2010 - Hope it has good things in store!!!

Where has this month gone - I thought I would sneak in a quick January post as I've been so bad at blogging lately. Now, I have the massive task of trying to fit the last month and a bit's news into one little post. I think I shall cheat and post loads of photos instead.



As you may or may not know, my parents were here for 4 weeks over Christmas. We had such an amazing time and did so much. We tried to fit in loads of sightseeing around all the festivities of Christmas and New year. The children just love having Granny and Grandpa around as do I. Gethin was very taken with his "bampa" and the two were never far apart!! But unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Granny and Grandpa had to go home back to "Africa". We miss you loads! xxxx



I'm now trying to get back into the swing of life as we know it. The school holidays are nearly over and school starts again next week. Gethin and Maddy will be starting at daycare one day a week from next week. Maddy can't wait but I'm not too sure about Geth. I think he shall protest rather loudly - poor baby! I'm in two minds as I could do with some me time but I will feel bad if he doesn't go happily.
The main reason they are going is so that I can start working again. Hopefully there are some good schools around here that would like me to do some relief teaching for them. Every time we move to a new country (I know this is only the 2nd one) I feel like I am starting all over again and the thought of going to a school for the first time scares the "heck" out of me. I forget that I have been teaching for years and feel like I'm the new kid on my first day at big school. Silly but true!



We have just celebrated our very first Australia day! Its a big thing over here (obviously) and the people are very patriotic. After a lovely day at some friends, relaxing around the pool and a traditional Aussie bbq, we made our way down to the foreshore to watch the fireworks! They were very impressive and lasted for about 30 minutes. All in all, a lovely day!
Well, I best get moving and see what my lovely children are up. Have a good day and hopefully I'll be back soon.

Warm Christmas Wishes!

I'm afraid I didn't quite get around to sending any "real" Christmas cards this year so I figured I would save the trees and send a virtual one! And so........

To all our family and friends

May you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas with a very happy and prosperous New Year. This has been a very exciting but challenging year for us and we would like to thank all our close family and friends for their support.

Lots of love
Paul, Michelle, Ross, Madison and Gethin
xxxxx

Look what we did last night ......

Now that summer has finally hit, we're starting to enjoy some outdoor activities and last night we decided to take Ross to the driving range. Maddy and Gethin tagged along for some fun as well, so I'm not too sure if the "golfing world" were too impressed with the noisy family of five pitching up on their turf. This was quite a big driving range and had an upstairs area so we took the kids up there as it seemed quieter and less busy. Ross was in his element "whacking" away at the 100 balls he had to share with his Dad. Of course, Maddy needed to have a go and also proceeded to "whack" a few balls. However, they weren't going very far and most of them just dropped off the edge. The person underneath must have been wondering who the terrible golfer was above, who's balls were just dribbling miserably off the edge. I spent the time making sure Gethin didn't dive off the edge or catch any backwards swings in the face. Whenever we do something fun like this with the kids, Paul and I often make this comment to each other, "This is why we came to Australia!"




Last week I was "entered and orientated" into WA's education system. In other words, I did a two day induction course. What I thought was going to be tedious and boring actually turned out to be fun and interesting. First of all, it was two childfree days where I could relax in adult mode and enjoy some adult conversation. The course was quite enjoyable and informative with the added bonus of meeting some new people and possibly the start of some new friendships. Paul works near where I did the course and so on Friday we had the priviledge of traveling together on the bus and train. You may be wondering what's so special about that, but for us to be alone together without our kids is a very rare occurence and henceforth I'm sure you will understand why we took great delight in our bus and train date!

Poor Gethin has had to endure a few rather unpleasant doctor's visits lately. One of them was to be tested for allergies of which he is the proud owner of 3 - egg, nuts and wait for it, BEEF! We were expecting the egg and nut allergy but the beef was a strange surprise. Even the specialist was surprised at that one. Fortunately it was a very mild reaction and he said we should just avoid giving him undercooked meat. Phew! Paul is a very fussy eater and to have to avoid beef would be a nightmare as its about the only "meat" my darling husband will eat.

The last picture for today is of the visitor we found in our garden the other day. I believe it to be a skink! It was very hot on the day we found him and so I presume he was looking for a shady spot. However we thought it would be in everyone's best interests (his included) that he be moved onto another shady spot and so he was put on the next available flight (via a bucket)over the garden fence.

We have wheels!

I think the highlight of my news this time would have to be that we have a car. I never thought I would ever be so excited about having a car but I truly am! Its been a rather long palaver to get this precious vehicle and we very nearly got ourselves into a pickle with a certain car garage, who tried to railroad us into buying a vehicle we didn't want! The rather pushy salesman even had the cheek to call me "rude"! Since, I was merely rejecting his offer, without I might add any swearing or shouting, I didn't really see where he was coming from. Let's just say he didn't take our rejection too kindly and his manager even offered to sue us. A word of warning - when in Western Australia DO NOT SIGN any car purchase agreement unless you are 200% sure you want the car! Oh yes and don't go to Kia Wangarra! Anyway we now have the car we want from a different dealership who were far more accommodating.

