Cough, sniffle, sneeze...

Definitely not much happening this week as poor Jax managed to catch herself a head cold, and the only good things for fixing that are rest, fluids, and Panadol (the equivalent of aspirin). It has been hanging around a bit *too* long though so we are also trying some antibiotics the Dr prescribed (yes, they are "safe"). Hopefully that will do the trick ! Only two more weeks until the start of her maternity leave as well.

Today was quite busy though, this morning we went out to The Warehouse to get some curtains for the nursery (photo to come once they are up, still have to buy hooks for the curtain to hang on the rail with), then off to the hardware store to get some underfloor insulation.

The house feels like it has been getting quite damp, but we've already got Pink Batts (looks like candy floss) in the ceiling and maybe the walls, so hopefully the underfloor stuff will help cut down a bit further on some of the moisture. We also picked up some pre-cut melamine board to make a shelf in the kitchen with, hasn't Roland done a great job?

Tomorrow we will probably look at what to put on it, but it will great as our pantry is a little overcrowded.

We're also going to try a new strategy with the grocery shopping tomorrow, and try and buy enough for two weeks worth of meals, not including fresh fruit and veges of course - this also meant writing out a two week meal planner. We might have to start up the fridge / freezer downstairs as well (in the basement), AND we might even get around to planning some of the meals we want to make and freeze for the first couple of weeks after Baby Bird arrives.

And just before we sign off, a quick note to our little cousin Julia - great singing !! It was a good reminder for me to give Papere a phone call for his birthday when that comes.

That's all for now though, take care folks !

Love J, R & Baby Girl Bird

Busy Bees

Time has been flying as always, three weeks in our new house now, and time for another update as well !

Not sure if it can be said Roland is "enjoying" biking to work more now, but seems to be finding it a bit easier in the second week - and isn't coming home as exhausted as last week. Here is a photo of his spiffy new bike:

The car has been guzzling up a fair bit of gas though, although driving in to work has been working out very well for Jax, who is still tired but not AS tired. We are also pleased to report that Friday night was the only night we didn't eat dinner at the table, but it was "takeaways" night anyway so a little laziness was allowed ;)

The friend we mentioned in our last entry hasn't had the baby yet, the kidney infection took a little while to clear up, but is 100% definitely being induced *this* Monday, so we're hoping the next time we catch up with them it will be a visit with baby Ethan as well.

And to continue the baby stuff topic, we had our last antenatal class on Thursday, which was both nice and a little sad - we did come away from it with a lot of good information, and a contact list that all the other couples had filled out so that anyone who wants to keep in touch with each other is able to.

Jax has also been busy putting some more finishing touches on the nursery, click HERE to take a look at an online album with some of the photos - almost everything is ready, all we need now is our baby ! :P

No other major news, but we have had the fireplace and chimney cleaned out as well as some firewood delivered, which will add a nice warm touch during winter and hopefully help us cut down on our electricity bill. The office is still in chaos and may have to wait a bit longer, but Roland has been tackling some of the outside work that needed doing, as we have to start taking advantage of days when it isn't raining - another one of the joys of winter in NZ.

To cheer things up however, here is a photo taken at the height of summer, on our trip to Opotiki for Rols' mums birthday:

Take care folks !

Love J, R & Baby Girl Bird

The Weekend

Friday:

Poor Roland stayed home as he was not feeling well at all - my theory on this is that he was exhausted from all the things we've been running around doing both out and at home, so it was his body's way of forcing him to rest and recover a bit. I am pleased to report however, that he is feeling much better now !

Saturday:

We have FINALLY closed down all of our bank accounts with other banks, and managed to bring everything together with one provider, including savings, credit cards, insurance, mortgage etc. Made a trip in especially in the morning as neither of us had free time during the week, and some banks now open for half a day on Saturdays. Came home for a while after that, did some meal planning for the week which will hopefully make things easier for us when we come home feeling tired. Jax's mum dropped by with some handy bits and pieces, like a doormat for the front door that isn't too thick (ie: we can still open and shut the door without it getting in the way), plus a new plug for the kitchen sink - the one that was already here was pretty useless. The second outing of the day was to the supermarket, and to a branch of a particular chain that happens to be a LOT cheaper - we'd been a bit lazy when we first moved in and just gone to the one closest to us, which also cost us a fair bit more. Fast forward things a bit and there was spaghetti bolognaise for dinner, and we even managed to sit at the dinner table instead of in front of the TV - a new habit we are trying hard to establish. Last but not least, we made another outing that night to visit a friend in hospital who is about to have her baby - but will definitely be by c-section as she has had quite a few complications so far including a recurring kidney infection, plus the little guy has managed to turn himself the 'wrong' way around as well ! She is in good spirits though, and all things going well they are hoping to deliver him sometime tomorrow, exciting stuff ! :D

Sunday (today):

After a reasonably good sleep, Roland was wonderful enough to cook our breakfast - we have decided to introduce porridge to the menu for winter because not only is it yummy but it fills you up really well and keeps you warm (kinda!).

