Lots of spending and a police run in!!

Hi all!

Today we bled money! The day started at Parramatta, signing the tenancy agreements and contracts. This made it feel so real; I am so looking forward to moving in to the new place. I cannot explain how desperate we are to leave this one bedroom apartment. Don't get me wrong. We are a loving family but my God, we all need space! We are all driving each other mad.

Following this, we went into the Westfield to buy the girls' school shoes. Oh dear. What a culture shock! It is not just the private school system, all school kids wear the most repulsive footwear imaginable in Australia. Picture this;  NHS orthopaedic shoes combined with something worn by the Tweenies and you might come close to visualising the dainty little beauties! I take my hat off to the girls (that's a straw boater in Becky's case). They 'sucked it up' (sorry, that's an Aussie phrase for 'accepted and got on with it') and tried them on without any silly jokes or comments. It is their maturity which made my reaction appear even worse. I will admit that I would rather pull my hair out one strand at a time than have to wear those shoes. When the lady in the shoe shop measured their feet, I had to walk away because an uncontrollable urge to collapse in a fit of giggles hit me. What is wrong with me? I am the mother! I am supposed to be the one who insists they act sensibly. Thank goodness for Nathan. He was fine, until Becky tried her first shoe on. That was it. The pair of us could not contain ourselves. Poor little Becky looked like an old fashioned clown, or someone playing dress-up and wearing their dad's shoes. She looked like a seal, kipper foot! I eventually managed to pull myself together. I told the shop lady that I thought that these were too big and I wanted her to go down a size. (Because of the cost of these shoe shockers, it is common practice to wear a size too big with an insole and simply remove the insole when the kids' feet grow a little).  I got my way. No daughter of mine was going to go to school, looking like Charlie Chaplin on foot steroids!  I reckon at least now I could reverse a truck over her foot in these shoes and she would be fine - I guess they do have their benefits.

Following this, we went and bought Nathan some school shirts and a tie and had a spot to eat. Next, we needed to buy some bits and pieces for the house. We move in 3 - 4 weeks before the furniture arrives and the house is unfurnished. We knew we had to buy a double bed for Nathan and I anyway, as well as a sofa bed because our sofa bed did not fit onto the storage container. We figured that the girls could make do with a sofa bed until their beds arrive. We thought that we could buy some

garden furniture - the whole point of moving to Australia was making the most of an outdoor lifestyle - and use it as a dining room suite until our stuff arrives. A washing machine is also a priority. We gave our one away at home. So, we drove over to a home/garden/lifestyle retail outlet in Castle Hill.

We drove along happily singing along to Coldplay and we get pulled over by some police, doing random breath checks, (that's alcohol not halitosis). The policeman asks Nathan;
"Can I have your licence Sir - I need you to do a breath test."
Nathan fumbles around for his licence, slightly nervous and uncomfortable. The policeman holds out a breathalyser and says to Nathan,
"Count aloud 1 to 5 please Sir."
Nathan starts to try and blow at the officer.
A little exasperated, the police man repeats;
Count 1 to 5 Sir".
Nath blows again, thinking he had been asked to blow for 5 seconds. I am sat next to him thinking, 'Oh no', his cloth ears have let him down again. I willed him silently to just count aloud.
"Will you just count aloud from 1 to 5 please Sir", the police man repeats.
Thankfully, Nathan understands this complex instruction and does as he is told. Eventually, we are allowed to leave and drive on, feeling like complete idiots...again.


We then bought:
A double bed, mattress protector and 4 pillows;
A washing machine;
A sofa bed;
A beautiful set of alfresco furniture.


All to be delivered the Saturday after we pick up our keys! That will be a busy weekend!


Whilst in the bed shop and deciding on an appropriate mattress (we prefer different types!!!), we were given the opportunity to be 'matched' to a 'firmness' rating. This involved lying on a special bed and being told to move in different positions while a computer spoke to us. That was a novelty!


Anyway, I am sure that you have had enough of today so I'll sign off. Tomorrow is mine and Nathan's first day at work. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!