13 years and 1 day....

Decisions, Decisions

Our reno plans have been progressing...slowly. Lately we've been researching various things which influence the plans. So we've managed to select a new fridge. Have narrowed down the options of combustion stoves to two. Spoken to a colour consultant regarding the colour scheme of the exterior of the house. Most recently I've been traipsing (dragging along poor Katy too) around the bathroom showrooms gathering info on different products and looking at designs. Although we don't have a start date yet, I'm starting to get a tiny bit excited..perhaps because choosing items and colours makes it feel a little more real or maybe seeing our friends reno plans completed or in progress! I think today we're happy about the tiles/vanity for the main bathroom which looks something like this....

Dinner by the Lake

Finally last weekend our plans became a reality...for fish n chips by the lake! We've been planning to meet up with our neighbours for a picnic dinner for well over a month now. Although day time temperatures are dropping, last saturday night was just beautiful with lovely calm conditions and the food was great too. Post dinner the kids had space to run and play while we relaxed and chatted about life....

O @ Castle Hill

Only a few weeks left before Easter, so it was suggested that we head out for some orienteering practice! Castle Hill on the outskirts of Tharwa is not the nicest of places - as the name suggests it's steep and prickly.

While Andy was trudging this start on the top of Castle Hill, Ella, Katy and I did the 2km blue course. Knowing the gang (Max, Mira, Abby And Zoe) were ahead of us, we started off at breakneck speed. Ella was navigating and going fairly ok when she remembered to orientate the map. Enthusiasm plummeted and fatigue set in around #8 of the 11 control course. Katy came into her own, showing her stamina and determination leaving Ella trailing behind. Finally we made it to the finish.

Happy to see the gang, Ella and Katy recharged their batteries and were off playing. With several partners away, the children outnumbered the adults. Nothing like a challenge to try to keep an eye on the older ones playing (potential hazards or breakdown in group cohesion) and on the younger ones who followed the pack and then wandered into their own world!

Luckily several parents returned from their run including Andy so I was relived from childcare duties. Being late morning by this stage, I chose the shortest hard course which also avoided starting at the top of the hill. Despite only being just over 3km, it turned out to be well and truly long enough for my dodgy right calf.

Season Bests

Little Athletics has finished for another season. Arriving at the Cook Oval on Saturday for the last week of club championships, the girls (and everyone else) were treated to a balloon spectacular of their own! Thankfully the balloon was very quickly packed up and didn't impact on the start of the athletics program.




Ella loves to stick her tickets into her athletics book and record the various times and distances for each event. Her season best performances for 2013/2014 are -
50m - 11.27
70m - 15.65
100m - 22.53
200m - 53.1
Discus - 9.06m
Turbo Javelin - 6.40m
Long Jump - 2.15m
Shot Put - 4.02m

On the whole Ella seemed to enjoy participating and meeting up with her friends. We discovered this little piece of writing our night owl wrote the other night when she wasn't able to get to sleep. Obviously she has been learning about the different components of a story at school too!!

Translation...on satday the 15/3/14 me and my dad whet to littel athlecs on cook oval to get fit. First we did long jmp. I jumped 20.2. It went me Jaclin Jessi and tna 

Spot the Difference(s)

A few changes that happened in the Nandies household last week!

 Before After

After 6 weeks Andy was pretty happy to be separated from his green friend just in time to wash some dishes!

Before

After

Ella revealed that she needed her own space and Katy was keen to have her own bedroom too. So what initially started off as a temporary move to accommodated visiting grandparents about 3 years ago has now ended (on good terms) and well the spare room is no longer spare (except of course when Nana and Grandad come to stay).

Crash, Flash, Fizz

The night before Andy was due home, I was in the kitchen making dinner with the dishwasher busy doing it's stuff when it made a funny sound. Turning around, a white flash emerged from the top followed by a burning smell and all the lights (on the dishwasher) turned off. Hmmm that's not good I thought to myself and why do appliances have a habit of breaking while Andy is away?

So opened the dishwasher to discover it was halfway through the washing stage...the dishes were still dirty and it was full of water! Just perfect!! Pushed the door semi closed knowing I couldn't do anything until post dinner, bath, bed routine was over. So once the girls were in bed, I began to surf the net looking for instruction manuals for the dishwasher on how to empty the water. Couldn't find anything however what I did stumble apon was a recall note from 2012 listing certain model Bosch dishwashers manufactured between 2000 and 2006. Our dishwasher model was included in this list.

