Christmas Comes Early At The Browns....

Yesterday we decided to put up the Christmas tree.
It's a week earlier than normal but since next weekend's going to be busy I thought we'd get on to it this weekend to enjoy it a little bit longer!
I decided to go with majority gold this year!
I think it came up well.



It's been stinkin' hot here lately so I've kept mostly indoors or out in the pool!
I hope it settles down soon - I don't like the heat too much!

Anyway, this week's going to be a pretty busy one again.
I was sick most of last week so the house has a lot of work needing to be done!
Washing,
Vaucuuming,
Mopping
Bathrooms to be cleaned,
Dusting ...
just to name a few.

I had a pretty miserable day yesterday. Got a migraine and felt rotten all day!

Today, I had a hang over from all the headache tablets and migraine so I had the day off.
But, I was busy the whole day doing "other stuff" around the house.
I did a candle delivery and got some bits and pieces from the shops.

Tomorrow I've got a couple of appointments so I'm going to have to have the day off again.

We've got a HUGE garage sale on the weekend.
I hope it goes well. I always hate garage sales - especially if they're a flop!

Amanda arrives on Wednesday night. We can't wait to see her again!

On Thursday I'm off to see this:


I can't wait - so excited!!

It's been a busy couple of weeks - I can't wait until things slow down a bit!

Just wanna say .....

I bought this gorgeous book for the girls on the weekend.
It's absolutely adorable!
Everyone with young kids should have one of these books at Christmas time!


On another note, I'm still working at Macquarie Uni - third week now.
It's a little boring and a long way to come but it pays the bills.

We are all doing well.
Aaron's studying at the moment - just for another 2 weeks.
I'm working - just for another 2 weeks - hehehehe.
Ash is counting down the weeks until Christmas holidays.
Lauren is counting down the weeks until she starts school next year.

I tell you what, I have to be the queen of thriftiness!
Yesterday I rang up our telephone service provider to query why our phone bill was so high.
By the end of the conversation the customer service rep had reduced our bill by a whopping $110!!!
And I was only expecting to maybe get a $20 discount!
You've gotta be happy with that!

What do you mean where have I been!?!?!!?

Been so busy lately.
Haven't had time to scratch myself.
This week I'm working for the Executive Dean of Business and Economics at Macquarie University! The traffic sux!! But at least it's money!

Here's a few photos to catch you up ....

Happy Halloween!!

The girls enjoyed going trick or treating last night! Got wayyyyy too many lollies!!


Ash snuggling up to Thomas. He's had a bit of a hair cut. He got in a fight a few weeks ago. He's been a bit cranky lately and moody. I had to shave the sides of him because his hair got matted after being in a fight. But he's on the mend!


Ash and Taylor enjoying their gifts from my trip to Singapore. Lots of bollywood stuff - bangles, saris, bindis!!



Two peas in a pod - Georgia and Lauren! You'd almost mistake them for being sisters!


The weather's warming up now which is nice! I can feel Christmas in the air - YAY!!

I'm Back!

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while.
But I'm back from Singapore now and have lots of photos to share.

Let me just start by saying - the humidity is a killer!! You just have to sit down and you sweat!

I stayed with a good friend who is living over in Singapore for about 2 years. This is the view from her apartment:


The pool is fantastic!! The round pool in the middle is waist high so you can sit there and relax!! I didn't get nearly enough time in the pool! Maybe next time!!!

We went to this amazing Indian Restaurant (fantastic food). The restaurant was on top of a building so we had 360 degree views of Singapore! It was amazing!



This is something EVERYBODY has to try before they die! It's called a FISH SPA. You stick your feet into this tank and the tiny fish eat all the dead skin off your feet. It tickles like a son of a gun! Your feet feel amazing afterwards and the tingling sensation stays with you for a while afterwards too! It's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to do it again! Unfortunately they only have this in Singapore.

Here is my initial reaction to the fish spa (it's a bit out of focus but you get the idea):

(Excuse the 'cankles' - the humidity made my feet swell!)

I had THE BEST drink over there! It's called a Himalayan Tea Latte and it's absolutely delicious! It's quite sweet - you can taste the cinnamon and a caramel flavour. Yummy!! Unfortunately they don't have them here in Australia! They are sold at McCafe!

I visited a place called Little India. It's probably the dirtiest place I visited whilst in Singapore because the rest of Singapore is pristine!

Little India .....

The streets of Singapore - just gorgeous ....


Because it's so hot during the day - everybody tends to come out at night! The night life is incredible. The shops are open until about 11pm! They even have outdoor air conditioners to keep everyone cool! Very strange!

I left at just the right time because they had the Formula One the weekend after I left so I got out before the crowds came! However, we did get to drive on the track while I was there!!


They had so many festivals on while I was there. Here's just one .... the Chinese Autumn Festival! The street decorations are so elaborate ...

Well that's about it for now. I'll post photos from the Singapore Zoo next time!

I'm Off To Singapore!

I think that just about says it all.

