Photo a Day - January

I've tried this before and never EVER finish but this project is only for 1 month, surely I can take a picture a day {at least} for just one month.

Well FatMumSlim has a January Challenge and to make it easier Telle has set out suggestions on what to take picture of each day of the month.  Looks like a great challenge & away to think outside the norm for taking pictures.

Join in on your blog, facebook page, Instagram {#janphotoaday} or just do it for yourself.

Saying Goodbye

Is never fun, nor easy :(

Today we said goodbye or rather 'see you later' to our Puddy Dog Zara.  She is going to a wonderful family whom we know & trust so it does make it easier.

I have been worried about what would happen with her when we had to move out for the better part of the last month, to the point of losing sleep over it.  She truly is a beautiful dog but is very much a boxer, full or beans & still a puppy {and for sometime to come}.

My littlest person did have some tears as she drover out the drive & our biggest dog is still wondering when she will be back.  Makes you realise it isn't just a big move/decision/change for us as people it is equally as big for the other members {or soon to be past members} of our family.

Storage

Well the house is all but empty, after many trips to the tip, giving items way & of course working out what to store and what to take.

I took a drive to our storage container today to see how much space we had & there really isn't all that much left and it will be well & truly full by the time the last items are taken up their in a few days time.

What do you travel in?

That was the biggest question that we faced when planning our trip and after lots of researching, reading, looking & analising we decided on a camper trailer. Now that was decided we had to work out which kind.

WOW the simply number that are on the market it astronomical.

We wrote a list of what we wanted to have as a minimum:

* easy to access kitchen

* quick set up/pack down

* closed in side storage

* fitted electrical & plumbing

* quality made

Certainly didn't want the pop up type and we wanted the ability to change the size of the main room & enclose the annex.

So what did we decide on? A Complete Campsite Uluru XT with a few modifications.

The kitchen was a big pull for me, given this was going to be our 'house' it had to have everything right at my hands and easy to get to. We also added a shelf & light to one of the side storage cupboards on the camper, just inside the main door.

We changed from the standard 14 foot to a 16 foot to give us more space for the small people in the main part of the camper {along with the annex}. So it is slightly longer but will work well. We also added a thermal blanket to help with the heat/cool factor of the camper given it is made from canvas, this should make a big difference to the overall comfort of it. We also got the side walls for the annex.

J decided to go with 17" to match the Patrol, some DC to DC charger, extended draw bar & bike stand. We will also go with solar panels with generator back up but we shall get these once it arrives.

So with the house settling on the 4th we shall be squatting until such time as our camper arrives. Fingers crossed it arrives on our side of the country mid January as planned. Then the packing truly starts!

What a house looks like when packing....

A great big MESS!


At least there is a few rooms that are starting to look very very empty

Christmas Eve

Is here & we are surrounds by boxes, not just of the present kind.

Thankfully I found the time to finish off a little good for the kids that we should hopefully have space in the camper to take with us.  Somewhere that will give them their own space, somewhere for them to imagine, to relax & to hide.



Merry Christmas to you & yours, hopefully you aren't spending it packing boxes!

Ecuation FlipFlop

Since first looking at our education options I have flip flopped several times between home schooling & distance education.

I had all but decided that home schooling was going to be the best option, mainly down the time restraints and structure. Well fast forward to this week and I have done a major flip flop to the point that I have an appointment with S.I.D.E {primary} at the end of January to get more details.

What am I thinking?

Well I think that I possibly need the structure and deadlines to make sure I don't get lapsed in what we are and aren't doing. I think that I need to have someone guide what we do and don't need to do.

I have discovered heaps of different online options/suggestions that would help with either option and for those of you looking for ideas you really should check out PINTREST, the pictures make it so much better.

Right back to packing.

He will be missed

& I know that he will miss us just as much xx

One last time

Our Christmas tree goes up in our house!

Next year who knows where we will be or what we will have for a tree. 

Guess what we got today

Activity on the Road

While waiting to hear on the finance approval for our house & my mind starting to go into 'what can we take for the children on the road' mode, I discovered the idea to make a fabric Hopscotch Mat {from Pintrest}.

Perfect for counting, jumping skills & even better for the not so child friendly weather that we might have while on our travels.

It is simple really, here is what I did with pictures.

 

What you will need: market, scissors, coloured felt, pins {or glue} and heavy duty fabric for mat {I used denim}

Mark the numbers on the felt using your marker {you could print out large templates if you like} and then cut them all out, remembering to save the middle of the number where appropriate

Lay them into place {I would have spread mine out a little more but was using left over pieces of denim}.  When you are happy with where they are then pin them in place {or start gluing them into place}

Stitch your numbers into place, cut cottons & then

Let your small people have a test run.

Silly sewing season

Has well & truly arrived with markets on back to back weekends for the last few weeks I have managed to get creative with some new prints in old favourite designs. 

I love new prints, I love sewing & creating.

Warm weather

Appears to be on it's way, mixed with plenty of rain {something funky is happening to the weather patterns in Western Australia} and to celebrate I have purchased myself a new hammock.  It has been a good while since our last one gave up the ghost & I had forgotten how much I loved having one.

Best place to work

I have taken on some contracting work for my Mum's company the last month {in my spare time haha} and I must say one of the best things about working from home would be that I can do it in any location.....

Afternoon at the park

In the paper

I had a phone call last week from our real estate agent asking if he could pass my details onto The West for an article they wanted to do in a few Saturday's time.

Totally forgot & dress in my house clothes when the photograph arrives, I am super impressed with what was put into the paper that week {wish I could have seen the others actually}

New month, great news

My two little monkeys the day that we put the stick on the house, last Friday 4/11/11 which means that there are 22 days until finance is due on the house.  22 days until I will be 100% excited that this is happening and 21 days {probably more because of Christmas but at the moment 21} till we have SOLD OUR HOUSE!

 

The only thing that I will really miss from this house is my garden.  I love that it is so open, that it has everything for the children {and husband}, that is has my lovely chickens & my even better veggie garden.  All of our pots will need re-homed, along with the fruit trees in wine barrels but everything else will need to be packed.

All of our friends are excited for us and a good friend who is currently in the UK actually said this to me last week {in relation to my garden missing}: “the beauty about the garden is that it’s something you made, which means you can make it again.  The best part about the garden is that you don’t have to keep it alive while you are on your mega adventures!!!! {and you can choose to have whatever garden you want in all sorts of different places}”  Simple but true.

Downside

There is one downside to our plans to travel Australia & that is saying goodbye to our two boxer dogs.  Czar we got just after we got married, he is just shy of 7 & Zara {puddy} will be 2 in January.

Christmas Bear

Kaleb came home from school today with his classes 'Christmas Bear'.

A cute cuddly teddy bear {which I forgot to get a picture of} that comes with a suitcase with change of clothes & a note book.  The idea is to write what your family does for Christmas & include some pictures.

Happy Birthday to me

And to celebrate I got myself another old singer sewing machine, this time a hand one.