The second highlight of my post would have to be my WACOT registration!! I am finally registered as a teacher in Western Australia, albeit rather late in the year. And so,I think I shall remain a lady of leisure until school starts back in February next year. That is, of course, if you care to call a "mother" a lady of leisure! In the mean time, I shall busy myself with Christmas preparations and such festivities. Not a bad thing in my eyes as I am quite keen on the odd shopping trip!

Paul, whom I shall refer to as the sole "breadwinner" seems to be enjoying his job! He's somewhat of a celebrity at the moment as the word has spread that he was a professional footballer before. The council where he works is rather large and he has even had visits from people in other departments. Quite sweet I thought - its nice to be liked!

And so, after nearly 3 months in Australia I think we are starting to find our feet and settle into life as we know it. It hasn't all been plain sailing and I have had a few days when even gloomy Wales seemed a better place to be. We didn't realise the many benefits of living in the UK until we actually left. I have come to realise that there is no "perfect place" to live in this world and that life is what you make of it! We shall do our very best to make this a good place to live for our family!Especially now that we have ironed out most of the settling-in issues!

PS. The attached video is my attempt at capturing Gethin's baby talk. At first, he just stared strangely at me and then when he did start saying a few words Madison and Ross were jabbering in the background! But if you listen carefully you'll be able to catch a few of his cute words like hello, nose, ear, daddy, Ro (Ross) and bye. xxx

Good News!

At last I am able to report back with some "good news". In fact, its quite a lot of good news. Firstly, Paul has a job! Actually he's had 2 jobs in the last month. Let's just say the first one didn't work out too well. Its a long story so I won't bore you with the details. He started job no. 2 today so as I'm writing this I'm hoping all is going well on his first day. He will be assistant drainage engineer at The City of Stirling which is a local council in Perth. I'm sure he'll do a "sterling" job!!! Excuse the pun!
The second bit of good news is that we have moved into a rental property in Canning Vale, which is much closer to the city. Its a lovely house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We've been having (well I have) so much fun in the last month shopping up a storm for all the new house goodies. As you may or may not know, we sold most of our worldly possessions in Wales so we're basically starting from scratch again. We've been waiting for 7 years to have nice things again so I think we deserve to treat ourselves. The house is still a little bare as it is virtually impossible to get everything done in one go but we're getting there.
Today was also Ross' first day at school. He was very brave and seemed to be ok when I left him in the capable hands of his new teacher, Miss Matthews. She seems very sweet and I'm sure my boy will settle in just fine. The school is literally across the road from our house which is very convenient as I can just pop across there to drop him off and fetch him.
My job situation has had a few speed bumps along the way. You can never imagine how much stress 2 very silly letters can cause. Add to the mix some postal strikes and you have one rather annoyed lady waiting 4 weeks for them to arrive. Hopefully this is the end of all the hiccups and I shall soon be registered with the College of Teachers. I'm hoping to start supply/relief teaching once school starts again after Christmas.
And so, on this rather cheerful note,I shall say good-bye for now....

1 month on...

Can you believe how fast time goes? We have been in Perth for just over a month now. We are now in the waiting phase which I can assure you is not fun! Sitting around waiting for the phone to ring is hard work! Wishing that the phone would ring with someone offering you an interview is even harder work. Paul and I never imagined that we would feel so desperate to go out and work. Fortunately we have the children to keep us busy in the day so that just leaves the evenings for us to ponder our situation. We're trying really hard to enjoy all the precious time we are getting to spend with the children as I'm sure it won't last for much longer. Well, I certainly hope it won't!
Don't worry, I haven't lost all hope. I truly believe that God will make a way where there seems to be no way!
In between looking for work and a house and all the other boring things you have to do when you move, we try to fit in a bit of sightseeing here and there. On Sunday afternoon we visited Yanchep National Park, where we saw koalas and kangaroos and had a trip into a cave. The kids loved it and we really enjoy seeing them so happy outdoors.


Ross, who was a complete TV addict in Wales, hardly ever bother with the tv here and is much happier kicking the ball around outside. Gethin and Maddy would live in the pool, if they could swim! Gethin has already taken 2 dips in the rather cold water and I think is causing his Granny sleepless nights as she worries about him falling in unnoticed. It happens so quickly and even though we never let them near the pool unattended he did manage to fall in without Paul actually noticing him. Fortunately Madison screamed rather loudly and Paul rescued him! We have removed "pool" from our house hunting list!
Well, thats all for now folks. The next time I blog I hope to have some good news to share!

Gethin and the lego blocks.