Date Night Idea :: Paint your dream home

Last month one of our date night projects was to each paint our dream home, or rather 'attempt' to paint to paint our dream home!

It was so pleasant sitting out on our veranda in low lighting with a brush in hand and chuckling over our painting skills. It was very therapeutic and, we both ended up with red houses! Always learning something new about each other.

I highly encourage couples to have deliberate time together, time learning about each other. Don't ever stop dating! 

November Date Nights

4th Oct - write a [short, simple] children's storybook with illustrations. 

11th Oct - electronically collate children's book ready for printing. We'll have it printed at Office Works or somewhere that allows you to make your own books.

18th Oct - as an anniversary project we are going to build a coffee table that looks something like the picture below.

25th Oct - We're still working on this one but as it is our 4th wedding anniversary on the 21st, we are thinking of doing something a little crazy! Possibly putting on our wedding getup and heading out to a restaurant for some fine dining. Not sure that I'm brave enough to go out in my wedding dress but it would be fun to do!

October Date Nights

So here is what we've planned for Mondays date nights for the month of October.

7th Oct - write a letter to each other to open on our first date night in our own home... for whenever that may be!

14th Oct - using watercolour paints, each paint our dream house. 

Its probably more of a female thing but ever since I was young I've had this picture in my head of what my ideal home would look like... and its not a unique design, its very stereotypical actually. Wonder if you can guess what my dream house looks like?

21st Oct - make 'Jason's Rocky Road Trifle' from More Icing Please and watch a black and white movie... any suggestions on which one? Detox will be over and it will be a cheat night so we are going to indulge a little with this yummy trifle.

28th Oct - Mexican theme night - We're not entirely sure on the menu yet?

September Date Nights

Its been over a month since we introduced date nights, and it's been really great to have that one night of the week set aside just for each others company.

We didn't have date night last Monday because we had family visiting from interstate but here is a whats on for the next 4 weeks.

2nd sept - no date night, family visiting.

9th sept - poker night *wink wink

16th sept - We're going to make pizza together and then draw portraits of each other (good luck to me, I  can't even draw scribble).

23rd sept - A 'French' theme night. We going to cook a French dinner and watch Amelie, a french movie.

30th sept - Cheese and wine on the balcony. Discuss date night ideas for the next month.

Fall in Love Again and Again...

One baby is okay, very manageable but 2 babies well that's a juggle. You are feeding one baby and hubby is wrangling the other baby who seems to have more energy than would be considered normal! You no longer hold hands with your sweetheart because someone is pushing the pram, holding the newborn or walking the child with ants in his pants.

When hubby gets home from work, it’s a passing kiss, quick hug and a sneaky pinch on the bum. It’s back to the stove where you've been cooking that Ossobuco for 3 hours, but surely it’s got to be done already!  You try to speed the process up cos it’s got to be on that Bunnykins plate asap and then has to be put in the freezer for a 1 min to cool. There are tiny fingers waiting anxiously for his dinner and it doesn't matter how many times you say the word "patience", he just aint getting it. So, out of the freezer and onto the table, we try and say grace as a family but we must keep one eye open for the little Bunnykins fork that is nearly poking us in the eye. Seriously, how do you teach a 16 month old patience! We chow down dinner and by now it’s nearing 6:30pm and that's a good thing. Rupert takes a book from the shelf and hops onto daddy's knee for his bedtime story in the bedroom. Daddy reads him the same book he chose the night before, and the night before that and… the night before that! But that's okay, daddy doesn't even need to read, he knows this book off by heart. Into bed, lights out and we're one down one more to go! A quick tidy up in the play room oops sorry no, that's actually our lounge and dinning but only takes a few minutes and we can see that.

Life is certainly fuller with children, it’s challenging, rewarding, tiring, fascinating and exciting and, whilst you may miss the good old days before babies, you never seem to regret having them.

The stats say that the divorce rate in mature age couples is rising. Parents have invested so much love and time into their children (not a bad thing) that once they're no longer living at home they discover their marriage to be somewhat estranged. Life has been so full and busy with raising children that they forgot to continue growing their relationship and friendship.

Matt and I haven't even been parents for 2 years and we already understand these stats. We have a good loving and committed relationship but we don't 'date' anymore. Holding the title of husband and wife and mother and father, we seem to think we're qualified for eternal love and happiness. Not so.

I believe in falling in love with just 'one' person but I also believe you need to fall in love with that person many times over.

