Keeping up with the MAC's

Australia so far.....2nd time round!

2011-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Brief update....Well so far fingers crossed we are having a brilliant time!. We have got a rental for 6 months in Pacific Pines which is 10 mins from Surfers Paradise & Sea World, 5 mins from Movie World & Wet n Wild. It seems a really nice suburb so far...met quite a few people some English & from Yorkshire. We are currently living next door to a couple & he is from Rothwell & works on Ians job bizzarre!!!. Anyway will update lots more soon.

Dubai & Oz

2011-03-11T02:57:00.000-08:00

Right sorry I have been rubbish but I'm sure you'll understand moving to the other side of the world again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. We worked out the other day that we have moved 8 times in the last 2 years plus had a baby & moved from one side of the globe and back again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????? Absolutely mental courteousy of me.

Ok where do I start?. Ian arranged the trip to Dubai with the brief of I neeeeed a kitchen with a microwave so we can make/sterilise Lexi's bottles. Anyway Ian came up trumps with a stay at The Atlantis Hotel- Palm Island (that man made bit!!!). I'll prob never stay anywhere as posh again in my life!. Ian showed me the pics on the internet before we left which looked lovely however once I asked him where the mini kitchen was, I could tell by the look of horror in his face he had completely forgotten. He'd also forgotten a bed for Lexi & transport from the airport to the hotel?. He told me to trust him & it would all be alright???. When we arrived at Dubai airport we went to get a taxi, there were lots of normal looking white taxi's, howeve due to the amount of luggage we had (we were loadened up like pack horses, if anyone would of pushed us over with there little finger, it would of been like the dominoe effect,ha)....a lovely pink mobile pulled up which was larger & could fit all our rubbish in. Well Megan as you can imagine was in her element, however Ian was not so pleased.....especially when we pulled up to the flashest hotel, where there's all the Ferraris etc lined up & we pop out of the pink mobile. When we pulled up about 15 bell boys opened our doors, I felt like we were getting hijacked ha, but that is there way they are very helpful!.
Dubai was very nice apart from the hospital trip at 3am in the morning with Lexi & Megan waking up not being able to breath both due to Croup, we worked out in the first day we spent more on hospitals & medication than food!...good job we had insurance. Dubai was also very expensive (as I'm sure alot of you know). It worked out at £8 for a can of larger, therefore we were rashioned to 2 a day!...Mr McKenzie was not at all happy....therefore we thought why don't we go to the Supermarket & buy some...deeeerrrrrr, it's a muslim country therefore you need a licence to buy alcohol. The shop assisants looked at us deranged when we asked where we could buy it!...we can back with a 12 pack of coke???. In the Mall as well that was quite wierd as they all had there full on ninja suits & every man looked like the King of Dubai with there posh Tea towels on their head. I felt very under dressed, I didn't like I could only see their eyes yet they could see all of us!. All in all very good experience.
I will put more info on about Oz later, here are a few pics of our new rental, but only had camera a day so only got a few snaps. As I've been up since 5am my eyes are going bozeyed, so will update again soon.

Brisbanes Annual River Fire

2010-09-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

We went to The River Fire last weekend for Grants 40th Birthday. We had a fabulous time. We stayed in a hotel for the night & our room which had a view of the main road cost $300 for the night, however the room that is in the pics is Grants room that cost $800 for the night, it's a good job they let us gatecrash!!!. Grants friend brought the food which consisted of the biggest prawns you have ever seen!!!, followed by oysters (YUK!!), followed by Crab!, it was gorgeous apart from the oysters that is!. How can that be the food of love????. It was like eating fishy snot with lumps in!!...mine also had a bit of sand mixed in with it which was nice too!. Ian had to spit his out otherwise I think he would of vomited!. Speaking of vomiting he did the next day about 10 times!!!!!... he never changes!. In between vommiting we moved out of our rental, now that is another story!...My god I will fill you in on the fun of that later!. As you can see Megan also had a fabulous time, she is still a socialite & loves a good party! Mmmm I wonder who she takes after?????. Lexi was fine too, she did not flinch at the fireworks or the F1-11 jet that flys over, I will try and upload the vid of it too. She also is still sleeping between 10 & 11 hours a night!!!...she is the happiest littlest, contented soul ever..love her!.

Mama Mia in the big smoke.....

2010-08-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend me & Megan went to see the musical Mama Mia in the City, as she is still a fan & has been since about 2 1/2!. She absolutely loves ABBA, her 2 current favourite songs are Ring Ring (#1 fav) Angel Eyes (#2 fav) her Grandad Roger would be very proud!. We had a really good time, although think Megan got a bit bored in the few speaking parts, however it wasn't too long before the music was on again, she was clapping & singing!. We were on the front row aswell, so we could see all the musicians under the stage. A good time had by all!

Lexi 8 Week Check Up

2010-08-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well Lexi had her 8 week check up & immunisations...yes she is 8 weeks already!. She had to have 2 needles & some medicine, Megan also had to have another injection which she wasn't too impressed with as she has had about 4 injections in the last 4 months, one of which was given in error by the Dr, but that is another story!!!. Anyway Megan went first she sat there & didn't flinch she is very brave!... I don't think she has ever cried at any injections, even as a baby she is well hard!...Lexi however is on the other end of the spectrum..my God she nearly screamed the Dr's Surgery down...I also thought her head was gonna explode it was that red!. After about 10 mins and the initial pain had subsided & her face had returned to normal colour, she kept doing a really pathetic little sort of wail a really I feel sorry for myself sort of wail, she was making me laugh bless her!. She got her head circumference, length & weight measured. She was just under average with her head circumference (she has got a little pin head like me...no McKenzie Moon head for her), she is above average length, how that is possible I don't know???????, and spot on average for weight...so all in all she is perfect!..Love her lots!

Coming Home!!!!

2010-08-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is the Megan that arrived in Oz!...Then the Megan that left Oz!!!

Well it's almost 4 weeks until we return home & we cannot wait to see all our family & friends!. When we arrive we certainly hit the ground running & it looks like October is goin to be a busy month...no time for jet lag, the first weekend it is Shelley & Carls wedding & Marks Stag doo!, the following weekend it is Dianes Hen doo, the weekend after that it is my birthday (don't know if I should be celebrating the age of 32!!!)..the weekend after that FREE!!!!, the weekend after that Diane & Marks wedding, then it is November!. In between all this socialising we have got to find jobs to pay for all this!!!!. I don't know if my body will be able to handle it!

Well as you all know I have longed for this day probably since after about 6 months of being here! (well I have been described by those who know me here as "Me not even getting off the plane")...however it is no secret to many of you that Ian does not miss much about the U.K bar the obvious things family & friends (which he misses very much!). Alot of things are better for him here, work he gets paid more for less hours therefore he gets to see his children more, he gets a pension paid by his employer, football etc,etc. However he has been very understanding & supportive of me & is prepared to come back for me...to be honest I think he was sick to death of seeing me crying!!!!...I think at one point I cried every day for about 3 months!!!!. It has certainly been a hell of an emotional roller coaster & I don't expect you to understand cos I don't think I would of until I had done this (although I wouldn't recommend it if you want to keep your marbles,cos I think I have lost mine!!!). I have met 2 couples, one of which being Sarah & Lee. Sarah is now back in the U.K, she decided after 2 months of being here that she needed to go home, Lee is still here because of the job situation in the U.K & like Ian he still likes it & feels that they have not been here long enough (however he is now living in a garage by himself after owning a 4 bed detached house in the U.K & running his own business!, however Sarah is now returning back to Oz). The other couple Andrea (who helped deliver Lexi, small world), has now seperated from her husband since being here, she is still undecided whether she will stay?. So as you can see from 3 families it is a very difficult move!!!.

At my darkest moments here if I could of tunneled out of here I would of...however I do not feel as bad as that now!?...Ian at one point thought I would of preferred to live in down town baghdad than Australia, although I do still feel that it has alot of faults (don't get me on about them, he used to take the mickey out of me saying smell that air, smell that dreadful Australian fresh air it stinks!!!!, ha!) I do now see more of the beauty of it!...I don't know if it is because I know I am returning home who knows????. I often think I wish I had never started this adventure, but I know you should not have any regrets in life & hopefully it has made us stronger!. I have become alot more understanding to Ian's feelings & I do believe being together is about compromise.....But anyway we are for now gonna take a breather & take each day as it comes & look forwards to seeing you all for lots of weddings, birthdays & Xmas!. I have to thank Oz for one thing though giving me a Beautiful Baby Girl!.

Lexi & Megan update

2010-08-17T05:38:00.000-07:00

Megan is still in love with her little sister Lexi, she is still very helpful...too helpful sometimes if you know what I mean!. However Ian does have to keep reminding me she is only 4!...as she acts so much older I expect so much from her I think & when she misbehaves (as she does!)...I get a bit cross!!!!..whereas Ian is more understanding!. Anyway Megan is still Megan & will always be The Megan that both me & Ian love to bits...even if she is a bit trying at times!!!. She's also still liking Taxi's & post boxes. We went to a friends house on Sunday & on arrival she was saying I wonder what colour their post box is????? she is a fruitcake!. Lexi is starting to gargle & gurgle back to us now when we talk to her, I haven't quite managed to get any really good footage of her doing it yet...she gets me unawares!. She is doing really well...I haven't had her weighed though (Shame on me!)..you can tell it's my 2nd child!..with Megan I was there every week getting her weighed. However I can tell Lexi is growing so no worries there!. She has to go for her 8 week jabs next week...Yes I cannot believe she is 8 weeks old!. I have to say it has been a pleasue having her, she is no bother at all!. You don't know you've got her sometimes..I set off to bed last night, brushed my teeth then off to the room, then realised she was still in the living room in her moses basket!!!!? Ooops!. Don't panic though I've not left her anywhere out & about yet...no worries there I've got Megan to help!. Now don't get me wrong Lexi has got a good set of lungs when she wants, she normally exercises then on departure & arrival to the house, me & Megan have traded in our car stereo for Lexi's wails!. She is still feeding through the night..but I'm hoping that quite soon I will have that panic wake up in the morning when she sleeps through for the first time!. Well thats all for now.

Double Trouble

2010-08-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

Well Lexi went to see her first football match last week. She wasn't too impressed as she slept for 90% of the time!. Megan loves going to see Ian play, she is a die hard fan..think her Dad is her hero!. When we arrived at the match it was packed I would say about 300 people!..think Ian feels like he is in the premiership...well you would wouldn't you!. Anyway cos there were so many people there and we were late (as always!)...there was nowhere to sit, so we had to sit near the oppositions fans. Anyway after about 3 seconds of sitting down, Megan wanted to be off, she has some friends who also go watch, one of them being a 40+ year old woman Sue who works behind the bar, they love each other...I don't get a look in!, so anyway she was off. She then returned 5 mins later saying she had found Lee & Terry some English friends of ours & that I was to go and sit with them. I advised her that as I have 40 thousand bags due to a certain extra little small person, I would go at half time...well off she went, she was obviously not happy with this outcome..anyway after a bit of tooing & frowing, a 4 year old got 2 fully grown men to come & sit right where she wanted them, with us! (think they wanted to give their ears a rest). I do worry what she is gonna be like when she is older!!!!!!???. Ians team are doing really well think they are 2nd at the mo, they need the leading team to slip up to become top. If any of you are interested they record the matches and put some on you tube, so (dad this is for you) if you go to www.youtube.com and type in the search bar, canale cup it will bring up a list of things you can watch, select Albany Creek V Toowoomba. Ian trains Tuesdays & Thursdays (I've never seen him as thin!...I need to fatten him up for the winter) anyway aft Thursdays training session they took him in for contract talks, for next season (he has not told them we are leaving yet!) & basically as they know him now & have seen him play a season, they are offering him next season a contract...which he thinks will be approx $200+ a game, plus win bonuses & goal bonuses!!!!?????...Bloody typical!.

Whale Watching

2010-08-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well we took a trip out whale watching to Moreton Bay. We had a fab time apart from the sea sickness. It all started good Megan very excited, she got out on the front of the boat & saw a few whales, however she then came back inside & looked as white as a ghost...turned out she was sea sick. So we were advised to go upstairs outside so she could get lots of fresh air..when we got there, there were about 15 other people sat there with paper bags looking very ill!!!!!. There was one woman who was laid upstairs from the immediate start to the very end, bless her she did not see one whale!!!!!. While I was up there looking aft Megan I saw some amazing sites...however unfortunatley I did not have the camera it was back downstairs!!!!. (So the pics I do have aren't that good but never mind). They had their tails out of the water waving at us & also jumping out of the water..I cannot put into words how fabulous it was!. It is amazing how sociable they are!. Megan kept trying to get up to see them, but every time she did, you saw the colour drain out of her face!. So for the 2 hours we were viewing the whales Megan saw them for about 30 mins!.

