PEACE, TRANQUILITY AND THE WONDERS OF LIFE......

Ever have those moments where you just think, Life can't get any better than this... Right now I am sitting out on my back verandah, one child asleep, the other playing and just enjoying life... Honestly how can my life be anymore perfect. It's days like these that I find it hard to believe how lucky I've been... It makes our move to the country feel like the best decision we ever made....

I love being able to come out to the backyard, sit on the verandah and enjoy the fresh air.... It's great T sits in his swing and just chills out or sleeps. A plays like crazy, either up the back of the yard on the swingset/trampoline or closer with all sorts of things. Granted there is still a lot of work needed to be done on the back yard, which apparently N has all these ideas for. I keep trying to tell myself we have only been here for a year so we can't expect to have everything done by now, when we bought this place the yard was pretty much just bare and the size of it makes it hard to find simple things to set up as it is so big even the smallest jobs, just aren't that small. We have finally just started to get some grass growing in two different areas, which im hoping will be nice and covered by the time T is crawling. So anyway just because I feel like sharing and I'd really like to include more pics...

Our House when we bought it.

It's been changed a little with the attempt to grow lawn and the addition of outside awnings, we also hope to include a front verandah eventually.

The backyard when we first bought it...

Anything that was green died in the first week after moving in

The Backyard Now..... Note the green looking lawn...Courtesy of my idea to use the soil from the veggie patch up the back to cover up all the prickles during A's 3rd birthday.

And Yes there is a tree missing, that eventuated while I was pregnant and decided to attempt hacking it out with secateurs.

Bad Moods Ahoy

I don't think I could possibly be in a worser mood today... I feel so super grumpy. Snappy and all of the above. I can't even work out why I feel this bad. I mean yes I'm feeling a bit sick, sore throat, etc. But that doesn't normally put me in this much of a grumpy mood. Oh well what can ya do.....

Anyway I haven't written much over the last few days as I have been bombarded with visitors and the heat just got too much in the end. With the amount of visitors I've had it feels like I haven't had a chance to sit and just breath... Not that I didnt want any of them... It was so fantastic to get the visits... cousins and their kids who I haven't see for ages, a best friend who will always be a best friend no matter how long we go without seeing or chatting to each other, two dear friends one of which travels everywhere and the other who lives a little too far away, and a great mummy catch up with two fantastic friends who just make me sit and laugh and enjoy.... hmm ok mood starting to lift a little now....

I have to say I am so grateful for my friends... I am the kind of person who once you're my friend you're my family. I have such a variety of friends who I love dearly. A few years back after N and I were married I began to understand the difference between a proper friendship and a one sided friendship. It took a lot out of me to put in so much effort and get little in return and slowly I began to withdraw from friendships that were never really there, it was hard as i felt like i was turning away from something special... but the relief to not endure the disappointment of putting in a great deal of effort to receive nothing back was much better for my soul. Now being on the other side of it all it is wonderful to know that all my friends are true friends and what i give i get in return. While I have a lot of friends that I see regularly and am always in contact with, including a group of online friends that are fantastic support. I also have several very special friends who while we don't get to see each other often and aren't in contact much, when we do manage to get together its like we'd been in contact the entire time. We start up right where we've left off and can talk about anything and everything. It's so nice to have those people as I know no matter what we will always be friends til our dying says. And then there is one very special friend who has been there with me through the thick of everything and while she lives miles away i talk to her more than i talk to anyone else. She's supported me through a lot of big things and probably knows me better than i know myself these days. She's the kind of friend who keeps me in check, and will tell me when I'm right or wrong... I'm very grateful for her.

Ahhh chocolate the answer to every bad mood.. haha... On that note I think I will come back and write again when my mood has gotten better

Contemplations.

So in light of recent events, like my pram stuffing up. It got me looking at our finances, etc. One thing I hate is that we have different accounts with different banks and so money has to be transferred all over the place.

So after looking into a few avenues... I suggested to N that if we needed to get a new pram maybe we should just get a new car (granted at this point it was just one of those fleeting thoughts that are completely illogical) as there aren't a lot of prams that would fit in the boot of our car since we have a gas tank in there. Anyway of course N has been talking about how badly we need a bigger car and that type of thing so he didn't say No to the idea..... well after a little bit of thought I came up with the idea of consolidating everything into one and getting extra to buy a new car. This would make everything just a single payment... And according to my calculations the repayments actually work out to less than what we are paying now. So weirdly enough this might be an actual happening thing.

I'm now contemplating the type of car I'd like as I'll be driving it the majority of the time. N likes the Ford Territory, me I'm not so sure, I know it makes sense to get the All Wheel Drive type thing because of where we live, but I want to look at other Makes as well and get the best deal rather than just one specific type.

So along with this I now have the task of making up a very strict budget for probably the next month of more. Since we need to buy a new pram, pay bills and still live, plus look good to the bank.. ha ha is that even possible...

Keeping fingers crossed I can make this work and some time in February I'll be driving around in a New (well new to me) Car and hopefully be able to fit all four of us in much more comfortably with room to spare.

