Overdue!
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Lotte
15 April 2014 | Verenigd Koninkrijk, Barham
To say an update is necessary is an understatement, and yes I'm sorry! But HERE IT IS :D
And for pics, I also want to refer you to my facebook :) and previous blogs. I couldn't always do it the same time as putting the blog on, so some got pictures afterwards!
I left off at the 8th of March, a Saturday. Laura stood in front of the cabin door at 9, if we wanted to go horseback riding. I had a lot of things I needed to do, so I passed this time. Gerda did go. I went to the club for a bit and had lunch with Meghan. It was nice. In the afternoon we went to the house and helped the family cut egg plants and pick grapes. Around 5 we went back to the cabin, all three of us and chilled a little. At 7 we went to a place called 'Tudor house' with the family. The karate club, where the kids and Jolmer are a member, was having a buffet and we could go as well. It was a little weird in the beginning, considering we didn't know anyone. Nonetheless it was fun and after we went to the pub and ended up having a good night.
Sunday Meghan, Gerda and I asked for a car and started our Sunday at the Long Paddock for some lunch. After that we went to Kerang. There are three lakes there that were worth checking out. We found one, which was pretty and decided to go a swamp that was supposed to be nearby. We found two pretty spots, called 'Mt. Hope' and 'Rocky Outcrop'. It was indeed pretty, but GOSHHHHH the FLIESSSS!!! I don't like them, but it was too much there. TOO MUCH I SAY! They would go up your nose, into your ears and if they could into your mouth. We snapped some pics, had a 'oh my gosh this looks like the hills have eyes scenery' and left. When we got to Barham, we thought about the swamp we forgot to visit. We ended the day with pasta, s'mores, 'Friends' and 'Bridesmaids'.
New week, the week of the 10th of March! Because there were two au pairs, we had to start at 7.30 instead of 8. Even though it's only half an hour, it's sooo much earlier haha! It's dark when I have to get up?! This week was a little like it's supposed to work with two au pairs:
- one starts at 7.30 till noon
- you're off from noon till 3
- responsible for the kids until Christel or Jolmer come home
The other one can sleep in, works from 3 till Christel or Jolmer come home and does the cooking.
This is basically how the week went. If you worked in the morning, you worked late the next day.
On Saturday we went horseback riding, I did go this time! We went outside in a field, which was awesome! Did have a little bit of a stupid moment... Gerda and I had to put two horses into one of the paddocks. When we wanted to close the gate, they ran out on us.. We went to get Luke (owner) and Jolmer to help us. Afterwards we noticed that it was fairly easy to get them back into the paddock.
The afternoon I spend in the cabin. I wasn't feeling that well. For dinner the family had some people over and made a really nice barbeque dinner. It was really nice.
Sunday was a relaxed day. I had a nice sleep in and went to the club around 11 with Gerda and Meghan. After some hours we all went to the cabin and had dinner. Around 7.30 we wanted to go to the house for a little bit. We wanted to ask some stuff and ended up helping with foodstuff and staying until 10.30.
This week you could have called us soccer moms! REALLY! Christel and Jolmer had a medical thing in Brisbane, so we were full time au pairs. Peter and Laura were with friends, so we were mothers of three. I had the first night shift. We had no trouble taking them to bed and Gerda and I watched a movie in the living room. I stayed in Jaap's room, he stayed in Peter and Laura's room. I woke up on Tuesday morning and my right eye didn't open really well. I was kinda shocked and thought 'well let's check this out in the mirror'. I walked to the bathroom, turned on the lights and OHMYGOD!! My whole face was covered in mozzie bites (for the non-Australians among us, that means mosquito bites). This was just not funny! Even though I can just hear you laughing while you read this. Before you get excited, I have NO PICTURES! At all! Anyway.. I had one on my eyelid. That's why my eye wouldn't open properly. Also.. this was the one day I had an appointment outside of Barham. Well the kids didn't really react to it (thank goodness) and Jaap said really casually 'the cleaning lady must have left the window open again'. Apparently the mosquito net thing in front of the window has a HUGE hole in it, which is behind the curtain, so it needs to be closed after Leona (the cleaning lady) has been there. Thanks for the heads up!
