It's been a while.....

To be honest it has been so long and so much has happened I really don't know where to start.... so I will start from now.

The kids are in Queensland with my mam - having a ball I might add. It is school holidays here in Melbourne so with both of us working the only option we had left was to send them up to her, which I know she was so excited about! I could tell in her voice and still can even though they have been there for a week. Mam keeps saying to me "Don't worry about the kids they are fine" and I keep replying "I am not worried about the kids I am worried about you!!" LOL my kids are not feral so she knows I am only joking! I just worry that they will misbehave or argue and she could end up having another heart scare etc.

Last week I spent the week on the road with traveling to the South West of Victoria to conduct some training. What a long drive - 4 and a half hours to drive home from Warrnambool on Friday and I was buggered. I enjoy my job and travelling but sometimes it is hard especially being away from my family (or in this case just Noel this time around). I am meant to be travelling this week but it looks like I have to change my priorities to fit in some other things that have now become urgent. I love the fact that I see so much scenery and visit towns that I had never heard of some of which are becoming regular stop overs. I am starting to get know where the good hotels/motels are along with the restaurants... LOL the perks of the job!!

This windmill is near Hanson Heywood Quarry.

Something SPECIAL has happened though... we had a new arrival in our family on Wednesday. Clare and Grahame welcomed into the world Charlie Lee Ahrens!! YAY another girl in the family! We cannot wait to get to Sydney (over Easter) to meet her and to see Clare and Grahame!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Welcome baby Murray

With much anticipation just after 4pm this afternoon we all recieved the phone calls we had been waiting for.... the baby had been born, all went as planned and both mother and child were doing well.

So without further ado ~ here is our newest arrival .........

Daniel Murray

6lbs 11 1/2 oz (3.04kgs)

We didn't get a chance to have a cuddle with Daniel tonight as he is in a humidity crib due to having difficulty breathing, but otherwise all is great. Sean assured us that he should by out by the morning.

I think we will be visiting again on Sunday......

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

A new member of the Murray family is due today..

What an exciting day it is today... today the world will welcome another person into the Murray family!

Sean and Vicky will be getting ready to go off to the hospital at the moment and this afternoon their whole world will change with the birth of their second child.

We will more than likely be meeting the new baby this evening and we cannot wait. We don't know whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. Sean and Vicky chose not to tell anyone so it will definitely be a surprise. I think everyone is secretly hoping that Vicky will be blessed with a daughter but the most important thing is that the arrival is safe and healthy.

I remember the day when Alexandria was born, and yes it did change our little family (for the better of course). Although Oliver was 3 is was strange having another little baby in the house for us but of course it was stranger for Oliver. Thankfully he didn't resent Alexandria - if anything we had to ensure he didn't smother her with kindness!!

We are all anxiously awaiting the news of the new arrival....

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

It's gonna be a hot one..... the week that is.

Well after a huge and hot weekend here in Melbourne we now face the prospect of a whole week with temperatures in the high 20's and into the 30's on some days.

Melbourne's weather forecast looks like this....

Monday ~ 34 deg C

Tuesday ~ 32 deg C

Wednesday ~ 27 deg C

Thursday ~ 29 deg C

Friday ~ 31 deg C

Saturday ~ 35 deg C

Sunday ~ 34 deg C

As you can imagine we are approaching fire season here, and quite a lot of Victoria are paniced by last summer's fires especially on Black Saturday ~ a day a lot of us remember but would prefer to forget. The loss of lives, property, belongings, livestock and even pets is still so much in the forefront of everyone's memories that we are all reading and talking about this year's strategies for fighting and controlling any fires that will happen.

On a happier note "Baby Murray" is due to be born on Friday .... and I think the whole Murray family is excited and eagerly awaiting his or her arrival. I don't envy Vicky being pregnant in this heat though... poor thing!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Time flies when you're having fun.....

Cannot believe it has been nearly another month since I last sat down and posted. Wow where does all the time go?

For me, it is working full time, spending as much of my spare time with the kids and doing the occassion bit of house work, shopping, cooking, etc, etc. I am sure everyone knows where I am coming from.

Work at the moment is very busy with a new manager on site, training off site up in the country quarries and with the warmer weather approaching more work is being done so the trucks and the weighbridge are getting busier. I made a few trips to Carisbrook, near Bendigo, for training where I stayed a few nights. I have a few more similar trips in the pipeline prior to Christmas so I will well and truely need a New Years Break.

The kids are getting excited with the fact that Christmas is coming... not long now. I still get amazed every year at how early the Christmas decorations are put out in the shops. You nearly spend half the year looking at Christmas stuff and then celebrate it for just one day!!