The ticket is booked ....
19th September!

I finish my temp assignment at work on the 18th and fly out the next day!!

I can't wait - I'm so excited!

It will give me some much needed ME time! No hubby, no kids - just me and my best friend and hot weather!! What more could you ask for!?!!

Oh yeah - great shopping!!

Wanted: Good Home for Tabby Cat - Goes By The Name Thomas

I came home this morning from dropping Ashleigh at school to Lauren grabbing me by the hand and pulling me towards the laundry. There on the laundry floor were two goldfish!

Thomas had gotten into the tub that we have our goldfish in and had scooped them out.

I thought they were dead but I quickly picked them up and threw them into the water.

Luckily they came back to life and started swimming around.

I'm not sure how long they will survive but for now they're alive.

As you can imagine, I went ballistic!!

Then I came to work this morning to find this picture attached to an email from a friend at work.

How appropriate!!! hhhmmmmm.

Random

Here are some photos from our "pink pink" (picnic) last weekend.


The weather was gorgeous!

Here's a photo of my dream house. It's across the road from Lauren's school at - of all places - Pendle Hill. I just love it - it looks even better in real life! Just gorgeous. One day, dream, dream.


We had a visitor from a little fella called "Dusty". He's a moodle (maltese, poodle).
Such a gorgeous little thing.
A little fluff ball!
Lauren just adored him!


On a side note - I'm loving the song "Africa" by Karl Wolf. A great remix of an old classic!

Pink Pink!

Last weekend we decided to go on a picnic so we took the girls to Fagan Park with a packed lunch.

Lauren was really excited! When we told her we were going on a picnic she yelled:

"Yay, pink pink! We're going on a pink pink!"

She's got pink on the brain that kid!

On our way there Ash decided to play Eye Spy. This is how it went:

Ash: "Eye spy with my little eye, something beginning with f"

We all had a turn at guessing but gave up after about 5 minutes of getting it wrong.
Here was the answer:

"Fresh air".

Go figure!!

Cubby House

This is what we've been busy doing today....


Aaron built this cubby house for the girls.
It came in tiny bits and rotted wood but Aaron managed to bring it back to life.
I just need to repaint it when I get the energy to do so.

The girls have been playing in it for most of the afternoon - let's hope it lasts!

Gardening Fever...

I've got gardening fever and it's come just in time for spring!

I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me though.
There are so many weeds down the side of our house it looks like a jungle!

Thomas thought he'd help out but then got a bit tired and gave up ....


Fat load of good he was!!!

However, I now look out my kitchen window to this ...


This tree used to have weeds growing at the trunk but now it has pretty little pansies!

I came home from work on Tuesday to find this waiting for me ....


I LOVE getting flowers and Aaron surprised me with a bunch of my favourite flowers - Lillies!

We hope to put up the cubby house on the weekend - fingers crossed Aaron has the energy to do it!

I'm off to work tomorrow - T.G.I.F!

And finally, Lauren starts her Early Intervention tomorrow too so that's very exciting!
I hope she likes it - it will give her such a head start for school.

Anyway, the sun has been shining and the weekend's almost here!! It's all good!

Kamakaze Fish

Ashleigh woke up this morning to find that her goldfish had decided to jump out of the pond during the night and was dead on the bark next to the pot.

She was devastated. She couldn't figure out why her fish died but Lauren's hadn't.

I told our next door neighbour about it and she told us to just colour in another picture and take it in to get another free fish. I thought it was a great idea but I wasn't sure if they'd recognise us from getting a fish the day before but she volunteered to take the girls in to get another one each - she figured they wouldn't remember the girls but they may remember me. So she took them up and came back with two new free goldfish! Ashleigh was so happy - easy come, easy go!

Lauren decided to call her new fish Fella. So now we have Edward, Bella and Fella! So there you go!

We also got some more duck weed and a terracotta pot for the fish to hide in rather than that ugly brick we had in there before. It's looking really nice now!

Message for Glo - all I did to waterproof the pot was get some sealant from the local hardware shop and painted the inside with a couple of coats of clear sealant and then it was ready for the fish! Easy!

Yesterday we went to get the girls a FREE goldfish each from Kellyville Pets.
They had a colouring in competition where every entry received a free fish.
Ashleigh decided to call them "Bella" and "Edward".
She's a true Twilighter!!

For the past 2 months I've been trying to find some duck weed.
It's a kind of weed/moss thing that grows on the top of water in a pond.
It stops the birds from seeing the fish underneath and eating them.
Yesterday I finally found some so our little pond is now complete!



This past week has been incredibly busy.
Work was frantic this week and trying to entertain the girls whilst on school holidays has taken it's toll too!

Here's how we feel .....

I took this photo last night while Ash and I were watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She loves this show and was really looking forward to watching it but fell asleep after the first hour! With her legs in the air no less!

I'm only working two days next week so I can spend some time with the girls before Ash goes back to school. Here's what's planned:

Monday - Take A. to the movies to see Hannah Montanna - oh joy!
Tuesday - Have a friend of A's over for a play day.
Wednesday - working
Thursday - working
Friday - Another friend of A's over for a play.

