Baby AND a new place, guess it's time to grow up!

Well, as you all know, our lives have been pretty chaotic these last couple of months. We moved into our new place the last weekend in July only a week after finding out I was pregnant! The baby was a big surprise but one that we have embraced. So far everything is going smoothly (minus a few sessions hugging the toilet and my clothes starting to not fit). We went to the doctor a week and a half ago and we were able to hear the heartbeat which was great! Kieran has been awesome about cleaning and taking care of me on the days where I just have enough energy to drag my butt out of bed and go to work. He is busy with the football season being in full swing as well so I am Lucky to have such a hard working hubby.

Our place has been a good fit for us so far. It needs a lot of work to get it where we want it to be and the ball really gets rolling next Monday when some workers come in and put in some electrical work, new lighting and a false ceiling (to cover up the nasty old one we have from back in the 1960's).Once that is finished we will paint the rooms and get started on the nursery. I took some photos of the inside of our place but I think they will look better once I can compare them to the "After" shots so I will hold off on posting them. I have put some pictures of the exterior of our building and the paint colors we have picked. It is hard to get a good feel for what they look like but we are trying to get the "beachy" feel happening since we are a block from the ocean and right on the lake. In one of the photos I am in a kayak since we rented kayaks by the lake where we live to go around in. Pretty cool. The only real work we have done to our place so far is some sanding back of doors and windows so they are ready to be painted when the time comes. You can sort of see where my baby bump is starting to form in that picture :)

My personal training class is done in 5 weeks and then I have no idea what I will do as I will be too pregnant to get a job at a gym. Probably just train some of my friends and then once the baby comes decide how much I will go back to work. I am meeting with my principal next week to discuss maternity leave options. I am sure I will only work part time so I can spend time with the baby and save money on daycare. Still have to get through the next 6 months before we worry too much about that. Anybody want to move here and be alive in nanny? haha
Well, I will do MUCH better with photos and things as we progress. Keep in touch and if you have good baby name suggestions r house renovation tips let us know!

The Houses come to Sydney

Hey everyone! I have thought about writing an email home about 100 times in the last couple of weeks but have been so busy with my parents here that I have never actually gotten around to it - lame I know but the truth. We have been having lots of fun. Not much of a school "break" for me, but great to have people to show around and play with :) Since I have a day to myself I figured I could do an update to the ol' blog and put up some photos too. Here are some of the highlights:

• They came to my classroom for an Easter egg hunt during the first week they were here so they got to meet the kids in my class.
• LOTS of time in the city.
• They spent two nights at a hotel in the thick of it all taking in the Opera house, ferry rides, tour bus etc. I did the Wild life world with them as well as a tour of an area called the Rocks where the first convicts lived.
  
• Lots of good food and drinks of course too.
• Easter Sunday we did church and then the Manly home game (which they won!)
  Lunch with Kieran's family at a nice seafood restaurant in the Eastern Suburbs
• We had a bbq with some of our friends, including a few of the boys who were in the wedding.
• Hanging out and cruising the beaches and towns in our area


• Ocean world in Manly
• Learning to peel and eat raw prawns
• A day trip to the Blue Mountains and another one to Kieran's parents' house for lunch to meet the animals and visit the "farm".
  

Those are the main highlights so far. There have been a few days that were pretty low key but not many. No wonder I needed a nap today! I have been their personal tour guide :) The weather was good until Saturday night and now it has been chilly and rainy most of the time. It was 9 Celsius at the Blue Mountains yesterday ( about 42f!) so winter is here. A bit warmer in Sydney but things have really changed in the last week or so. They are going on a tour of an area called the Hunter Valley today which is where a lot of wineries are. I am staying home to do some things around here though.

Kieran and I are flying up to the Sunshine Coast for a wedding this weekend so I need a day off before then. Our friends Ben and Allie (whom some of you met at the wedding) are tying the know up there. After that I go back to school already! Man, time flies.

My personal training course starts on May 19 so I will be busy then. Kieran is good despite lots of set backs Manly have had. They are 2-4 so at least they have chalked up a few wins. I have a feeling it may be a long season however! Oh well. My parents now understand rugby league and have been religious followers of the Eagles. I think my dad will actually miss watching it on tv.

Alright well, I will write again soon.

Long Time no post

Well it looks like my computer will let me upload photos again, so here are a few new ones along with some news. I am on school holidays right now so I actually have time to catch up on all of the things I have been meaning to do for awhile. It is stinking hot today (we are going into spring) and I spent the afternoon at the beach and now I am in the air conditioning. I only have nine weeks of work left before the school year is over!! Crazy how time flies. And to think the wedding was basically this time last year. It has been a good but hectic year.

Malnly are in the Grand Final again this year (it is on Sunday) and the Northern Beaches have MANLY FEVER!!! It is such a good atmosphere. It is a rematch of last year so it will be huge if they win since they lost last year. Everywhere you go there are Manly car flags and people in Jerseys and t-shirts. Makes me proud since Kieran is in charge of all the merchanidise. I have not seen him for more then 3 or 4 hours since last Saturday night after they won - long hours that hopefully will be worth it when they win! The photo below is at the semifinal. He will be getting a well deserved break. He leaves for the States on Nov 14 and plans on spending down time in Florida and Cali while he does his work traveling.

My work is great. Last term was a long 10 weeks with some drama with some staff and parents but we all survived and the kids are doing so well. Most of them are going to mainstream classes ("normal 1st and 2nd grade rooms) next year so we are getting them ready for that. I will get to be out of room a lot and taking them to spend time in the mainstream rooms next term. Very big deal for them and their parnents. We went to the beach on the last day before holidays...it is right across the street from our school! We had a picnic and the kids had a great time making sand castles and running around. Some of the boys are in the photo above. So good to have warmer weather and longer days!

