It's been a while

Well I did not realise how many of you read my blog so it has been on the backburner while we have been house hunting and out and about. Sorry I will try to be more regular so my post are not so lengthy

House Hunting

We have had quite an exciting but tiring few months. We decided to get into the house hunting market but this time to buy our own place. Wow it is so much harder than renting, so much more on the line. First there is price and what and where we can afford to buy in Sydney, then there are the schools - we need to place high priority on both primary and high schools as by 2012 I will be commuting to both every morning and afternoon and the kids will be socialising in them and then the area, the size of the house and of course the bank evaluation. We have put in offers on 2 properties now 1 which we declined on because of area and then the second came well under valuation and proved too costly in repairs it ticked a number of boxes especially walking distance to both schools and I could have my own sewing room and Bruce could have a study but we were unsure of area and the bank valuation was high importance because we would not get a loan. So after this disaster we have reassessed our priorities and have decided to downsize for a number of years to get into an area we love, build up some equity and then upsize. it will mean the girls share a room, I do not get much sewing space and living areas are smaller but I think school choice is important. Our available market is much smaller but well patience is a virtue.

Out and about

We have been extremely busy and very lucky over this period with exciting outings in and around town. Here is the exciting list and some pics.

Baby Ballet at the Opera House with Miranda

Gruffalo Theatre Production at Riverside Theatre Parramatta with Bronte & Miranda

3 Birthday Parties (2, 4yrs old parties and 1, 3yr old party)

Two reversible aprons and a chef hat each were made for 2 gifts

Australian Girls Choir Concert at the Hills Centre where Bronte sang and we adored her singing.
A Cheerleading Trivia Concert where both girls danced up a storm

A school Dance performance where Bronte danced

A Dance scholarship where Bronte competed in Jazz, Tap and Ballet. I was so impressed by how much she has learnt this year. Bronte has been dancing for a few years now but when we moved we changed dance schools and her new dance school teaches from a syllabus so she is learning so much more.

Ice Skating 3 times

Hannah Montana movie

Luna Park

Ice Age 3 Movie at the drive-in's

and I have been lucky enough to get out twice without the kids and enjoy dinner and a movie (Bruno) with a friend and dinner and a movie (The Proposal) with Bruce