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I've noticed recently I seem to be suffering from exclamationitis... so apologies to any readers who find that REALLY ANNOYING. [Much like writing in CAPITALS and using ... at the end of too many sentences]. Not that I intend to mend my ways, I just want to point out that I am aware of the problem!!Today I borrowed a trailer and drove across the city to collect a sofa bed I had won on Trademe [yeah, yeah], and found myself manoeuvring the damn trailer on an Island Bay hillside cul-de-sac lined with parked cars - in reverse. Mini-nightmare qualities there, but I am proud that I avoided digging up the grass verge or dinging any of the cars. I did have to retie the ropes a couple of times before I made it back to J'Ville, but it was all worth it in the end. Even though Bella saw me putting on a jacket 10 minutes before I actually left the house and when she realised I was going out without her she spent the time crying 'me wanna come' over and over, in her bedroom. Fraz tells me she eventually sat down and read a bunch of books there and came out later, quite happy.When I was home and the sofa was in-situ and we had all tried it out, Lockie then threw a major wobbly because Fraz had suggested they go out somewhere together. He whined so much I was begging him to go too. In the end, Fraz left alone, and Lockie sulked in his room, probably thinking nobody wanted him around. I told him I loved his company but just thought he'd have more fun out with his Dad, and this seemed to mollify him. We had a big hug for ages and for once, Bella didn't try and butt in and claim me as her one-and-only. I forget sometimes that it must be tough not being the 'cute little one' in the family anymore. Bella does get a whole lot of attention and Lockie misses out at times. When school finishes later this week I have planned a special day with him, with movies and shopping on the menu, plus a haircut for Lockie!Today I helped Lockie to make special placemats for our Christmas Day Lunch. [Admittedly he did suggest I give him some pocket money for that, but I pointed out that everyone would be so proud of his creative efforts that that should be reward enough!]Lockie lost two teeth yesterday. These teeth [lower central incisors] had been wiggly for TWO MONTHS and I was sick of them. He just wouldn't wiggle them out. Anyway, one fell out when he woke up so we saved that one for the Tooth Fairy, and he did actually lose the second one at a birthday party he attended at lunchtime - he thinks he swallowed it* along with a mouthful of sausage roll. At the same party he got blue streaks in his hair and freaky tattoos. He loved it, although nearly didn't go as he got stage fright. We even dropped the present off earlier in the morning as he was adamant he wasn't going. Luckily the birthday girl's Mum had said he was welcome to pop in anyway, so we did. *We wrote a wee note to the TF pointing this out. He got $2.50 for them, which he was quite satisfied with :) No gaps in his mouth to whistle through though, as a new tooth had grown in behind the two loosies weeks ago. Bella has taken to exclaiming 'Oh my God!', which doesn't sound right from the lips of so small a person... all my fault so shall have to curb my exclamations it seems.
Yesterday I did a Random Act of Kindness. Call it the Christmas Spirit infecting me. I do like to do nice things for strangers sometimes, a) because it makes me feel good and b) I like to make others happy and also c) I hope that they too might spread some kindness around. You know, when a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, it triggers a hurricane on the other side of the world, or whatever that saying is. Anyway I was down at the shops with Bella in her mountain buggy and decided to bug the guys at the bike shop and get the tyres pumped up. They were lovely about it, so I then went to a nearby bakery and bought them some cream buns for their morning tea. I remember several years ago when I worked at Wellington Hospital I befriended an lonely old lady who came in often, and we always chatted a bit. She lived alone nearby and a few times I popped a small box of chocs and a friendly anonymous note into her letterbox. Looking back, I really hope she didn't think some whacko was stalking her... RAK are such simple things to do. Unselfish acts, just going out of your way a bit, for strangers. Hard to classify really. Being courteous on the roads may qualify. There isn't enough of that these days certainly. I used to occasionally take a plastic bag along when taking the baby for a walk, and pick up rubbish from the street as we went. The other day at the Mall I picked up a few items from a shop display that had tumbled into the way of passersby. Took 5 secs and meant others didn't have to manoeuvre around them. [The shop staff were crazily busy]. Now I sound like I'm bragging about my saintliness! Not so, I just want to spread the cheer...cheesy as it sounds. Have a lovely day at work Meg, a shame about working on the weekend but hopefully time will fly by, and bring you closer to coming over to NZ!Ally, if you read this, I'm sorry I was a slackarse and didn't contact you on your birthday...big Happy Birthday to you!And Aud, when you receive a small package from me, consider that your Birthday gift, even though I forgot to add a note or card... am posting that off today! xxx
So, here we are, in our new house. The virtues of this house are many and varied; suffice to say we are loving it! It's just generally bigger and sunnier, and the backyard is great. The trampoline has had a bit of use, although today it is so dreary and drizzly that it will get a wash instead. Which is not a bad idea as it appears to be a target for birds practising their pooping aim... The move itself was not so stressful as I had imagined it might be, although, there are several boxes still waiting patiently to be delved into and emptied. May do something about that today...or not. Didn't get a redirection order organised at NZ Post - the fact that they now charge for it does have something to do with it, plus just haven't got around to it. Oops.Yesterday would have been Mum's 63rd birthday. I guess she'll always be young[er] in my memory. The only good thing about dying before your time, perhaps. I've taught Bella to call her 'Grandma', when she sees her in photos. I remember that when Lockie was younger he thought she was called 'Diane' because she had 'died'. Kid logic again.Tonight is Bella's childcare centre's Christmas Party, complete with Santa. Should be interesting as she is not keen on the old guy in the red suit... even when he is bearing gifts. Lockie is off to his school disco tonight too. Yesterday he had to sing a carol to the class as his weekly homework. He chose 'Jingle Bell Rock' and said it went really well. Maybe we can get a rendition out of him on Christmas day for his aunties!!
