My home is my office

Some days, the reality of the life as a fulltime mom and housewife hits me in the head like a sledgehammer. Every day of my life is mapped out by the childrens naptimes, meals and with a few lovely tantrums to interrupt our daily routine to make it all a bit more interesting.

At the moment my home is my office and I am the office manager. I don't have a job to go to. I can only activate my brain to a level involving playdoe, fingerpaint and my little pony and I need complete authority in my home otherwise I will lose my identity and purpose completely. I need to have control over the situation and have a routine. It's like a safety net and I know - if we stick to it, the day will be pretty good.

Then the weekend comes and daddy is home......

And as fun as it is, adding an additional person and additional will to the equation is not always easy.

The girls and I know that every day we nap at a certain time, we are out the door at at a certain time and we eat at a certain time. We all know what is happening next so we are prepared and can end each day on a happy and balanced note.

On the weekend, now we have another mind to question my dictatorship. A mind I can't put in time-out - eventhough it's tempting at times - and things tend to get a bit rocky. Before we leave the house manic cleaning of the kitchen has to occur, last minute bathroom breaks, searches for lost wallets just to name a few.

As a result we're going to have a late start leaving the house and as a domino-effect our daily routine is out the window. The afternoon will be hell and/or Fred starts to free-style the girls naptime and puts Heidi to bed when it's not the right time and the same result - an unbareable afternoon.

Family life and motherhood is hard and I wish we could live closer to our families and get a bit of help when we need a break.

Eventhough I have been quite negative in this blog doesn't mean that Im not having the best little girls ever and the best husband ever. I wouldn't change it for anything!

Love

Fridaxx

The days after the storm....

I have never seen anything like this! I know, I am a bit dramatic sometimes but honestly, the girls and I got stuck in the storm driving home from the city and it was like being in the middle of one of those natural disaster movies like '2012'. I was really scared...

So, hales sized big as golfballs were coming down smashing the car from all angles. Rain was pouring down and soon the streets were completely flooded. I had to park at the side of the road and try to get out of the wind so we ended up next to a wall for about 20 minutes until the hales stopped. Good thing we have a big car so I could drive through the water masses without getting stuck. I think the worst driving in the storm wasn't really the wheather, it was the other people driving. People were driving really fast, without lights on and most trafficlights were out so I was just expecting getting hit by another driver at any second.

We got home in one piece in the end and the thunder started. Chloe was sleeping through all of this - go figure - and Heidi and I went upstairs to hide away in our bedroom. After a while I hear a noice from downstairs and we head down to the kitchen and we find a 3 m long crack in our kitchen celing and water is just pouring down! I try to find bucket, pots and pans to put under the leak and I am really freaking out at this stage. Once this was done I sat down on our steps in the lounge room with my head in my hands. Heidi comes up to me and puts her arm around me and kisses me on the head and says 'Sorry mama, it's ok'.

It seems like the insurance will cover the damaged to the house and the car but we're still awaiting a confirmation. Fingers crossed.

Hasta luego

Frida and Co. xx

Silly-string made a comeback

Silly-string is the best! Fred found his old disco-stuff and it was perfect for Heidi's birthday bash! The party was a success and we had a wonderful day with our friends by the pool and the kids had a blast! Chloe didn't have the best day so we took turns taking care of her in her nursery.. A combination of teething, wind and too much attention made her upset and that was that. Still, it was a great afternoon.

I decided early on that I didn't want to overdo it this year and end up spending the entire day in the kitchen. I ordered the cake and just made cupcakes and preperade a fruit and cheese platter. It was perfect!

The cake turned out to be quite special in the end. I ordered from this random place I found online and when the woman rocked up with this cake I almost died! It was perfect! I have never seen anything like this before. Check it out!

I started to decorate the pool area when Heidi was having a nap. When she woke up I took her downstairs to show her. She saw all the baloons and stuff she lit up and said - 'Birthday!!' (she speaks mostly in english... She understands swedish and french but almost always replies in english) She has been to a few parties by now so she know what was going on :)

And finally, here are two photos of the Drouinettes. Chloe is 4 months in this photo and Heidi is about 6 months. Do you think they look alike?

Happy Birthday Heidi!

Heidi is 2! We started the celebrations with chocolate cupcakes in bed decorated with lit sparklers and then we moved on to opening her mountain of pressies. Heidi looooves Tinkerbell and anything fairies so most of the presents were of that theme. The rest of the day was pretty much like any other but we're having a birthday party with her friends on Sunday to really celebrate.

And a big thanks to everyone for the wonderful presents that you sent her!

Last weekend we went to Melbourne to see the McCarthys. We had expected the worst for the flights and we were right. Heidi did not want to be strapped in for take off and landing so she threw a BIG tantrum. Fred and I just looked at eachother and we knew that there was nothing that we could do about it. The flight crew and the other passengers gave us dirty looks but it didn't really stress us out at all. That's 'terrible twos' for ya!

The weekend was great though. The girls slept well and Heidi played with the 'Macca' boys and had the best time. We had arranged for a sitter for Saturday night and hit Chapel street for dinner and cocktails with Fred old buds. So much fun ...and so much to drink!

It was a great weekend and a prefect dry-run for our trip to Bali on the 17th of April . Now we truly know that the flight will be a nightmare.

Chloe has two teeth coming through already and is almost sitting up by herself! I hope she doesn't decide to start crawling anytime soon though... She has started to want more attention now and it's not good enough to play alone in the baby gym anymore. It's now the real work starts! Any of the grandparents planning another trip out here soon?? ;))

It's 8.35am and the house is quiet! Both girls have finally fallen asleep after waking up at 5.30am this morning. Im sitting here with a nice cuppa coffee enjoying the silence. When the kids wake up we're heading up to Kings Park to play. Then the quiet time is over until tonight and the dark circles under my eyes are getting darker... and darker... and darker...

Bisou xxxx