A morning of (trying) to water ski on the river

2010-08-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well Ian & Lee finally got me to give water skiing a go!. I won't deny I was very scared...my immediate concern was the water temp!, as it is winter, however by the time I got in I had forgotten how cold I was...I was more concerned firstly being in the Brisbane River where it is renowned for Bull Sharks. Then secondly, smashing my face in the water every time I took a hit from falling off the ski's!. Anyway I had about 8 attempts & by the 8th I got up for approx 3 sec's!!!...felt really good for that 3 seconds!. But I was so tired I couldn't try any more...for the last 2 days I have ached in places that I did not know existed!...all good fun though. We didn't get any footage, as I made Lee go further down the river as there were other people on the sand bank & I didn't want to embarass myself!!!!. I am determined to get up for more than 3 seconds before we leave. Megan also had a drive of the boat, she was very brave...still a safety officer at heart though, she didn't like going really fast, just at a steady speed.

Megans current obsessions

2010-08-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Megan is currently obsessed with both Taxi's & the Post box!!????. The post boxes in Australia are outside the house...I swear to god Megan must check the post box 20 times a day & God Forbid if either me or Ian check it!..don't know what she is gonna do in England when it will be posted to the house!!!. Ian has also discovered that she LOVES Taxi's????????????????. She started mentioning them while we were driving in the car "Hey, mummy look there's a taxi over there" and so on!. We were watching the end of Corrie the other day & the ending Scene had a Taxi driving away!...and again the Taxi caught her attention????!!!!!!. Now Ian obviously winds her up about this..which winds Megan up, as she says she doesn't like them but she does!!!!????. Some friends came around at the weekend & got a Taxi to ours, Megan was very excited to see it!!!. Ian caught a pic of it!. She keeps asking if we can go in one?

The Black Rat!

2010-08-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Gone are the vases of vodka & Red Bull.....This has now been crowned the drink of champions!. I personally cannot stand just the smell of it!. However Ian thinks that he is gonna fill one of our boxes with a few crates of it!. This is Bundaberg Rum & Coke, as it Australia made all the ozzies obviously love it!. Ian & Lee have found what could be a fast show character that works at our local booze store, he is called Steve & Ian will go there first when he requires a new carton..even though it is more expensive at this shop!!!....Steves best line was "Oooh mothers milk mate, mothers milk, the drink of champions!"...Ian does a hillarious impression, but I cannot upload videos on our new camera!.

One down...One to go!

2010-07-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

Well we have got one of the passports, however unfortunately it's the wrong one!!!!. It's the one that needs a visa to get into the U.K, so fingers crossed it should arrive soon. Don't think Lexi will be too impressed with the mugshot when she is older, me thinks it will be an embarrassing one for her 18th birthday!!!!

Lexi update

2010-07-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

Lexi is a little monkey....as I'm sure most babies are at this age, however I cannot remember Megan being this high maintenance at 5 weeks old????...maybe it's just memory loss?...otherwise GOD help us!!!!!!!.

I cannot really complain about Lexi in the night as she currently feeds every 3 and a half hours at night, which is normal at this age & I feed her, change her then put her down & she go's straight to sleep (touch wood!!!!!). However in the day time it is a different story!!!!!!. For instance today think she has had about 1 and a half hours sleep in total!!!!!!!!!??????....the should be sleeping approx 18 hours at this age a day???????. In the day time the only way I can get & keep her asleep is by putting her in the blue sling (which features a few times in the pics). Today I vacumed, mopped, used an electric hand mixer (which is extremely loud), all with Lexi in the sling, she did not flinch once. It then got to lunch time, still in my P.J's decided to get a shower, so settled Lexi in her cot, but then 3 seconds later she was crying!!!!!. I watched her & she is soooo jumpy, at one point her own breating made her jump!?. Think she is a senstive little soul!.

Other than her sleeping in the day everything else is good, her in growing toe nail now is sorted, she is putting weight on, she is also getting a receeding hair line like her dad!!!!...she's not loosing her hair at the back (AKA Terry Nutkins) just at the front?

She has started to make little cooing noises & is very aware she watches your every move now. On a morning I let Megan feed her & when I place her in Megans arms to go & get a bottle, Lexi's eyes follow me as if to say "please don't leave me!!!". Megan still adores her, very helpful et,etc...but she is a bit much for Lexi sometimes especially when she gets within 1cm of her face. I think I must say "Megan, don't do this, that & the other" about 15 thousand times a day!!!!!. We had a particularly bad day yesterday with her & Megan said " Please stop her from crying mummy she is hurting my ears!!!". She is guzzling milk like nobodys business, so she may just be having a growth spurt & I'm not feeding her enough??????!..however thats all I feel like I do?. Anyway I'm sure Lexi will come good soon!!!!

We still all absolutely love her to bits!

I'm currently Running at 20%.......

2010-07-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

Megan took this lovely flattering picture...however I do feel that it captures very well my current stature..AKA Knackered!!!!!!. Little Miss Lexi May is currently feeding every 3 hours, which is not bad!?, but it is a very different story when you have got a 4 year old to look after full time as well!!!..ah well a few more weeks & hopefully she will be sleeping through!...here's to hoping!

A trip to the museum

2010-07-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Brisbane Museum...which has a science centre for kids. Here are a few pics of our day out..it was fab!.

Lexi almost 3 weeks on!

2010-07-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well Lexi is doing really well almost 3 weeks on, where does time go????. She has finally gone back above her birth weight at 3380, last week, so gonna get her weighed again this week to make sure she is still growing!. She is a little guzzler & from what she is producing at the other end, she is definately eating enough!. She weighed 3380 last week so hopefully this week she will have put weight on. Because she is so tiny she has no meat on her bones!, you can't really tell from the pics. I am still feeding her myself, but had a few really bad nights so bought some formula to top her up at bedtime!. I know she is only 3 weeks old but I think she has got a little personality already!, she definately tells you when she does not like something! & she pulls the funniest faces, I'll have to get some pics of them. I had to go back to the docs last week because her big toe had swelled up, turns out she had an in growing toe nail!...but the cream the prescribed has sorted it out..the other alternative was removing the toe nail!...the thought makes me shiver!!!!. Other than that she is fab!

The McKenzie Genes!

2010-07-03T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I'd compare a few pics that I have of Ian, Megan & Lexi, as you can see they are all very similar. The first 2 pics are Lexi then Megan which I think look very alike!. Then the last 2 are Ian when he was a baby & Lexi's mugshot for her passport. All that hard work and I can't see one bit of Esteve!!!!!!!!!!!??????

More pics of Lexi

2010-06-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

As you can see me & Ian do not get much of a look in. Megan is in LOVE with her sister. Megan has been an absolute star, so helpful, yet not too bossy!!!!. Love them all soooo much. Ian has been, well the gorgeous person that he is, so kind, helpful & really my best friend, I could not of done it without him. My family now feels complete.....oh plus I could not go through labour again!.

Lexi May McKenzie

2010-06-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one, so Grandad Tony can see his 2nd little Grandaughter. Far too busy with a bundle of fun. Lexi May McKenzie born 26 June 2010 7lb 5oz at 10.30am.

Bits N Bobs

2010-06-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

A few pics of what we have been up to over the last month or so. Well I have been mostly growing, Megan playing & Ian working!.

Thank You Ben Purdy

2010-06-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

We would like to give a massive thank you to Alison & Ben Purdy, for their surprise package that we received a few weeks ago!!!. Megan loved the Peppa Pig Book in fact she finished it within about half an hour!. Thank you so much for taking the time to send it to her, she really appreciates it. We have dug out your e-mail address & sent you a thank you e-mail, but don't know if you have changed your e-mail address???. Megan has also recorded you a special message...but we have done it on our new camera & for some reason cannot up load the vid, so we'll have to re film on the old camera!.

Thank you X

The New Wheels

2010-05-24T04:38:00.000-07:00

Well the Daewoo Lanos blew up about a month ago!!!!...I finally had a break down as I thought this is the last thing we need, not long before we come back!!!!!. However I pulled myself together and we bought for $5K this little baby from Sarah & Lee our friends who have gone back to the U.K. It is worth more than this...so when we leave we are gonna try and sell it for more & give them the extra on top of the $5K & hopefully get our money back????. In theory it sounds good doesn't it but we'll see how the sale go's??.

36 weeks Preggers!

2010-05-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

4 weeks to go now!!!....and she is just growing & growing. I don't think there is much space left for her now!!!!!. I have finally finished work though so can put my feet up for a bit....however that is if Madam McKenzie lets me. Although she has got her best mate next door Teneale, so they play really well together, I'm just not interesting enough anymore!. This will prob be my last pic, as I don't want to broadcast any more pics of the beached whale!!!...so over and out until she comes.

Megan V's McKenzie No 2

2010-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I would compare Megan with this baby & I thought I wasn't as big with this baby, but the pic in the blue is the pic of Megan full term & the other pic is McKenzie No2 at 35 weeks. So I think I look pretty similar!!!!!, plus I have 5 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. However I have only put on 1 stone 4lbs with this one so far?...however with Megan I put on 2 stone 4lbs???.
I feel so uncomfortable at the moment!!!...I couldn't imagine putting on another stone now!!!!!. Maybe it is cos I am 4 years older????...I am a wreck wanting to be in bed every night at 8pm!!!!. However I did finish work 9 weeks before I had Megan!!!!!!!!. Just got one more week to go!...then I'm finished THANK GOD!!!!!!.

Meggy Moo

2010-05-11T03:37:00.000-07:00

Well little update on Megan. She is very excited about meeting her little sister...we've finally drummed it into her that it is not her baby, it is our baby!!!. "When my baby comes, I'll do this, I'll do that"...but she has accepted it now & says "How is your baby!, etc"

She is doing really well with writing & spelling now. She can write her own name & also writes other peoples names. She asks how to spell for example Hollys name & I tell H O L L Y & she can write it without me showing her.

She is always interrupting me when I read her stories at night telling me what letters they all are. I think she def needs school now, cos at kindy here which is like nursery she is a class with age range from 3 to 5 yrs. Which is obviously a massive gap!. She brought me home a mothers day card the other day & they had written the content of it along with her name. Megan also added her name on the other page. I said to her "Did they not let you write your name?" and she said "No!!!". I do think they are holding her back, still trying to make her have a sleep, however we have put a stop to that now!. The only thing with her writing is sometimes she writes it backwards???..until we tell her..then she hits herself on the head & says "Doh" & writes it perfect!.

We also play the matching card game & I seriously try to beat her but I can't, she has got the best memory!!!. So hopefully she will do really well at school!.

ACE (Albany Creek Excelsior)...Champions League eat your heart out!

2010-05-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

Well thought I would get this on Video....as you will agree it is quite humourous!!!. You would think he was playing for Man U!. The waiter outfit is what Ian has to wear before & after a match!!!!.

The video is the ritual they have to go through before all home games?. Ian says it is quite embarassing as not all the clubs in the league are as formal as this!?.

The form of the team has not been too great since the season started....however they did win this game who are the top of the league 5-1. So hopefully they will start getting better now as all their friendlies pre season they won!!!??.

Megan is quite an enthusiastic fan of her Daddy as you can see!..bless her.

These are the rules that were distributed pre season to all players..see what you think:

1.Training Tuesday and Thursday, arrive 6.45pm, ready 7:00pm to 8:30pm.
2.Players must attend both training sessions a week. Exception only by agreement. All players will be aware of any agreement between coaching staff and a player seeking exception.
3.Miss one session, Player will start from the bench. Decision at the discretion of the coaching staff.
4.Miss both training sessions, a player will not be made available for the next cup or regular fixture game. NO EXCEPTIONS.
5.Missing training due to work/illness, player will need to notify coaching staff 2 hours before start.
6.Missing cup or regular fixture game due to work/illness, player will need to notify coaching staff 12 hours before start.
7.Non notification will be seen as disregard for their fellow players, coaching staff and ACE.
8.Players will display the up most discipline before, during and after cup or regular fixture games.
9.Dress codes to be adhered to before, during and after cup or regular fixture games.
10.Players shall show respect to their fellow players, coaching staff, ACE club members and guests at home and away cup or regular fixture games.
11. All disciplinary actions, if or when they arise will be passed down and enforced through the ACE soccer disciplinary committee.

A Weekend at the Gold Coast

2010-04-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a trip to the Gold Coast & stayed over for 1 night. We kicked off the weekend with a Dora Show. Megan absolutely loved it!. She even started the whole audience off clapping at one point to the music...she fully involved herself and took full participation in the show, shouting, clapping & singing etc.

We then went to Seaworld, where Megan specifically wanted to go see the sharkbay???!!...not the nice little dolphins or penguins????. We read a few interesting facts while being in there about bull sharks...the ones that are found quite regularly in The South Pine River...the one where Ian & Lee go watersking???!!!. The ones that have an endless appetite's. I am a nervous wreck now everytime he go's out on the boat!

We took the family Daewoo Lanos down to the Gold Coast...it ran like a dream and used about $18 dollars in petrol there & back!!!!...you can't go wrong!!!!. Look at the beauty of it...who needs an audi????.

We had a really good weekend...was nice to spend some time together!.