Tonight the battle commenced. The battle to get Lockie to eat his dinner that is. This afternoon we took Lockie to see his paediatrician for his regular check-up. All went well, until we somehow got on to his lack of appetite at dinnertime. The Prof suggested we offer him the same food as we are all eating and send him to bed hungry if he refuses it. Common sense maybe, but we have never actually done this and instead I would make him his own meal, effectively making two dinners each night. I'm talking about a boy who will eat a VERY limited range of food. With Frazer and Lockie both present when the Prof talked to us today, I resolved to Get Hard and start to address the problem properly. So when we got home I made dinner, and an hour and 10 minutes after we had finished eating, Lockie finally stopped his loud ranting and raving and sat down to consume a [small] portion of spag bol! Small miracles, as he has never bothered to even taste it ever before, and it's a dish we have every week. He was rightly proud of his efforts and went to bed smiling and relaxed. Whew! Day One is over... I'm hoping his confidence will grow as he finds that the meals I cook aren't too bad after all :)
Lockie has produced this lovely waterslide with Jerry, about to zoom down! It is a school 'news' project - to create a model of your favourite piece of playground equipment. He is so very proud of it. Except, he has seen other models brought to school this week and his apparently pales in comparison to the [parent-assisted] creations of wood and wire... I feel for him. He put his heart and soul into this slide and I didn't help him beyond the occasional encouraging comment. Now he feels it's not that great. I hope his teacher sees that he did it all himself and praises his efforts accordingly.
I bought a food processor on the weekend [Trademe!] and this morning attempted my first recipe using it. I made Honey and Sultana Scones and the mess I created was astounding. Flour and sticky goop covered most surfaces including myself and the machine made some odd grunting noises as I added the 3 cups of flour down the feed tube [missing the tube mostly]. When the scones were finally baking, I noticed the last line of the recipe stated that it should only be attempted using the Super version of the machine I had...oops.
I am soon going to attempt to put Bella down for a nap. She has been most reluctant to do this lately and a couple of days ago she actually untucked herself, took off her shorts and NAPPY and ended up sleeping butt-naked, and wetting the bed of course. Yesterday she practically skipped her sleep owing to the fact she had tumbled on an armchair at lunchtime, hurting her arm. She made such a huge fuss about it for so long, that I gave her some Pamol and then drove her to the A&E at Kenepuru Hospital, fearing the worst. She napped on the way, for barely 10 minutes, and when I woke her in the carpark, she was FINE. No pain, crying or whinging. I tested her - "wave to Mummy with two hands!" - and ended up confusing her, but was satisfied there was nothing wrong with her. What a palaver. My little drama queen... 
Two days ago was the 7th anniversary of my Mum's death. I spent the day [at work] feeling strangely lost. I vividly remember the day I got a phonecall from my brother-in-law to say she had suddenly passed away. I felt so choked with shock and despair I could barely breathe. It was like my life [as I knew it] was over. Of course, it wasn't really over, but a few months later my first child was born and discovered to have CF and my grief really hit me then. Mum would have known how to comfort me - she had the knack of saying just the right thing, and her humour was guaranteed to make me smile through my tears. I sure hope I can be a Mum like that to my kids when they are grown.This morning Belinda Emmett passed away in the hospital my sister works in in Sydney. We had watched 'Rove Live' last night and I feel deeply sad for Rove's loss. He's such a likeable character, it feels awful to imagine his pain at his wife's passing, not that I can.What a sad little blog! Sorry folks. Will be chirpier next time!!!
Bella was singing 'You Are My Sunshine' as she strummed on her Dad's guitar. She knows all the words too!
Today I splashed out on a trampoline [yay for Trademe] as we will soon have a yard worthy of one. Lockie is excited and bouncy already, although he'll have to wait a few more weeks to try it out. Bella isn't really up with such things as tramps so she's going to be in for a lovely surprise.