So I spend my day with my sunglasses on and bug stuff ready to go as soon as I felt an itch, only taking the glasses off if people would look at me weird. After my appointment with a podiatrist (pedicure), I picked up Hugo, we had lunch, picked up the other kids, fed the animals, made dinner, put the kids to bed and watched a movie. The rest of the week was pretty relaxed. Gerda and I work together well, so there were no problems! A couple of high lights of the week:
- sleeping on the couch (after my mozzie incident we didn't wanna sleep in Jaap's room anymore, and the couch was really comfy!)
- deciding everything for ourselves
- we had pancakes one day, made by moi
- watching Friends and movies on the couch with a coke and a s'more
On friday after school we had all 5 kids again. We did a movie night that night. Hugo and Tim didn't make it that long, so we put them to bed and did it with the other three. It's so fun to see, as soon as you say 'movie night' they run to their rooms to get their pillows and blankets. The whole couch was taken. So Gerda and I ended up just talking at the dinner table, while the kid watched a movie. That night we both stayed on the couch, got woken up a couple of times and around 8 by all of them. We got up, had breakfast and had to watch a show they made for us. It was hilarious! After getting all of them ready we went to Riverside for an ice cream and played in at the play ground for a bit. Around dinner time Christel and Jolmer were back.
Sunday we, Gerda, Meghan and I, went to Echuca. We got there around 11, walked around for a bit and had lunch. At Rivers I scored a cool backpack (als in rugzak) and a nice vest at Cotton On. After hitting BigW for some supplies, we went to the backery and I had a red velvet cupcake. It's sooooo good!! Jamm!! For dinner we were in Barham again and went to the Thai with the family. Ended the day with a movie at the cabin.
Another week and also my last week! It was really weird to say that, also when people would ask me how much longer I would be there. I didn't have to start until 12 and the rest of the day went normal. At night we went to the club and met Meghan. It was nice!
On Tuesday there was something called 'crocodile encounters' at the pre-school. According to Christel worth checking out, so Gerda and I went there. It was really cool! A guy came to talk to the kids about different animals, like lizards, snakes and crocodiles. He also had some with him. After that we took Hugo to Kerang. We made a stop at the playground and had lunch. There were some groceries we had to get at the big supermarket there, so we did that after.
Wednesday went normal, so nothing really to say.
Thursday night we went to Meghan's house, because her host family was gone for 4 days. Meg made french toast with maple syrup, which was really good! We watched 'New Year's Eve' on tv and after headed home.
Friday was my day off. Gerda drove me over to Meg's house for a couple of hours, so I spend some time with her. After dinner Gerda and I headed over to Meg's again. We went to the pub and spend the night at her house. It was really fun! On Saturday we hung around the house, walked through Barham and went to the cabin for a bit. For dinner we headed over to Meg's again. The night was filled with going to the pub and watching a bit of 'Wolfcreek'. On Sunday we slept in and around 1 Gerda and I headed home. I did some packing and around 3 I got a message from my mom, that they were in Barham. I went to the house to ask for the car and I met them at the place they were staying. At the house I got a BIG SURPRISE! Rik was there as well!!! What?! How?! I was really surprised, but obviously in a good way. Again.. chapeau for the people at home who knew, you guys can keep a secret! We went to the club to have some drinks and headed to the house around 5. We were going to have dinner at the house, all of us. Which meant that there would be 12 people there! WOW! When we got there, they were still working on making tomato sauce. There were some other people there, a lot of stuff everywhere and kids running around. That was a typical sunday, so my family could immediately see how things were done. After they were done with the sauce, Gerda, Rik and I helped Christel and Jolmer with preparations for dinner. Mean while the kids entertained my parents, which was funny to see. The kids are really friendly and open and it's fun to see how they act in a situation where there are new people. We had dinner outside, which was a roast with potatoes and (for a lack of a better translation) red cabbage. For dessert we had Christel's famous pavlova, which was DELICIOUS! After dinner my family went home and I watched 'Friends' with Gerda at the cabin.