And reason for the recall? The components in the dishwasher's control module may fail creating a fire hazard ! Well looks like we only just avoided that one and to think of the number of times I've put on the dishwasher before going to bed or as we were walking out the door. Seems like we've been lucky on several fronts - the house didn't burn down and the recall means the control panel is replaced free of charge (assuming that's what is broken). In the meantime while we wait for the part, it's back to the old fashion way of doing the dishes...a real pain especially as Andy can't help out because of his cast (only 4 more days of that excuse!!)

Ballet

Katy and Mira have joined the Canberra Classical Ballet Centre. Conveniently located at the Cook Hub, we venture every Tuesday afternoon after the school pick up for the girls to participate in the preschool class. They seem to love it along with their teacher, Miss Clarissa.  Here is Katy in her tights and shoes eagerly waiting for the class to begin (official uniforms aren't available for purchase as yet).

Unfortunately parents are barred from watching so Ella, Max and Alma spend 40 mins playing on the adjacent playground while Al and I chat. We are usually joined by Stacey who has a home day with Jackson and Charlie. Our grand plans of having coffee at the new local cafe, Velvet Grounds which only opened last week, was foiled as the cafe was closed. Word on the street though is that they are extending their opening hours until 4pm so we might just make it!

Cafes, Cafes, Cafes

Last weekend, with Andy still away, we were invited to brunch to celebrate Gareth's birthday and play with Kelly and Jessica. We feasted on eggs, bacon, fruit toast and milkshakes at A Bite to Eat in Chifley. Then it was time to burn off some energy at the appropriately placed playground across the carpark!

The three girls especially loved climbing and swinging around the figure 8 equipment. Great to chat to Kelly and Gareth while the girls were entertaining themselves! Talking about cafes, a new one is up and running as of this week at our local shops! Stayed tuned for the verdict....

Rabbits, Rockets, Crane, Chatterbox and Balloons!

Yep another round of origami! Ella decided she wanted to make a chatterbox again. I couldn't remember how, so thank goodness for the internet in particular the Youtube demonstrations on the art of origami. Once the chatterbox was up and chatting, we created rabbits, rockets and cranes.

In each of these creations, there were tricky folds. Katy didn't quite have the fine motor skills and despite trying to help her, she lost interest. Ella meanwhile was in her element and happily constructed a balloon. However when the time came she blew it up but it didn't fully inflate. Which meant Ella became slightly deflated! Oh well practice makes perfect!

Lake G Run/Ride

While Andy was sunning himself working in Hawaii last week, I was kept busy with two young ladies! Actually I tried to turn the tables on Sunday morning with a bike ride around Lake Ginninderra...the ulterior motive I was hoping to get a run in too!

With their newly self purchased wire baskets packed with appropriate water bottle and soft toy, we were off! Our ride/run began at John Knight Memorial Park heading in an anticlockwise direction. Was slightly worried at first when Katy wobbled onto the wrong side of the path just as a train of mtb's came hurtling along. Thankfully she managed to focus and manoeuvre onto the correct side without incident!

It was mid morning by the time we got going and the sun was beating down as we rolled along Ginninderra Drive, avoiding the extra distance of the peninsula loop. I overtook the girls at this stage and was wondering if plan B needed to be implemented. However this was short lived, as Ella remembered the flying fox on the western shore of the lake and zoomed off taking Katy with her!





We were 3km into our journey, so a distraction ride on the flying fox was much needed along with a drink. Hanna the kookaburra and Peter Rabbit were both enjoying their ride and the baskets were doing well. There were a few small grumbles as we set off again but these didn't last long as the girls ambled along. I was secretly hoping that we would make it around without another stop however the redeveloped promenade at Emu Inlet next to the Belconnen Arts Centre was too inviting for the girls! They chatted to the black swan and ducks swimming in the inlet while they enjoyed the chocolate frog I'd brought along to boost their energy levels.

The last mile was flat and easy with the girls recognising the italian restaurant where we had dinner with Grandad. Over the bridge with the finish in sight, I was happy inside knowing that we'd made it around and it had been a really enjoyable outing and without any stacks...then bang before I knew it I'd hit the deck! I'd tripped on a tree root!! Brushed off the dirt and leaves and continued on to the car, where we put the bikes in and headed over for a play.

Being hot and tired the girls decided to paddle and needless to say, it wasn't long before one of them ended up wet after slipping over!! We finished off our outing by a side trip to the mall for a few chores and were treated to sushi and cupcakes.

Cook Waterslide Park

Is open! With all the recent heat waves in February, the paddling pool came into its own.  There were kids galore lining up for a turn. The adult lifeguards were supervising from the perfectly placed deck! A great afternoon of fun for all!