Is this week over yet?

Seriously this week is feeling like one of the longest weeks of my life. I'm struggling to remember what day it is let alone anything else. So I'm feeling the need to debrief. Feels like I should be ending another weekend by now rather than it being (checking the calendar) argh thursday...

So here is my week so far in a nutshell.

Monday as I mentioned was spent very sleep

deprived, I was then faced with A having a 39

fever. Although she seemed to think she was

fine to still play, etc and panadol brought it down straight away. So we kept going about our day as tho it was nothing. I was feeling very positive about the week ahead, had my list made out of the things I wanted to get done this week, including what bills I needed to pay, etc. I got a few things done on the Monday as was pretty proud. Anyway Monday night was a killer A woke just before I went to bed on fire again and so it took a bit of calming down and more panadol and it was gone again. Tuesday A seemed fine again nothing a dose of panadol didnt fix, she was still in high spirits running around. I had to help my sister out as she was taking her two boys (aged 6 and 7) to a funeral for a 7 year old disabled boy who sadly died from a heart attack a few days before Christmas. I was still feeling ok about the week despite being tired. I managed to call telstra and not wait more than a minute to talk to someone, organised an upgrade of my next phone plan, and

somehow (thanks to bundling) managed to get my broadband speed doubled to ADSL2 and 20 bucks cheaper.... So was pretty happy about that.

But then at 7pm an hour after a dose of panadol A's temp just kept going up. So a trip to hospitals outpatients with an absolute BITCH of a doctor, who despite having 3 other people in outpatients to see decided to give me a serve about waiting til then to bring her in (while at the same time telling me there's nothing wrong) because she'd already worked a full day and oh our local doctors surgery should've just fitted her in regardless, eventually checking her throat... VERDICT - A bad case of tonsillitis. And so for A the rest of the week has been filled with antibiotics, high temperatures and lots of panadol. Her adenoids seem to be affected aswell. Today I am hopeful that we have turned the corner and are on the road to recovery, she finally didnt wake with a temperature this morning. But is still sleeping during the day and still whingey and sooky.

Then there is T who after Sunday night has been sleeping like a dream. He's such a placid bub and makes life so easy. So today he had his first set of immunisations, granted a little late but can't be helped at that time of year. And so I have just given him his first dose of panadol and he has started to get a bit out of sorts and is now peacefully dozing. But what a start to the appointment.

We turn up to the doctors surgery, have to wait ages to see a doctor who simply has to put us in the system then its off to the nurses. So we get into the doctors office to then discover I've stupidly left his blue book behind,

So another quick trip home to go and get it then back to the doctors we go... He took the Rota stuff fine, in fact the nurse was quite impressed. The needles well as expected he screamed but not for too long and considering the only comfort he gets is his dummy since I can't just put him on the boob he stopped pretty quickly. My brave little man... Mum did pretty well too haha No tears or anything. So while there I got them to do the whole weight height check... and the Verdict... My boy weighs 7kg and is 64cm long....

So then came my first disaster for the day, off to the chemist we head to get more antibiotics for A. I get the pram out for T, head off down the street a few metres and go to walk off the curb and the entire front wheel, frame and all, falls off the pram... I have a quick look thinking surely it just needs clicking back in but No... I'm so shitty, how can a pram not last two kids. Its only 3 years old and literally does not look fixable. In fact photos may be to come of this..... So I may now need to look at getting a new Pram. I'm not ready to put T in a stroller and besides a stroller isn't exactly practical for the country footpaths and dirt tracks, etc.

So the chemist trip was done carrying T, poor little guy didnt enjoy that too much... Too hot to be held.

Anyway get home, put the a/c on sit down to relax while MIL is having A visit for lunch and one of the keys on the laptop stuffs up, the rubber part has come off and i can't quite get it to click back in and stay that way. I may need to call on the super glue and hope for the best.... Fingers Crossed on that one.

Anyway the one highlight of my week... I got my eternity ring from N, It's just so pretty and I love it so much. It's Rubies and Diamonds in white gold. Rubies are my birthstone and my favourite. I just love it... So I'll finish with a couple of piccies of that...

And so my ramblings come to an end.... I'm thinking I may have to come back here with something a little bit happier before the day ends.... Ha ha I'm trying to convince myself that positive thoughts will cause positive outcomes haha who knows, but it's worth a try.

A Very Yummy Cheesecake.

Just for my reference.. I made this cheesecake for our Christmas dinner with the in-laws and it was so so delicious.

So anyway

White Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients (serves 10)

12 Cottage Cookies White Choc & Macadamia biscuits

• 300g frozen mixed berries
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 3 1/3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
• 180g white chocolate, chopped
• 2 x 250g blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 185ml can light evaporated milk

Method

1. Line base and sides of a 6cm-deep, 22cm round springform pan with baking paper. Arrange biscuits, in a single layer, over base of pan. Top with half the berries. Place boiling water in a small, heatproof jug. Sprinkle over gelatine. Using a fork, whisk until gelatine has dissolved.
2. Place chocolate in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on high (100%) for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, or until melted and smooth. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in evaporated milk, chocolate and gelatine mixture. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan. Scatter with remaining berries. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until set.
4. I did one variation to this recipe. Instead of the base they suggested I used a mixture of Delta Cream and Orio biscuits (minus the cream centres, which i scrapped out) and put them in a blender to crush to fine breadcrumb consistency then combined with approx 75g melted butter. I then made the base go up the sides as well... It was so decadent but not too heavy that you couldn't go back for seconds.

