Finally it's not about the house!!

Well, it has been another busy week. Friday night 21 Sep. I was asked to teach a cooking class at church. I decided to do 'A year in chocolate' and made recipes for each month and demonstrated a few of them. I included all my favourite recipes including my version of the Ferrero Rocher which I call the Ferrero 'no-share.' It was a lot of work, but it seemsed to go well. I am cured of chocolate now. These are white chocolate baskets with chocolate mousse. April's Easter recipe.For October (halloween) these are chocolate mice, made from dates with almond ears. (Could be used for tricking kids...I don't know many who would opt for dates over other lollies.)

Andrew came home from his work trip to USA on Saturday morning (22nd Sep). The weekend flew by and then he was off again Monday morning to South Africa. He got back Friday morning (28th sep-Jordan's birthday) and will stay home until Wednesday and then leave for a brief trip to China. I spoke too soon in my first blog when I said Andrew's travel has slowed down! We should have bought a house near the airport. It takes about an hour to get to the airport without traffic. On Monday morning it took 2 hours. The traffic was horrendous and we thought for a while that Andrew had missed his flight. We left home at 7am and I didn't get back until mid-day.
Later that afternoon Craig and Kate Anderson came over for a visit with their two gorgeous boys. It was nice to catch up with them. They are visiting from Perth for Kate's sister's wedding and I was pleased that they could spend the time to come and see us.

Craig, Kate, Benjamin and Samuel.

That night, the boys started their new Summer sport (Oztag) which is kind of like 'touch football.' Mitchell and Josh play on the same team and Jordan plays on a different one. Bailey is an unhappy spectator. We will try to find something for him to do during the Summer.

On Wednesday Mitchell was competing in the regional athletics carnival in the 800m at the Sydney Olympic Stadium. He made it through last year too, but it is still an awesome experience to run on that track. He did not progress through to State level, but I am proud of him for trying his best. He never gives up and I love that about him. Bailey scored the day off school too because we had to leave home at 6.45am to get Mitchell there as his was the first event. Bailey was great in support.

Too hard to see clearly, but Mitchell's name was up on the big screen.
Mitchell is the maroon shirt in the middle.

Thursday night the two youngest boys were involved in their school concert spectacular. It is the major fundraiser for the year and they have been rehearsing for weeks. The theme was showtime under the sea and Mitchell was a surf life saver and Bailey was a band member for their classes rendition of 'Yellow submarine.'

Mitchell, my cute little life saver!

The following day (Friday) the same two were both selected to represent their school in rugby league in a gala day for the district. They were in different teams, (Junior and Senior) but played at the same place. Their teams did really well, Mitchells team were beaten in extra time in the grand final and Baileys team won their grand final. Bailey was thrilled to be playing amongst the older boys. The team has to be selected from kids 10 years or younger. At 7 Bailey was by far the youngest selected and the only 2nd grader, but he was in the starting team and didn't have to have any bench time. (What they didn't know is that he has been playing since he was 3!)

Mitchell's team with their teacher.

Bailey with mouthguard smile and team mate.

From the fields and went to Emma's house to drop Bailey off to go on a trip with them to the beach for the long weekend. (Emma will post pics for that.) Straight from there I went to the airport to pick Andrew up and then back home to make Jordan a birthday dinner. (He is now 15!)

Jordan cutting his birthday cake.

Jordan and Josh have been involved with a youth camp during this weekend. They had to hike 15km through thick bush on Saturday. We met them at the other end and they were thoroughly exhausted. So tired they opted to go to sleep rather than watch the Wallabies in their world cup clash against Canada. Tired!

As part of the camp, we had the fireside at our house last night complete with bonfire. It was a good opportunity to burn some dead branches and logs, but ended up being huge. I am sure at the heart of every teenage boy, there is a pyromaniac waiting to be unleashed. It was a bit of a challenge to avoid the bonfire turning to bushfire as all the boys crowded round with burning sticks, but it all ran smoothly. We had 5 of the youth spend the night, then they have all gone to a wave pool for the day today. Finally a moment to catch up.

