Saturday, May 31, 2008

My New Babies

Look at how cute they are

My little boy Frank













and his sister our little girl Georgie










they are my beautiful British Bulldogs that I have always wanted.

For a little while John and I have been discussing getting a puppy when we move and have the fences up. John called around to a couple of breeders and we were told about one locally. We really wanted a boy - our "Frank" - he had a name before we even found him...lol

So last weekend we out to see the little boy and on the way there John told me that the breeder also had a little girl left. We had always planned on getting 2 puppies but we decided to get 2 males.

Well it was love at firt sight, the breeder got both the boy and girl out and we were sold...so we went for one dog and ended up with 2. They are so cute and so different to each other. When we first saw them they were 6 weeks old. Today we went back to give them a toy and have some cuddles and it is amazing how much they have grown in one week. They aren't allowed to come home with us until they are 8 weeks old, but next weekend we will have Frank and Georgie home with us.

So we have been making sure that the backyard is dog proof...buying food, bowls, beds, etc and can't wait for next weekend.

Here are some more pics of my cuties. :)

Frank is a cuddle monster and really laid back and mellow...but like his sister he loves to attack bottoms of pants and shoelaces!




Georgie I think we are going to have to watch a little more - she is a sneaky one, even sneaking up and charging to attack my shoes and taking the toy and hiding in the bushes...lol...

but I think they are great together and should *i hope* not get into to much mischief!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Kai Update

OK, OK here is the long awaited Kai update I have been asked for from lots of people...lol

Well I can't believe that on Friday Kai will be 10 weeks old!

He is growing so fast and huge now...well not so huge he is still in OOO clothing - but is gaining weight so fast. Or maybe it is because I am not used to seeing a bub gain lots of weight...when I went for the Health Check Up a couple of weeks ago he weighed the same as what Rani did at 8 months, so i guess that is why he looks so huge to me...but he is happy and healthy and that is all I can ask for.

We are getting lots and lots of smiles and cooing...one of his favourite places to be is under his mobile on the floor, he will stare at the top toy for hours kicking his little legs, breathing so fast from excitement, laughing at the toy - it is so much fun to watch him so happy.

We have moved him to his cot and he is sleeping all night. We thought we had made the mistake of letting him sleep in our bed when we moved. It was a combination of me wanting a decent night sleep and I guess a little scared that something may happen to him in another room, so I felt safer knowing he was in my arms. We tried the first couple of nights to put him in his cot and he just screamed so gave in and let him into our bed. Then from pure exhaustion from unpacking I just continued to bring him to bed so I could sleep - as he would sleep all night in bed with me and wake up every couple of hours in the cot. Well eventually he became way to much of a bed hog...lol...I would try to move away from him and he would wriggle over until he was leaning on me again and I would be squashed between Kai and John in bed....so it was time for him to go to his own cot. I was ready for a night of getting up and down all night but I was determined he was going to learn to like his cot - I didn't have to worry he slept straight through until 5am...and now he sleeps until 7am which is perfect for getting him fed and all of us out the door for school.

Josh and Teagan are really enjoying this time as he is starting to interact with them more and they love it every time they get a smile. They are also a huge help with feeding...quite often one of them is feeding him in the morning while I get ready to take them to school and depending on whether Kai slept in, there is many times they are feeding him in the car on the way to school.

So here are some recent pics of the boy :)

Bathtime


All snuggly after his bath


My little teddy bear

looking cute in the outfit that Kirst sent him (Thanks Kirst)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Getting there!

OK since my last post a lot has happened...We have had the big boss out to our house to show him all the mistakes in the house and get them fixed ASAP.

The one thing that I am happiest about is that we have normal hot water in the showers now!. It was a really stupid thing that wasn't done at hand over and took the Plumber under a minute to fix. When he tested the water before turning the knob (that was all that was needed - and that took almost 3 weeks) the water was 39 degrees...he fixed it to the 50 degrees it should have been and I had the best shower after they all left...lol

The poor plumber had to come back the next day and spend 4 hours here fixing up all the mistakes the original plumber had made.

So another week and I am stuck at home waiting for tradesmen to turn up...I am really sick of being house bound.

Although my new curtains went in today - so the house looks more homely, instead of the lovely sheets and doona covers we had on the windows.

Plus our fences are all up and the landscaping is on its way - of course now that the driveway has dried up enough for the bobcat to come back and finish cutting yesterday - of course today there is rain!

So here are some progress photos of the landscaping.

The start of the fences (and John's shed)


Fences finished


The start of the driveway


Ready to lay the concrete and then the pavers and build the retaining wall.

Friday, May 16, 2008

What a Joke!

So we finally have the computers and internet up and running so I can chat again...lol

So lets go back!

