Day 23

After a big day at work it was really nice to come home to a beautiful tea of Curried Prawns, Spicy Dip, Tzatziki and Pita breads - lovingly prepared for us by A :)
With a full tummy I adjourned to the lounge room for another night of the Australian Open whilst M played with her Sims2 family on the PC and "the boys" watched Underworld. Seeing as how the tennis has played such a big part of our viewing the past couple of weeks and the Aussies are doing so well I thought it would be the perfect thing to photograph for today's photo....
It took quite a few shots to get a good one but I particularly like the way this one has two pictures of Jelena Dokic right before she won the match to get into the 4th round :) She's certainly doing very well. I'm so glad the Australian public is behind her and welcoming her "home".

Day 22: The beginning of a new era....

After the events of yesterday it was nice to be able to focus on something else...something new and something exciting.
I met M,A and B for an early lunch and took M for her uniform fitting, ready for high school next week. It was mad! There were bodies everywhere crowding into the two little store rooms, three change rooms and two service counters. Combined with the fact that it was hot and we didn't really know what we needed to buy it was quite an experience! Thankfully the stationery packages are now being handed out on the first day of school instead of at another crazy handout :) Today's picture is one of M in the changeroom, ready to make her way to Janice at the credit machine near the front door! It will take some time to get used to M in a school uniform that isn't turquoise...Just as it will take some time to get used to coming home and not being met in the driveway by Louis, "the best cat in the world"..

After waiting patiently in the shade for almost half an hour because they couldn't fit inside the uniform shop A and B were more than ready for lunch at McDonald's by the time we came out!!

Day 21 - a sad day for our family :*(

Today we lost a valued member of our family. Louis the cat. He came to join us when we moved back here from Canberra. He was 7 months old at the time and although he was a family cat, M considered him "hers".
A stayed home from work to look after the girls today and I got a phone call mid morning from M in tears, to say that Louis needed to be put down after A accidentally ran over Louis.
Here's M's post copied and pasted from her Blog:
xxxx to have a hit (at first I didn't want to go but after we got there I was having fun!!!)
After our hit we went to the post office and bought mum her Giraffe and to send Bxxxs parcel.
When we finished there dad took us to McDonald's to get a Mcflurry and it was so yummmm!!!
When we were pulling up in the drive I heard this "meow" and I looked at the front of the car and there was Lewis the #1 cat in the world under the tyre.
I just screamed and told dad to reverse, so he did.
Loui ran into the next door neighbours house so we went back into the house and grabbed a big container and a towel and went back to get him.
he ran under their car and he was panting so hard, I was shaking and crying, I went to the car
and tried to get him but he moved to the other side.
thank-fully our neighbour pulled up and asked what was wrong so we told him and he offered to move the car so we could get him, but as soon as the car moved he moved so we got him and took him to the vet.
when the lady looked at him and did everything, she said that Louis had a broken spine and that the bottom half of his body was paralysed and his lung was damaged.
she asked us if we wanted to ring mum so we could decide what we wanted to do, but we didn't so we put him down and we were all so devastated we rang mum and told her what happened and she was upset as well.
when we got back home dad rang mum and asked her if she wanted us to pick her up and she said yes.
On the way home we didn't really talk much because we were all still sad.
when we got home we chose where we were gonna bury him, then I gave mum her Giraffe teddy, then went out the front to talk to dad about the garden because I think he was only doing the weeding because he was sad and also felt bad.
Now bxxx is going to bake some biscuits with dad for Kitty.

I wonder how Txxx is going to feel, because he cries over someone killing a grasshopper, or getting rid of a car!lol lol

It's gonna feel so weird without Louis.
I'm going to miss him coming down to the bottom of the drive way to greet us every time we come home :(
xxxxxxxoooooooxxxxxxxoooooooxxxxxoxxxoxooox
Rest In Peace Louis
Love you soooooooooooooo much, my #1 cat in the world:) >>
I've xxxd out the names etc.. The top picture is the last picture I took of Louis (12/1) and the bottom one was taken just before we said our goodbyes.

Day 20

Today was my second day without my lifesaver Kirsti. After taking yesterday off I had to work today and so did A. I came home at lunch time to check on the girls and Turner decided to join us inside. He's not allowed on the lounge but somehow his cuddle turned into an on the lounge hug. I don't think he realises he's not a little puppy any more :) Bonnie took a heap of photos and this is one of many with the light behind me not very condusive to photography.... After lunch I dropped the girls at the movies to see "Bride Wars" and then they walked over to meet me after work. I can't believe they are so grown up...where have the years gone?