All things that move

My boys are so happy to be able to get their hands on things that move. The people who owned the land before us left a run down, old truck behind. It has become Jordan's pride and joy. He has been able to get it going and is becoming quite the mechanic.
I did resent having to put 'actual money' into the thing the other day when I had to buy some new tubes/pipes of some sort which Jordan needed, but after more consideration decided it is good for him to be doing something productive and having fun learning a new skill.
I had a giggle when Jordan asked me how much it would cost to have it repainted.
Jordan took me fo a drive in it the other day down the back of the property and we had a laugh about just how bad it is. It can go in first or second gear. Third, fourth and fifth are aspirations at the moment. I am sure he can do it. He is so much like Andrew when it comes to making things 'go.'
All of a sudden, sitting in the passenger seat I felt really old.

Jordan's beast


The boys have been wanting me to see their tracks they have made for the motorbikes too. I ventured down yesterday and had another chuckle as Jordan showed me how they had planted plants around the edge of the track. (Transplanted from another part of the garden.) He went on to explain that he had planted them in a 'horse-shoe design' to make it look good. I have a brown thumb so it is reassuring that Jordan likes to garden. There is plenty to be done.

So that is where all the gardening tools went.

Part of their home made motorbike track. (Complete with garden feature)

More of the track in a horse shoe design.

I just find the whole thing quite humourous. It keeps surprising me that they are just such stereotypical boys. Dirt, rock, motors, digging, and the need for a bit of praise from their Mum. I love it.

Early morning bird feeding

Now the weather is starting to warm up, we are attracting a range of beautiful birds to our property. The sounds are beautiful, (with the exception of the cockatoos). This morning Andrew came into the bedroom and asked me to get some food to feed the birds that had landed on the verandah. We didn't have bird seed, but un-popped, popcorn kernells did the trick, and they stayed for ages.

Overdue Photos

It was so exciting to come home this morning after taking the boys to school and check my blog and see that people had actually looked! Thanks for all your comments and emails. I finally got some pics as promised. As you can see, the house is still a work in progress. I will keep adding updated photos as work continues. Here are a few, with explanations.






This is a picture from the front right side of the house.. still no garage doors as yet.




This is the front left side of the house. When I take a picture from the front, the fence behind me prevents me from getting the house in one shot.

Close up of the garage.. doubling right now as junk shed.

This is my favourite area. The verandah goes around the back and sides of the house, but this wide area will be for outside dining... yay, no indoor mess! The handrail going around the outside began today. I don't know if you can see from this picture, but we have a short, private hallway leading up to our room.
This is our room with doors out to the verandah. We don't have any window coverings yet. I am still trying to find ones I like that don't block out our view completely.

Our bath in the ensuite. The tiles are marble, a bit hard to see from this picture. They go all the way to the ceiling. The showers work, but the glass is not in yet. I will post a pic when it is done.

Walk in robe. I just finished sorting this out. I am sure this is the only time Andrew's side will look like this.

Bailey's room.

Mitchell's room

Josh's room.

Jordan's room

The rooms are all the same size, except the spare room and our room which are larger. These are the wardrobes in each room. After living in a shoebox for so long, it is great to have more storage.

This is the dining area, and where my kitchen will be. Right now it is a makeshift one. It does the trick, just not pretty.

This is a view from the back verandah, looking down to the flat and pool. This is where Tara and Greg have been living. We hope to put a pool in on the flat land behind the house by Summer. Hopefully the ducks will use the decoy pool and stay out of ours.

A picture of Andrew with Mitchell and Bailey on his 34th Birthday this year.

Finally, just a funny 'kidism.'

Mitchell was asking me if I were an animal, which one would I choose to be. I said that I would like to be a cheetah, because they can run so fast. Mitchell said he would like to be a dolphin or a shark to swim fast. Bailey looked disgusted and said "No way, sharks are ugly and they get bones in their food when they eat people."

