The JOYS of the Build-up!!!

Nothing much has been happening lately... which would explain why we have been missing in action for the past few weeks... one thing is for sure however, and that is IT IS HOT... everyday is 35+ degrees... and the humidity is extreme... (still not as bad as I had imagined... however some days I do find it almost unbearable.... there is something about constantly wiping streams of sweat from your face... that eventually can drive you somewhat MAD!!!) However we are surviving so far... But the airconditioning bill might do us in!!!

We have also had the first of the storms... The first storm was last Thursday night just after midnight and it was a Ripper... I sat up watching the lightening for about 1/2 an hour.. it was incredible... I expected the boys to wake up but to my utter surprise they didn't, even when the thunder was cracking just metres above our house... Justin 'surprisingly' (yeap.. said sarcastically) didn't wake up....

The 2nd storm was the next afternoon... and that was great too... the rain was great... finally cooled everything down (but only for a little while). The boys were swimming in the pool as the storm moved in... The rain drops were huge... and did I mention "it was great"...

However the return of the rain has bought those very 'unwelcome' guests back... and again the Voute household is having to resort to carnage & slaughter!!!
After the morning carnage & slaughter... we went off to Tennis... Aidan is playing pretty well... (a little confusion about which hand to hit the ball with... Both work fine!!) and it seems like his coach is wanting him ot go up to the next class... so he will be training with the big boys... 7 and 8 year olds... Mummy is so proud... ('she has visions of glory... world travel... ??) And Joshie hit the ball at tennis this Saturday too... he is trying... but doesn't have the patience and easily gets frustrated... but he had fun... and was so proud of himself for hitting it Big!!

The day to day life continues to roll on... I now only have 8 days of teaching prac. to go... so we are praying that bubs stays put.... 'touchwood' as it is now only 51/2 - 6 weeks until bubs arrives... ahhh... and Nanny and Poppy fly in to 'do all the hard work???' (hey mum!!). I trully cant believe how quick this year has gone by... ... ... ... ...

And before we know it we will be in Sydney... yeap.. we are on the move again.. Justin is being promoted to Chief Petty Officer and is returning to work at the very picturesque HMAS Watson (had some good nights once at that place at the bar!!) ... so we are packing up, leaving the heat and returning to the city of seasons, traffic and more traffic... Not sure whether i am delighted or not? I am really looking forward to catching up with friends I haven't seen in years... and having mum and dad not so far away... but it will take ALOT of adjusting to the traffic... all I can think of is mayhem and bedlem; but I am sure that it wont be that bad, or I at least hope it wont be.

11 weeks to Go!!!

I am now 'almost' 29 weeks... so only 11 weeks to go... and lucky me is having the baby 2 weeks early again.. so that makes it only 9 weeks... ... yay... OMG!!!!!!

Surprisingly (touchwood) everything is going well... which is fantastic after the staph infection during Joshie's pregnancy... a little carpal tunnel in two of my fingers in my left hand which can cause some issues when it is Really hot is not much of a problem!!!

I haven't gained TOO much weight... probaby too hot here to eat too much... and I am still able to have an 'easy' game of tennis with Aidan...providing he hits it somewhere in my vacinitiy.... and I dont have to run too far or fast!!! hahaha...

Also I am coping with the needles surprisingly well.. and the bruising is pretty non-existent... so that is great... Since I reached the 12week milestone, I have been on 100m/g twice a day... (they are the black syringes... before this, I was on 80m/g twice per day.. they are the brown syringes)

This is just over 6 months worth of needles...

I have another 2 months to go.. that is another 120 odd needles...

ahhh... the fun of it!!!

We have no baby names chosen yet... lots of possibities but nothing confirmed... Justin blames it on 'not knowing' what the baby is .... I blame it on... not having a name!! We should be having another ultrasound soon... and Justin is keen to find out if it is another boy or a girl...

This week I also have to have a glucose test ... (should have been last week... but with my teaching prac... had no time) and an Anti Xa blood test (to measure the level of anti-coagulation)... I just hope I dont forget!!!!

Other than that ... all is going well. ... it the 'buildup' season now here in Darwin and it is hot... but not as bad as I had imagined... everyones descriptions and stories of the 'buildup' are a lot worse than the actual buildup... so I am thankful for that!

It is school holidays here now... yay... a week off... for me and Aidan... my Teaching prac. is going well (well I have been told that it is???) but I am sure glad to have a week off!!!! Nothing much planned.... except relaxation... which sounds just great....

