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.

Signing in from sunny "Perth"

We are here!!!! At last, we have finally done it!!! Am I happy and excited and is it everything I ever dreamed of? YES
Am I scared out of my mind and having sleepless nights because we don't have work? YES, YES, YES!
We truly are happy to be here and don't feel like we have made a wrong move but the lack of jobs is a big concern.
Let me tell you about our trip over....
It was long and very tiring!! The kids were extremely well behaved and did us proud! The first leg of the journey was a day flight (12 hours) so they didn't sleep much. Gethin was not too keen to sit in his seat so he charmed his way up and down the aisles chatting to various passengers. Once we reached Hong Kong they were all extremely tired and slept for a good few hours in the departures lounge. Paul and I must have looked extremely tired by the time we got on the Perth flight because the air hostesses gave us a whole row of seats (over and above our 6 seats we already were sitting in) at the back where they normally rest so that Paul and I could take turns sleeping. The kids were brilliant and slept nearly all the way as well! A certain man commented that we needed medals for taking 3 kids on such a long journey when another gentleman piped up that we didn't need medals, the people sitting next to us did!! Fortunately that was not the case and the children certainly made him want to eat his harsh words!! I hope he had indigestion!!
The house we're staying in is lovely and is just so big!! We felt quite strange in it for the first few days but I think we've settled in now as the usual mess seems to be everywhere you go!
And so, after a few days of rest we have started the exciting task of job hunting!!! Please cross your fingers and pray that we find work soon as that will be the final block to make our Australian dream complete!

Signing out for the last time from Wales!!!

The time has come!!!! I bet you're all glad, after who knows how many weeks of reading about this jolly move! As I write we have 9 days till we leave but only 5 days left in our house and 6 days left in Wales!
Fortunately, we have been rather busy over the last few weeks. Not busy enough for me though as some days have definitely dragged by!
Let me see - what have I been up to!!
Well, I've met up with a new friend that I met on the internet. Before everyone gasps with shock - it was perfectly safe! I'm on a Mother and Baby chat on a scrapping website. To cut a long story short, I was moaning on there about keeping the kids occupied for the holidays and Stevie very kindly offered to meet up with me for a day out with her kids and mine. Our children are all virtually the same age so it was a perfect day out. Stevie and I got on famously and happily chatted while the children played!



Then we had Miss Madam's 3rd birthday! I managed to magic up quite an impressive castle cake for our little princess who was very impressed with her mother's masterpiece! This birthday also saw the end of bottles for Maddy who gave them up quite graciously without too much fuss! Thank goodness! She did proclaim on the 1st night that she wasn't 3 years old, she was 2 and where were her bottles. Fortunately the bottles had been distributed to various pregnant friends for their "babies" and were by that time safely in a bin somewhere. So there was no giving in, although I'm sure she would have settled for one of Gethin's.




Gethin decided he would like to visit the hospital where he was born on Friday night for one last visit!! Thankfully what we thought was quite a serious thing turned out to be ok in the end. Thanks to mom's quick thinking! He had an allergic reaction to something he ate for supper. Within half an hour his face was swollen and he had red bumps all over. We became concerned for his breathing at one point and decided it would be better for him to be checked out. Before I left for the hospital I had given him a dose of antihistamine. Paul rang ahead and I was very impressed with the A&E department's prompt response. When I got there a doctor was waiting for me and they had already prepared the paed resuscitation unit! I felt like I was on a scene from ER! Fortunately there was no need for resuscitation as the antihistamine had worked by then but they did need us to stay in overnight for observation. He will need to get checked out in Australia to investigate further what caused the reaction as this is the 2nd one he's had and they seem to be getting worse.
We've started saying our final good-byes to our close friends this week. The children saw some friends yesterday for the last time and are out again now to say good-bye to some others. I'm meeting up with some "mom friends" for the last time on Thursday night and the rest we will be bidding farewell to on the weekend!



The house is virtually packed up and we are finally living with the bare essentials. The removal company will be here on Thursday to take away our treasured possessions and then we are done!!!
And so, I bid you a fond farewell from "sunny" Wales and who knows where the next post will be coming from. It could be London, Hong Kong or PERTH!!!!
Hwyl (Good-bye). Wela i chi eto (See you again).

Gethin walking!

Gold Paint & Burning Couches!

Lets just say the first week of school holidays was "ok". No major damage, unless you count the fact that the carpets and walls and a few other things upstairs are slightly gold! Courtesy of Madam Maddy! She took it upon herself to spread gold paint all over the upstairs bedrooms and herself - rather liberally I might add! She was, of course naked (any tips for how to get a 2 year old to keep her clothes on will be much appreciated)at the time of the incident and looked as if she had had an encounter with a fake tan bottle!!
The great news is that there will be far more school holidays to endure throughout the rest of this year! Because ...... when we get to Australia, Ross will probably not go to school for the first month (maybe two) and then in December schools there close for 8 weeks!!! I think I shall be suitably "bonded with my kids"!!!
Wait - it gets better!
Madison was due to start full time school in September here in Wales and I discovered recently that she will not be starting school until 2011 in Perth!!! Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE my kids but every mom needs a break and school is good for them. I guess we'll be paying for a few mornings at playschool for Maddy and Gethin until 2011!!
While we're on the whole "school" topic I shall use this opportunity to brag about Ross' reading progress. His teacher printed out a few levels for me to take to Australia and I am very proud to announce that he is at a reading age of a "9 and a half year old". Well done Ross!
Last but not least, I shall take you through the photos for the week. Paul has been talking about this moment for over a year now. Burning the couches!!
Strange for some but very significant to us. We have been putting up with these couches for quite some time now while preparing for this move. They travelled with us from South Africa 7 years ago and have seen us through the last 6 years of messy kids. So, since they were not fit for selling, Paul decided he would dispose of them by burning them. This was no ordinary burning, let me tell you! Anyone who knows Paul, will know he is well known for being very neat and tidy and so this was a very "neat and tidy" bonfire. First, he painstakingly took the couch apart and cut it into smaller pieces.


Next we arranged the bonfire audience to watch from a safe distance so that their ice-creams didn't melt!

And then, Paul very carefully (so as not to spill or make a mess)poured petrol in a steel drum, lit it and proceeded to burn the couch!


This was very symbolic of saying good-bye to our old life in the UK and hoping and praying that our new life in Australia will be all we dream of!
xxx

The beginning of the end!!

Goodness, its been 20 days since the last post and we are now left with only 48 days till Operation Big Move.
We're starting to do all the "last things" before we leave. I've worked my "last" day and Maddy and Ross are soon to have their "last" day at school. I see people now and afterwards think, I wonder if that's the last time I'll see them. Strange, I know!!
We're quick to say how much we dislike this place we've called home for the last 7 years but the truth of the matter is, that a small part of me will actually be sad to say "good-bye". This is the place where we've had our children and this is all they've ever known. And besides that, I've made some really good friends here and I am not looking forward to saying "good-bye". The next month, although very exciting for us on one front is sure to hold a few tears and I'm sure it will be with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to everything good from Wales, whether it be friends or places!!!
Ok, onto a more cheerful note! Surely I should be excited about 6 weeks of school holidays! Mmmmm not too sure. I'm certainly happy that I don't have to get up every morning and get 3 little bodies plus myself ready for school. But for the most part, I think its going to be hard work keeping my 3 suitably entertained, especially if we don't have good weather!
I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I also have a lovely weekend away (without kids or husband)to look forward to!
Got to dash now as I need to fetch Ross from school and in true Welsh style its raining! I'm sure God is making sure I never forget "rainy" Wales as it hasn't stopped raining all week!!!