Being a tourist in your own backyard...

There is something that Boo has been dying to do since we moved.

We always seemed to say "another day" or "we haven't got time"...

But today we did it.

We rode the Ferris Wheel!

I must say, I am glad we finally did. It was pretty cool!

 

Such a stunning day.

Finished off with an amazing lunch with Ganma & Pa on the waterfront.

Life's pretty good here!

Making it on the kid scene...

I've done it. I've made it on the kid "scene".

Let's start from the beginning.

When we made our big move, I knew no one. It hit home that I had left behind everyone I knew and had to face the reality of being a loner.

My friends and I now joke of how I used to stalk the supermarket isles for mums with kids in hope that sparks might fly and I could make a friend. Don't laugh, it's kind of true LOL. Actually, not even kind of. It was true.

At the beginning of last year I had all my hopes of meeting all my "new friends" due to the fact the kids were in swimming lessons, dance lessons and daycare. I thought for sure, that with all these opportunities, I would be meeting SO many fabulous people. Turns out, it didn't really happen the way I intended. It didn't happen at all.

No sparks. No friendly chit chats. Nothing!

I won't lie, it left me pretty down and out, feeling worse than I did to begin. 

As it turns out, the universe had a fabulous group of girls waiting for me a little bit further down the track.

Throughout the second half of last year, I  bonded with these girls. I enjoy spending time with them. They are now familiar. I feel blessed to call them my friends.

Why was I writing this again? Back to the point Steph!

Kid scene... That's right.

Well, last night, while waiting for Boo to finish dancing. I had a moment, a moment that I realised I had finally made it on the kid scene!

I had a friend to talk to while I waited at dancing. While chatting,  three other Kinder mums arrived to drop their children off and came over to say hi. Things were finally familiar, including me to others, and others to me.

It was just a moment that I smiled inside. 

I had made it on the kid scene! 

Just another thing that feels right now. 

Joining in today with EssentiallyJess with my first #IBOT

Next month...

Next month, our move will have been two years ago. Two years!

I love what it has given us.

I love what it has given our children.

I love that this is not our holiday.

It is our home.

It is our life.

And just like that... Our new nest is complete.

Two weeks ago today, we moved into our new nest.

The build was complete.... and our marriage intact! LOL.

Dad'n did such an amazing job and I could not be any prouder of what he achieved.

Every night since we have moved in there is a point where either of us mentions how much we love our new home... And that's the way it should be!

We are utterly and completely content in so many aspects in our life now.

I have mentioned before that having a home is very important to my morale. Not a "for now" house. Not a rental. But to have a place that is our own. To know we are settled now is such a relief and has ticked those few unchecked boxes on my life list.

It was a longish journey to get to this point.

We moved 20 months ago now, in the hope of our new home appearing before us. It didn't... So we made it appear by building it!

This one was SO worth the wait!

Very greatful right now.

Leaving you with a few happy snaps of the finished product!!

We are still  busy trying to put our touch on everything, so I will do a full house photo shoot when everything is done :)

The new love of my life - My kitchen!

 

Play Room

 

Ensuite

 

Our new nest is on it's way!

For those that follow me on Instagram, it will be no new news that our house is FINALLY underway!

Ridiculous excitement levels here, mainly from Boo and myself. Dad'n is more focused on building it rather than getting involved in our hysteria and Ace... well, he is more about the mud.

As I have mentioned in the past, we have built before, but I don't ever remember it being this exciting!

What is it about this one?

I'm not sure if it's because I am at home raising the kids, so have more time to drive past / plan / ponder?

Maybe it's because we are seeing where our future will be played out with our children? All our other homes have always been short term in the scheme of things, always having plans to move.

Is it because we designed this home?

Who knows... who cares... I just know that it is all pretty damn awesome.

