The Baynhams

Today was Gareth's very last day to go to his Friday Playgroup. He is going to miss playing there when he goes to school in January. Lots of the kids at playgroup with him are also moving on to school too.

Today they celebrated their session of the year. We all brought cakes and cookies to share and had a big picnic outside. There was a surprise visit from Santa and the kids were very excited. Gareth and Tom sat holding their presents for a little while before realising that kids all around them were opening theirs. They ripped open the parcel and found lots of goodies inside.

It was a lovely day but it is sad knowing we won't be going back again in the New Year.

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Back in October Rhiannon noticed a tiny tooth growing out of her gum. It was a tiny needle-like projection.

At the dentist soon after we didn't manage to confirm exactly what it was. Was it a tiny tooth or a broken shard from when the baby tooth had fallen out incompletely? Broken shards normally happen if a tooth is pulled by a dentist but is unusual in a normal tooth fall out scenario. Rhiannon had already researched the Guinness World Records website to learn if she could have broken a record for the smallest tooth...!

Yesterday the tooth fell out. She is so excited as now you can see the full size and shape of it. She has already written her letter (with Sian's help) to the Guinness World Records office and is totally convinced it will be published in the next edition....!

Here is a photo of the tiny tooth....

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We have been waiting a long time to get the landscaping started around our pool. Since it went in in September it has had temporary fencing around it and there has been loose dirt around the edges where the kids get mucky getting in and out.

Finally (after lots of bad weather delays) our friend Paul got stuck in. He built more sandstone retaining walls around the base and filled the gap between the pool and the wall with earth and then sand.

He will be back tomorrow to put a layer of concrete over the sand and then he can lay the pavers around the pool. It is looking great already and we can't wait to see it continue to improve over the coming days.


Day one, 9am

Day one, 6pm

Day two

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Tonight we were supposed to go to the girls school and sit out of doors in the playground on camping chairs for a picnic tea. This was going to be followed by the School Christmas concert.

The weather has been a little unpredictable this week with some monster thunder and lightning storms. Today was overcast and rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance so the school quickly rang a local club and begged the use of their auditorium.

It was a great location, comfy seats, good lighting, access to the club bar and bonus! ... a stage to perform on!

The concert started at 6pm sharp and for the next hour each class had their turn on stage to belt out a mixture of traditional carols, classic songs like "Grandma got run over by a reindeer!" a mini Nativity play and some bizarre Aussiefied versions of childhood songs like "Jingle Bells"

It was great fun and the kids enjoyed it. It was also much comfier than sitting out of doors being eaten alive by mozzies!

I will leave you with the lyrics of "Jingle Bells - The Aussie version"

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute,
Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,
It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot; we dodge the kangaroos,
The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.
All the family's there, sitting by the pool,
Christmas Day the Aussie way, by the barbecue.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze,
The kids and Uncle Bruce, are swimming in their clothes.
The time comes 'round to go, we take the family snap,
Pack the car and all shoot through, before the washing up.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute

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A local club we are members of put on a big Christmas party for all the kids every year.

This is the first year we have gone.

For $5.50 entry they got a wristband allowing them unlimited rides on the dodgem cars, bouncing castle etc.

They also got free crisps, sweets, soft drinks, fairy floss, ice cones etc.

We arrived about 12.30pm and heard the announcement over the loud speakers that Santa was arriving by helicopter any minute. We watched in excitement as the helicopter landed in the next field and out jumped Santa. The local fire Brigade helped him into a fire engine and drove him the short journey into the football grounds we were in.

It was very different from going to see the big man in Milton Keynes in the UK!

After a few hours and a crazy amount of sugar and food colourings we called in quits.

It was great fun but I sure am glad Christmas comes but once a year!

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Before Gina and I can vote, get an Australian passport and secure the kids' futures here in Australia we are required to become Australian Citizens.

This doesn't mean that we need to renounce our nationality, but we will have dual-nationalities. I'll still be Welsh, and Mrs B will still be the good looking Irish bird I met 13 years ago.