Then we dropped in on Jax's mum to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !! - to give her a card, and a little gift as well (remember mum, don't eat them all at once !!). Stayed for a quick catch up and cup of tea, then home to relax for a while and geek around on the computer. After lunch, most of the afternoon was spent trying to do some more unpacking / sorting / tidying up - and Jax even managed to conquer the entire bedroom, with a few winter things being taken out of storage, a few more summer things going IN to storage, and even a few things being "thrown out" (we will actually donate them to charity). The next big mission will be to do the office probably, finish off the lounge (living room), and then just rearrange / organise what's left just as we like it. Still incredibly happy in our new place, we've even discovered some amazing birds that must nest in our neighborhood - I think it was Saturday we spotted a pair of Tui's next door (a protected native bird, they sound amazing), and Roland saw a pair of Rosella's (native Australian parrot, very colorful). Dinner was fish, rice and salad, simple but satisfying !

So, that's all she wrote folks - it'll be bedtime for us shortly in any case...

Take care ! :)

Love J, R & Baby Girl Bird

Home Sweet Home

We made it !

Not that there was ever any doubt, but what a day it was ! We got up super early to start the last of the packing and cleaning (7am, 03 May 2006) and then the truck arrived, so they started loading up all of the boxes and our furniture.

Around 11am we arrived at the new house, and encountered a bit of a hiccup.

We'd arranged to have the carpets cleaned the day before which would give them plenty of time to dry, but in all the chaos we forgot that the power wouldn't be connected for the carpet cleaner guy to be able to plug his machine in. D'oh ! We rescheduled him to come the morning of our moving day, and he'd only just finished when we got there. This meant that the carpet was still damp, and did it ever STINK - plus we had to move all our stuff in regardless. There wasn't too much extra dirt left behind though, and a good vacuuming should fix that up.

It took until about 2pm to get all of our things unloaded, then between lunchtime and 5pm our new bedroom furniture was delivered which included a slat bed frame and new mattress, dresser drawers, framed mirror, and two bedside tables - all in a beautiful matching dark wood.

Everything considered, it went pretty well and we were ALL exhausted by dinner time - including the cats who were even too tired to fight despite being shut together in the same room. We let them out the next morning to explore, and then got a cat door installed on Saturday, which didn't take them long to remember how to use.

It's hard to believe it's been just over a week too, but things are fairly settled - we haven't managed to unpack everything yet but will get there eventually.

Here are a few photos from the day after we moved in (4th May 2006).

Master bedroom





Bathroom (toilet just to the right, shower to the left behind the door)


Office


Kitchen




Lounge (living room)



Deck



That's all we've got for now folks, but there will be more photos to come once we've done a bit more cleaning and arranged the living room furniture properly - the nursery should be completely finished by then too ;) (Which may get an entry all to itself...)

Not much other news really, we're both back at work and getting used to slightly new routines, plenty going on to keep us busy !

Our next update will hopefully be this weekend, if not, sometime next week.



Oh ! Almost forgot... guess what Jax found at the local supermarket ? *drum roll*




I kid you not !! This makes for one VERY happy Jax !!

Anyway, take care and goodnight everyone :)

Love J, R & Baby Girl Bird

Moving house !

Beep Beep !

Yes folks, the time has finally come - we are moving house tomorrow ! It's a little bit sad, but mostly exciting - the truck is scheduled to arrive at 9am tomorrow along with two guys to help us pack up. Not that Jax will be doing much lifting though, so don't worry ;)

Still a few odds and ends to pack though, which is what the rest of this afternoon is for, and then tomorrow morning we will clean whatever's left that needs cleaning, and Jax's mum and Rols' dad are coming over to help with that. It also means that our computers will have to be packed up, but it probably won't be long before they are up and running at the new place. Of course we both have time off work to get all of this done, and enable us to relax and settle in a bit before getting into a new routine.

We will also get to set up the nursery for Baby Bird, who is doing very well and measuring up perfectly according to the midwife at our appointment this morning.

Nothing much else is going on because of course, this is a pretty big thing !! So we will sign off for now, and our next update will come from the new house and hopefully have a few photos as well.

Take care everyone...

Love J, R & Baby Girl Bird