Until next time... some pics.. of me at 29 weeks...

this photo taken by a very talented 4 year old... Aidan

Aidan hugging my belly....

Cheers

Father's Day Weekend

This weekend we went down to Katherine here in the Northern Territory.. to check out Nitmitlik National Park (Katherine Gorge) and the local sites.

After a delayed leaving time... it 'was' going to be 3.30ish on Friday night... we left an hour late...

Why...????

We finally got a new airconditioner... after waiting almost 3 months... and when they were installing this long awaited aircon... they put a hole in the gas pipe... so we had a gas leak... and late on a Friday arvo...we had to get a Gas Plumber out!!! Luckily this Friday the workers at DHA weren't in a meeting (or gone home early!!!) and thankfully Ruth was able to quickly organise a Gas Plumber. I felt like we were living the Yellow Pages Commerical... thankfully we didn't need a VET after Ella wandered off down the street!!!

Andrew came to look after the house and Ella again.. Thanks Andrew!! so ONCE that was fixed and Uncle Andrew was settled...

'Bye Uncle Andrew... See you on Sunday...'

We got on our way. The drive down was approximately 3 hours.....

The next morning we went to Nitmilik National Park to see the famous Katherine Gorge... it was beautiful... the cruise was serene, and picturesque and the 600m walk between the first two Gorges was 'just right' for Joshie and pregnant me!!!

The Main Street of Katherine - The Locals @ Midday outside the Bottleshop!!

In the afternoon we went to the Katherine Thermal Pools... and they were a great way to relax, cool down and have some fun. Water tempreture was approximately 32 degrees... 'NICE and WARM... but still refreshing...
The next morning (Sunday) we headed home.... and on the way we took a 'short' 30 minute detour... into no mans land... to visit Douglas Hot Springs.. and for me this was our weekend highlight... I loved it... It was unlike the other hot or thermal springs we have visited in the past... it was a nice warm river... with cool spots to lie in... Their was birdlife everywhere.. and because it was so secluded there was almost NO oNe there... it was just wonderful... worth the detour and trully worth the 2 hour drive from Darwin for anyone who hasn't been there.

The dusty road to the Douglas Hot Springs...

We had a great weekend... and

HAPPY FATHERS dAY DADDY!!!!!!

Cullen Bay...

This afternoon we decided that we are going to go ... WITH THE KIDS... and eat out.... (what a gamble one might say???) So tonight we went to Cullen Bay here in Darwin for dinner. Seafood Buffet... it was yummy... esp. the Watermelon and Rockmelon for dessert. The Sunset was fabulous (got pictures this time!!!) and the Marina looked lovely at night.. The boys were really well behaved, and now we are looking foward to the next restaurant outing.

HQNORCOM's 20th Birthday Party

Last Saturday night we had the HQNORCOM's 20th Birthday Cocktail Party. Uncle Andrew looked after the boys for us, and the occasion gave me another reason to wear my 'Pregnant Party dress'.... and it gave Justin probably his last reason to wear this particular uniform, before he is promoted in January. .
The Cocktail party was on the promenades at Darwins new Convention Centre, and the weather that evening was just beautiful, the sunset was fantastic (no pictures...ahhhh) and we really enjoyed ourselves.
But whoever organised the party had one objective in mind... to get everyone drunk. At numerous times throughout the night, there were more waitstaff serving Alcohol than there was guests... so you can imagine how the night ended... Justin fell asleep on the way home; but me... I was a good pregnant lady and stayed stone cold sober.

Darwin Rodeo

Tonight we went to the Darwin Rodeo... it was cool. The bucking bulls, and the wild crazy horses were awesome... and funilly enough...unlike nearly every sport currently being competed at the Olympics, the boys didn't want to do any of these tricks when they get big like daddy!!! thankgoodness???

The Lucky Day Wedding

The Chinese believe that the number 8 is a lucky number.... hence... the Olympic Games starting on the 8/8/08... and my brother decided to get married that day... in a hope that he would remember their anniversary in years to come!!!

So this past week we have been chilling out on the Sunshine Coast... (and after Darwin it was Chilly!!) ... in wait for the big day... and the big day finally arrived....And the day proved to be lucky...thankfully the weather was glorious... despite a small breeze making it a little cooler than I would have liked!!... and Todd and Emma's big day was filmed by Channel 7 local news... because it was a local Sunshine Coast Olympic Opening... Lucky Day... wedding..