There are several steps required before citizenship can be obtained, and the first one is the hardest....the dreaded citizenship EXAM. Exam is a horrible word and I promised myself years ago I wouldn't sit another one. Nevertheless, I've been swotting for weeks now in preparation for an exam in Newcastle. It involves an interview and answering 20 questions about topics such as Australian history, culture, constitution and economy.

The questions aren't for the faint hearted, take a look at some practice questions:

• How many of the Australian troops had to work on the Thai-Burma railway, when the Japanese took the Great British base at Singapore?
• What is represented by the central blue panel of the Torres Strait Islander flag?
• What was the first task of the Labor party?
• Who are members of Executive Government other than ministers?
• Which court order allowed Aboriginal people to become owners of vast areas of outback Australia?
• Who made political efforts to make the vote for women in federated Australia?
• What is the percentage of indigenous people in Australia?

Today was exam day for me, poor Gina takes hers in 2 weeks time. It was a busy morning rushing the kids to school before driving to the exam centre. After a nervy interview I was led into a computer room for the E.X.A.M.

100%

I'm not a citizen yet though, that will take up to another 12 months for processing and an official ceremony where we will both have to swear our allegiance. Watch this space...

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Tonight was Rhiannon's First Reconciliation.

All the weeks of preparation in our weekly groups in the living room were ready to be put to the test.

It didn't bode well when Rhiannon woke up this morning saying "I changed my mind, I'm not doing it...."

After lots of chat and reassurance (and a reminder that she would not be able to do her First Communion next year) she finally decided it was worth while. I think the possibility of missing out on wearing the Communion dress I made for Sian was more than she could bear!

The ceremony itself was very low key and calm. Rhiannon enjoyed it and had a big grin on her face when she came back to us after her turn.

We came home, had cookies and hot milk and threw them all into bed.

Here are the photos. They are a bit sparse because cameras were banned from the actual ceremony. I got a good laugh out of the group one, Gar looks very relaxed!

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Being a recent arrival in Australia I still have a lot to learn about Australian culture and cookery, especially at Christmas. I have been used to cold, crisp winters days with plates piled high with steaming hot food. Here in Australia, Christmas day is often in the 30 degree plus zone. Hot food is not quite so appetising and cold foods and barbies are part of the Aussie tradition. When my friend Maree asked me if I was interested in a day course teaching traditional Aussie Christmas fare I jumped at the chance.

Along we went this morning into the middle of Newcastle to a big kitchen supplies shop. It sold every plate, saucepan and kitchen gadget imaginable. Heaven! On one end of the shop was a kitchen with a large mirror suspended from the ceiling allowing everyone to have a birds eye view of the work surface below. We took our seats, fresh cup of coffee in hand and watched Chef Glen work his magic over 6 courses.

As each course was cooked it was plated and passed around for us all to eat. With most courses came a glass of wine that suited the taste of the meal. Bubbles with the oysters, Chardonnay with the spice crusted leg of Ham, Sticky Syrup Dessert wine with the macadamia nut pudding....

By the end of the morning we rolled out of the shop, stuffed and full of loads of ideas of what to cook at home but no appetite to get stuck in straight away!

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Wow!

I think December is going to be a doddle if I can use the opening of the Advent Calendar window as a bribe for getting everyone ready for school in the mornings!

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Byrons friends Darren and Elaine got married in July and had their honeymoon in Australia.

They travelled around for three weeks and stopped with us for a couple of nights in between their visits to Sydney and Uluru. We had fun showing them around the local area and managed to squeeze in both beach and Hunter Valley vineyards in their short stay.

Being childfree I think spending time in our busy family of five must have been a little noisy and overwhelming at times. What better contraception for a newly-wed couple than waking up early to the noise of Sian, Rhiannon and Gareth!

At the time I didn't get a chance to blog their visit or any of the photos we took so here goes, better late than never!

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Gareth starts school in January. He will be going to Kinder in St Josephs along with lots of his friends from Pre-School.