Bump at 29 Weeks

2010-04-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

A Trip Southside for the Fish & Chip Fix

2010-03-25T03:15:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to my favourite food shop. The Chippy!!!!!. You just can't beat English fish & Chips!.
We also had a walk around the British Food Shop & bought the items which are laid out in the picture for $39, approx £20!!!. Worth it though...some English sausages!.
I also had to take a pic of the Persil Washing Powder..don't know if you can see it in the pic, but it was $79 (£40 approx)...it was quite a big box..but PLEASE!!!!?????.
I was chatting with the woman who owns the shop (who Ian despises may I add, cos they make so much money from idiots like us!, as he puts it!)..She was saying the most that was spent in the shop in one go was $300 (£150)...bearing in mind it is like a little corner shop...that is alot of money!!!.
Anyway still like to have my fix of English stuff. I may treat myself to some Alpen next time..which is $14 (£7)!...I'll savour every mouthful!.
Also must say a big thankyou to both Di & Caroline for sending me an English Gossip Mag...you will be pleased to hear I read the print off each one...I was so excited to recieve it!!!...Thankyou again.

Bump Update

2010-03-25T03:07:00.000-07:00

These pics are from a few weeks ago, so I think I was about 25 weeks, then. Needless to say I have grown a bit since then!!.
I will take some more pics to show you my ever growing bump!. I'm just hoping to not be as big as I was with Megan. However this one is still a fussy eater, not eating nowhere near as much as I did with Megan!. Don't get me wrong though I still have a healthy appetite, my Grandad used to describe me as an 'Irish Navy' & my Uncle Andrew often referred to me as 'Bella Hemburg'!!!.

Ian's Impression of certain Ozzies!

2010-03-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

Well I don't think any words will explain this!!!. Other than this is how he greets alot of his australian work mates & friends!..how does he still have any????

You better watch out Mr Simon Cowell.......

2010-03-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

As you can see Megan is in training for the 2030 X Factor auditions!!!!!??????.

She has always loved her music i.e- knowing almost every Abba song at the age of 3...obviously got that from us!. Her own music taste is now emerging & it ranges from the birdie song!!!??? to the Black Eye'd peas!. She has got her own playlist on the Ipod- which also includes Lady Gaga.

I caught her singing to this little number which is Alesha Dixon- The Boy does nothing!...Think it has just been released here in Oz, you know how up to date they are!?.

As you can see she needs to brush up on learning the lyrics...but she's enjoying herself!

It's ma Party & I'll cry if a want to............

2010-02-25T04:06:00.000-08:00

&&

Well it was Megan McKenzie's 4th Birthday Party last weekend whereby she had a birthday party invited 13 of her friends. Now she has insisited for the last 12 months that she wanted a Peppa Pig Party for her 4th Birthday, which we agreed to in England!!!!...where it is full of Peppa Pig stuff...however Australia have nothing that is Peppa Pig, no pre-made Cakes like Sainsburys & Morrisons have!!!!????,

so we set out to find someone who would make us a Peppa Pig Cake. I have a friend at work who loves baking, so she offered..however the week before she was off work with illness. So we had to think of Plan B...which was asking Ian's Aunty Pat & bless her she came to the rescue 2 days before she was due to go away for the weekend. I think she did a fab job at such short notice.

Now the line up at her birthday party was a bit different to previous years, there were 10 girls 3 boys. All her other parties have been full of boys!!.

After her birthday party we went home to open all her presents...now during this time I think she asked us about 57 thousand times if she was 4 yet???. For the first 15 times we said No, you will be four on Wednesday, but after the 97th time we said Yes Megan you are 4!!!.

I would like to thank everyone who sent her cards & presents....especially those that came from England!!!. I must also give one special mention to Janet & Enid, who never forget & ring us almost every week to have a chat...but seriously thank you to everyone for their birthday wishes for her..she is a very luck lady!!.

I'm sure you all know we are.....having a BABY GIRL!!!!!!!

2010-02-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

As the title states 'I'm sure you all know that we are having a baby girl!!!'. I am absolutley over the moon. Obviously blocking out teenage years & the saying ' I HATE YOU MUM', bar that I cannot wait.

I am really pleased Megan is going to have a little sister to boss around, poor little thing!!!!...It doesn't know what it has got coming! Unless she meets her match!!!!...oh god 2 of them that will be interesting.

I always wanted a sister, to do sisterly things with & to steal clothes & make up from!. No offence Jaron, I used to steal your clothes anyway at one point!!...what was I thinking...maybe a bit of a tomboy?.

Also I believe that I will have 2 shopping partners for life!!!...apart from I'll (well Ian) will be the one doing all the buying for them.

I feel really lucky to be having 2 girls, as, as you all know my Mum was ill from a young age & in a way we missed out on all the things that you do with your mum when you are older!!. I know my Mum would be over the moon for me too & basically like my Uncle Andrew said once, If my Mum had been alive now, their feet would not of touched the floor, she adored children...anyway I'm sure she's watching from somewhere.

I never had any Aunties around either as they are scattered across the world, Bar you Aunty Ade..I'll never forget that YOU were the only one who played with me at Christmas time!!.

So to sum up I cannot wait to meet my new little girl, just got to get past the birth bit first!!!!...EEEEEEEK!!!!

Waterskiing

2010-01-30T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ian has been having a go at waterskiing, this is him in action. Quite good don't you think for a novice??

Bump Growth

2010-01-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

19 Weeks Pregnant

18 Weeks Pregnant

A Womans work is never done....

2010-01-28T03:04:00.000-08:00

As you all know Megan McKenzie is a little bossy boots and very independant. Well now she can do the washing for me aswell...I've got her in training ready for when the next addition comes along.

She has watched me for a while now doing the washing, so much so that she knows how to do it herself. She is able to put in the washing powder & softner in the correct spot.

I caught a bit of it on camera, she knows how to put it on a' Quick 30 min cycle, on intensive with an extra fast spin'. The next thing I need to teach her is split the darks & the lights.

I left a message for Ian the other day to do some chores when he got home from work, one of them being the washing. I left a note saying 'will you put some washing on, if you don't know how to do it, then your 3 year old daughter does'. When I got home he advised me that Megan showed him what to do!!!!!!!!!.....he should be embarassed of himself!.

Pregnancy so far.....

2010-01-19T02:55:00.001-08:00

Well as you know, I have not coped well with pregnancy so far!!!!. Thought it may be easier second time round...but nah, it seems worse. I know it will all be worth it in the end, but seriously need to stop gipping at everything now!!!. I have not been sick now for over a week which is good stuff but still have a good gip every morning!!!.
We went to see Anita & Grants new little baby at the weekend, he is very cute & I wouldn't put him down, but also at the same time, I kept thinking to myself oh my god I have got a child of that size out of me. At this stage the first time round with Megan I was just ignorant about childbirth!!!...apart from when I used to watch births gone wrong & Ian would come home from work & I would be in a frenzy!!!. Ah well drugs all the way!!!.
Now Megan is very interested in all aspects of the baby, apart from going to the scans as she says 'it takes too long'. I have to read her my week by week pregnancy guide, well the interesting bits, like how big it is etc,etc. Today she asked me why my boobies were so big!!!!, so I tried to explain the feeding aspect of them..but all she could do was giggle!!!. I'm really looking forwards to her asking me over the next few months...why my bum is so big!!!!.
Over the last week or so, she has been complaining when she is in bed, that her tops are too small for her (which they are not)...thought it was a bit strange???...however I have now discovered why, she wants bigger ones. As you can see from the picture, she puts her teddy up it every night pretending she is pregnant...managed to catch a shot of it.
Well thats all for now..got our 20 week scan next Friday...we have decided we are not going to find out what it is....we are going to leave it as a suprise.

Captain Chaos & his Deck Hand

2010-01-18T01:38:00.001-08:00

We have met a lovely family The Mitchells, Sarah, Lee, Georgia & Sophia. We have spent the last few weekends with them, Ian & Lee out at sea causing Chaos & Me & Sarah at theirs having interesting conversations about Australia!!!.

Lee has a little Speed Boat called 'The Stroker', which Ian has made the most of for the last few weekends. In fact Lee didn't get a look in on Saturday, Ian was hogging the wheel stating he was 'Sea Sick' (I will put some footgage of on Ian on at his finest, when I get more time, obviously nothing to do with the copius amounts of alcohol & shots the night before, care of Grant!!)

Ian has been on the ringos see youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMKQxVsB9UE & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5wXLKfO58I . Now the ringos specifically say 'DO NOT EXCEED MORE THAN 20 KNOTS', they obviously had to take it to the next level at 35 knots an hour!!!!!, nearly breaking their faces!!!!. Ian came back looking like a punched lobster (sunburn also!!!). They are also doing this in shark infested rivers!!!!. Ian saying I should try it some time!!!..no thanks!.

Baby McKenzie Number 2

2009-12-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

We are expecting Baby McKenzie number 2 it is due 24th June 2010. I am officially 13 weeks and 2 days now, I thought I was 13 weeks and 5 days, so a few days out. Scan showed everything to be all good, it was wriggling around all over. Megan is very excited to be a big sister & keeps calling it a boy, she is going to be very disappointed if it's a girl I think!!!!?.

I have felt revolting for the last probably 8 weeks, chucking up every morning & eating strange things like crusty bread dipped in balsamic vinegar...think that is the spaniard coming out in me. I am craving some home cooked 'Antonio Esteve Food'!!!!!. We were supposed to go to Ians friends house last weekend for a Paella, as he is a spaniard...but his little girl had measles the week before so thought it best to stay away. However don't think it would of lived up to Antonio's!!!!.

We'll keep you updated with our progress...roll on the 24th June.

The Bardon Bandits Football Final

2009-11-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

Megan had just walked up to another Footie player who had his back to her & held his hand, he held it back, then she saw Ian opposite her & thought who's hand am I holding, then burst into tears.

< Bandits F.C got into the playoff finals finishing 2nd in the league. These gaylords have a playoff system, instead of whoever finishes first wins. We won 4-3 in extra time & are now Brisbane Northside Champions. It has been a good laugh this season, apart from playing Friday nights, which ultimately meant interfering with my drinking time. We had an end of season Bash last week....which ended up with me spending all Saturday in bed...in between getting up to vomit (approx 9 times). Commenced drinking at 5.30pm, when all the WAGS & children came had a BBQ got attacked by all the children & waterbombs, then the WAGS left & the real drinking began...can't remember the rest...."It's history as they say".

Megan & the Wii

2009-11-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

Megan has discovered the Wii!!!!!!!!!!!.....already at the age of 3!!!!....however her attention span is still that of a goldfish...so hopefully she won't get too hooked!.

As you can see from the footage she is only singing when she is winning. Next task teach her it's the taking part that counts not the winning!!!. That maybe quite hard for Mr Ian McKenzie AKA Mr Competitive.

My 31st Birthday

2009-10-20T02:59:00.000-07:00

I would like to first of all thank everyone for my Birthday wishes and cards, especially those that came from the other side of the world!!!. I would also like to thank Andy, Ade, Loz & Will for looking after the Moosten so we could go out and paint the town red!!!!.

Ian made my birthday very special for me, bit better than what I do for him!!!!...he puts me to shame. He first of all treated me to a bottle of Moet followed by a bottle of Hugo Boss Eau de parfum (not to drink obviously!).

We went out on Friday night to Fortitude Valley just on the outskirts of Brisbane City, this is also know as 'The Valley', sounds classy I know...but it was very nice. We first of all dropped off Megan at Andy & Ades, then had planned to get the train into the city...but as many of you know me & Ian...... we were late so we had to drive in & leave the car.

Ian had directions of how to get to our destination from the train station (as this was our planned mode of transport), however I had just popped his work shorts in the wash before we left with the instructions in!!!!!!!!!. Ah well we made it anyway, found a multi storey car park, to leave the pride of Fleet in & off we set on our night out. Once we had parked the car, Ian was absolutely desperate for the toilet, so was rushing me around, now this was not good bearing in mind I haven't worn heels on a night out for about 10 months!!!!, so I was scuttling along behind him. He found the exit in the multi storey car park....or so he thought, so we started walking down the stairs to the bottom floor, trying all the doors to see if we could get out at any. After about 4 floors it became apparant that this was not the traditional exit it was the fire escape....which in Australia locks you in, so we could'nt get out on to any floors!!!!!!!!!!. So you can picture it Ian is almost wetting himself, I'm tottering around on 15ft heels & we are trapped inside a stair well!!!!. I was a bit nervous by then & my panic button was pressed so I started banging on the doors...luckily someone had just parked their car & let us out...I think she thought we were lunatics!!...Yeah so that was the first 10 mins of our first night out in 7 months!!!???

However it got better from then on, Ian booked a table for us at The Garuva restaurant or should I say cushions!!. It is a Thai restaurant that doesn't have the traditional table & Chairs. When we went in we walked through a little replica tranquil rainforest thing, which led through to what only could be described as what looked like hospital cubicles!!!!???. We were then led through to the Wine bar, which had live music playing...the band were singing a relaxing version of Lady Ga, Ga's poker face..it was very good. The bar had cushions & bean bags scattered around no chairs or tables whatsoever, it was all dark... there was alot of mood lighting...very relaxing.

