The last minute party

This was one crazy party, slapped together at the last minute. Danny's 6th birthday. The last time he had a party was when he turned one. Meantime Amy scored a few decent parties in Queensland, and every year for the last 4 years almost, we've been on the move in January. So he's now old enough to know whats going on, that he's been missing something. So this year, i had to MAKE this happen even tho it was 3 days after moving in etc etc. And given his impressive list of food allergies, having it out would be more trouble than its worth. So everything homemade. Theme - rainbows....simple enough. Lots of little friends came, had a ball together, and at the end of the day, when Daddy asked him what he liked best about the day, the immediate reply was, 'having all my friends here'. So a big thank you to the friends who came:)

Finally moved in

So we've finally just moved in to our new home! Its been a week, a very busy week of moving in, cleaning, sorting and having a party for a certain 6 yr old. Insane, i tell ya! Wasn't planned that way, but how many things ever really go according to plan?
So here you have it, the before pics of the kitchen below, and what it looks like now. What we did:
- removed two walls to make a larger living space - open plan kitchen/dining/living
-new kitchen
-polished the floors in entire house. We were really lucky to have uncovered good quality baltic pine which doesn't creak and groan, and it came up A TREAT after polishing. I'm so in love with the floors, so child friendly (slightly more give when little bones come crashing down...frequently) and doesn't show dirt!!!
-painted just about everything - i wasn't allowed to do much myself but snuck in a few bits - love it.
-removed everything in the laundry, tiled it and put in new tub.
All the above in two months, with a very reasonable cost, and very pleased with outcome.
Best part is the yard, as you can see, some individuals seem to think its a driving range, while others are happy to chill in the hammock and keep out of mummy's way....
Still lots to do around the place, but hey, gotta have something to keep me outta trouble.

New beginings

Danny starts new school with friend Adora. So far so good. Even better as its summer holidays now.
New baby in the family - Dad's cousin. The one on the right is the mother.
Picnic for Ethan's birthday (1 yo) at the best picnic spot ever.

The last two months...

Finally bought a house! These pics are from October 09. Its been a long process of getting a lot of things sorted out. Right now, we are in the final stages of renovation (i hope) and should move in with in the next fortnight. Will put up some before and after pics.
We've been looking for a house since we moved back to Adelaide in Jan 09 while staying at my parents. Saw many, like few, and basically things just didn't fall into place. One day, i take the kids for a walk to our nearby park, and see this house for sale. I also notice the address - No. 9, my fave no. Well 2 weeks later, we'd bought the house...and then the journey began.
It all sounded too good to be true, a house right on a park with a playground, 5 mins walk to parents, and even less to my uncles' and a good friend who lives right across the park!! Plus, our first house in Australia was not far from this park and i used to jog there while a student...... Just perfect. Until I walked in the door.
Initially, all i saw was yucky brown. EVERYWHERE. you know the 1960's mish mash of 10 completely unmatched shades of brown and cream and everything in between.
Anyway, all that brown is a thing of the past, as my awesome uncle 'Harry' pitched in to help with the renovations, and we gutted the place. Carpets ripped out, layers of vinyl and chipboard flooring, walls removed, old kitchen out, many hours of muscle and sweat later and its slowly looking like something half decent. I secretly LOVE all the ripping out DIY stuff. Especially when its a getaway from kids;)
More pics coming after we move in.

Teacher Appreciation event

Our local Baha'i community(Holdfast Bay, Adelaide) joined others around Australia on 30th October in celebrating World Teacher's Day. As Baha'is, we take the role of teacher's in society pretty seriously, and as such try to demonstrate the appreciation of the amazing and often unseen work that teachers do by hosting some form of event or gifts for teachers. This year, we decided to offer morning tea to a primary school and kindergarten at the schools. So we all made finger food - cupcakes, fruit platters, etc, and also a thank you fridge magnet pictured above for each staff member. The fridge magnets are available from 'Hidden Words bookshop, Melbourne.
I went to the kindergarten event and the teachers were so appreciative, saying that no one has ever done anything like this for them!

Happy Birthday Lessan!

The 4some cousins growing up in Africa - Lessan, Nura, Vafa, Martha. Current locations: Lessan in Isreal, Nura is in the best of all places, waiting for us, Vafa and I are in Adelaide, oz.
Lessan, maybe 9 or 10yrs old. Ngoundere, Cameroon.
My sweet little brother ! So many good memories.... and many a pillow fight!

A changing world

This is a beautifully illustrated book i borrowed from the local library recently, a story of a family's home which grew from log cabins and grows as civilization progresses in America, through the eyes of a grandmother telling her grandaughter about the house they live in and how it came to be. The thing that touched me about this book was the sense of continuity and stability, of staying in the same place, and making it home over so many generations, of hard work and perseverance and resilience.
I've lost track of the number of times i've moved houses since childhood, the number of times we've moved countries, cities, suburbs.... As a child, i absolutely loved the moves, and the thrill of what was to come next, of exploring new territory. I look around me now, and it seems like just about everyone i know has moved quite a bit in their lifetime. The last 100 years have seen huge migrations of people across the globe, due to so many things, being displaced by wars and social unrest, seeking safety and a better life in a new place.
As a parent, I sometimes wonder about the effects of so much change on children. I see benefits, such as exposure to different people and places, opening up their mind to what the world has to offer, becoming more adaptable to living in discomfort. But i also wonder wether so much change, coupled with a social norm of instant gratification would result in a person who then craves change for the sake of change, who gets hooked on a fast paced life where we get such a buzz out of it that at the slightest hint of challenging life situations, the first solution that comes to mind is - lets move somewhere else! How do we instill qualities like perseverance, resilience and patience when so many aspects of modern living and of our own lives as parents lean towards quick fixes? Just some of the many perplexing, wonderful learning opportunities that having children has given me.