Alex lost her first tooth on Melbourne Cup Day and was pleased when the tooth fairy left $10 in exchange for her little tooth. She looks really cute without her tooth and I think she is wobbling every other tooth now.

We all went to the Melbourne city a couple of weekends ago when Noel's sister Clare and her boyfriend came down from Sydney. It was great to see Clare again and to meet Ray for the first time - hopefully as a family we didn't scare him too much. The day was spent at AFL Hall of Fame, a really great place to go even if you are not a mad footy supporter. It is a musuem as well as an interactive environment, similar to Scienceworks, and it kept both the adults and the kids interest all day.

Claire, my sister, is due to have her 4th child on 14th December. I wish my relationship with her was better but I need to remember that it is a two way street. There is no closeness that I feel sisters should have which upsets me and I know it upsets my Mam. I have to be honest and say that I have given up ringing in hope of normality and actually being like sisters as my calls often go unanswered and not returned. Just when I think all is lost she rings me out of the blue. It made my day to actually think she was thinking of me. I appreciated the fact that for once she has made an effort. That was last Tuesday - suspiciously I am going to wait to see how long it takes for the next phonecall to happen. I hate myself for thinking like this!

Mam is due to arrive in Melbourne soon. She flies in on the 12th December and I am really looking forward to seeing her again. My uncle Griff and his partner Julie will be with her as they are coming out from Wales for a holiday. I haven't seen Griff since I was 18 which is 17 years ago now. Needless to say I think this Christmas will be really good with both families and the added overseas relations.

Well as you can see we have been busy and I am sure it won't slow down this side of Christmas..... oh well!!

I'm back!!

Hi World!!

Wow cannot believe that it has been 4 months since I last posted. Unfortunately it has been a case of "I'll do it after", "I'll have more time tommorrow" etc etc. But as we all know - tommorrow never comes and now it is nearly the end of May!

I don't know where to begin - so much has happened since January.

Alex has settled into preps really well. She has a love of school that I hope she retains for the next 12 years. Her teacher, Mrs Bailey, is really happy with her progress and has commented that she is doing exceptionally well.

Oliver is also doing well at school, although I was called to pick him up early today due to a stomach ache that disappeared as soon as we left the school yard. Not sure what the underlying reason behind this is but I am sure it will come out eventually. He is enjoying grade 3 and also likes his teacher, Mrs Matthews.

As far as Noel and I are going - we are still coping with what life is dealing (although it is more bad than good). It is wonderful that at night we can still lie there, tell each other "I love you" and go to sleep with those last words floating in our head.

Weight wise - Noel and I both really need to change and change big time!! Noel is having an ultrasound tommorrow morning on his liver as the last series of blood tests he has recently had shows that there may be a problem. Cross fingers for him on this one. I do believe this scare has jolted Noel a little and he is taking life a little more seriously this last week. Needless to say that as of this morning we have both promised to try and change our lifestyle not just for us but mainly for our kids.

We have just found out that my sister is pregnant on her 4th children. (No one else in my family knows.) She is praying for another boy as she has already had 3 but secretly I am hoping she has a girl. Terrible on me I know but I know how much she adores Alex so I think she deserves a little princess of her own.

Speaking of Claire, she is flying up to see Mam this Wednesday. I am really jealous but would never tell her although I am sure from the body language she knows. It is only a flying visit and she will be telling Mam her exciting news. I am sure Mam will be very surprised!!!

Our League 10 Pin Bowling season is drawing to an end with only two weeks left. It has been fun - especially spending one on one time with Claire. I chose my bowling ball and it has been ordered so I am looking forward to getting that. It is part of our league that we recieve a bowling ball at the end of the season. I can't wait to see it - the colour I chose is called blackberry - a mixture of black and red with sparkles. Hopefully it will look as good as it did on the internet.

On the Murray front - all hell broke loose a few weekends ago with Vicky unleashing her views and thoughts about the family on the mother in law. Ouch it hurt and it hurt big time. I will honestly say that the family will never be the same - even I was dragged under and am quite disappointed in her as a person!! I really feel sorry for Sean (Noel's brother) on so many levels!!

Work has been going really well for me. I have been doing some training off site and my latest trip saw me at Kilmore on Friday. This Friday I am off to Wollert and Diggers Rest the Friday after.... I hate driving... LOL!!!! Noel's work has been fairly quiet and has only started doing overtime again last week. The bank balance is looking wonderful anymore but hey shit happens and we just have to get on with it.

I am starting to ramble now - so I will close and wish you all goodnight!!

~*JO*~