Pride/Proud is there a Difference?

So the other day I was talking to someone and they asked me about my house and did I like it etc.  I replied by saying I loved the house and how Dave did a great job etc and then I said I'm really proud of him.  To which the so called person replied you can't be proud of your husband, pride is a sin.  I was somewhat puzzled by this and so I asked them "so what should I say instead" Conclusion I am well pleased with my husband. I'm still not sure about this what do my readers think????

I quiet often tell Nicholas and Kate that I am proud of them, am I wrong?

Bathroom Disaster

The Main Bathroom

The day before we move in I went around to the house to find this disaster.  Thats right some intelligent person thought putting the heated towel rail behind the bathroom door was a great idea.  Dave (hubby/project manager) left instruction on where the rails were to go (can you see the white tape) but did they adhere to his instruction???? NO!!!  But wait theres more in the ensuite the towel rail was also placed incorrectly, what was this person thinking.  The nightmare about this was, the main bathroom has tiles on the floor and halfway up the wall.  To get this changed meant ripping off the tiles and hoping the gib board isn't destroyed too much. Reapply the protection coat and put two new tiles insitu. The ensuite not so bad as it just meant repositioning it  filling in the screw holes and repainting. 

The Ensuite

Dave being the efficient project manager, was on the phone Thursday night talking to all who would be involved in fixing this error.  Friday (shift day) morning he met all involved at the house and made his instruction clear, then left them to do the job.  I came around after dropping off the children to find a terrible mess in the main bathroom.  The tiler was fantastic I'm not sure if he spoke much english because as I shook my head in horror he just smiled and bowed his head as if to reassure me he would have it fixed in no time.

Whilst the tiler was busy behind closed doors I was beginning the packing/unpacking phase.  As this  was shift day my main objective was to get the kitchen functioning before the end of the day.  Sleeves rolled up I set about on my mission. I was totally impressed with Mr Tilerman because I left the house to go and get more stuff from rented house I was gone maybe a couple of hours.  When I returned Mr Tilerman was packing up his car, was he really finished?  Yes indeed he had completed the job and cleaned up all the mess (regret not taking photo of mess).  I went outside and shook the mans hand and thanked him so so much, he bowed his head smiled and replied no problem. 

With Tilerman gone it was Mr Sparkys turn to put the towel rail in the correct position and hook it up to the power source.  Being that Mr Sparky was the intelligent person who put it on in the wrong place to begin with I felt his uneasiness as my big beady eyes watched him.  I was encouraging though saying thats perfect....... (ok slightly sarcastic).  He had redeemed himself when all was put right.  Following him was Jane the gibstopper/painter she mended the holes and repainted the ensuite and by 5pm Friday afternoon the disaster was fixed.

All in a days work and a job well done thanks everyone

Brothers In Arms

Today Nicholas and I were looking at old photos and having a great time laughing at certain things.  We came across this video clip of Nicholas 3yrs and Ben 14yrs singing a Hooley Dooley song.

Priceless

Forgot the After Shots

Just finishing reading blogs and just notices my last post didn't have the after shots of the driveway.  That's what you get when you blog at 4am at work.  Anyway here are the after shots:

The Entrance

The Garage

The asphalt goes all the way down to

the end of the house

Chapter 3 & 4

Chapter 3

The Letter

For mothers day Nicholas's class made special cards for the mums.  Unfortunately Nicholas misplaced/lost his card for me.  As I was cleaning out his school bag I found this letter.

Yep can guess what I was doing after reading this little beauty.  I am so so grateful to have such a thoughtful son.  Times like these just makes you forget the times when they are not so pleasant.  Thank you Nicholas I love you too.

Chapter 4

The Driveway

The house is technically finished and we have officially moved in, however so much has happened that I need to post leading up to the big shift.  Just a day before moving in Foote Haulage arrived to create and make the driveway which was crucial for the shift.  It had rained for a few days making the ground somewhat muddy and the last thing I needed was mud tramped through the house.  So I did my usual routine dropping off the children at their schools and went around to see how progress was going.  Totally amazing how these men worked and how fast the driveway came together.