ROUTINE

The last week has been a little hectic trying to adjust to our "new life"
with me working 5 days a week.
It's only 5 hours a day - 10am to 3pm each day but it's playing havoc on our normal routine.
There have been a few bad mornings with lots of yelling and screaming and racing out the door but I'm hoping to be able to get into more of a routine in the mornings so that there isn't the last minute rush out the door.
I hate that!

On the other hand, I'm really enjoying being back at work.
I feel a sense of self - like I'm a person and not just a Mum.
It's only until the end of September but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Aaron's been flat out too!!
I knew that as soon as I started working Aaron's work would pick up too
Murphy's Law!
But the money will come in handy!
Take the good with the bad!

So this weekend we'll catch up on housework and MAYBE go to the movies as a family.
Spend some time together!

Baptism

We had some photos taken of Ashleigh in her baptism dress on the weekend for the program on Saturday.

I’m so happy with the way they turned out.

I can’t believe she’s 8 already!!

It feels like only yesterday she was a new born with her tiny little arms and legs.

She was a skinny little thing back then and she still is!

She has grown in to such a gorgeous little girl.

She reminds me so much of myself – scary. The stubbornness, fear of the unknown, introverted ...

But, she is such a good kid with a big heart!

We are just so blessed to have her in our family.

Ash turns 8!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while.

I've been so busy organising Ashleigh's birthday and baptism.
I can't believe she's turning 8 this year and being baptised!
She's so excited and we're so proud of her too!

We went to the park yesterday to celebrate her birthday
(even though her birthday is actually today)
We had a great day riding bikes, playing footy and skip rope!
At least the younger ones had fun doing that - the oldies sat around eating, drinking and being merry!

Here are some photos:

Sophie and Lauren with the cake.
The kids!
My masterpiece!
The terrible two!!

Birthday

Here are some photos from my birthday last week.

They're a bit late coming but we got there eventually!


Here are some more photos of Lauren lying down with the cat having some quality time.


I've been in my element this week.
It's been raining and cold and I love this kind of weather.
I like it when it only lasts a few days and not weeks on end so I'm hoping there will be an end to the rain for the next couple of days so I can get some washing done!

Here is a movie I took of Lauren jumping in "muddy puddles" like Peppa Pig!!

Where Have I Been?

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while.

There hasn't been much to blog about.

Just livin' life!

I had a lovely birthday last week. Found a couple more grey hairs - getting old sucks!!
Got some lovely gifts. A couple of Willow Tree ornaments, clothes, new handbag, chocolate and some DVDs.

Lauren loves to pull her pirate face and yell AAARRRRGHHH!


And she loves to glam herself up with her new hair towel!

Other than that, nothing much else has been going on.

Until next time .....

Brave Girl ...

Last week Ashleigh did something naughty - can't remember what it was - there are too many to remember.

Anyway, Aaron said to her, "If you do that again I'm going to have to knock it out of you."

To which Ashleigh replied "OK, Bring It On!"

You can imagine Aaron's astonishment - I could literally see his blood boiling.
He handled it very well though I must admit.
He kept his cool and explained that she was a very lucky girl that he was in a good mood!!

I cannot believe the sass this girl is developing.
We're going to have to work on it before she becomes a teenager!!
Not looking forward to those days!!

Eye Spy With My Little Eye ....

We went to Wollongong last Saturday and on our drive there we decided to play eye spy.

It was Aaron's turn so he said
"Eye spy with my little eye, something beginning with L"
We all had a turn at trying to guess what it was until we needed a clue so Aaron said to Ashleigh (as she was sucking a Chuppa Chup at the time) "it's in your mouth" (the answer was lolly)
So Ashleigh screams out, all excited that she had the right answer
"LUNGS!!"

Aaron and I laughed!!

I got some good news in the mail today.
A couple of weeks ago we went in to Parramatta to do some shopping and whilst we were there we got a parking ticket.
Me being a genius at getting out of things I wrote a letter with some sob story and I got a response in the mail today saying that they will cancel the ticket "due to the circumstances".
I was so happy. That saves us $80.

That's it for now. It's the second last day before school goes back and Aaron's at work so I'm pretty happy about life!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

The girls woke up very excited this morning.
The easter bunny had hid their easter eggs all over the house.
It kept them busy most of the morning searching for their eggs.
They were still finding them at lunchtime!

We had our next door neighbours over yesterday for dinner.
They brought over a very special cake especially for easter.
Bec had spent the entire day making it!
The girls LOVED it!!


And Lauren just adores her easter bunny that Nanny and Poppy gave her for easter.
Thanks Nanny and Poppy!


Well, that brings yet another easter to a close. Way too much chocolate again (is there such a thing as TOO MUCH chocolate? hmmmmm).

And Ashleigh learnt a lot about the crucifixion of Christ and the sacrifice He made for us this easter which was great!