We then went through to our 'Cubicle', which was a really low table with really comfy cushions to sit back on...and the cubicle was enclosed with like cheescloth curtains, which made it really private. There were people at the side of you but you could only see there shadows, yet there was still a good atmosphere as you could hear everyone still. We had a really nice time & meal at the restaurant.

We then hit a few bars for obviously a few drinky poos. All in all we had a great night!!!!...apart from the face I was celebrating my 31st Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Now I AM OFFICIALLY IN MY 30's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Megan at Kindy

2009-10-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd show you Megans Kindy pictures, I think she looks beautiful!!!. I know I'm biased though. Please note the accessories she has on.... she will not go anyway without her necklace, bracelet & ring on...ooooo she is such a DIVA!.

Also note how old she looks in the group picture, the room she is in, is for 4 to 5 year olds, so the majority of them are in the school year above Megan & will be going to school this year, whereas Megan next year, because she is bright they put her in the class above (don't know where she gets her brains from???!). However she looks like a teenager, she looks older than all of them.

Sunday at Southbank

2009-10-05T16:52:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took a trip to SouthBank the man made beach in the City. Megan really likes it she seems to be more confident in the water, probably because there are'nt any large waves, like there is at the beach.
We spent the morning in the water, which built up Megans already healthy appetite, so we visited our favourite little italian there where we dine with the Water dragons!!!. Megan had a full bowl of spaghetti!!!!!!, she did'nt spill any this time!!!.

New Phone Number

2009-10-05T02:12:00.001-07:00

We finally have a land line now, so for those of you who want it, here it is 00 61 73325 4604, we are 9 hours ahead, however when your clocks change ours don't so at the end of October we will be 10 hours ahead.

The Weather in Oz

2009-09-30T02:43:00.001-07:00

The weather in Oz is definitely hot, however it did get chilly in winter. The days were beautiful in winter but the nights were quite cold, the temps in the daytime were low to mid 20's, but the nights dropped to 10 degrees. Now that doesn't sound that cold does it??!, but when you add in that there is no central heating and the houses are made from wood & a bit of plaster board, equals flimsy enough for the big bad wolf to blow them down!!!! It did feel really cold, I discovered a hot water bottle, it was strapped to my back for 2 months to keep warm on a night!!!.

However it is spring now & it has certainly warmed up!!!. I seriously cannot remember the last time that it rained here, which is quite good for someone from the U.K, but on a serious note it is not good for the dams!!!. The last time I can remember that it rained & it did rain was prob about June!!.

I went to the park today with some friends I got there at 9.30am & left at 11am, I was in and out of the sun & look at the state of my back (I have attached a pic!)!!!. It is really scary as the heat to me does not feel as hot as in Spain, but look how much it burns you in such a short time!!!.

The video is of a dust storm that we had last week, it was bizarre me & Megan were in the park it was quite sunny blue sky then all of the Sudden it looked like the world was gonna end!!. It lasted all day, it was a dust storm from South Australia, the worst apparently in 70 years. Everything was covered in orange dust, ah well it made me wash our car the first time since we bought it in May!!!!.

Megan McKenzie

2009-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Arfar.........

Megan McKenzie is still as crackers as ever, as you can see in the few bits of footage... She still wets herself when anyone hurts themselves or falls over!!???...sicko!!!.

I thought I'd let you sample a bit of her voice coaching sessions...one day you mark my words she'll be as good as Lauren Mills!!!!!?????

The Lovely Lauren Mills

2009-09-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

This is my lovely little cousin (well I still think she's little, I can remember dancing with her when she was 3 to Take That's 'want you back for good'...seems like 2 minutes ago!'). She was serenading us, we think she is gonna be the next idol. She is absolutely amazing...good on ya Loz, you've got it all looks, personality & you can sing!!!!!!

Mmm what to title this an Ode to Wako Jacko!!??

2009-09-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Enjoy everyone......

Ha, Ha, Ha revenge is sweet Mr Mills!!!!!....I've finally gotchya!!!!!....all those sambucas worked!!!!!. This is for all those old embarrassing pics on F.B!!!, he,he. Phill & Ian nice moves too!!!.

P.S- Check out how Phillis is tucking into a cup of Tea, while making a T*T of himself...love it!!

Caroline & Phills (AKA AL's) arrival

2009-09-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

View from the surfclub

Caroline & Phill visited us in August for almost 2 weeks we had a lovely time. We did lots & lots of things, so here go's. The first week they were here we both had to work but the second week we had off so we could go to a few places with them.

The first weekend we had a BBQ & had Andy, Ade, Loz, Will, Anita, Grant, Holly, Jayce, Pat & Chris over & Me & Ian were the chief hosts!!!. Think Anita, Grant , Pat, Chris...well all of them were nervous as me & Ian as most of you know cannot organise a P*ss up in a brewery, but all went to plan & everyone got fed & watered.

Towards the end of the evening, after most were merry we had a bit of a dance floor going on, and Ian decided to up the anti & flex some of his break dancing moves. In the process of him leaping into a handstand he kicked Caz in the face firing her into the wall whereby she then collapsed in a heap on the floor!!!!. Ian was none the wiser as he was still performing what could only be described as some sort of epileptic fit like moves!!!!..while his sister was nursing a sore cheek. Caroline could not believe there was not a hole in the paper thin walls, bearing in mind how hard she hit it!!!...therefore Phill decided to put his fist through one!!!!!....Therefore we had a hole in the newly finished rental of 6 weeks!!!....Sweet. Ian fixed it by putting a Dora the explorer poster over it for the 2 weeks unti l Grant sorted it for us!!!. You certainly know how to leave your mark Phillis.

Sunday- Everyone had a hangover, but Ian had arranged for them to go see the Brisbane Broncos play (Rugby sorry Football as they call it here) at the Suncorp stadium. They all had a good time...especially Ian who spent most of the time watching a young female ride around on a horse. Strangely Ian wants me to buy a horse & some cowboy boots??...mmm I wonder why?.
Monday- We went to Brisbane City centre, went to Southbank & had a pic-nic near the river, then Caz & Phill went to buy their compulsory tourist stuff at the shops.

Tuesday-We visted Movieworld went on all the scary rides, as the last time we went we had Megan so we could'nt. So as we were still paying for Kindy we put Megan in kindy & off we went..mean parents are'nt we!.

Wednesday-We visited redcliffe which is a little bay about half an hour away. We packed up a BBQ & Andy & Ades cricket bats & off we went for a fun afternoon.

Thursday-We visited Wet n Wild, which was fab lots of scary slides but alot of fun. We made the fatal error of getting in the hot whirl pools at about 2.30pm & could not get out to go on anymore slides. As the weather was still nice but the water was still cool!. We then took Phill to surfers while we were down there, sat on the beach for 10 minutes had a cuppa then went home.

Friday- We went to Maloolaba up the Sunshine Coast for the day. We took them to the surf club as it has a fab view of the sea, however when we got in there they were renovating & all we had a view of was of a MDF wall!!!..nice!. We then went to the beach which was lovely however there was a force 10 gale..which was that strong we could hardly hear each other speak in the wind. Ian & Phill decided to do a bit of bodyboarding...very unsuccessfully they did'nt catch one wave. After about 10 mins of them being in the sea the lifeguard came over to me & Caroline and said " they have not done this before have they?" we said "No" he said "I can tell, I've been watching them for the last 10 minutes fumble around English Idiots (no ha , ha he did'nt call them that)" he then proceeded to say that " if we had of come 2 hours before they would of been swimming in the biggest rip in the sea, which would of dragged them out 3 meters per second, under the water & deposited them about 100 meters out to sea". Quite comical really as Ian stopped at 4 different places along the beach where we all unloaded ourselves out of the car...however Ian was unhappy with each of the 4 spots & finally chose the last one, we needed Benny Hill music!!!!. Friday evening we were invited to Andy & Ades, where we had the best steak ever!!!.

Saturday- Samford Pub our old jaunt for Anitas Birthday.

Sunday- Bribie Island beach for Anitas birthday, where we had breakfast at the snack bar we were there for 8:30am a record for us..followed by a few beers, snacks & a round of cricket on the beach.

Then Monday they departed for Hervey Bay. We had a lovely time with them thankyou so much for coming to see us. During there stay we discovered that Phill has an alter ego called Alan. Please Google 2 and a half men, the american sitcom starring Charlie Sheen (no Phill isn't Charlie Sheen). Phill is Charlies brother Alan...funny!!.

Sorry!!!

2009-09-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

I must apologise I have not updated for a while!!!!. I do have lots more pics & footage (especially some funny dancing of Ian, Andy & Phill), however it has just taken me an hour to update the last 1 so I'm signing out & will update next week in full!!

Megans best friends birthday party

2009-09-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

Megan went to Zoe's 4th Birthday party in August, who is her best friend from Kindy. When we arrived after studying the 1994 Brisbane refidex map (still not got a sat nav!) I arrived at our cul-de-sac destination. Me & Megan pulled up at the end of the drive and walked to the door which we thought would be 2 minutes walk up the drive... Jesus we were mistaken.... I needed oxygen & mouth to mouth by the time I arrived at the front door!!!!!.... The house was like a freekin mansion, on 5 and a half acres to be exact!!!!!. Why did Megan have to pick the rich kid in the class to be friends with!. We live in a postage stamp rental next to some chavs & we drive a ford falcon sedan!!!! When I was greeted by Zoe's lovely mum I did a sort of a courtsey....????What a gimp!!!!!??????....Me & Megan were well out of our depth!!!

However I must say everyone was lovely & quite normal not snotty at all!. Megan had a lovely time with her best mate.

When I arrive at Kindy I often see Zoe's Dad who is waiting with Zoe, for Megan to arrive as Zoe doesn't seem to settle unless Megan is there. Zoe is quite shy & Megan is the bossy one!!

Dancing Queen

2009-07-29T03:02:00.000-07:00

Megan is obviously still as crazy as ever!!!. She does love a good dance this is her dance floor now & does like us to play a few tunes every night for her to flex her moves!!!. Her favourite dance partner when we are at a gathering is Aunty Ade, she lingers around her when she feels like throwing out a few moves. I've watched her she starts to bump into ade & smack her bum, which means will you dance with me??

Take a look at a few of her latest moves?!

Home sweet home!!!

2009-07-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

This is our new home which is 30 Harry Court, Eatons Hill, Brisbane, 4500, Queensland, Oz. We have been here for almost 2 weeks now & it is starting to feel like home!!!. We decided to rent as we felt that we did'nt know the areas enough to jump in & buy, also the deposit on a home would have used up all the money we would of had in the world!!!! & as we still have a house in the U.K, we thought that this was a sensible idea. We also could'nt wait any longer to live together again as a family. As since Feb 2008 we haven't lived together as Ian was working away for most of last year & then we moved out of our own home in Oct 2008, so we felt that it was time!!!. Mainly to see if we still got on!!!!!, ha,ha only joking we still have lots of fun together our little family of 3!!.

The area we are living in is 10 minutes from Samford where Ians Aunty Pat & Uncle Chris live & also where Megan still goes to nursery. We did'nt feel it was fair to move her again to another nursery as she has made lots of friends there, so I still take her there. Megan loves her new home, she is very proud of her pink bedroom well pink bedding!!!. She gets upset if it gets in a mess!!!. She is alot more settled now there is just us 3, so all in all she is doing really well.

The estate we are living on is only a small one & very new, our house is brand spanking new, so I'm terrified were gonna ruin something, I've already, by accident of course taken a big chunk out of one of the walls!!! oops. There are about 5 houses on the estate, there is vacant land at the side of us & a house for sale opposite. Ian met our soon to be neighbours last Saturday, they are a family of 4, the guy is in the army & the lady is English & they have 2 little girls a 2 & a 4 year old. So Megan cannot wait for them to move in for someone to play with. As she is getting to that age where she says she is bored, I am just not interesting enough any more for her!!!.

To sum up we are very happy here & glad we have our own place at last!!!

Practice upload

2009-07-27T03:15:00.000-07:00

I've just been shown how to upload videos onto here, so this is the only one I have at the Mo, of Meggy Moo. There will be more now I know how to do it, so you can see grow up!!

Moving Home

2009-07-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Just a very quick one, we are moving today into a rental. We decided last Friday we needed our own place & so have decided to rent, found it Wednesday & move in today Saturday. Wooooo Hooooooo!!!!!!. So will not have internet or phone line for a few weeks!. Will update in full once set up!. Heres to sleeping on a blow up mattress for a while

Bowling-Mac's V Mills

2009-06-24T02:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend took us bowling with the Mills lot. The weather was like been in Wakefield on Sunday so off we went to try and kick Ian's A** & finally beat him at something!!!.

William was also gonna try and beat Megan this time, as last time we went Megan wiped the floor with him & obviously has never lived it down!!!.