 I fell head over heels for Matt when we were dating and it’s for that reason I wanted to know more about him. It’s called dating. But why is it that after marriage we no longer see the need to date and continue to get to know each other? After all we're still individuals and we are still growing and changing.

I am a wife before I'm a mother! My husband comes before my children and when my relationship with Matt is being nurtured and growing strong it allows us to be good parents. We can then be good examples of love and commitment to our sons.

When Matt and I were dating I asked him what his favourite food was, his answer was "donuts". A few years passed and I asked him again, the answer was still "donuts"! But then I asked him just a few days ago and his answer was no longer the same, his favourite food had changed. My husband’s favourite food was now "hot chips"(of all things)! If I had not asked I would have assumed donuts to be his favourite for many more years to come.

 I want to know my husband both through his unchanging habits and through his changing likes.

So, we've decided to date again! We're introducing date nights. A concept not unfamiliar to many of you but for us it is new. With the birth of Rupert we didn't seem to feel the need but when Samson came along we began to feel the stretch of marriage, it subtly becomes all about bedtime stories, dirty nappies, baby babel and milestones. But when there are no more dirty nappies and you no longer have little children to read bedtime stories to, what will we do with ourselves? We must start now. We must engage in each other’s interests together. We must continuously date and fall in love so that when we are old we can show that we weren't just committed by law but that we have always loved as husband and wife should.

We shall never fall out of love but we will constantly try to fall in love again and again.

As it’s a new month I have started to write up a date night planner.  We have chosen Monday nights to be our “date night” and as we intend to have our date nights at home because it is logistically and financially easier, we are having to be a little creative. But this is for another post. Stay tuned.

on one of our dates back in 2007 just weeks after the Darwin Show ordeal.

Trips to the Show

Yesterday we took a family outing to the Royal Darwin Show. It was my third time going to the small country like show and it always brings back some funny memories. 

My first visit to the show was also my first date with Matt but I'll come back to that story in a bit. The second time we went to the show was the year I was pregnant with Rupert. I can recall Matt and I talking about how much more exciting it would be when we could bring our kids to the show. The dirty pens with ugly farm animals, the ginormous pumpkins, and the cheap worthless show bags would suddenly spark amazement in a small child's eyes. Well, two babies later we made our third trip to the show as parents but, before I tell you about how yesterday went let’s rewind back six years to 2007, my first visit to the Darwin Show.

In February 2007 I moved to Darwin and shortly afterwards met Matt through church and Uni events. We became friends. By about June/July our 'friendship' started to spark and before I knew it Matt was driving me to the Royal Darwin Show. 

I was feeling pretty good about this 'outing' to the show together and I made sure I was looking my best. I wore my long flowing hair out and had even purchased a new white top to wear. Little did I know about how much of a dust bowl this Darwin Show was, I was to soon find out it didn't even compare to the Sydney Royal Easter Show!

Back then I liked rides so, we bought some drinks and the adventure began. No food and one bottle of coke down we took to our third ride known as the 'Hurricane'. Big mistake! 

My mobile phone flew out of my bag, hitting Matt's head on its way to Timbuktu. I then began to feel very dizzy and light headed that I was soon leaning on Matt and could not compose myself. Matt was probably feeling a little bewildered by my sudden affection that had him squished to the side of the cart. Affection was not the intention, I felt as though I was dying and eventually I couldn't hold it in any longer. I vomited. And much vomit I vomited. As the Hurricane is still spinning in full motion my failed attempt to vomit over the outside of the cart resulted in the vomit flying back smack into my face, through my lovely long hair (that I wore out), onto my nice new white top, down my jeans and only just missing the people in the cart behind us! A lost phone, vomit all over me and barely able to walk, this was not going well. We headed for the toilets to get cleaned up but it got worse, we bumped into some friends of Matt's and with a face plastered in vomit I was introduced to them as his friend. Not cool and I've never been on another ride since!

Anyway we dated, became engaged and are now married; it didn't turn out too badly in the end. 

So, back to yesterdays visit to the show. It wasn't quite as great as I expected it to be, it seemed that Rupert was still just that bit too young to appreciate the animals and performances. He was fascinated at times and he did get to pat a baby chicken but was otherwise mostly restless and unhappy being stuck in the stroller. And when we had him out of the stroller he wanted to run among the crowds. It was was nice to be out on a family outing nonetheless and, we did get to enter some worthwhile competitions... fingers crossed!

Till next time... J x

Our 1st Year Anniversary

The 21st November, last Sunday Matty and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary.

