops, cafes and restaurants. Soooooo looking forward to it! Last Easter holidays, I was up every 1 to 2 hours popping the dummy back in Hannah's mouth every night. Hopefully we get more restful nights this time around!!!

Well that's about all my exciting news from the past couple of weeks. Not much to report really! Over and out!

The Rocks and Darling Harbour

It was Liv's last full weekend here before she goes back to Perth next Sunday, so we headed out today for some good old fashioned Sydney sight seeing! It was perfect weather for lots of outdoor strolling... warm-ish, but overcast. I don't do well with direct sun!!!

We left home bright and early (OK, 8.30 am, but that's early for us!). First stop, Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe, for breakfast. I was SO starving by the time our food arrived that I forgot to take a photo of the pancakes, but they were sooooo goooooood!!! But here we are about to drive over the Sydney Harbour Bridge...

Now ordinarily, after driving all that way for such a special treat, I'd have had the chocolate sauce. HOWEVER, staying true to my '30 Days Without' chocolate, I had maple syrup and cream instead *polishes halo* hehe! 

Here's a couple of photos of Hannah kicking back (quite literally) over breakfast and enjoying some of our pancakes...

Yeh, what? You gotta problem with how I'm sitting?!

Mmmmmmmmmm, pancakes!

After breakfast we took a walk through The Rocks Markets. Absolutely AWESOME markets full of such amazing things!! If only I had a spare few hundred bucks to spend on a whim! From there, we walked down to the water to take some photos.

Leaving the markets

A Qantas Jumbo over the harbour bridge...it doesn't get more Aussie than that!

 

It all looks so lovely and picturesque doesn't it?! Well, not long after taking this last photo, Hannah got cranky. Then when we put her back in the stroller, she cracked it big style and threw a tantrum, screaming her head off for a good 5 minutes. LOVELY! We just kept walking. Eventually, she got over it, stopped crying and was back to looking around as though nothing had happened. *rolls eyes*

Onwards and upwards! Next stop, Darling Harbour. Where it appears we didn't take any photos! Oops! Hannah had a nap in the pram (and woke up a MUCH happier little girl afterwards!).

So peaceful and sweet ;-)

After a very yummy lunch in a new noodle bar, Liv took Hannah for her very first ride on the merry-go-round. I wasn't sure how she'd react once they started moving, but she was fine!! 

Ahhhh, more special memories being made!

We had a lovely day. Sydney is such a fantastic city!

Our 1499 Piece Puzzle

Almost there!

What are the chances of getting to the end of a 1500 piece puzzle, to discover that it is in fact a 1499 piece puzzle because one piece is missing? APPRENTLY, the chances are quite high!

I've looked everywhere. Been on my hands and knees with a torch shining under the couch, and even pulled apart the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag. No missing piece to be found. Very disappointing!

Maybe our little helper ate it???

But I don't think so. At any rate... here is the finished product, minus one piece *rolls eyes*

Pretty proud of our efforts :-)

Whyyyyyy oh whyyyyyy!?!?!

The parcel containing two new puzzles is waiting for us at the post office. Best be off to collect that this afternoon!

Zig Zag Railway and Katoomba

When Liv visited last Christmas, we went to Katoomba to show her the Three Sisters and it was SO foggy that we could barely see 1 metre in front of us, let alone the mountains! SO, when a clear blue sky day presented itself recently, we seized the day and headed off!

First stop was the Zig Zag railway.  

"The Zig Zag Railway appeals to children and adults alike, especially those who once rode behind steam locomotives on the way to school or on holidays. It is a magical step back in time, filled with sights, sounds and smells of a bygone era. Every trip from Clarence Station winds its way through the remarkable Blue Mountains’ scenery, offering glimpses of grand sandstone viaducts, accompanied by the chuffing steam locomotive. It is a chance to appreciate the difficult terrain that confronted the builders and marvel at how they brought the railway down into the Lithgow Valley and on westward."

I'd imagine it was something to do with it being a public holiday, but the steam train wasn't running, which was a little bit of a shame. Instead, we were on the Diesel train, and the tour included a stop at the train shed to visit the steam trains.

Our train at the first stop

Liv and Hannah taking in the view (no fog in sight!)

Hey!! They named one of the steam trains after our dog Norman!!!!

Liv and Hannah inside the train shed looking at the steam trains

Very sound advice lol

Up inside one of the steam trains

Tired bubba ready for a nap

Liv at the Three Sisters

After a yummy pub lunch in Katoomba and a stroll through some of the shops, we finally got Liv to the Three Sisters, albeit briefly, because by then we had a hysterical Hannah on our hands. Her conjunctivitis cranked up while we were out and I'd forgotten to pack the drops. By the afternoon she was tired, cranky, with sore eyes and completely "over it". You could practically hear her screams echoing around the mountains, and the place was PACKED, so we didn't hang around :-/

BUT at least we made it there this time :-)

Our Christmas Holidays Project

It has been YEARS and YEARS since I've done a jigsaw puzzle. I've often thought about buying one, then thinking "oh but I need a board to put it on" (so I can move it around). "Where do I get a board from". It ends up in the too hard basket and I never bothered.

When Liv got here she said, we should do a jigsaw puzzle! RIGHT, that was it. We headed into Richmond one very very very (very) wet morning, the perfect type of weather for the in-and-out-of-the-car type expedition we were embarking on... NOT! 

I ran into an art supplies shop, who's owner just happened to have some large boards that her husband was cutting down to various sizes to sell in their shop. I got a massive board for $12 - bargain! Next stop, the toy shop which we've been in before and I know has a good selection of puzzles. We chose our puzzle...

We couldn't wait to get home and make a start! Just a slight intermission to change a revolting poo nappy on the back seat of the car (while my back and butt got wet from the rain), and we were on our way home with puzzle and board... on board haha. *oh groan*.

With much excitement and anticipation, we separated the border bits that afternoon, and put it together the next day.

Border complete! Now... where to start?!?!

It then became apparent that we had possibly bitten off more than we could chew with our puzzle selection! It was HARD! I spent the first 24 hours saying "this is crazy, there's no way we can do this, this is way too hard" and all sorts of similarly spectacular positive self talk, HA! Shame on me! Then I calmed down and relaxed into taking it one piece at a time... and whaddya know, it started coming together!

It's a start!

 Bit by bit, piece by piece...

Definitely getting there! My work on the left, Liv's on the right.

We are actually much further along now than this last photo, but I haven't taken a recent one. Will do tomorrow for the next update! 

Have enjoyed doing this so much that we've ordered two more puzzles online :-)

Happy New Year!

Here's to a wonderful 2012 filled with lots of the good stuff, and hopefully not a lot of the not so good stuff!

We had a nice Year Years Eve at the van with Al & Steve. Both babies did pretty well all things considered... a few hiccups here and there but overall, no serious complaints. I didn't get very many photos, but will share what I did snap!

Our rotisserie lamb and chicken - DELISH!

The Maclaren girls in their snazzy new strollers, after a "stroll" around the van park!

Tyler getting into the NYE spirit!

I haven't made any New Years Resolutions... a friend of mine who has a baby Hannah's age, wrote this article and shared with us today, and I think it is absolutely brilliant. Have a read! Resolve To Be Grateful.

Today, I didn't eat any chocolate or anything containing any chocolate. This is my chosen sacrifice while taking part in Project 30 Days Without, organised and run by my good friend Tracey, proudly supporting Beyondblue. I chose chocolate because I know it's something I'll really miss and find challenging to go 30 days without any!! Hopefully, my waistline will also benefit!

Happy New Year to one and all :-)