We had crumbed fish last night and I couldn't help thinking of the role reversal.

Anyway, talk soon.

On the band waggon

Well, wonders never cease. Liesa is getting with the times.

I called Emma this morning to help me set this up after realising that the 200+ emails that are unopened in my inbox are beyond my capabilities to deal with. This seems a little bit like cheating on replying, but I will claim that I am 'modernising' none the less.

Firstly, a word on my blog name. Most of you will be aware that Andrew was a fearless rugby player...in his day. Unfortunately the opposition was not fearless, but fearful when they came up against him on the field, so early on in his playing days it was decided his new name would be 'Psycho.' This of course, led to his team mates affectionately refering to the boys and I as Mrs P and the Psychlettes. Fitting? I guess you guys get to decide.

Anyway, I am determined to make my blogs warts and all... not a 'Christmas letter' version, because that way I can cheat on my journal writing too.

For those of you who I haven't been in touch with for a long time, here is a summary of what is going on in our lives:

We have just moved into our house that we have been building. It is still not finished, but 'livable.' I have learned that I am a woman with patience and that kitchens are not essential, however desirable. It kind of feels like we are camping with the exception that I am not on holiday, nor do I feel relaxed. The boys are happy because the bedrooms are all finished and they all finally have their own rooms. I have warned them that we spent a lotof money on their carpet, so if I cannot see the carpet due to their mess, then the may have to go back to sharing rooms. We'll see how that works.

We do love having lots of space around us and I have heard new phrases enter the boys vocabularies since moving here, such as "I am going down to build a burn," or 'My burn is way better than yours," ( a burn is apparently a motorbike jump or something of the sort.) Another favourite is "Hang on Mum, I have to chase the ducks out of the pool!" We have definately entered rural life, and are beginning to adjust.

Our builder finished the verandah around the house last Friday and was jubilant. It took nearly two kilometres of timber and two people, 3 weeks to build. He described it as worse than Chinese water torchure. We expect the inside of the house to be all finished by December and hope to have a new pool in before it gets too hot. The gardens will take much longer.

Work is going well for Andrew and he is still travelling, but not as much as last year. He got back from Canada on Saturday, but was only away one week. He tries to avoid it when possible because he hates leaving the house, which takes up almost every other spare minute. He bought a 'Bob-cat' (I don't know exactly what it is, but it has a scoop on the front and moves dirt). I call it his digging toy and tease him that I think he is re-living his childhood. He hates it when I say that and tries to convince me that the piles of dirt have to be moved. I have also seen this machine double as a 'battle ram' to remove trees and multiple other uses, most of which I am sure were not the original intent. Andrew and ingenuity go hand in hand. That's what I love about him.

I am back studying, although find it a bit overwhelming at times. I do stress a lot about doing well, and tend to procrastinate a bit, but enjoy learning and feeling like I am achieving something for myself. I would love to have more time, but we all would. I have not exercised as much as I would like to since moving out here, but hope to rectify that soon. Summer is good motivation.

The boys are... I am trying to find one word to sum them up, but it is more complex than that. I think throughout most days I feel the entire range of emotions with them. They are great boys, all with lots of positives. Unfortunately we all know that sometimes lots of positives mixed together can still make a negative and that seems to be the case with my boys when they are together. Too much rivalry and fighting. I don't think there is a quick fix, but if any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I am sure it is normal, although discouraging. This was a motivating factor in why I chose to study Psychology. I need to outsmart them... or at least understand them. Each of them are great individuals though with loads of character and I love them all.
Jordan is 15 this month, Joshua is 12, Mitchell is 11 and Bailey is 7.

Well, I am looking forward to keeping in better contact with friends and family by blogging. I will finally be able to get pictures to you Ruth. I don't know why they wouldn't email. I will take some current pics today and hopefully post them on here tomorrow.

Talk soon. Mrs P.