Day 19

M cooked tea for us and we had Spagbog. I was cleaning the pool - vacuuming seems so pointless! You go around and around and then all of a sudden the pool is greenish, with all the sediment settling back onto the bottom of the pool as soon as you finish...grrrr. I got some stuff from the pool shop, so I hope it helps. Other than the stuff on the bottom, the pool looks GREAT!
I'm so glad M is able to help out now as it was very late when I finished cleaning and it was the second night in a row that I'd spent cleaning the pool.

Day 18

All the best laid plans....and all that... After going home early in preparation for this morning's walk, I slept through the alarm. I woke at 5.06am and then went back to sleep to wait for the 5.30 alarm, only to wake at 6.00. Aaarrrgh!! I was really disappointed, but when M got up we decided we'd still go. Around 7.30 we arrived at the start point, just as our usual walking group were preparing to go for coffee. We walked the same walk as we did on my birthday so we wouldn't get lost but were still off road. It was a great day to walk, overcast with the occasional spots of rain. I remembered to bring a camera today and we took quite a few pics along the way. This is my favourite, and as I'm scared of spiders I'm very proud I even got close enough to use the Macro setting! I was planning on photographing a different spider but as I went to walk around to the other side of the web I almost walked into this one. It moved and had it's back to me so I got a better photo than I'd planned!!
After our walk we went to Macca's and the walking group was still there, which was nice. M and I went to Mad Harry's for a spot of shopping before going home to the family. T was the only one awake, playing his new "Lego Batman" PS2 game.

Day 17

As promised, after M and T returned from their sleepover, T and I went to the movies. After much discussion and trying to fit in around A's schedule we decided on Bolt at 12.15. We went in armed with a mixed bag of M&Ms and our drinks and we were so early we even beat the advertisements! During the ads we decided we'd like to see Monsters vs Aliens, Pink Panther2 and Ice Age 3, so we'll need to keep an eye out for them in the July holidays. We still have a week of these holidays left so we'll probably go and see Bedtime Stories and/or TWILIGHT! That should keep my SS friends happy LOL! M is hanging to see Twilight...
Bolt was quite good, I even shed a tear. T was a bit disappointed when the initial Super Hero stuff stopped but then once he saw there was a storyline he sat riveted, trying to figure out what was "movie" and what was "real life" even pointing out that it was "a bit sad". Good choice overall, as I wouldn't have seen it if we'd been able to go to Bedtime Stories.
Around 4pm we went to Nicko's house to celebrate his birthday with a bunch of people from work. We had a good night, with M and I leaving around 10.30 so we could get a good sleep before our Sunday walk, and AB&T got home around 2.30am!! Turns out Nicko's birthday is actually on the same day as mine.

Day 16

I had a full on day at work today, trying to tidy up some loose ends and was pleased with the dent I made in my "waiting for....." pile. I determined that I would NOT be going home to fall asleep on the lounge today, as it was becoming a bit of a regular occurrence and I didn't want it to become a habit. The kids were inside helping make "toast pizzas" and I seized the moment to grab my chair and float around the pool whilst there was piece and quiet. Dinner was over all too quickly and I was soon joined by three active (read splashy) children. It took a lot of convincing for T to stay out long enough for B to take this picture but we managed to get it done, finally! A came in for a short while and joined me on my "throne" with lots of laughter as we were no longer floating, rather being held up by my little legs! After tea I went over to K's for her house warming party and a fun night of Pictionary with K and Mum. The kids and A went to the club for a few hours and M and T ended up sleeping over at their friend's house. B came home with her dad and found me fast asleep on the lounge - I must be getting old!!

Day 15

Today was just another day at the office, but I was greeted with this bright birthday card from my boss. It calls me a "banana" for trying to keep it quiet LOL and I discovered that my sister K who works for the same organisation had spilled the beans on my birthday.
The Magno-men are an attempt to brighten up my work space, but I found that I don't have a very magnetic work area. They belong to the children, but they've not missed them as far as I can tell :)

Day 14

Happy Birthday to Me!!
M and T came walking with me this morning as B was at a sleepover and A wasn't home from his night shift. We walked for just over an hour and both kids did really well. T and I came up the rear for a bit, just chatting and walking, before we decided we didn't like being last... We ran and passed a few people at a time, with M and T ending up racing to the carpark for "first place". They both enjoyed themselves and were looking forward to the next walk. Unfortunately for T it won't be every time as I like to walk at a faster pace than his little legs can keep up with!
Mum greeted me with a candle and Gift Voucher for my birthday. I started work late as M and T were very keen to give me my present and I wanted to wait till their dad was home...it was worth the wait, they gave me a CrazyPopper popcorn maker to replace the one B had burned out a few years ago....Kirsten and I met up for lunch and then after work she came over to drop of a very chocolate cake she'd baked especially for me, then she left her kids here for a swim whilst she went out for a walk. After her walk we chatted for a bit before I took MTB over to my sister's new house for a lovely prawn birthday tea :)