Today there was an orientation day for the kids to go along and meet each other. Each new child gets assigned a "buddy" This is a student from next years Year 6. The buddy helps them to settle in over the first few weeks and sits with them at lunch time etc. In the post a couple of weeks ago we got a letter from Gareth's buddy Travis. It had a photo of Travis and Gareth was very excited about meeting him today.

The orientation went really well. Gareth had fun and is looking forward to January and going to "Big School"

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Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a charity event held during November each year. At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants known as Mo Bros then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache and along the way raise as much money and awareness about male health issues as possible.

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This morning we woke with well deserved hangovers to a very excited 5 year old! (See the next blog if you are wondering why!)

Sian and Rhiannon had managed to keep Gareth occupied until about 7am but then the excitement was too much and he burst into our room. He has gone "Ben 10" mad. This is a cartoon character who can change into many different aliens with super powers.

All he wanted for his birthday from us was a Ben 10 character toy. As he unwrapped his presents he yelled with excitement as he discovered that Granny+Grandad Joe in Dublin and Nanny and Grandad in Wales had also got him some characters.

He was in no rush to open his gifts and wanted to have a good look at each toy and figure out which super powers it had before finally moving on to the next one.

He had his Birthday Party booked in Blackbutt Reserve. I knew we would be feeling a little seedy after last nights party at Maree and Johns so I had everything packed in boxes ready to go in the car. If I couldn't prepare it in advance (of the hangover) it wasn't happening! The only thing left to do was brew up a couple of flasks of fresh hot coffee and go.

When we arrived at Blackbutt it was a beautiful sunny day and we were lucky enough to get a picnic table in the shade.

As we unpacked all the boxes my heart sank. I had left the box with the coffee, Neurofen and sun hats at home... We would just have to muddle through without our hangover kit!

The day was a great success. The ranger walked Gareth and his friends around the animal enclosures.

The kids got to pet a Koala and a blue tongue lizard, go into the Wombat enclosure and feed the Emus.

They loved it and we finished off the party with the Super Hero cake.

Thank you to everyone for the cards, presents and phone calls on the day. You helped make it really special.

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We have just been to the most amazing party. Our friends Maree and John decided to throw a cocktail party for no particular reason, just for the sheer fun of it!

.....And do they know how to throw a party!!! It was black tie formal. Off we went and bought a dress suit for Byron. I got out my best dress and high heels, we booked a babysitter and we counted down the days.



The party was on Saturday night. We got a cab as neither of us had any intention of staying sober! We felt like we were walking onto a film set as we walked down the spiral staircase and took in the sight of all of our friends dressed up like royalty, decadent flower arrangements and candles burning everywhere!

We started with glasses of Champagne (the real thing, not just the cheap plonk we bring to tennis!) Then moved on to our first cocktail, "Sea-Breeze" After that the first tray of food was offered to us, fresh oysters with lime wedges. Next it was time for a "White-lady" followed by the biggest juiciest prawns I have ever tasted, served with juicy slices of mango.


Then came "Tequila Sunrise" with a huge platter of tender fillet beef sliced and served with a tangy horseradish sauce. The final Cocktail was a vivid blue drink invented by John. I hope I have the name right. It is called after his gorgeous wife Maree and uses his nickname which has always been "Blue" If I remember right (Things had got a little swimmy by now!) This signature drink was called "Marine Blue"

We had booked a cab to bring us home at 1am and we were the first to leave. We were so torn leaving when the party was still in full swing. The stories that we are hearing from friends have us jealous. The last guests got nudged towards the door close to 5am!


However we knew that we were waking to Gareth's 5th Birthday only a few hours later and needed to minimise our hangovers. Minimise is the word. I still have a stonking headache and am grateful we stopped when we did! I didn't bring my camera with me but our friend Annette brought her proper one and took all the great photos that you can see on this blog.

A huge Thank You to you John and Maree. We will be talking about this party for years to come!

Do you think it might be an annual event!

Please?!

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