Government Grants and Green Loans

My attempt to be environmentally friendly!!!!

So a New Years Resolution (well not so much a resolution more a "I'd really like to get this done this year") for me is to get a better hot water system and if we could afford it Solar power.

So I've been researching what the government incentives are to go with Solar as things have changed since mid last year.

So my first point of call was to look at Solar Hot Water and the type of rebate you get for it.

http://www.environment.gov.au/energyefficiency/solarhotwater/index.html

The Australian Government is offering a rebate of $1,600 to install a solar hot water system or $1,000 to install a heat pump hot water system.

From there I went on to look at full Solar Power. This is where things have changed a little as it is no longer a Government Rebate that is offered, but instead something know as "Solar Credits"

I found this so much harder to find info on. I discovered that the "up to $8000 Rebate offer" has now expired. It seems the information is available through solar installers but not through the goverment sites.

What I can make of it is it's dependent on what Zone you are in for how much credit you get, It can be up to $7200. There is some mention about renewable energy certificates and selling them back to agents, therefore thats how you get your money back. But it's still very confusing

Key Points

• The Solar Credits scheme applies to all solar system installations from July 1st 2009
• The $8,000 rebate is no longer available
• There is no means test, all income levels are eligible
• Open to consumers and businesses alike
• Major financial benefit: Receive 5 times the number of RECs for the first 1.5 kW of system capacity

http://www.energymatters.com.au/government-rebates/solar-credits-australia.php

http://www.solarshop.com.au/incentives-and-offers/government-rebates/

So the big one that I have found and think is fantastic is the

Green Loans Program.

In basic terms you book in for someone to come and assess your home for how energy and water friendly it is. So you do that by calling this number 1800 895 076.

So they send someone out who then makes a report about the best energy and water saving changes you can make, as well as where you can purchase the devices to make the changes.

Once you've got the report you can then apply for what's called a Green Loan this is a Loan that has been subsidised by the government. You can borrow up to $10,000 to make the changes on your report with an interest free period of up to 4 years. There are a number of participating financial institutes to go through.

http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/index.html

So after that full information overload... I am waiting til the 11th (when their offices are open) to book in for my assessment. I'm hoping this will at least give me the avenue to get myself a new hot water system, I also wonder if they will think a verandah will make my house more sustainable for energy. I can hope afterall it would be less use/need for the fans and air conditioner.

No doubt this will be revisited once I've booked in for my assessment and gotten my report... Stay tuned....

What happened to my SLEEP!!!

Yep you guessed the last 48 hours haven't been the greatest when it comes to me getting any sleep.

Yesterday I dealt with it fairly well, I mean I can't expect the little man to sleep through every night when he's only 12 weeks old. I got lots done and still felt pretty good, although there was that 30 minute power nap at 8.30am that was caused from me somehow falling asleep sitting up.... woops... good thing Tyson was asleep and Abigail was busy watching puzzle play. Here I was thinking it was only a couple minutes, til I looked at the clock and discovered half an hour had gone by. Anyway I seem to be going off topic.

Last night was a bit harder, it would seem I have a sick little girl on my hands. She's been running a bit of a fever (39 degrees) which seems to come down with panadol. A little bit nasally and says she has a little bit of a sore throat. But aside from that she's still he usual bouncy self, playing and doing what she would normally do. So thanks to that wonderful fever, I was up til midnight consoling my girl trying to cool her down. Then again at 4am when it was time for another dose of panadol and the little man decided he would have a feed too. And so this morning I am struggling a little more than usual and a little too quick to snap despite not wanting to. It probably doesn't help that I've also somehow hurt my lower lower back, well the back of my hips (I honestly have no idea how to describe it, all I know is it's hurting like hell!)

Well I think I will end this here have another coffee and then hopefully have something a bit more interesting to talk about.

Well my first post for my very first blog.

Most people know me as Kelly, but I have always preferred being referred to by my nickname Kel. So a quick introduction, I'm Kel, 26 years Old. I am a mum of 2 gorgeous kids. My daughter Abigail is 3 years Old and my son Tyson is 12 weeks old tomorrow. The other member of my family is my wonderful husband Neil who I am grateful for everyday of my life.

I have always been one to keep journals, diaries, etc. But stopped when my husband and I first starting dating. Probably because it became so repetitious about hubby and how great I thought he was.

When it comes to diary keeping it would seem everyone has their own style of writing. I would always write mine as tho I was telling a story, with all my day to day happenings, so this will probably be how my blog plays out, even if no one ends up reading it.

I felt the inspiration from a wonderful group of mums to document my year of 2010, a new decade. And so my blog begins.... enjoy!!!!