A new year has dawned

Well, it's not the first of the year, but the first time I've come up for a breath. What a month it has been.

So, to start where I left off, Matt's birthday. Such a lovely time. He enjoyed every little moment of it. Presents to unwrap, lots of attention, yummy cakes (I made THREE - yep, one for his party, one for his actual birthday and one for kindy - and what divine cakes they were too, I have to say - all from my failsafe cookbook, so guaranteed not to make kids 'bounce' but SO yummy!!)... Matt got a train table for his birthday and he LOVES it. It has been such a hit. Me cutting his food back has corresponded with such a lovely age. He has calmed down, is concentrating well and really enjoying life at the moment. He's sleeping more at night and is altogether a happy, cheery little boy. We had Mandi and her boys and Melanie and her three over for his birthday, played party games and ate lots of failsafe food. It was good.

So, then onto Christmas. I put the presents under the tree this year leading up to Christmas which was a great thing to do. Matt got to distinguish well the difference between his birthday and Christmas (which is nine days later). He kept wanting to open the presents but I said, no, these aren't birthday presents, they're Christmas presents. And leave them he did. I was SO impressed with him!!

Christmas was spent at my Dad's. We piled all of the presents and a bed for the kids to sleep in into the back of the ute and headed off. We arrived to find Dad on the roof, cleaning out the gutters (as you do at 8.30 on Christmas morning!), then once he was down we settled in for Bacon and eggs and champagne for breakie. YUM. Oh we ate well over Christmas. Very well. Ma (aka Evelyn/Dad's ex-wife - don't ask) came over for Christmas lunch, bringing some german salad treats with her (curry rice salad, mushy peas, bean salad, sauerkraut... ) and we settled in for a yummy cold lunch of cold roast chicken, smoked leg ham and salad. Again, yum.

On boxing day my brother arrived with his wife Lorraine. They've just had IVF (which they haven't told my Dad) so I think the break was just what they needed while they were in the dreaded two week wait. They've been doing it for a long time now - years - so they're very aware of the odds. We caught up with my Grandma, Aunt Shirley and Cousin Leanne (who's pregnant, by accident with her third - after an 8 year age gap). That was a lovely day out near Rathdowney somewhere. Anyway, while we were there I asked Lorraine which day she was on - 16 days after the retrieval - and asked if she was spotting at all - and she wasn't - a VERY good sign. She has her beta test done on Tuesday and it was positive, but low. Her Oestrogen and Progesterone levels are high though, which in previous attempts they haven't been, so the nurse told them to be 'cautiously optimistic'. VERY cool! Today is the day of the repeat Beta so I'm hanging out with them (in spirit - they're back in Sydney now) for the results. I think it's about time they had a bub of their own. I feel they're ready now. It's time for a new beginning for them, so I SO hope today's results are good.

We've also spent a lot of time cleaning out under the house and the shed. Both are almost done now, so we will after another bit of work be able to move the coffee stuff underneath the house, instead of in the front where it looks very messy. We'll be able to get the van under the house too. JP would like to dig out a bit more though and pave/brick underneath so it's very neat. That would be good. I am going to be SO excited when we have the money to redo our house completely though. Have I mentioned our 'new' house here yet??? We're now planning to save the money to take this whole house away and build a steel-framed kit home. We've found the home we want and it's unREAL. Big enough for 'our' home upstairs and the business (or potentially in the future a 3 bedroom granny flat to rent out or for the kids) downstairs. But anyway, I digressed. For the moment we just want underneath paved so we can remove them without having to dig up concrete when we eventually renovate/rebuild. We are also going to be putting an office out the back this year which once we have our 'new' house will become either a rumpus room with a pool table etc in it, or an art studio. I'd REALLY love to be able to give Jenna an art studio of her own to be able to grow her talent within. And I can use it too, hopefully :-)

So, yes, tidying under the house and then a couple of days ago the main water pipe into the house burst and we discovered the cause of our poor water pressure over the past 10 years. Our pipes were almost completely blocked by 60 years of corrosion/build up in the pipes. Luckily we've been using a water filter for most of the time we've lived here (and a very good, expensive one at that). Now, due to my husbands Jack of all trades talent, we have all new pipes. JOY!! What a great way to start the new year. I'm seeing an incoming of abundance of water (and water pressure!!) as a very good sign for good things to come. Yes, this has been a good time of clearing out, renewing and refreshing. We've still got a lot to do before JP starts work again on the 17th - a daunting prospect - but we've accomplished a lot for which I'm a happy girl.

So, onto my room today while Master M is in kindy. JB actually cleaned up his shirts the other day and we sent 5 bags to the Salvos, so now I can see my mirror for the first time in about a year!! Now I need to sort through mine again, send a heap more to the Salvos and address Mt Foldmore and find our bedroom again.

Lots to do. Time to go and do it.

Happy New Year!!!