On Monday I didn't have to work, just pack! It was really weird to start this day.. It meant that my time in Barham was over, but that my adventure with my family and alone would start. Gerda took me to my family around 10.30. First we had lunch at Riverside and after we walked around Barham. This didn't took that long haha. After a drink dad took me back to the cabin. I still had to pack!!! Around 4.30 I went to the house and helped Gerda a bit. My family would come over for dinner again and this time Meghan would join us, so that meant that there would be 13 mouths to feed. We had a lovely pasta, with one of the sauces Gerda, Meghan and I helped make. This time dessert was home-made ice cream, which was really good as well! Around 9 I showed my family the cabin and ended the night watching 'Friends' with Meghan and Gerda.
Tuesday! DOOMSDAY haha! I woke up early, so I could say goodbye to the family. It was weird and sad! Christel and Jolmer said how much they appreciated everything that I had done, which was really nice of them. I also gave them a book with memories of my time there. They really liked it and so did the kids! After some good hugs and nice words I waved goodbye to the Smit family. I felt really sad already and I still had to say goodbye to Gerda and Meghan. Around 9.30 Gerda and I picked Meghand and Paddy (the 2-year-old Meghan has to look after) up and drove to the place my family was staying. The moment had come to say goodbye. It was sad, but I'm positive I'll see them again!
And then the adventure with my parents and Rik started! That's where my next blog with continue! This time I'm aiming for a little faster haha!
Lots of love!
And for pics, I also want to refer you to my facebook :) and previous blogs. I couldn't always do it the same time as putting the blog on, so some got pictures afterwards!
I left off at the 8th of March, a Saturday. Laura stood in front of the cabin door at 9, if we wanted to go horseback riding. I had a lot of things I needed to do, so I passed this time. Gerda did go. I went to the club for a bit and had lunch with Meghan. It was nice. In the afternoon we went to the house and helped the family cut egg plants and pick grapes. Around 5 we went back to the cabin, all three of us and chilled a little. At 7 we went to a place called 'Tudor house' with the family. The karate club, where the kids and Jolmer are a member, was having a buffet and we could go as well. It was a little weird in the beginning, considering we didn't know anyone. Nonetheless it was fun and after we went to the pub and ended up having a good night.
Sunday Meghan, Gerda and I asked for a car and started our Sunday at the Long Paddock for some lunch. After that we went to Kerang. There are three lakes there that were worth checking out. We found one, which was pretty and decided to go a swamp that was supposed to be nearby. We found two pretty spots, called 'Mt. Hope' and 'Rocky Outcrop'. It was indeed pretty, but GOSHHHHH the FLIESSSS!!! I don't like them, but it was too much there. TOO MUCH I SAY! They would go up your nose, into your ears and if they could into your mouth. We snapped some pics, had a 'oh my gosh this looks like the hills have eyes scenery' and left. When we got to Barham, we thought about the swamp we forgot to visit. We ended the day with pasta, s'mores, 'Friends' and 'Bridesmaids'.
New week, the week of the 10th of March! Because there were two au pairs, we had to start at 7.30 instead of 8. Even though it's only half an hour, it's sooo much earlier haha! It's dark when I have to get up?! This week was a little like it's supposed to work with two au pairs:
- one starts at 7.30 till noon
- you're off from noon till 3
- responsible for the kids until Christel or Jolmer come home
The other one can sleep in, works from 3 till Christel or Jolmer come home and does the cooking.
This is basically how the week went. If you worked in the morning, you worked late the next day.
On Saturday we went horseback riding, I did go this time! We went outside in a field, which was awesome! Did have a little bit of a stupid moment... Gerda and I had to put two horses into one of the paddocks. When we wanted to close the gate, they ran out on us.. We went to get Luke (owner) and Jolmer to help us. Afterwards we noticed that it was fairly easy to get them back into the paddock.
The afternoon I spend in the cabin. I wasn't feeling that well. For dinner the family had some people over and made a really nice barbeque dinner. It was really nice.