Ian won the first game would you believe!!!!?? & I think Megan also bet Andrew, however I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong!!??.

Ian however lost his touch on the second game & Andrew took full advantage & won the game!!!. That will be churning over in Ians head now, he'll make sure he wins next time Mr Competitive!!.

We all had a good time!

The Weekend

2009-06-15T02:55:00.000-07:00

Ian was desperate for a tinkle at the beach & could'nt hold it!!!!, He'd had alot to drink!!!!

I was feeling terribly sick while at the beach & did'nt make it to the toilet abit like my Saturday nights!!

We had a relatively quite weekend in the land of Oz!. Saturday morning Ian worked to get some extra pennies for the house fund. He started at 6am!! & was home by 10am!!. They are def early risers here but early finishers also!. When he got home he got out the ride on mower & mowed the 1.5 acres of Chris & Pat's garden!!!!. He doesn't fancy that every weekend!!!. Give us a deck or some concrete any time!!!!. Then after that we went house hunting again, just looking at show homes etc,etc.

Sunday we took a ride to Bribie Island which is a fab place. Megan loves going to the beach & running around chasing all the seagulls!!!. We actually had a successful trip which lasted longer than 3 minutes this weekend!!. I've got a 17 point checklist I use now before leaving the house!!!. Ian was telling his work mate today (who is a keen surfer) about our weekend & where we went, he told us that Bribie Island is rife with sharks & they currently have the shark nets down as they were dredging (think thats how you spell it!!), good job we did'nt go in the sea then!!!

Another great weekend in the land of Oz X

Congratulations,congratulations,congratulations!!!

2009-06-15T02:30:00.001-07:00

The beautiful Olivia Grace

The Gorgeous Chris & Claire Law

The Scrumptious Max McNally

Well where do we begin????. We'll go with chronological order.

We would like to congratulate Mr & Mrs Law on their wedding, you both looked absolutely stunning!!! We wish you many, many, happy years of marriage together!!!!

We would also like to congratulate Fingers, Catherine & Ben on the arrival of the absolutely scrumptious Max McNally!!!!. We all wish we could have a cuddle with him!!!. Well done Catherine, heard about the birth!!! Ouch!!!!!!

We would also like to congratulate Julie & Scott on the arrival of Olivia Grace Mullooly!!!!!!. We are so pleased for you both & you'll be amazing parents!!!. Not had any gruesome news of the birth yet??!, so can't comment??!.

All these weddings & reproductions!!!! all in the space of a few weeks!!!

Congratulations to all of you from the Macs X

Meggy Moo & Australia

2009-06-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

Megan is still really enjoying herself in Oz. She has settled into Kindy now & loves her teacher Miss Eleanor..who to me looks like an old battleaxe. However Megan really loves her, she even asks me on a morning "who's room am I going in??" & kicks off if its not Miss Eleanors..so I just lie sometimes, easy life and all that!.

She has made lots of friends main two are Roman & Angus...boys of course. Romans the resident nutcase who is very loud & a bit of class clown!! (MMmmm who does that remind you of??...Ian did I hear you say!!!!)

Megans accent is in a strange place at the moment, here are a few of the words which sound strange;

No she says a N_y_o

Dora she says as Doooooora (she sounds a bit like the queen)

Floor same Flooooooor

Mummy she says the my bit at the end a few octaves higher

Theres lots more examples but I won't bore you, think I'm boring myself abit!!!!.

It's really funny when you pick her up from Kindy she sounds really different, however after a night with t'us Yorkshire folk, shes back in the swing of it!.

All in all she is still enjoying it, she still talks about England & mentions people here and there.

Becky Blunders

2009-06-12T04:14:00.000-07:00

Well where do I begin!!!. I've had a corker of a weekend!!!!....It began on Friday afternoon, I was helping balance the till after we had closed the branch as I always do. I stay on average 45 minutes a day extra everyday without pay!!!! to help!!!! (need to sort that out!). Anyway Maz the lead teller pressed the all important balance button....dan, dan, daaaannnn!!!! & it was $147 short!!!!. We checked all the money again, searched everywhere under the computers in the safe, blah,blah but it could'nt be found, so we had to declare it as a defecit!. To cut a long story short I went to work on Monday morning opened my till draw & there was a $147 in my till!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I'd forgotten to empty it!!!!!.They are beginning to get to know the real Becky!!!!

Saturday we were invited to Bryans (from work) 4oth Birthday, it was a spit roast MMMMMmmmmmm!!!!!. He had e-mailed me the invite a few weeks ago, however recently I decided to clear my e-mail inbox up as it had 547 unread e-mails!!!!!!, so I basically clicked a button & deleted them all!!!, including Bryans invitation with directions. I was meaning to ask Bryan all week for the directions again but forgot (thats not like me is it!?)...anyway I found them out from Maz, who explained them perfectly well, however as soon as I knew the name of the street where he lived I switched off as I thought I could put it in the Sat Nav!!!!...Big Mistake!!!. Again to cut a long story short....we set off an hour & a half late anyway!!!!...(we were gonna blame megan!) To find that the street did not exist in the Sat Nav?. We were driving up & down the main road in & out of little estates but could not find it. We even asked some passers by who then phoned their daughter, who then looked on Google earth, but still could'nt find it!!???. I was there spelling Centenary Drive every which way I could think C.E.N.T.E.N.A.R.Y, adamant that I was correct!. In the end we decided to give it up as a bad job, as I only had Kylies contact number & she did'nt answer so decided to go to Grant & Anitas. Where we discussed the fiasco again got out the map & refidex of Brisbane, which did not show the street I was referring to???. The moral of the story is always listen carefully to the directions & the street name, as it was'nt Centenary drive it was tributory court!!!!!!????....Where on earth did I get Centenary Drive from!!!. I then had to explain this at work... I bet they thought yeah whatever you just could'nt be bothered coming!!!!

Monday Me, Ian, Megan, Andy, Ade & William decided to go to Maroochydore for the day as it was a beautiful day bright blue sky with not a cloud in it, to celebrate the Queens Birthday. Can you believe the Ozzies get a day off for the Queens birthday & the Brits don't!!!???. We all set off up the Sunshine Coast Eskies packed with BBQ food, bucket & Spade for Megan, Swimming Shorts, Boogie Boards etc,etc for a fab day. However as we were approaching our destination my heart sank, I remembered I had turned on the electric bar heater in the room while Megan was watching the T.V as it is really cold in the mornings!!!...however I could not remember turning it off!!!. As Pat & Chris are away in Cairns Me & Ian are soley in charge of looking after the house!!!!. I had visions of it in flames all because of me!!!!. I phoned the 4 people that I know who live in Samford to see if they would peer in the window to see if I had left it on, but none of them were in....So again to cut a long story short I dropped Ian & Megan at the destination after a hour & a half drive & set off back on a 2 hour drive to see if the house was burnt down!!!!..Needless to say I had unplugged it & the house was freezing. So yeah that was my weekend!!!. Sweet!!.

Megan Meets Dora The Explorer

2009-06-01T03:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the local park carnival at Arana Hills. The special guest there was Dora the Explorer who Megan loves!!!!. So Megan was up bright & early 6ish to be precise getting herself ready to go and see Dora. She packed all her teddies, books & dolls in her minature push chair in preparation for the meet???.

For the first 10 minutes of Dora's performance Megan spent it behind Ian's back as she was scared???!!!!, she is such a wuss sometimes!!!. However once she got use to her she was fine & was up & dancing.

The carnival was fab it had Dora obviously, fair rides, live bands playing, an Abba tribute band, fireworks, face painting, stalls etc,etc & best of all it was all for free!!!!!

Megan had a fab time as usual.

Weekend on the Gold Coast

2009-05-17T03:36:00.000-07:00

Megan in her Taxi bashing into the sides & smiling at the camera

The Dodgems

Jaws & baby Jaws

You can see the worry in her face!

The ride that had to be halted to let Megan off, you can see she doesn't look too keen already!

Megan & Holly

The view from the North Balcony

The view from the East wing balcony

Well this weekend has been extremely busy, I was collected from work on Friday night by Ian (AKA Marine McKenzie, he has had a hair cut and been scalped again!!) to be driven directly to the Gold Coast Crystal Bay waters resort to meet Pat, Chris, Anita, Grant, Holly & Jayce who had already spent the day there.

We were all staying together in a 3 bedroomed unit which had fabulous views over the bay. We had a lovely Friday evening with a takeaway & a few drinks then early to bed as we had planned to go to Seaworld very early the next day!.

We all got up at 6.30am had a large cooked breakfast then off we all went for a full day at seaworld. We all hit the first ride which was the log flume (apart from Jayce as he is only 1!), however I was very surprised that Megan went on as she is like a safety officer...a bit like Julie Mullooly!!!!. I think that Megan was just swept along by the moment and before she knew it she was staring a steep drop in the eye & alot of water!!! she screamed alot!!!

We then went to Sesame Street to let the kids play on all the kids rides.... Megan loved it apart from one which had to be stopped as she was crying too much. The whole ride had to be halted & Megan had to be removed!. The ride is the one with the pic where Megan has her hands in the air!.

We then went to see the Dolphin show which was fab we had front row seats which was amazing to see them all jumping etc. After that we were all cream crackered so we went back to the unit for nibbles & obviously a few drinks!!

On Sunday me, Ian & Megan went to Movie World ( when we bought our tickets to seaworld, as we are perm residents in Brisbane we could get an unlimited pass to seaworld, movieworld & wet & wild until the end of June for no extra cost!!!!!!...which was only £60 for all of us!!!). So we decided to take Megan to see all the characters....it was fab, Megan loved it. We met Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, went on the 4D Shrek ride & watched the Scooby Doo live show. Megan also went on lots of other rides 2 of which included cars, which she had to operate herself!!!!!. The first was a little taxi which was on a circuit...she spent too much time looking at us & smiling at the camera, that she spent the other half rebounding off the walls in her taxi...bless her!!. Next were the kids dodgems, Megan ended the ride in the same spot as she started....because for the whole 5 minutes she spent it doing a 360 degree turn, she just couldn't fathem out the steering wheel, she loved it though!.

We have had a fantastic weekend!!!. Thanks to Anita & Grant for organising it & feeding us!!!. Just to add... I left Ian in charge to bring some stuff for us, as he wasn't working on the Friday & I was!!!!. So off he went to the Supermarket, when we arrived at the unit he got out some blueberry muffins, some swiss rolls, some doritos & some sweet chilli dip!!!!!!!?????????. Mmmmm....nutritious or what????...now we have a 3 year old who likes milk & needs vitamins etc,etc. What a moron, no breakfasts, no lunches & no dinners, just cakes!!!! He is getting a list next time!.

Where the Gypos currently reside-Samford

2009-05-06T04:45:00.001-07:00

Aunty Pats house

The next door neighbours horse, that white thing is an electric fence, which of course I touched before I knew what it was...ouch!!.

Some of the amazing birds that chill out in the back garden, they make such a noise though!!!

Megans free swings! she is a pro at swimming now!.

Pat & Chris's back garden, looks like hard work does'nt it all that mowing!!!

Samford Park, Megan calls it the roundabout park cos it's just off one.

The Samford Hotel Beer garden

Samford hotel Beer garden, with a separate room which has PS3's, DVD's playing etc for the kids

Again the Beer Garden

Just thought I'd show you a few pics of where the nomads are currently living at the mo. Also few sights in & around Samford..of where we fequent often, basically the park & the pub, did'nt take a pic of the local supermarket & the BWS (bottle shop) as I'd of looked a complete loonie, but they are also our fav places to visit.

I met one of my friends at the park this morning with her little boy. When we were leaving Megan said..I want to go over there for a drink (the pub is across the road)..which I was ashamed of, as every time we go the park we go to The Samford Hotel afterwards. That's Ian's fault!!!

Samford is a lovely little suburb, however very remote, prob a bit too remote for me!. You have to drive 15 minutes from Pat's house to get anywhere. However it is very beautiful & I would'nt knock back a house there (in our dreams, we'd be able to afford a dog kennel in Samford!).

Megan's 1st swimming lesson

2009-05-06T04:17:00.000-07:00

Megan created this look while I was driving in the back of the car

She looks like a fruitcake!!

Megan after swimming showing her Seahorse stamp card, with 4 stamps on for being brave

Megan freezing after swimming,she would'nt smile

Today was megans first swimming lesson & she was very excited about it!. Now throughout our time in Oz we have relied on Pat & Chris's Tom, Tom...however this week they went to the Gold Coast for a holiday (think they needed a break from the 3 year old!) & taken their Tom, Tom with them!.

Now I'm not that good with directions in Oz yet as to me everywhere looks the same, I can get to 3 places Andy & Ades, Anita & Grants & Work!!....So today I had to find the place called Albany Creek where Megan's lessons were!...bearing in mind I had been there before!!!!. Anyway needless to say I got very,very,very,very lost....I had Megan chirping up in the backseat you need to ask Aunty Pat, & she will tell you where to go!!!!!. A flippin 3 year old backseat driver already!!!!. Now I also did'nt have any credit on my phone (had battery though!!!), so I could'nt ring anyone!!!!.