The day of the big move arrives...Friday 2nd May and the day that the house is finally ours. John started his holidays the same day, so bright and early we head down to the house to meet with our Building Supervisor and do the final inspection to make sure the things that we had picked up a week before were fixed. Well our excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we walked into the house, there were tradesmen everywhere and nothing that was picked up the week before had been done.

We had no applicances in the kitchen, the sink in the kids bathroom and laundry wasn't connected, no water tank, no power for the ducted heating and air con, no gas meter and the list went on and on...Our Supervisor promised us that everything would be done by the end of the day so we went to the builders head office in good faith and paid the last of the money owing and got the keys to our house.

WELL...things just gotworse as the day went on. Now I could handle if the worst thing that happened that day was the really heavy hail storm that we got...but by the end of the day we still had no gas meter (so no hot water, gas etc) no water tank, no connections to the kids bathroom and laundry, an oven sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor because the cabinetery wasn't made correctly...basically a house that was not livable.

So our exciting day had turned to completely and utter disappointment and frustration...add to that as most of you know you can't get in contact with tradies after 3pm on a Friday afternoon we still had no answers as to why our house was not complete.

So the removalist came on Saturday and moved everything into our house...not that it felt like a house at all...we tried to unpack what we could but there were so many areas that needed fixing that it was impossible...and then had to go back and stay at Mum and Dad's house until Monday when they said everything was being finished.

Everyone that came through the house on the weekend (that were going to help unpack) were disgusted in the finish of the house - truly there were no excuses for alot of the stuff that just wasn't done and we shouldn't have been given a Certificate of Occupancy as the house was not livable.

Well thankfully by Monday afternoon we had a gas meter, a working bathroom and laundry, a water tank and a couple of other things fixed, but still had the oven on the floor...thankfully we were going out to dinner for Dad's birthday so I didn't even have to think about cooking.


So Tuesday even more tradesmen were in and out of the house, Wednesday the same, Thursday, Friday...blah, blah, blah. But it just seemed that every time we used something it didn't work properly...the sink in the laundry leaks, the faucet in the bath sprays everywhere, the grouting in the ensuite wasn't finished properly, the hot water pressure in the showers isn't set correctly so we don't even have to turn the cold water on and it takes forever to wash just shampoo out of your hair, don't get me started on Conditioner.

So today is 2 weeks since we moved in and we still have tradesmen in the house and most of the above still hasn't been fixed. So all I can say is that as much as we are trying to enjoy our new house we are not. I have been scared everytime I use something that I haven't used and rightly so. As so far everything has either leaked or not worked properly. We are so disappointed in the builders they really did a muck up on this house and this is the third house we have build and never had so many problems.

We just want everything fixed and finished, so i don't have to be home to meet with tradies that should have done their job correctly to start with...so I guess you can tell that we won't be recommending our builder to anyone EVER. I really want to enjoy this house but still two weeks on it doesn't feel like a home it still feels like a work site. The only tradies I want in the house are the ones I have asked.

So when everything IS finally finished I will take pictures of the house. We are getting the landscaping, driveway and fences done this week, so at least that is something exciting and a tradie we invited...lol

The kiddies are excited about being in the house, they all got new furniture for their rooms, a new lounge and coffee table for the rumpus so they feel very spoilt....lol

We did have a couple of muck ups with the furniture that we ordered...like the new couch for the lounge is to long...lol....but as it is a 3 seater and 2.5 seater and we needed a new lounge for the family room, we order another couch set and are going to put the two 3 seaters in the family room and the two 2.5 seaters in the lounge...problem solved...I hope...lol

Well I think I have whinged enough...and the guys are here to replace the glass int he front windows...I will be back later with an update and more pics of my growing little boy.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

A Little Comparirson

OK so as I have been packing up the house I have come across a whole heap of photos that i have printed and not got around to scrapping, mainly of Rani. I was amazed when looking at some of the photos you would swear that you were looking at Kai.....SO

This is the one and only comparrison between Rani and Kai as they are seperate kiddies and Kai is Kai and Rani is Rani...but I am still shocked and amazed at how similar they are.

I guess it stems from the fact that this is bub no.4 and not one of my kiddies have looked alike - Josh blonde with brown eyes, Teagan brown with blue eyes and Rani dark brown with brown eyes and then when we make the heart breaking decision to have baby number 4 after Rani I get another dark brown with dark eyes.

So these pictures were taken within the first 24 hours of having Rani and Kai and can you see why I see so much of Rani in Kai.

















Rani
















Kai

It really is sometimes a little difficult having them look so alike, although Kai has a different personality to Rani (already) and I see him for him, but every now and then I could swear I was looking at Rani and it brings a tear to my eye as I miss her everyday and yearn for her to be here. It is a shame that Kai will never get to meet his big sis and know just how special she truly was/is!