Sunday was a relaxed day. I had a nice sleep in and went to the club around 11 with Gerda and Meghan. After some hours we all went to the cabin and had dinner. Around 7.30 we wanted to go to the house for a little bit. We wanted to ask some stuff and ended up helping with foodstuff and staying until 10.30.
This week you could have called us soccer moms! REALLY! Christel and Jolmer had a medical thing in Brisbane, so we were full time au pairs. Peter and Laura were with friends, so we were mothers of three. I had the first night shift. We had no trouble taking them to bed and Gerda and I watched a movie in the living room. I stayed in Jaap's room, he stayed in Peter and Laura's room. I woke up on Tuesday morning and my right eye didn't open really well. I was kinda shocked and thought 'well let's check this out in the mirror'. I walked to the bathroom, turned on the lights and OHMYGOD!! My whole face was covered in mozzie bites (for the non-Australians among us, that means mosquito bites). This was just not funny! Even though I can just hear you laughing while you read this. Before you get excited, I have NO PICTURES! At all! Anyway.. I had one on my eyelid. That's why my eye wouldn't open properly. Also.. this was the one day I had an appointment outside of Barham. Well the kids didn't really react to it (thank goodness) and Jaap said really casually 'the cleaning lady must have left the window open again'. Apparently the mosquito net thing in front of the window has a HUGE hole in it, which is behind the curtain, so it needs to be closed after Leona (the cleaning lady) has been there. Thanks for the heads up!
So I spend my day with my sunglasses on and bug stuff ready to go as soon as I felt an itch, only taking the glasses off if people would look at me weird. After my appointment with a podiatrist (pedicure), I picked up Hugo, we had lunch, picked up the other kids, fed the animals, made dinner, put the kids to bed and watched a movie. The rest of the week was pretty relaxed. Gerda and I work together well, so there were no problems! A couple of high lights of the week:
- sleeping on the couch (after my mozzie incident we didn't wanna sleep in Jaap's room anymore, and the couch was really comfy!)
- deciding everything for ourselves
- we had pancakes one day, made by moi
- watching Friends and movies on the couch with a coke and a s'more
On friday after school we had all 5 kids again. We did a movie night that night. Hugo and Tim didn't make it that long, so we put them to bed and did it with the other three. It's so fun to see, as soon as you say 'movie night' they run to their rooms to get their pillows and blankets. The whole couch was taken. So Gerda and I ended up just talking at the dinner table, while the kid watched a movie. That night we both stayed on the couch, got woken up a couple of times and around 8 by all of them. We got up, had breakfast and had to watch a show they made for us. It was hilarious! After getting all of them ready we went to Riverside for an ice cream and played in at the play ground for a bit. Around dinner time Christel and Jolmer were back.
Sunday we, Gerda, Meghan and I, went to Echuca. We got there around 11, walked around for a bit and had lunch. At Rivers I scored a cool backpack (als in rugzak) and a nice vest at Cotton On. After hitting BigW for some supplies, we went to the backery and I had a red velvet cupcake. It's sooooo good!! Jamm!! For dinner we were in Barham again and went to the Thai with the family. Ended the day with a movie at the cabin.
Another week and also my last week! It was really weird to say that, also when people would ask me how much longer I would be there. I didn't have to start until 12 and the rest of the day went normal. At night we went to the club and met Meghan. It was nice!
On Tuesday there was something called 'crocodile encounters' at the pre-school. According to Christel worth checking out, so Gerda and I went there. It was really cool! A guy came to talk to the kids about different animals, like lizards, snakes and crocodiles. He also had some with him. After that we took Hugo to Kerang. We made a stop at the playground and had lunch. There were some groceries we had to get at the big supermarket there, so we did that after.
Wednesday went normal, so nothing really to say.
Thursday night we went to Meghan's house, because her host family was gone for 4 days. Meg made french toast with maple syrup, which was really good! We watched 'New Year's Eve' on tv and after headed home.