It was 3:17pm lesson started at 3:30 and I was in the middle of a fr**gin wood!!! & also only had 80K's of petrol left which is'nt much in the beast of a car that we have in the middle of nowhere!!!!. I just kept on driving & driving & then there was light there was a road which looked slightly familiar...hurrah!!!, I was in the right place & pulled up at the pool at 3.32pm (come on...not that bad for me!)...dragged megan out of the car, then realising she did'nt have any shoes on or with her & I did'nt bring a towel to dry her with!!!!!!!!!!!!!. It's not at all like me is it?????!!!!.

Anyway the lesson was a success, Megan's teacher is called Lyn, she is lovely she was teaching another girl called Lilliana who was 4 & had been going for 2 months!. She was amazing no fear of water whatsoever, she would jump in & swim & paddle (which is almost like the front crawl) to the teacher!!. Megan was just sat at the side in amazement!. Megan got in no worries and learnt how to do the monkey swing, which is basically hanging on to the side & pulling yourself along & out of the water. She was also jumping in, but had to have Lyn very close by!!. The course is until the end of August & it cost $185 which is approx £90, & next week Megan is the only one in her group, so it will be one on one tuition!!, as most Ozzies don't go in winter as they think it's too cold. not bad hey private tuiton for £90??

So hopefully soon she won't be as much of a wuss around water, as currently she is like a koala bear around your neck!.

Work & The Weekend

2009-05-04T02:56:00.000-07:00

This week in the land of Oz, I have been on a 5 day course for my job, which may I add has bored the bleeps off me!!!. The course was in the city, which is a half hour train ride away, which gave me a taster of what it would be like working in the city if I'd of taken the McQuarie job!!!. Thank god I did'nt, I was'nt getting home until 6.30pm, which then left me half an hour to see Megan, bath her & put her to bed!!. So glad I chose the local job, even though I had to endure the most boring week of my life.

The course content included how to count money!!!!!????. They must take on some severe morons if that is what they need to educate adults!!!!!. They also taught us how to provide good customer service, which to me is common sense????.Anyway that is over now thank god!!!. So on to the weekend which again started at Anita & Grants a few drinks & a take away again, then Saturday night was a quiet 1 a DVD & an early night. Sunday took us to Andy, Ades, Loz & Wills, where Ade especially was suffering from a bad hang over, after 5 of them the previous night had polished off 6 bottles of red wine & several other cocktails!, so Sat night was another relaxing night with a bit of Wii thrown in, it was the Ozzies V the Pommes... still wallowing in the victory the Pommes won!.. Then Sunday took us to Bribie Island which is half an hour from Andy & Ades. We had a bite to eat then hit the beach...Ian & Will had a wrestling match, then hit the waves for some boogie boarding. Me. Megan, Andy & Ade were too cold to get in the sea, as the wind was blowing. I think I'm gonna buy a wetsuit as I'm too much of a wuss to go in the sea, even though Ian assures me it's warm!. We've had another fab weekend in Paradise.

Weekend Frivolities

2009-04-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend started with a few drinks & a takeaway at Anitas & Grants. Now for those of you who know me & Ian well, we don't like to get too intoxicated, you know being responsible & all that!. Pleeeeeeeeaaase!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Ian & Grant started drinking at approx 2.30pm after, oooh a hard session at work!!??, but Grants the boss so who's Ian to argue & you all know that he is easily led!!.

I finished work at 5pm & was sat at a desk at 5.10 drinking a John Bogues Beer!!!!, felt very strange sat at work drinking alcohol!!. But they have 2 fridges in the kitchen 1 for food & 1 for drink, it's great!!!. Everyone at work is lovely & have been really nice to the new pomme on the block!! We have 2 Kylie's at work which I thought you might find funny, none of which look like Theee KYLIE, Ian was disappointed to hear! Anyway after my beer I set off to Grant & Anita's to join in the fun!. On the way down in the car, the radio was playing, giving out a weather report, which did make me chuckle, it stated that "if you were going to watch the footie tonight, you would have to rug up as it was gonna get down to.......16 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!". BBBBBBBrrrrrrrrrr freezing!!!!. On a serious note though I went to work this morning (Monday) with a shirt, cardigan & Jacket on & I was cold!!!......when I got to the train station the large temp reading said 20 degrees at 8am!!!. I think I have climatised already.

When I got there we had a gorgeous Thai takeaway, which however did not taste so good the second time around!!, tell you more about that in a minute. We needless to say had quite a few drinks, Ian had bought me some Cava from the bottle shop. He however had a few problems finding it (he does have problems with his accent when he go's to the bottle shops). So he asked a lady for help, she was very confused when he asked for Cava, as she replied that it is what Mowries use to get out of their tiny minds & it is a mixture of leaves, mud & water???????. Anyway he found some fizzy stuff which definately did the trick.

We ended up around Grants inside bar again!!!!! drinking till the early hours!. I ended up hugging the toilet, my first christening since been in OZ (really not proud of it, can't believe I'm telling you all!) & then retired to bed with an equally as a drunk Ian McKenzie!.

Now I woke up at 6.30am to find Ian getting back into bed?????.........He was a bit flushed & proceeded to tell me that he had just found himself in Hollys bed, with her having about a foot of bed space, also with his boxers half down his bum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????? Now Holly is 5 years of age!!!!!????????. Anita had wandered past to the toilet & had to do a double take to see who was lying in her daughters bed!!!.....Ian has absolutely no recollection of how he got there!!!!??????. The only thing we can think is he went to the toilet which is next to Hollys room & got lost on the way back!!. Anita is sending him the bill for Hollys rehabilitation costs!!!, he,he!!. Holly found it hillarious!.

We all had hangover the next day!!!. Anita & Grant chilled out in their Spa, but we had to go see our other friends we met a few weeks ago, for another session!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. God it's a hard life!

Easter Monday-Pat & Chris BBQ

2009-04-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

Easter Monday was a bit of a wash out, as it did'nt stop raining from the moment we woke up to the moment we woke up the next day!!!!. We never-the-less had a BBQ as, even though it rains it is still 30 degrees!!!!. They also all have covering on their house to stop the sun from warming it too much, which also doubles up as a rain cover!.

Pat & Chris can't believe how much there family gatherings have grown in such a short space of time with all these pommies landing!!. There was Me, Ian, Megan, Pat, Chris, Andy,Ade,Loz,Will, Anita,Grant, Grants Mum & Step Dad. We all had a lovely day eating & yes you guessed it drinking alot again!!!. I have got a serious beer belly from drinking too much, I seriously need to hit the gym hard!!!.

Easter Sunday-Woody Point

2009-04-18T05:45:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was a bad,bad day hangover from hell for everyone!!!!. We went to another beach called Woody Point which again is beautiful, now I forgot my Camera so we dont have any pics to show you of this place!!!!. We went for a stroll on the front & got some greasy chips to soak up the alcohol & sat and ate them near the beach!. We then went for a drink in a bar/restaurant where there was live music playing which soothed the hangover very well!!.

Easter Saturday- Dolphin Wild

2009-04-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went on a boat trip called Dolphin wild.... you guessed it obviously to see some Dolphins, which we did. We also visited an Island Called Moreton Island which is beautiful & very unspoilt. We saw lots of dolphins & baby dolphins which were really cute, amazing seeing them in the wild!, we want to see whales next. We also did something called boom netting, which is laying on the net on the back of the boat & going fast..it was really good apart from the little thoughts that kept creeping back into my head about sharks!!. The night before we went we watched the news which advised us there had been a sighting of an unusual amount of sharks feeding off the bait fish just off Moreton Island!!!!!!!! anyway we lived to tell the tale.

When we arrived on Moreton Island there was a really big steep sand dune which everyone climbs then ski's or runs down. We thought we'd have to sit this one out having a 3 year old with us, however she prooved us wrong, she was up there no worries what so ever we were panting out of breath, it was a breeze up for her!!!.

Sat night was a last minute party at Andrews, which was messy!!!! it involved beer, vodka, bacardi & Sambuca!!!!!!!. One guest Duncan went missing, his kids came back to see if he was still at Andrews...however he turned up 3 hours later in just his boxers!!!, with his wallet, car keys & watch missing!!!. He was in trouble with his wife, I think 1 too many sambucas had been had...all the above turned up in a bush on his route home!!!.

Easter Weekend-Good Friday

2009-04-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

Good Friday we took ourselves plus our hangovers to a place called Redcliffe to The Festival of Sales, which was a boat sale from Redcliffe to Brisbane, it also had lots of market stalls,bands playing & loads of stuff for kids. Megan had a fab time, she even took a dip in the lagoon. We all sat and watched & nursed our hangovers, andrew even had 40 winks, however he wished he had'nt when megan poured water all over his groin area, resulting him looking like he had peed himself!!

Easter Weekend-Thursday

2009-04-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend which was spent at Andy, Ades, Loz & Wills, started with a feast of Andrews Garlic & chillie King Prawns, followed by his famous succulent Chicken Breast marinated in a yummy sauce (don't know what it is?) MMMMm Mmmmm!!!, followed by lots of Alcohol XXXX bitter especially & a shot of benelyn medicine care of Andrienne which was'nt soo yummy!!!. Now Lauren Mills was out earning a crust at Domino's while all these frivolities were going on.......which slipped all our minds !!!. Therefore we were all too intoxicated to drive to pick her up (which was only 5 mins away in car), so we sent will on his skateboard to save the day!! The next day was followed with a fab hangover! & bed at 9.30pm.

Casa McKenzie

2009-04-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

The Entertaining Area

The 3rd lounge + Pool Room

The Kitchen diner

The 2nd lounge

The Landing upstairs!!!!

Megans Room!!!

We have been house hunting & it has got the better of us.........Megan absolutely loved it, even got into bed so we have ended up purchasing this baby!!!! All for the grand total of £200K. What do you think???......................Only joking we wish!!!!!. Still living like 16 year olds with Aunty Pat & Uncle Chris!!!!... who may I add have been so kind to us!!!!. Can't wait till we are back on our feet & can take them out to say thankyou very much!!. Also need to thank my Dad & Caroline & Phill for letting us stay also, you will have to come out here so we can take you out!!!

When three become....one ha hun (so say the spice girls)

2009-04-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

I've done it again!!!!!!!!!.............On Monday the 6th April we had 3 jobs between us!!!. I'd accepted the verbal job offer from the Common Wealth Bank on the Friday & on the Monday I got a phone call from the recruitment consultant telling me that McQuarie Bank also wanted to offer me a position (originally advertised as a full time temp contract on $42,000), however they wanted to offer me a permanent contract immediately between $43,000 to $45,000!!!! but it would be full time 5 days a week in the City!. So I thanked them very much however I wanted Part-time..... so off they went again and came back & offered me part-time 4 days a week!!!! WOW 2 jobs at once (so fingers I must of done good on my tests!!, so over them though!), just like buses!!!!. I had a good think about it but decided to go with my original decision, as the Commonwealth is only 10 mins away, so that was that..1 job down. That same day my now boss from the Commonwealth Bank wanted me to go into the Branch to meet everyone before I started so off I trotted at 2.30pm to meet my new work colleagues......Megan stayed with Pat. During my time there which was an hour & a half!!!! (thought I would only be 10 mins), my phone kept ringing, but I could'nt answer it as it looked rude!!!. So as soon as I left the Bank I looked at my phone & I could see that Ian had called me so I rang him straight away & rang Pat to say sorry I had been so long. Then off I went to pick Ian up from Grant & Anitas has he had been working...we then went back home to Pats. Now as soon as we go in Pats house (cos it's in the sticks abit) we have no signal on our phones, unless it's in the Laundry room & then we can't hear it anyway as it's too far away!!!. So there was no further activity on my phone!. The next day would you believe my phone had run out of battery & for some reason I did'nt charge it!. The following day Ian decided to ring his so called future employer to see if they had got the contracts through yet........and he responded with I phoned you on Monday & left a message on your wifes phone, but as you did'nt get back to me I have had to take someone else on as the job starts on Tuesday!!!!!!!???????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!. So I checked my phone straight away & he had phoned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Gutted!!!!, but as we did'nt have any signal in the house my phone never rang back to tell me. He apparantly has some more contracts starting in a few weeks but we won't hold our breath!!!. So that is that!. Ian however is still working with Grant on a house renovation where he has come across Huntsman Spiders the size of his hands, possums & Daddy Possums... I'll let you tell you about that on another post!!!.

Thats life hey!, you win some you loose some...so that leaves us with 1 job!!!!!!

But we're still smiling!

Megan & England

2009-04-01T04:28:00.001-07:00

Megan always like to watch the digital photoframe our friends bought us

Now I was talking to Megan today about England & what she missed & this is the exact order she listed the select few........

Luis, Grandad, Harvey, Anne & Ken!!!!.

Now please don't be offended as you can see it is definatley the select few, she does talk about everyone & I know like us she misses you all.

