Seriously?

Spotted at a local newsagent.  Did no one think for one small minute before approving the name and packaging of this...product?

Chortle

Renovating fun: Spa edition

We had a swamp instead of a spa for over a year, when all the render coming off the concrete started wrecking the pump and filter, which meant we had to turn them off.  Turning off the pump and filter made our very own gross pond, complete with toads, frogs, and slime.  DinnerDad and Smash emptied and cleaned it out last summer, literally a week before the floods we had here, we had so much rain that it filled it back up to the top again!

In the meantime, we resort to this!

I wish I had a pic of it full and swamp-like, it was really impressively awful.  But here it is, drained but not cleaned.  As you can see (ignoring the revolting slime coating), it's more like a small pool than a spa.  A pool with seats: the best kind.

Care for a dip?

Flaking render, with bonus slime!

Anyhoo, we finally got it fixed!  It was cleaned, acid washed, and prepped for special rubber-based paint.  Then painted and dried for a week, while we replaced the light and serviced the pump.  Finally, we got to fill it up, chlorined the crap out of the gunked-up pipes for a week, and then balanced the water.

Filling up the spa (pre-chlorine).

On Sunday, Lolly went swimming in it!!

We're still working on the fence, and DinnerDad is building a deck!

Just in time for summer!

Nap time

Lolly dropped her day sleep nearly a year ago, but when life is busy or she is fighting off a bug, she picks up a nap.  This is never usually a good thing, it pretty much ensures she is awake til a million o'clock, all the while exercising her right to be emotionally creative.

But she sure is cute.

Conked on the couch at 4.30pm!!

At the shops on Sunday.

Say it with me...nawwwwwwwww!

Sisters

More adorable shots of Lolly hitching a ride on Snail.  We were out to lunch recently and a certain set of legs got tired.  Snail holds Lolly so tightly, it's lovely. 

We sure do get some looks, though, when they're both riding along! 

School holidays

It was school holidays here recently, and we had some quiet days at home, seeing family.  Snail adores my Mum and Dad, so was very happy to see them twice in one week!  She and Dad laughed and laughed at each other.

Gorgeous girl, chillin' at home.

Happy!  With what we call "happy hands" :)

 I ventured out one Monday, but transfers are getting so hard with Snail that I was pretty down about it afterwards.  We are now seriously investigating raising some funds to adapt the car for the wheelchair.  Anyone got a spare $20,000?  Anyhoo, we met my Mum and went to the library and had cafe lunch.  The girls loved it.

Lolly gets a kiss from Nanna.

Someone enjoys strawberry milkshakes, just a tad!

How we spend our Wednesdays

In the absence of Nido and Montessori school, we have been going back to playgroup, which we are lucky enough to have at the beautiful grounds of the Brisbane Independent School.  Gorgeous!  Here is just one bit, you can see the tree house cubby and the rusty car for driving adventures (outside one of the classrooms).

Lolly has been far more comfortable with playgroup this year, well, she always enjoyed it, but didn't venture that far from me until she was nearly 3.  Now, after an initial *OMG I'm soooooo shy and NONE of my friends should SEE me* period, she's off and I barely see her for 2 hours.

It. is. awesome.

Not to mention some of the coolest Mummacitas I know come to let their small ones go feral for the morning, including some of my dearest friends!  So all up, it's a pretty fabulous part of our week.  If they had lawn chairs and vodka, it would be paradise. 

Some weeks we head over afterwards to a big local shopping centre for coffee and giant serves of Wonton noodle soup, and the kids get feral in the foodcourt (coz that's what foodcourts are for). 

Playgroup rocks.

Blogtoberfest!

I am making another heroic attempt at Blogtoberfest this year, which is a commitment to post once a day for the month of October.  Find the linky here at the fab {tinniegirl}, along with her amazing art!




So here's to seeing a bit more of me this October. Last year I crapped out halfway in a fit of...life, but I post more these days, and reckon I can make it. Looking forward to checking out the other blogs signed up.

No wonderful pics and doings to add, as our bandwidth has been limited til midnight [oh noes!!!], can I just mention that Telstra suck.

That is all.