Friday was my day off. Gerda drove me over to Meg's house for a couple of hours, so I spend some time with her. After dinner Gerda and I headed over to Meg's again. We went to the pub and spend the night at her house. It was really fun! On Saturday we hung around the house, walked through Barham and went to the cabin for a bit. For dinner we headed over to Meg's again. The night was filled with going to the pub and watching a bit of 'Wolfcreek'. On Sunday we slept in and around 1 Gerda and I headed home. I did some packing and around 3 I got a message from my mom, that they were in Barham. I went to the house to ask for the car and I met them at the place they were staying. At the house I got a BIG SURPRISE! Rik was there as well!!! What?! How?! I was really surprised, but obviously in a good way. Again.. chapeau for the people at home who knew, you guys can keep a secret! We went to the club to have some drinks and headed to the house around 5. We were going to have dinner at the house, all of us. Which meant that there would be 12 people there! WOW! When we got there, they were still working on making tomato sauce. There were some other people there, a lot of stuff everywhere and kids running around. That was a typical sunday, so my family could immediately see how things were done. After they were done with the sauce, Gerda, Rik and I helped Christel and Jolmer with preparations for dinner. Mean while the kids entertained my parents, which was funny to see. The kids are really friendly and open and it's fun to see how they act in a situation where there are new people. We had dinner outside, which was a roast with potatoes and (for a lack of a better translation) red cabbage. For dessert we had Christel's famous pavlova, which was DELICIOUS! After dinner my family went home and I watched 'Friends' with Gerda at the cabin.
On Monday I didn't have to work, just pack! It was really weird to start this day.. It meant that my time in Barham was over, but that my adventure with my family and alone would start. Gerda took me to my family around 10.30. First we had lunch at Riverside and after we walked around Barham. This didn't took that long haha. After a drink dad took me back to the cabin. I still had to pack!!! Around 4.30 I went to the house and helped Gerda a bit. My family would come over for dinner again and this time Meghan would join us, so that meant that there would be 13 mouths to feed. We had a lovely pasta, with one of the sauces Gerda, Meghan and I helped make. This time dessert was home-made ice cream, which was really good as well! Around 9 I showed my family the cabin and ended the night watching 'Friends' with Meghan and Gerda.
Tuesday! DOOMSDAY haha! I woke up early, so I could say goodbye to the family. It was weird and sad! Christel and Jolmer said how much they appreciated everything that I had done, which was really nice of them. I also gave them a book with memories of my time there. They really liked it and so did the kids! After some good hugs and nice words I waved goodbye to the Smit family. I felt really sad already and I still had to say goodbye to Gerda and Meghan. Around 9.30 Gerda and I picked Meghand and Paddy (the 2-year-old Meghan has to look after) up and drove to the place my family was staying. The moment had come to say goodbye. It was sad, but I'm positive I'll see them again!
And then the adventure with my parents and Rik started! That's where my next blog with continue! This time I'm aiming for a little faster haha!
Lots of love!
-
15 April 2014 - 22:34
Henriëtte :
Als ik dit zo lees, is het alsof ik er live bij ben. Zal het maar niet over de bulten hebben he?
Inmiddels hebben we je samen met de familie via Facebook en app kunnen volgen. Jouw avontuur alleen start morgen! Heel veel plezier met zeer veel nieuwe indrukken en fantastische plaatsen. Geniet er van. Heel veel lieve groetjes van de Muldrianen uit Berg xxxx -
16 April 2014 - 23:33
Cherille:
Still love your stories and I was waiting for them. At this time your familly left allready...time flies!!! It must have been great travelling together. I saw some great pics of all of you. What's next?? Travelling by yourself. Must be hard after having your familly over. But you will enjoy it; your a strong woman! We miss you but always happy to see your great pics. Take care Lotte and enjoy...to the max!!! -
19 April 2014 - 11:48
Marieke:
Dat is snel gegaan he! Aan de foto's op facebook te zien heb je het ook super gehad met je familie. Nu nog veel plezier met je rondreis door Ozzie-land. En twee leuke Ozzies meenemen naar NL he! :)
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