We were off to a rocky start with the site cut of the block taking longer / being more involved than first thought.  The weather also turned on us and we were left with the reality of trying to build a home in the middle of winter. All fun and games right? Easy for me to say from the comfort of my ballet flats on the footpath.

 

 

Before construction could start, we had to get some of the foundations fixed up to make sure we didn't end up with any issues down the track. This included one serious retaining wall with drains down the side of the block where it was cut by the excavations.

Time started dragging about here and I was ready to see some "house". Not some wall. Some house!

This was also the point where I turned slightly bratty and toddler like. I decided it was time to leave my poor husband to the task and just wait patiently for the next phase. It was hard, but figured for the sake of our marriage, I could do it ;)

It is a damn fine retaining wall though!

Within a few more days, I got to see some actual house.

The plumbers had laid their pipes, concreter's boxed up for the slab, slab was poured and framers began. I felt I could settle. It was happening. Not it 4 weeks, not in a few days, now!

Frame is just about finished today and bricklayers have just started. Actually, so has the rain. This is seeming to be a regular occurrence, imagine that in winter?

Boo has picked her room. Ace could not of cared less. Who cares where you will sleep when there is that much mud around?

I'm starting to have the usual wife worries. What if the furniture I have bought doesn't fit / suit where. Maybe I should have made this room bigger / smaller. All first world problems that I love having. Dad'n has also formulated a standard response to everything that comes out of my mouth... "just wait until it's finished'. So I guess I will just have to wait until it is finished!

Now to get it to lock up & fix :) I'm ready to see and open our front door!

Exactly one year ago...

We packed up our life and did the whole "sea change" thing.

One year... I can't believe it. Well I can, but one year is a long time!

In some ways it seems that this has been our life forever. Then I look at photo's of our old home it feels as we were just there. Weird.

Was it the right decision? Absolutely.

Moving was the best decision that we could have made for our family. It has opened up so many lifestyle opportunities for us and brought us all closer than ever. I think my favourite one would be seeing what a close relationship our children are building with their grandparents. The bonus of living two minutes away from them.

Our journey one year on is really just beginning though. Within the next 4 or so weeks, we will be starting to see our family home being built before our eyes. A very exciting time for us. We have planned and designed this home to be everything we want and need. We are SO excited to see the plan come to life. I cant wait to share it all with you.

This year hasnt all been rosy though. I did have many doubts and down moments with feeling like I didn't belong. I came to the conclusion that it was all just a part of our new beginning, a part of moving forward and leaving what you know behind.

I think a big part of it was not having a "home". Yes, we were able to find a beautiful rental that anyone would be happy to live in, but it wasn't ours... it wasn't home.

The path to finding our "home" has been a draining one for me. Offers being put in on houses, sales falling through, things I am not made for. I fall with my heart and my head often doesn't think. Lucky somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that the universe would deliver what was meant to be, and that it did. Everything that fell through, fell through for a reason.

So bring on our second year, it will be a wonderful and exciting one awaiting the completion of our new nest. Hopefully it comes around quickly... or I might have to have serious words with the building supervisor. Lucky I am married to him, I might have some pull ;)

Leaving you with some happy snaps of our first year down the coast.

 

The update on our move.

Our move.

Before my break, we had not long made our "sea change" and we were adjusting to our brand new life.

That was about four months ago now.

Am I still happy with our decision? Absolutely. It was the best decision ever.

Do I miss our old home and life? Sometimes.

It is easy to sit here and marvel at how awesome our new life is, because it is. But I also remember that I left a place a called home. It was home for a very long time and sometimes I just miss that feeling of everything being familiar.

Slowly, things here are feeling like home, but it is taking time.

Each visit back to our old home town is feeling better... I'm not getting so much of that feeling that I am saying good bye to an old friend each time I leave.

Really though, it is hard to compare the feeling of my whole life verses four months of our new start.

Each week, we continue to build our new life here.... and hopefully soon, our new home!

That's a whole other story that I'm excited to start filling you in about.

xx