Escaping Darwin for the weekend was how I pictured it however, it was to be BAU and no flights were to be booked. We were staying in Darwin for a concert that Matty was performing in with the DSO (Darwin Symphony Orchestra).

So Sunday morning my husband brought me pancakes in bed and an origami paper rose that he crafted himself. Paper is the first anniversary gift for anyone who wasn't aware. And then... Standing in the doorway stood Matty wearing a guitar!!! So for those that have seen the movie "Valentines Day", it's a scene you may be able to recall. Hehe umm don't think too hard on that one. He sings "I love you baby and if quite alright I need you baby..."

Moving on now...

We had fish n chips by the beach for lunch followed by a lazy afternoon at home.

Then 5pm came and I was told to get ready, and to make sure I wore something nice. So in the car we drove, destination unknown. Matty parked the car at Lee Point where I could spot his parents decorating a little table overlooking the water. We were somewhat early or maybe they were late? But his parents did leave as they saw us approaching. Oh it was so cute! Lois had made chocolate dipped strawberries which were so yummy! The setting was just beautiful. It was there that Matty slipped an eternity ring on my finger, my bridal set now complete.

Finally, the evening ended after having dinner at "Pee Wees" restaurant.

It was a fabulous 1st anniversary and we look forward to many more. I love you Matty!

A Table for Two... compliments of the in-laws.

Yummy choc coated strawberries.

The Honeymoon

Hey there! Here I am again with a second post, I feel like I have achieved something!

Anyway I am home alone today, that is until I start work at 4pm. I was also home yesterday and when my husband got home late in the afternoon, I told him that if he were to leave me home alone again that he should give me a baby to look after lol! NO... we are not having kids anytime soon!
On the other hand I have a beautiful black cat named Dolly. She is so precious and I really believe that she was sent by God to comfort me when I lived alone and out of home.

Dolly is about 8 months old now and she has become the baby in our new little family. The only disappointment is that when Matty moved in she formed a greater attachment to him, he was now her favorite person. It may have been the result of Matty talking cat language and the constant "meow" conversations in the kitchen. However I believe Dolly felt a strong connection with Matty because he was hairy like herself!

Anyway... the honeymoon!!

Well we spent 7 relaxing days in Bali and we did nothing but laze around the hotel and eat good food for little money! We also did some shopping, can't go to Bali and not pick up a Rolex or 2!
The weather was beautiful and the locals were hard core sales people.

And that's all I feel like writing today so I am sorry to cut the story short but I'm going to sign off here. Afternoon everyone.

The Bungalow we stayed in for a week.

Embracing Married Life

So, this is my first post... and I'm going to start with telling you about my new life as a wife and proud mother of a black cat!

Two and a half years ago I became a committed girlfriend. 14 months later I became a diamond wearing fiance`. And just 3 months ago I became the privileged wife of Matthew Fong and my name has never been easier to write!

Matty and I married on 21st November '09 and it was the most WONDERFUL day of my life! Although being a wet season wedding, we were blessed to not get washed away by any monsoonal rains. However the weather was still very humid and hot which did have an affect on my make-up! Matty, his Best man Stuart (his brother) and groomsman Luke were like peanuts roasting in an oven of a 3 piece suit, what were they thinking? On the other hand I was very pleased to have my maid of honor Cat and bridesmaid Kathleen (Matty's sister)wear cute strapless, knee length dresses. I'm proud to say that I made the girls dresses as well as my own white strapless gown. My dear mother was a great help in finishing off the hand stitching that by the last few days, I did not want to do!

Cat is my best friend and she was an amazing maid of honor (MOH). Most MOH's are that particular friend that you allocate a ton of jobs to however, I was a very... hmmm whats the word? I was an independent bride-to-be and I preferred to do everything myself. I made the invites, the dresses, the table centers and the name cards. I picked the flowers, chose the colours... and drove my MOH crazy with no delegated jobs! I did little delegating but unknown to cat she was my emotional strength throughout the entire lead up to the event. I didn't need a maid of honor to run my errands, I needed my maid of honor to be my friend... and that is exactly what Cat is.

Oh, and by the way... Cat organised the most AWESOME hens party ever!!! And despite the turn out, wearing hot pink zebra stockings and a tutu could not have been as epic if it weren't spent with Kathleen, Anna and Cat! RIP Jessica's Hens Party!

Now your all prob wondering about the giant UFO on my head in the pictures... don't ask cos I LOVE my bridal UFO! I have so much to write about when it comes to my wedding but for now I'm going to sign off here... Night all.