A Few Little Gems Megan has said...

2009-04-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

Incident 1

Ian had to take Megan to the city while I was having yet another test for a job, so at the same time he went to get his phone chipped, as he could'nt use it here in Oz. The phone shop was run by oriental people who were most helpful to Ian...... however while in the shop Megan said at 40 decibels " Daddy why are their eyes all funny?". Ian paid and left the shop quite quickly after that.

Incident 2

Getting off the train coming back from the City. Megan was walking towards an inocent bystander waiting for the train.....Now he happened to have very large hair that was in Spikey punk like dreadlocks sticking up in the air. Megan again at 40 decibels said " Look at his silly hair!" while skipping past him!!!!!!!!!!!!!............Cringe!!.

Incident 3

Now the female human race here in Oz are extremely tall ladies (alot look like 6 footers), so I look even more smaller than I already am!!!. We were just exiting the bank in the City, when a very attractive tall blonde lady was walking towards Me, Ian & Megan.... Now Ian obviously did'nt notice her (yeah right!), however Megan did, again at 40 decibels " Why is that girl big?", valid question but not while being almost face to face with her!!!. Again scurried her out.

I need to teach her tact!!!!

Physcometric Testing

2009-04-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

I believe a few of you have clicked on the link & done the practice test & are now questioning my intellectual ability!!!????. Now the 4 practice questions are easy (which is what I think you have done fingers!!) However the full on test I think is really hard!!! ( with no calculator!).

Alright I need to get over this testing thing & move on I hear you say!!!. So thats the last of it

The New Wheels

2009-03-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Now there are 2 cars above, we have actually bought a Ford Falcon as you can see Me, Ian & Megan modelling. However if it had been left to Ian we would of bought the Ford Telstar!!!, with NO AIRCON!!!!??? (in a permanent 30 degree heat) Luckily I stepped in and said let me go see it & I did & said absolutley noway, not only are we POMS, we will be POMS with an absolutley ridiculous car, like the clampits!!! The Clampit Mobile would of cost us £1200 & the Falcon cost £2500, but I think worth that little bit of extra money, dont you??

A new David Bailey in the Making

2009-03-27T05:53:00.001-07:00

Every time I pick the god damn camera up, it is full of Megans pictures she has taken!!!!!!. I swear I have to delete about 20 pics every time!!!!. Here are a few of the flattering ones she has taken without us knowing!.

A few delights of australian wildlife

2009-03-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Croc & Skippy the Kangaroo we met at Australia Zoo. However the Spider was just chilling out on the pole in Pats garden (apparantly it's a baby one!!) & the Waterdragons we shared lunch with them on Tuesday.

We took a trip to the city to a place called southbank, which has a manmade beach in the middle of the city. It's really good for Megan as its shallow & safe, she loves it. Before we hit the beach we went for lunch at a little Italian place (Chris & Claire the one we went that time when we visited southbank). We were just tucking in & chatting away when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye one of these little waterdragon things scurried out of the bush to lick up Megans Spaghetti she had dropped!!!!. Megan absolutley C****d herself!!!. I thought it was cute as it was'nt too big, so i dropped a little bit more spag for it, then all of a sudden another lept out from the bush ran across Ian's foot to the Spaghetti to warn off the baby one, but this one was a Daddy one!!!!. This time we all C****d ourselves, then out of the corner of my other eye there was another one & another one. We were surrounded by 4 waterdragons!!!!. Me & Megan were quite nervous, but Ian was trying to act cool, but I knew he was a bit apprehensive also!. From then on every other mouthful Megan took was with her face & chin quite firmly over the table so no more Spaghetti would fall on the floor!!!. She was shouting at them to go away!!!. So that was lunch then off to the beach!!.

Job Update

2009-03-27T04:59:00.000-07:00

A quick update on the job front. I've had my test now for McQuarie, my interview for Quantas Credit Union & interview for the commonwealth.

I think I have got the McQuarie job but they won't go to offer stage until they get all my references. My old Branch Manager Claire who works at Brisbane HSBC, spent an hour of her life giving a reference to McQuarie yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, an hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, what on earth were they asking her!!!????, I owe her a very big drink when I see her!!.

Qantas, as yet not heard anything from them, but it is a bit far to travel to the airport anyway & it is full time, so not that bothered & the H.R Manager who interviewed me called me a POME!!!

Commonwealth, also think I have this one as the Branch Manager called me 20 mins after the interview to see what days I wanted to work, but again they cannot offer until they get references. Which are really,really important here!.

So to sum up, I am gonna take the Commonwealth as it is 15 mins away & it's part time, so ideal really!!.

Ian has also been offered a job with an electrical company called www.fredon.com.au , he had an interview on Thursday & hopefully starts in a week or so!!!.

So it's all looking good at the mo!!

Jobs,Jobs, Jobs

2009-03-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

Well we have been here nearly 3 weeks now so I thought I'd update you with the job searching process. I will start with myself first!!!.

I have registered with 2 agencies in the city who specialise in financial recruitment. When you register with an agency you have to go in for a meeting whereby they interview you & you have to sit a few tests. The first agency I registered with was a company called Hudsons, they made me sit a microsoft word test, typing test & a data entry test, all which were ok. They then found me a job which they thought I was suitable for with a Credit Union for Quantas staff near the airport. I think it is a bit like a building society but it is for quantas staff mainly but other people can also have accounts there as well. It is a customer service role in a branch, basically what I did 6 years ago in Wakefield Branch. The lady at Hudsons told me 2 weeks ago she was arranging an interview for me, however she called me on Tuesday to tell me that the credit union would not be progressing my application as they believed that I was over qualified for the role & I would move on very quickly as I would get bored!!!, So Screw them!!!!.
I then applied for a Council position which was dealing with enquiries from the public to the council. I was invited to an assessment centre whereby we were told there were 12 jobs & 1300 people had applied!!!!!, so I was very lucky to be invited to the assessment day. The afternoon started with a guy from a recruitment company talking for an hour about the role!!!!!, which was only in a contact centre!!!!, you'd of thought that we'd of applied for the Managing Directors position the way he was wittering on!!. Anyway we then had to do a group discussion which was observed, we basically had to save 8 people to repopulate the world out of a list of 20 people, an example of people that were on the list was 'Mohammed Hussain 29 Doctor- who had been questioned about links with the 11 September Bombings, never charged not enough evidence'. Britney 17- Just recovered from Leukemia been in remission for the last 13 months. Tiffany 2 years old. The 8 people would be put in an underground shelter for 5 years then after the disaster would have to repopulate the world. Anyway you get the gist, we had 10 mins to look ourselves then had 20 mins as a group of 7 to discuss together & choose 8 people. We couldn't just chose or vote we had to say why we had chosen these people etc,etc. Which was fine. We then had to do 2 30 minute tests which are the hardest tests I've ever seen!!!!???? There is about 50 questions & you have half an hour to do them!!!!!. I'm gonna give you a link at the end of this post to see whether it is me who is thick or they are degree level!!!. Bearing in mind this is a call centre job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????. If I had been successful in the assessment I would of been invited for an interview, then a medical, then a second interview, then very thorough references then a job offer. Anyway to cut a long story short I got an e-mail the next day to tell me I had not been successful which I had gathered anyway from the tests!!!.

So that's 2 jobs down!.

I also registered with a recruitment agency called APRG, which was recommended to me from an old manager at Wakefield Branch who also moved to Brisbane 6 years ago. Anyway I have done more tests 2 hours in total with their agency & they arranged an assessment day with McQuarie Investment Bank of which the role is dealing with enquiries from Independent Advisers. I went on Thursday again we had a group discussion this time you had a list of celebrities/famous people of which you had to chose one to rule the world, again chose yourself then discuss in 10 mins this time. I chose 'Princess Diana', 'The Queen of hearts'. This again went fine. I then had 3 telephone role plays to do, which again was fine & then I had an interview with the Centre Manager (who was from Manchester, she moved to Oz in 1982). I could tell she really liked me, so I thought yes get in!!!!. At the end of the interview she told me she would like to invite me to some testing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO not again!!!. So I am booked in for 4 hours of testing on Monday!!!!!! 1pm till 5pm. Please take a look at www.shldirect.com/example_questions.html scroll down the page and go to on line practice tests & do verbal & numerical reasoning & please, please,please let me know how you get on???????. So I can't wait for Monday, if I pass which is highly unlikely I am certain I will get a job offer, so I'll keep you posted.

I have also applied for a job with the Commonwealth Bank this is Part-Time in a branch, which again I could do stood on my head. I had a telephone interview today with someone from Sydney where I had criteria based questions like give me an example of when you showed excellent cust service, etc,etc. She said my interview was excellent & my answers were outstanding???, she must of interviewed some right numptys!. So I have been invited to a 2nd interview on Wednesday @ 2.30pm, so again I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile the recruitment agency have called back & Quantas Credit Union are now very interested in me & want to interview me on Tuesday!!!. I really wanted to say stuff ya, but beggers can't be choosers at the mo so I'm off, so again I'll keep you posted.

So that's me.

Ian has e-mailed lots of places & has made a few contacts through Grant who is Ian's cousins husband. Someone called him on Monday to say send me your resume as we are taking on Trade Assistants (which is what Ian has to do until he gets his full electrical licence), however as yet he has still not heard anything. It is a bit like Spain here Manana Manana. However today we went to Samford Village Park as Megan was wittering the bleeps off us to go. So we went then after we went across to the Samford Village Pub which is excellent for kids it has an outside (of course) playground an astro turf football pitch & an inside free games room with PS3's & films playing all in the beer garden!!. Anyway I was sat there & Ian had gone to help Megan on the slide when I heard a woman talking to another woman, & she was English. So I got talking to her, it turns out she has been here 8 years (no aussie twang whatsoever), her husband is an Electrician & also a foreman for a very large electrical firm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............KERCHING!!!!, his brother in law turned up also who has only been here for 18 months who is also an electrician working as a trades assistant, so me been cheeky........which I am very much so now!!!. Said do you have any contacts & he pointed to the foreman Toby, who said we have got some very big jobs starting so this could be your lucky day!!!!. Anyway we are going around to their house on Sunday for lunch!!!!!!!, with Ian's resume, references, trade cert!!. You name we are taking it!! They both said when you come to Oz it's not what you no, it's who you know!!!!.

So that's pretty much it for now, still bums at present but fingers crossed something will come to fruition!!!

Australia Zoo

2009-03-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a trip to Australia Zoo as Megan was desperate to see some animals. We therefore got everything ready to go, water suncream, hats etc. Pat had gone to her friends for the day so it was up to us to lock the house up, however everytime we had left the house previous to this Pat had been with us so she had locked up. Pat had provided us with keys for the house, however there were two locks on the front door. So we locked it as we thought best & left. We were just about to reverse out when I realised I had left my phone!!!!. So I went back to the door with the keys to get in. It turned out we had locked the wrong lock from the inside & could not get back in we were locked out, without a phone to ring anyone!!!. Only me & Ian could do this!!. So Ian surveyed the house to see if there was anyway we could get in, but although all the windows were open they have security screens which dont allow mozzys, flies & burglars in!!!, so there was no way we could get in. We then went around the back & Sasha the dog has a cat flap to get in & out of the house!. Kerching!!!!!.............. Ian thought that Megan might be able to climb through it to try and open the door!. So we carefully explained the situation to Megan & that we desperately needed her help, but straight away she said NO, its for the dog not me!. So we sat there miserable, & I thought to myself how can I get Megan through this flap!!. So I said I wish Holly was here, Ians cousins 5 yr old little girl!!, bet Holly would climb in for us. You could see Megan thinking, 2 minutes later she said I want to do it, I''ll do it!!. Hurrahhh!!, so Ian pushed her through carefully. She went to the front door to try and open but it is very difficult & she could'nt so, we then directed her to the bedroom to go and get my bag which was hung on the clothes horse, she had to get her plastic chair to stand on to reach, but she just could'nt unhook it so she just got the phone out of my bag & brought it to us. We then thought she may be able to open the back door, so she went & got her plastic chair again & Ian carefully directed her to do this........& 3 year old Megan sucessfully saved us she opened the door & she was our little hero for the day. I must go now as I have another test to go do for another Job Application so I'll keep you posted on how I get on!!

Australia 1 Week in

2009-03-10T03:19:00.001-07:00

Well we have been here just over a week now & it feels like a year!!!. We have had lots of boring things to do like sorting out Bank stuff, driving licences, childcare benefits, medicare (NHS stuff) etc,etc!, oh & trying to find jobs aswell!!!.

Monday- We woke up bright & early like at about 5am!!!!, thanks to Megan her body clock was obviously very confused!!. We however felt ok so we decided to go to a place called Medicare which is similar to NHS to register ourselves, it turned out to be an unsucessful trip as we had to phone up, we got told this after queueing for about half an hour!!!!. We then returned home feeling very weiry & all had an afternoon nap at 4pm, we found it really hard to get up for T, but never-the-less we scraped ourselves out of bed, well apart from Megan who got up but fell asleep again!, which resulted in her been awake on Tuesday at 5am again!!!.

