The Longest Time

We made it! 

The School holidays are officially over, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 are back at kindy next week.  I don't remember what I actually did with the kids last week, so I can't write about it.  I do know there was a bit of The Wiggles and Lion King in there, plus a few trips to the park and to see friends, as well as seeing our new neighbours, The-Other-Auckland-Goughs (TOAGs).  It's such a blur.  I think I am going to look back on this phase of my life when I am 75 and draw a total blank.  I'll think such delusional thoughts as 'oh that was so idyllic'.  I know this, because I look back three years ago to when the twins were babies and I think that was lovely.  It was in many ways, but my brain has deleted the scenes of sleepless nights, feeding marathons, crying babies, illness - all times two.

This has been the longest time in between my posts - over a week - and I think it's because there's not that much happening on our house!  For the first time ever, Steve and I look at the new house each day and wonder what it is the builders actually did.

I am pretty sure that this patch of gib is all the builders did one day last week.

But they have been busy gibbing, and the photos I will show you today are actually out of date.  There are still pink batts showing in said pictures and not much at all showing as I write today.  I have been used to loads of noise as the builders work. The weird thing with the gibbing is that there isn't much noise produced while executing the work, so I then imagine that the builders are all sitting around drinking cups of tea (those cups of tea must be imaginary too though, because I haven't made them any since those halcyon days back in the summer when we had a kitchen and I had the energy to impress). 

 

We know we are nearing the end of the build, because builder numbers have dwindled.  Sometimes it's just Main Builder Guy and The Apprentice.   They are very patient and lovely boys, who don't mind if Max runs half naked onto the building site and turns up the volume on their speakers to EXTREMELY LOUD and then way down to whispery quiet.  They laugh because I spend the majority of my time at home chasing Max.  Sofia has taken to talking to the builders; telling them things such as:  Daddy is doing the washing, because the clothes are dirty and you need to wash clothes because otherwise they wouldn't be clean and we need them to be clean so we can wear them!  This is said while Main Builder Guy is trying to scratch around and shoot some levels (do you like my builder-speak?  I am nearly fluent).  He still manages to look up and say a few things back to her with a smile, which Sofia finds encouraging.  Plus, he was working on a Saturday and he still smiled.

We got rid of the last bit of our old kitchen today - the kitchen island.  So with our utensils in plastic boxes it really does feel like we are camping. 

But not for long.  We are organising the sanding of our existing floors beginning on the 15th May, while I am away in Adelaide visiting my mum with young Max (meanwhile, the girls are heading away with Grandma and Grandad for a mini break and they are very excited).  After that, it will be getting our new floor down, kitchen in and voila!  We will need to do quite a bit of painting and finishing but essentially we will be there.

Major highlight:  our skylights in the new living space - they are fantastic. GREAT call putting in extra windows; it will be one of those things we will always be grateful we did.  They let in so much more light and add a bit of a interest to a large, flat ceiling. 

Looking up at the skylights

 

You can just see the skylights at the top of the picture.  This is looking towards the new kitchen.

 

I must sign off now.  The washing machine is beeping at me and it contains Max's 'Alfie' - a blue elephant comforter which had turned putrid it was so slobbered on.  We lost our spares, and Max is very attached.  Now I need to dry it quickly, without a dryer, and put it back in his bed before he notices. 

 

It might be time for a new toy.  Max seems to like this broom.  But it's a bit big to take with him to bed.

 

 

 



 

Over and out,

Anna x


PS - I didn't take the job.  For a bit longer, I am CEO of Gough Enterprises.