Renovations.....FINISHED!!

The kitchen has actually been finished for a couple of weeks now so excuse my tardiness in not showing you earlier.

Not much has been going to the 'normal' routine around here as I had sick kids (yes, plural but not at the same time thank goodness).  Now hubby has caught whatever it was the kids had and is laid up in bed on his days off.  I really hope it bypasses me as he goes back to work in a couple of days and there's no way I'd ever be able to sleep and recover with the kids around.

Anyway...I'll just give you the before and after photos of my new kitchen which I just love, Love, LOVE so much.

Before....

after....

I'm still slowly going through boxes of things in the shed and working out where I want to put everything as well as what I want to get rid of.  Honestly, the amount of stuff I had was just ridiculous and some of it hadn't been used in more than 5 years so it's now gone!

The only thing left to do in the kitchen now is a new blind for the window but that will have to wait awhile as we went a little over budget with the rest of it.

I love it!!

xx Susan

Back to school

The school holidays are over and it's been back to school this last week.

Before the holidays finished we had some fun even while the renovations were still going on. There was some movie time with the kidlettes and Mum off to see the Minions movie (sorry Daddy but you had to work).

There was still a few more things needing to be completed in the kitchen (tiling, plumbing) so we couldn't really venture too far until everything was done.  Oh okay...I'll give you a sneak peak of the tiling while it was getting done.

The local shopping centre put on a few kid friendly things during the holidays too so we headed down there for a fun time on the jumping castle.

They also had a little train which drove around the car park.  I felt like I was in a goldfish bowl but the kids loved it.

 

 We also went to the movies a SECOND time during the holidays which nearly sent the kids into overdrive with excitement.  We're lucky if we go twice a year so to go twice in two weeks was pretty impressive.

This time Daddy came with us as we went to see Jurassic World.

The kids loved it of course.  Master M saying that it was so AWESOME AND WE HAVE TO GET THIS.  He also said he loved it when the dinosaur ate people and other dinosaurs.  Hmmm..a little bloodthirsty perhaps!

So the school holidays were pretty fun and best of all my kitchen is now finished so I'll show you some photos of that soon.

The first week back at school has been cold.  Well cold for here with single figure temperatures at night and the daytime temperatures not climbing out of the teens.  Winter has arrived and we've been rugging up and as a complete novelty, even using the heater in the mornings!

I was looking forward to getting back into a bit more of a normal routine and taking the opportunity while the kids were back at school to start moving things from the shed back into the kitchen and lounge and having a good declutter in the process.

Unfortunately Master M was a bit sick so ended up having Thursday and Friday off school so my plans have been delayed a bit.  Being sick is NOT fun, especially for a little boy who is rarely sick.

He was bored at home and wanted to be at school with his friends but the amount of vomit coming out of him meant that wasn't an option.  

As any parent knows, cleaning up vomit and changing and washing sheets in the middle of the night isn't fun either, especially when it's one of the coldest nights of the year.  It has to be done though and he's much better now.  All ready to go back to school tomorrow.

Hope you are all surviving this cold weather we're experiencing here.

xx Susan

Familiar but so different

This week has been very interesting for me.  

When you are quite a close family like we are, everyone's houses are familiar and very much second homes.  In the case of my parent's house it's probably more familiar than my own home as I was 3 when we moved in and I won't mention how old I was when I finally moved out!

Being the "Mum" in the house (my parents are away on holiday) this week has put a slightly different perspective on things.  I'm the Mum now and my kids and nephews have taken over the role of my sister, brother and myself.  It's very NOISY!

I've been heading outside when I need a bit of quiet time and have just been wandering around the yard looking at Mum's garden.

Mum's always had a garden.  There's lots of easy to look after flowers, the same familiar varieties after all these years.

Summer or Winter there's always something in bloom to add a bit of brightness to the yard.

It wouldn't be Mum's place without some kind of food growing.  It's the middle of winter here so the naval orange tree is bearing some beautiful, juicy fruit.

The vegetable garden is looking a bit bare though but that could be a good thing because I have a little problem remembering to water things.  Hopefully my brother will handle that department as he and his boys will continue housesitting while 'the olds' are away.

Tomorrow is Friday and we will finally be allowed back into our house.  I will head over there early and open the whole place up so it can air out as the polyurethane smell is pretty strong.  

The kids and I have plans for tomorrow to keep us away for as long as possible and then it will be back home.  Hubby wants me to stay here at Mum's for another night just to give the house one more day to air but I'm really ready to be back in my own little box.

This house which was home for me for so long, is now no longer my true home.  Home is with my husband and kids and our own little place where we are our own little family.  

That's what happens when you grow up and it's just how it should be.

xx Susan

Home away from home

We are staying at my parents house at the moment as our floor is being sanded and polished. 

I thought we would be back in our own house by Thursday but it seems that it won't be until Friday now. 

I'm trying not to let it get to me as at this stage of the renovations I just want everything done so I can get on with my life again. The wait will be worth it though as it will look pretty amazing when it's finished.

Patience Susan.

My brother and his boys are staying here too so it's been pretty noisy with 3 adults and 4 very excited kids in the house. I even cooked dinner and washed up with ear plugs in the other night!

There have been a few quieter moments for me too though. 

I'm taking the opportunity to try a few new crochet stitches while I have extra adults around to help keep an eye on the kids. 

The extra help is certainly a luxury that I'm enjoying so I'm making the most of these few days and treating them a bit like a holiday. 

I'll show you the floor when they're finished and we're back in the house. 

xx Susan