ECLIPSE

My mission to read the book and then go to the movie failed.  Due to shifting etc I somewhat forgot about reading.  Lucky for me the Cooks were away on working holiday so I thought it might give me a chance to finish but alas right up until 7pm last night I still hadn't finished the book.  I managed to get to Chapter 23. Did this disappoint me maybe but the movie was still awesome I loved it.  I'm still on team Jacobs side.  Yes I shed a little tear for him and grit my teeth at Bella.  Of course I haven't read Breaking Dawn and I am hoping that happiness will come for Jacob surely?  Listening to Ange and Stacey it sounds like something good will happen for Jacob.  I'd better start reading the book now and hopefully I will have it finished before the movie comes out

Favourite part: Kicking the people out of our seats.  The big fight (wicked),  and of course the tent scene (funny)

Disappointment part: My husband didn't come with us :-(

Thanks Ange and Haki for coming with me next movie date Harry Potter unless something great comes along first.

Second Hand Dealer vs Trade-me

When the house was near completion Dave suggested we get rid of some furniture.  I really couldn't be bothered selling them on trade me so I called up the local second hand dealer.  He came around home to take a look.  On offer was the childrens tubular bunk beds, 1 cane chair, 1 rocking chair, 1 scotch drawers, 1 entertainment unit, and my beautiful dutchess only 2 years old and made from recycled pine.  The man appeared over his glasses and made a mmmmmmmmm sound.  He told me that he would get back to me but that the entertainment unit is not worth much because not many people are buying them these days, however he would take it off my hands.  He left and I wasn't feeling very confident about what he was going to offer me for all the stuff.  He phoned me later and informed me that he could stretch himself to offering me $200 for the lot.  I was very polite and said I would tell my husband and be back in touch.  When I finished on the phone all I could say was "ARE YOU SERIOUS"!!! my dutchess alone was $500 new.  Dave agreed and so this motivated me to try my luck on trademe.  Dave decided to keep the wooden rocking chair (yeah) I really liked that chair and Stacey wanted Dave's scotch drawers. 

So I listed the other four on trademe and waited for a response

The bunks starting bid $10, I was hoping to get at least $60-80 as they were 4-5 years old. 

Sold for $151.00

Cane Chair starting bid $1 sold for $5

The entertainment unit that noone would want, starting bid $10 sold for $150.00

My beautiful dutchess starting bid $100 and sold for $342.50

I am so so happy that I took the time to put them on trademe.  Sorry Mr Second-Hand Dealer you loose

Time Does Fly

Have you missed me? I certainly have missed blogging. Time sure does fly, where to begin? Gosh there is so much that has happened since I last posted. So over the next few days I will endeavour to inform you of the Finnie family adventures.

Chapter 1

Born to be Wild

We have met most of our neighbours in the new subdivision and they all seem friendly and I feel we will all get on well.  The neighbour across the way is a single mum with two children, a girl same age as Nicholas and a 4 year old boy.  They have a grandad and grandma who live two houses down and they are the most awesome parents, grandparents.  They are very supportive and always helping out at the house. Anyway grandad saw a 4 wheeler on trade-me and he purchased it for the grandchildren.  We happened to be visiting Dave at the new house when the bike appeared.  Nicholas wide eyed watched and watched and then the grandad asked Nicholas if he wanted a ride.  He looked at me with such excitement I couldn't say no.  He has never been on a motorbike before so I was a little nervous. 

Here he is getting instruction on how to ride.  For a first timer he was pretty good and he only tried to run over the grandad once.  After the ride Nicholas said he was going to enjoy living in this neighbourhood.

Chapter Two

Chocolate

So last month I looked after the Jenkins rabbit and guinea pig, which at first was nerve wrecking but after a week I was really fond of them both and really enjoyed looking after them.  Buying special treats and spoiling them with fancy bedding (which I don't think they liked).  Anyway when they left I was somewhat lost without them and the children missed them too.  Craig did mention when he left with princess bunny and gouda that he could get me one if I wanted one?  Looking at Dave he hum and ha and left it at that.

One week later we went to the Jenkins for dinner and in a little box for us was this little cutie

Meet our very own little princess who Nicholas named Chocolate

We are so happy with her and she is such a friendly little bunny.  Craig also has lent us a hutch for her to live.  However for the first four nights she slept inside in a container and she jumped around the furniture.  Eventually we knew she would have to get used being outside and so she is now happy in her hutch.  I love her floppy ears and yes I have been shopping for her and yes she is somewhat spoilt.

Stayed tuned for more adventures with the Finnie's