The cat turns one this month and he pretty much runs the show around here. An unfortunate habit he has picked up is hunting. His favorite vicitims are these tiny lizards that run around everywhere. He feels the need to bring them in and show me which is starting to get gross. Oh well. Other then that he is great. No more real dramas with ticks which is a relief. He will hate being at the kennal when we are in the States - too bad we cannot bring him with.

We are still saving up for a place. We really like where we are though and really lucked out. So grateful our friendd is letting us stay here. It is great being by a lake with a nice path and the beach is right beyond the lake. Kieran has his fishing gear all ready for when the season is over. I'm still biking or walking to work and Kieran is only like 15 min from his. Well, not much else to report on. I have another week of lunches with friends and R&R before going back to school. I plan on heading home on Dec. 11th so it will be here before you know it!!

can u believe it has been a year?

Well I have been here for over a year now and it is hard to believe. There have been so many changes in my life it is pretty amazing!

I moved across the world and dealt with making new friends, and fitting into a different culture
I have had THREE jobs (4 if you count the dog walking)

I have been married
I have moved house since arriving here.

No wonder I have had my homesick moments and stress! I would not change any of it though and I have become one tough chick because of it all. I am gaining some true friends and some great work experiences as well.

i

I have not written on here on a bit so here are some updates from our neck of the woods. We are all settled in at our new place. We are really liking it and think t is much better than the last place we had. Winter is here and I have had to bundle up when I walk to work and do my recess duties. Not too much rain like last year though. I have been fighting a cold for the last week and a half or so and there have been lots of sick kids at school.



Kieran and I have had some busy weekends recently. When he does not have to work at a home game it seems like lately we have had a lot on. One of the highlites would be the Australia Vs. New Zealand game we went to a few weeks ago with our friends from New Zealand. We took a a party bus into the city and then went to the game. The Aussies dominated so Kieran was happy. We then all went out to some nearby pubs - the New Zealanders really know how to party! Another event was an Australia South Africa Rugby Union game (I'm noticing a trend here). We went to Manly for a late lunch and took the ferry into the city to meet our friends Dom and Sejr. I also have become pretty social with the girls I work with and there have been some dinners and nights out. We also are thankful for the quiet nights at home too.


Our new place is a good little home for us. This past Saturday we went to see what was out there to buy in the near future and a two bedroom apartment in our area will set us back a bit but we are nearly ready to buy. It was fun to look around and see what was out there. I think whatever we get we will renovate bits a pieces. We are happy here for the rest of the year though. It has been great walking to work in the morning. Kieran and I both are having success with our jobs. I spoke with the principal at the school last week and it looks like she is more than happy to let me get some teaching experience next year - I just need to get listed with a teaching agency. I think the Catholic Diocese will be my best bet. It is being looked into anyhow. I am happy!

Happy (late) Valentine's Day

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day - I love you! We had a pretty quiet one. I was going to upload some photos on this but the website is not allowing it for whatever reasons.

My new job is going SO great! I have fallen in love with my students and feel so blessed to be able to help them. There are 9 boys. Most are mildly delayed mentally and a few who are a bit more severe. The teacher I work with really respects me and involves me as much as possible. I get to put my PE skills to use and do some motor skills with the boys a couple of times a week. We had parent teacher night on Friday and everyone was saying how their boys really like me. The cutest thing is that one of the boys cannot pronounce my name so he calls me "Mrs. Helping Hand". How funny is that? Sota made a little trip to the class the other day which was fun.


Speaking of Sota, we still have a cat but we have had our moments where we have wanted to say bye bye to Sota! He is a great kitty so loving and cute but man can he be obnoxious! The latest thing he does is try to escape from our apartment (and he has done so successfully about 5 times now)! He never gets far but let me paint a picture of why this is a problem...


Sota sleeps all day when we are at work so when we are asleep he is pretty good until like 3 am. Then he wants to go nuts and play. Lately we get up and give him some milk and lock him in the bathroom until we wake up. Well it was really warm the other night s we had the bathroom window open. Somehow Sota pushed the screen out and jumped (thankfully we are on ground level). When Kieran woke at like 5:30 the cat was gone! It was pitch black and raining out. We did find him but he has since done it again (pried the window open on his own!). Hopefully he grows out of it. He is such a good suck up it is hard to stay mad at him :)



Kieran is well and work is busy busy. The season kicks off on the 14th of March. I decided to help out selling merchandise at home games (man am I a sucker!) . so I will be more involved. His grandmother passed away a few weeks ago so that was tough but other than that he and his family seem to be doing ok. We are still working out the details of his trip for work to the States in the coming months - looks like we will be over there in December (and I may stay through most of January possibly).

Keep in touch - can you believe it is almost Easter?! Time flies - I will have been here for a year as of the beginning of May!

...and kitty makes three

So the Houlahan's have gained a family member...we got a kity named, "Sota"...you know like Minnesota! He is about 15 weeks old and has TONS of character. This is fun most of the time but when you are trying to sleep and he is running sprints up and down the hallway or nibbling on your toes it is not so cute. He is very into cuddling and seems to love us so it is fun. He will be good company for me when Kieran gets busy with all of the pre-season chaos which is coming up in the next few months.

As most of you know Margaret was here for a few weeks and we had lots of adventures! It was great to have a visitor and it sounds like we will be having some more in 2008. I like it because I get to play tourist too! If any of you are thinking of coming let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Summer is in full swing and I am trying to learn about water safety in the ocean (I am starting to get more and more brave) and cricket. Right now Austarlia is playing India in Cricket and the Australian Open tennis tournament is on so Kieran is in heaven :) I go back to work next week which should be good. This week I have been trying to relax as much as possible.

Ok, well I will write again soon! Hope everyone is having a good start to 2008!!