mates

mates, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sat dec 27
207/365

yet another 5am shift this morning. i dropped mum and the kids off at the airport on my way to work (you can imagine how much my children loved being woken at 4am). z,c & g are off to nana’s for a few days on their own. i spoke to them after lunch and they had already been to the beach and the skatepark!

i spent the afternoon at post xmas work drinks in the city. it was so hot & sticky meaning i was thirsty meaning the beers went down far too easily. we ended up back at robert’s place where he decided to carve me loads of xmas ham to take home just cos we’re mates!

 

song “get shaky” the ian carey project

boxing day

boxing day, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

fri dec 26
206/365

another day i have always loved. the feeling of celebration still pervades but in a less precious way. unfortunately i had an early shift at work… fortunately i was working with robert so all was good.

my mum arrived on an early flight, walked from the terminal over to my carpark, grabbed my car and was soon at my place looking after the kids! she managed to strip all the beds, do all the washing, and clean the house before i got home – what a great christmas present!

zach, georgia and i spent the afternoon playing guitar hero and singstar while mum pottered around and paul took the boys to yet another skate park.

now everyone is asleep and i am sitting here with the christmas tree lights on in an otherwise dark house and i feel satisfied. happy with my lot.

ps. i detest the boxing day sales. why are the shops even open? i remember when nothing was open and boxing day was all about family & friends, eating christmas day leftovers, and maybe a game of backyard cricket.

song “don’t go breaking my heart” kiki dee & elton john

merry christmas

merry christmas, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

thurs dec 25
205/365

i was awoken at 6 by a phone call from the kids to let me know that santa had, as anticipated, found them at their dad’s place and left them a stash of goodies. they were back home here by just after 8am and excitedly opened their presents. as we walked out the door a couple of hours later there was not one clean surface left in the house. everywhere i looked was strewn with discarded wrapping paper & packaging and of course presents.

the rest of the day was spent with our gorgeous friends the penny’s.
more presents
loads of delish food
the house bursting with noise, laughter & merriment.

even going to work was pleasant – my shift ended up being only 2 ½ hours long – yay!

cam & eggy both got new skate decks so paul took them to a skatepark of their choice – as a xmas treat he was prepared to go anywhere in brisbane!

after a hot and humid day, the evening storm saw the kids outside in the dark bouncing on the trampoline while getting rained on.

we were home quite late and everyone just crashed; but not before the kids proclaimed today as the best christmas ever!

all in all a great day that i hope will instil wonderful memories for my kids to cherish later in their lives.

song “all i want for christmas” from the fantastic movie “love actually”. we watch it every christmas!

xmas eve excitement

xmas eve excitement, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

wed dec 24
204/365

traditionally my favourite day of the year…so much anticipation.

today started well. one last chai with lou lou and the girls at lutty before saying our farewells (again). we won’t see each other for a month so there were hugs all round.

then i had to go to work. not the best thing to do on xmas eve but someone’s got to do it. i just LOVE it (sarcasm intended) when the managers & admin staff come into the ops room at lunch time xmas eve to wish everyone a merry christmas because they’re already heading home. if we left ½ way through our shift it would be considered fraud. even tomorrow on xmas day they let us work short shifts but we have to take rec leave to cover the rest of the shift. then the big wigs from canberra started calling to let us know they’re available over the holiday break ‘should we need them’. grrrrr.
(sorry, rant is now over)

popped into sharon’s for a xmas drink on the way home. yummy cheese & champagne! her little ones were safely tucked into bed awaiting a special visitor. my (not so) little ones are with their dad also awaiting a special visitor, but still not asleep. they had so much fun this morning feeling all the presents and trying to guess what’s inside.

 now i am home wrapping a seemingly never ending stream of presents all ready for tomorrow morning.

i must add…huge props to lyn for organising the holiday card exchange. it has been so much fun!

song “war is over” john lennon

peace love happiness

peace love happiness, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

tues dec 23
203/365

this is the photo i used for this years christmas cards!

today =
more sleepovers
xmas shopping complete
wrapping of presents underway =
all good

song powderfinger “up and down and back again”

xmas with the gang

xmas with the gang, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

mon dec 22
202/365

met up with my 2 of my fave girls cath & louise, for some festive cheer before we all head our separate ways for the hols.
we exchanged presents, ate & drank…oh and we managed to sing too!
the kids swam and had a ball
how do i get to have such beautiful people to fill my life?
thank you a million times over. i love you all.