Tuesday- We took a trip to Brisbane city to sort out our Bank Accounts & Centre Link to sort out our Medical Cards. Pat advised us to take the train as it's really busy going into the city, so we did. We had a very interesting journey which involved the resident lunatic latching onto us on the train. It was my fault as he sat opposite me & he caught my eye, I, being polite therefore smiled at him!!!!!, much to me error......he then proceeded to ask Ian the time.....and then wittered on for the next 8 stops. He began his conversation saying that he had just lost all his family in the victoria bush fires!!!!.........then he led on to how many fights he had had!!!!....as I studied him further his appearance was very scary he had steel toe cap boots on tatoos all over & an ear that was half missing due to the amount of ear rings he had in his ear!!! VERY SCARY!!!....He then told Ian not to worry if anyone harmed his daughter ,Megan....that he was there!!!!????????????

We then arrived in Brisbane went to the Westpac branch to finalise our account opening, which took 2 hours!!!!!!!!!!!, it was quite hard entertaining Megan for that length of time, however we got it all done.

Wednesday-We had a lazy day did'nt do much really in the daytime, however at nightime we went to Andy, Ade's, Loz & Wills house for T which was lovely. Megan could'nt wait to get in the pool & is now permanently attached to either Will or Loz she loves them!. We had a look around North Lakes where Andy & Ade live, it's a massive housing estate built around lakes it's all very nice & new. We made the mistake of looking around some show homes, which made us very jealous!!!. It is so tempting to buy a house, thats if we secure jobs, as the government is giving first time buyers a free grant of $21,000 (which is £10K approx) to buy a new house!!!!!, but we will see, what will be will be!!.

Thursday- Lazy day again, looking on Net for jobs etc, sorting stuff out. Not V much really.

Friday- We went to Grant & Anitas, Ians cousins for T Friday night. They have 2 children Holly almost 5 & Jayce 1. Megan could not wait to meet Holly, & she had a fab time. We had Fish & Chips & lots of Beer!!!! (once the kids were in bed that is). Although we did retire to bed at a resonable time 12am for us!!!, but the God Damn birds were singing their very loud songs at stupid O'Clock, so felt rough the next day.

Saturday- We stayed at Grant & Anitas Fri night. Saturday morning Grant took Ian to the auctions to find a bomb, Ian however was extremely rough but tried to be cool by pretending he was'nt. They returned back at lunch time, whereby Ian was very quiet & was'nt eating much lunch. It turned out he had had to go upstairs to be sick.....what a lightweight!!!.

Saturday night we went to Andy & Ades for a lovely BBQ to meet all their neighbours....and they def were, they were all Ozzies. Ian stayed up while 2 am drinking & chatting......but I had to go to bed at 9pm as I could'nt keep my eyes open.......what a lightweight!!!.

Sunday-Stayed overnight at Andy & Ades, woke up bright and early & bushy tailed, well I did, Andy,Ade & Ian however had only had about 5 hours sleep!!!. However we hit the beach, we went to a place called Currumundi, it had a lake at the side of the Sea. It was lovely Megan had a fab time making sandcastles......she was a bit of a wuss in the water but she is'nt used to it yet. We then set off home with a stop off at a place called Kings Beach, which again was beautiful, we had an icecream then set off back to Andy & Ades for another BBQ!!!. Once we get a place we will def repay their hospitality!!. We spent a great weekend with them.

All in all we've had a very busy week, we are still looking for jobs. I've registered with a few recruitment agencies & Ian is applying for his licence which hopefully will take approx 28 days then he should be able to work then. He may work for Grant Ians cousins husband a few days until he can work as a Spark. I potentially have an interview next week for a Credit Union which I think is similar to a building society, so we'll keep you posted.....so at present still bums but trying to get work!!.

We have purchased a Car (AKA a BOMB), a 3 & a 2 seater sofa, A Fridge Freezer like Fingers, a Washer/Dryer & a table & chairs all for the grand total of = £2500!!!!. Once we get the car we will send you a picture it will provide you with lots of entertainment!!!!!, however our furniture is less than a year old, Andy & Ades friends are returning back to the UK & just want rid, so we have got a hell of a bargain there!!!

Think thats about it for now, weather has been nice & hot, however you'll be pleased to know it is raining at present!!, but still warm. Will try & update once a week, here are a few pics X

Flights Booked!!!

2009-01-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well our flights are booked now & we will be on the big bird 28 Feb 2009 arriving in Brisbane Australia 1 March 2009!!!!.

We are very excited but also very sad at leaving our families and friends behind!, however we hopefully we will have lots of visitors once we are settled, as long as we won't be living in a camper van!!!, due to the lack of funds from being unable to sell our house.

We've got loads to sort out so 7 weeks and counting!

New Years Day

2009-01-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

New Years Day took us to Wentbridge House Hotel, with Me, Ian, Megan, Antonio, Jaron & Luis. 4 of us had hang overs!!. What me & Ian really needed was a McDonalds !!!! at a fraction of the price!!!. Ah Well Antonio wanted to go, he did'nt like though either!!!!!!.

New Year

2009-01-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

New Year celebrations were at Caroline & Phills house. We all had a great time, which again as always involved copius amounts of alcohol party games. We all nursed a wonderful hangover the net day to match!

2009-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Like Mother Like Daughter

2009-01-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

It's history repeating itself!!!. Nurse McKenzie at your service. This picture was very kindly put on a very public Facebook site, by my lovely OLD uncle Andrew!!!!. Don't worry I'll get revenge!

Mama Mia!!!!!!

2008-12-01T15:00:00.001-08:00

We bought the DVD Mama Mia last week, as Antonio wanted to see it....... This however has emerged a closet ABBA fan Miss Megan Mckenzie. She was sat eating her dinner while watching it & out of the corner of my eye, I started to see her shoulders shrugging in time to the music, she was absolutely mesmirised!!!!!!. Once she had finished her dinner (of Course!!!), she insisted on putting her pink tu tu & needing a mic, she was singing & dancing the whole way through she absolutley loved it. Needless to say since last Sunday we have watched it 5 times since, at Megans request!. On Saturday evening while I was in the kitchen making her dinner, she had it on again & I could hear her singing the last word to every line of Dancing Queen, she also knows the chorus to Mama Mia...it's hilarious a 2 year old loving ABBA. I have also discovered she has taken a disliking to Julie Walters in the film she always go's to the T.V when she is in a scene & covers her up with her hand saying "Dont like it"??

Gypsys!!!!!

2008-11-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

We have'nt been on here for a while as we've been so busy what with moving out of our house etc!!.....We are now officially Gypsys!!!.

Me & Megan are currently living with Dad & been fed up nicely for Christmas, it's like living in the Hilton we have our food made for us every night, think I'll be about 15 stone by the time I leave. He made Pig Trotters soup last week, we did however give that sitting a miss!!!! Eeerrrrr, especially as he explained it as like Jelly meat???

Ian is still working away but in Wrexham now until Feb, not good....but supose it's all money. He's currently living in a B&B, sharing a room with a work mate to make it cheaper. The only prob is, his work mate snores like a wounded walrus!!! They both have single beds in the same room, so when Ian prepares himself for bed he puts his underpants on his head (to block out the light), his ear plugs in (but finds it difficult to wear them as the sound of his heart beat disturbs him!!!???), and places a pillow on his chest (this is to whack the Wounded Walrus throughout the night when his snoring becomes unbearable!). The joys of been such a light sleeper.

Megan is still a little monkey, she certainly knows her own mind!!!. We are potty training her now and she is doing really well, we've tried a few times before but she kept getting really upset about it, so we stopped as advised. This time when we've done it she is doing it brilliantly just wearing nappies at night. Megan also loves living at Grandads, however she does have a love/hate relationship with him, she hates him on a morning & loves him when we go out as he always keeps her very entertained. On a morning she cannot cope with him, he is too much for her when she is trying to come round and have her milk!.

All plans going through with Oz, house now rented out and tennants seem lovely, but we'll confirm that when first months rent go's into the account!. I keep having to go back round for my post as last few bits have gone there, & when I go in the house, I always think she has made it look lovely better than I did!!!. She always invites me in for a drink, she's even met Antonio, she asked him if he wanted a coffe or a Tea & he replied " Have you got any Whiskey?"!!!!!!, this was 2pm in the afternoon, he does'nt change!. The dishwasher broke a week after we moved out so Ian had to go round to try and fix it, & while he was there he had a good chat with her.....about how concerned I was about leaving the house for someone else to pay our mortgage while we were thousands of miles away!. She is however adamant that she wants long term rental and is really happy, she came from Middlesbrough and says it is a dump and loves Wakefield (it must be if she loves Wakefield!!??)

I think thats about us for now, must get my camera out & get snapping again to put some more pics on the blog X

Megans Ministry of Food!

2008-10-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Operation Clean up

2008-09-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

Megan helping cleaning up. Her favourite question she asks me now is What ya doin????, she then answers it with....Cleaning???. I think I have a problem when my 2 yr old notices!.

Megan thinking she has struck gold in the so called sweetie cupboard,however she is opening a chicken stock cube....Bless her, it's a good job I caught her, otherwise she would have a shock when eating it. By the way the reason why she is stood up there is, she now drags a kitchen chair around to climb on when she wants to get up in the fridge, cupboard etc, can't take my eyes off her!.

A very full skip from the garage and the loft!!!!.... Basically all contents of the Esteve household

Some more junk found in the loft, this went straight in the skip!!!

We began operation clean up this weekend, as we have now, fingers crossed rented our house out to a lovely family (we think!??) from Teeside. All being well they are wanting to move in at then end of October, so it's go, go, go from now on!. We emptied the house all Saturday, I think I walked to the skip about 57 times!. Megan was also helping............. everytime I put something in a bag to bin, as soon as I turned my head she was getting it back out?!. We were absoultely K****ed Saturday night, so it was X factor, T & bed!.

Therefore on Sunday we decided to have a good morning getting rid of the last few bits then do something with Megan in the afternoon, as we felt we neglected her a bit on Saturday!. That however all changed when I got a text from the potential tennants at 11.30am saying......Hi, Becky can I call? I have a few questions to ask you?....... I therefore relayed this message to Ian in horror, bearing in mind the house looked like 1500 chimpanzees from the Zoo had, had a party in every room all night long!!!!!!. Ian replied well you'll have to say yes.....I text back saying could it be later as we were due out, could be back for 4.30 ish?......She replied, yes no probs. Therefore operation clean up commenced we had to tidy up the house get rid of all the boxes everywhere, mow the lawn which was long enough to lose Doogle in it!. It was all hands on deck, Doogle was licking the crumbs up, Megan was cleaning the kitchen floor, she'd put that much flash on the floor (while being supervised from Ian), I went storming through the kitchen to the bin and nearly went a**e over t*t!!!!!!!!!. It was like a Benny Hill scene!, I feel exhausted just reliving writing about the weekend!. Anyway to cut a long story short it got to 5 O'Clock, Megan neglected again, bellies all rumbling as no time for food!, and she had not turned up?. I therefore rung her, she answered....Hiya Becky, sorry just been de-assembling my daughters dolls house as just sold it on E-Bay, I've got a couple of questions to ask....Do you have a shed???????????!!!!!!!!!!. No apology for not turning up, any way I carried on answering her questions etc,etc, then ended the call. I then checked my phone messages again, and basically she wanted to ring me, not come round!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. What an absolute PLONKER!. I'll say no more on the matter!.

Anyway house was very tidy & loft & garage & most of the house is now empty!.

Megans turbulent relationship with Ballet

2008-09-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

Megan has started Ballet classes, as she really loves singing and dancing, so we decided to give it a whirl?. She has been to 3 classes now & not got up off my knee once!!!?????. The Ballet class involves jumping around, swinging teddy bears around, good toes & naughty toes & pretending to be flowers.....what else do you need????!!. I thought I would persist as you have to pay for 3 trial classes up front, everytime we leave I say to her, Do you like it?, Do you want to go again?.......and she replies yeeeaaahhh????. What do I do??, we basically go and sit there and watch strangers children dance??. Maybe I'm going to go 1 more time........then change into a different direction, not sure what yet though???. Any suggestions very welcome!.

September BBQ

2008-09-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

I've not updated for a while as we've been quite busy!. We had a BBQ a few weeks ago, as we finally had some nice weather for once!!. It was quite a busy day with lots of our friends and family. Megan had a great time on her bouncy castle, she finally had someone other than her Mum & Dad to play with on it!!. Once the bouncy castle was on, the generator that fills it was quite loud, so every time it was empty we turned it off. That is until Madam Bossy Boots McKenzie realised, and she came bouncing up demanding it on again!!!. Oooh we've got our hands full with her, alright!!. We had a lovely day, possibly the last McKenzie Swaray at 33 Grey Street!!????. Megan never stopped all day, needless to say once she actually sat down on the sofa she was asleep within about 30 seconds, which has never happened in her 2 years of life!!.