 

 

 

then it was home for some singstar mania time… i scored the latest singstar with some awesome songs on it…so we were straight into singing along with the ting tings, powderfinger, operator please, one republic…so much fun!

and naturally more sleepovers.

song “mamma mia” abba but performed complete with dance moves by blondie, lil red and missy as a special treat for our delightful children (well really it was a tactic to get rid of them cos we had ‘stuff’ that needed to be discussed)

found : just a little christmas spirit

found, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sun dec 21
201/365

found : just a little christmas spirit
not quite sure where it came from but it is within!

song bernard fanning “the strangest thing”. i went back to work today after a week off and a little birdie had dropped a xmas greeting in the form of a picture of bernard in my locker – yay!

city shopping

city shopping, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sat dec 20
200/365

we ventured into the city today in search of a few presents from those specialised shops (aka skate shops) that just can’t be found elsewhere
all went well and we came home with just what we were looking for without any traumas
i was amazed at cam as all day he spotted soooo many different pairs of skate shoes people were wearing. there are a plethora of skate brands out there that until about 10 months ago i was blissfully unaware of…
hey mum check out those fallen’s
hey mum do you think i should get those emerica’s next?
hey mum i like those globes
hey mum i really want a pair of vans or should i get nike sb’s
hey mum that guy is wearing the lakai’s i really want
etc etc
i can say there is one type of footwear i am well acquainted with and that is the havaiana
everyone in our family love havaianas…they are so comfy and cute. we love visiting city beach to check out the latest havvie designs!

song the buggles” video killed the radio star”

happy birthday swiz

happy birthday swiz, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

fri dec 19
199/365

my mum arrived early this morning for a quick visit. we rounded up the kids from their sleepovers and went to wish elizabeth a happy birthday. can’t believe she is only turning 5! i am so used to seeing her hanging out with the big kids or drinking a chai latte while enjoying a raspberry friand that i sometimes forget she is still only a little person. swiz  is off to prep next year and i will miss seeing her during the day. often when i catch up with louise for a coffee, swiz will want to come home with me, and it’s always lovely having that special time with her.

the temperature here was supposed to hit 37 today, although i don’t think it actually got that high. anyway it was still really hot, so hot in fact that the kids decided to try and fry and egg on the road. well not just one egg, but several. (and no the eggs did not fry)

everyone was very excited tonight as we headed off to see ‘dralion’ the latest cirque du soleil production to hit brisvegas. it was amazing, but probably not quite as good as the last cirque we saw. still the skills of the performers are simply unbelieveable. their ability to focus and concentrate so much of their energy into performing those incredible acts just has to be seen to be believed.

song norah jones “don’t know why”

the secret handshake

the secret handshake, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

thurs dec 18
198/365

the days are starting to blur, but that’s a good thing!

each day we sleep in as long as possible – sometimes easier said than done because the sun is up by 4am.

then that big revolving door starts as the kid shuffle begins…it’s lovely having them all in different combinations throughout the day…coming & going…here& there. i wouldn’t want it any other way.

late this afternoon i ended up with just georgia & thea, and they were practising their secret handshake. of course i didn’t photograph the entire handshake or it would no longer be a secret!

 

this evening i was lucky enough to join hilda at portside to celebrate her birthday. all the necessary ingredients – great food, awesome company, nice setting & fine wine – ensured a fabulous night.

ps. sleepover update : the triple sleepover is now so passé – cam & eggy are now up to their 3rd in a row; zach & catherine – 4 in a week; and georgia is on her 2nd.

song “and i love her” the beatles