Bella's most favourite caregiver at her daycare centre is leaving tomorrow. This is quite a blow for all the parents too, as Dao is a favourite of many of the kids. Hopefully Bella will latch onto another of the teachers there soon enough.
I have just helped Fraz go through a performance review for one of his staff. Now he reckons we should each do a review on our marriage! YIKES. Luckily I was checking my Trade Me sales at the time and he got bored waiting and plugged in his guitar [and headphones] so I am off the hook for tonight. He has the day off tomorrow so will be up till all hours happily plucking the strings. As for me, I have had a couple of wines and am merrily tapping away hoping for not too many spelling errors. Nothing on telly, I have checked out what Wanda is up to, always interesting in a nosey kind of way, and also Jess of course. Am feeling at a bit of a loose end as I am not out tonight [obviously], unlike the previous 4 Tuesday nights, when I was pretending to be a Karaoke Contest judge in the city. We decided on a winner last week and now it's all over :(Today I received a cardi [yes that's right!] in the post, the first Trade Me win I had achieved in many weeks - have been trying hard not to spend money online this way. Anyway, it's really nice and just what I wanted for my librarian role. Maybe some bifocals that balance on the tip of my nose would be useful...We move house in 4 weeks and I CAN'T WAIT. It's not far from here, I can see it from our letterbox in fact. I really like all our neighbours so that's a good thing.Small dilemma happening for my tipsy self - do I feel like chippies or chocolate? Or maybe more wine? Determined to get up at 5:15am for the gym so maybe not more wine...
Here is Lockie with his catch - a trout weighing 538g and measuring 30cm! The biggest of all the trout caught by him and his friends this morning. The rain may have been pouring from dark skies but this did not deter our Lockie. He had a great time but now we have to work out how to gut the thing and cook it up...oh boy.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at home, and later we popped over to see some friends for a wine and a catch-up before tea-time, [and a spot of Playstation for Lockie!].P.S. I have now cooked the fish and it was very tasty - Bella and I sampled it happily but the boys wouldn't even taste it: 'we caught it, you eat it'.
This afternoon Lockie and I started watching 'Madagascar' on DVD, while I was doing his physio, then Bella woke so I parked her on the couch with a bowl of popcorn until we had finished and we joined her there, once the curtains were pulled against the grey day outside. We had a lovely time, although the similarities between the storylines of this movie and the recently released 'The Wild' were rather obvious. Brought to mind the twin-like qualities of two other animated movies: 'Antz' and 'A Bug's Life'. I'm sure there are others I haven't thought of. What's with that anyway? Tomorrow Lockie is going to fish for trout somewhere in Brooklyn. Yes, that suburb that is up a hill. Hmmm. Should be interesting. Will keep you posted. It is Labour Weekend and yesterday Lockie's school had a 'Teacher's Only Day' so everyone gets 4 days off school, instead of the usual three. Handy. Except the weather is yuck. Typical holiday weekend!
On Saturday night I took Lockie along to a party at my local gym. It was an early start and we didn't intend to stay long. The party was a birthday celebration for the gym and there was the enticement of the drawing of a $16,000 cash prize too, to which I had an entered my name. We got there after the band had finished [Mickey Finn, appropriately as it was an Irish theme] but there was still plenty of food and drinks to go around. The prize draw was long-winded and convuluted and in fact 5 names were drawn and each one had a go at winning the big prize, although 4 scored a Mystery Prize and one won $160 cash. And THAT WAS IT! Everyone packed up and started to go home. I felt cheated and ripped off! What about the 16 grand? Upon asking, it appears that the advertising posters mentioned only a 'chance' to win, with no promise that the cash would be won. Not good enough, and I know several gym members who thought it was a crock of shit too. As it was, Lockie, who spent the first half an hour whining that he wanted to go home, spent the next half an hour playing on the equipment [under my eye of course], especially the treadmill. And then a staff member kindly handed him [and a bunch of other kids] a gym backpack, and we discovered it had a gym cap, headphones and drink bottle inside. That cheered him right up and we went home in time to meet Bella getting out of the bath - still early! Not much of a night out... Fraz had to go out later so I got comfy on the couch with some wine, pineapple lumps and Donnie Darko.
For those who don't know who she is, Megan Alatini is on the panel of judges for the latest edition of NZ Idol. I was in her place last night [not really!] when I helped to judge a Karaoke competition in a bar in the city. Fraz was supposed to be doing it but sent me along instead. I was up for it and laughed my head off at the wannabe Idols as they warmed up the mike. And then the competition started and I was all seriousness, of course. At least, I hid my giggles behind my hands. The girl we chose to win [bar tab and entry to the final in 3 weeks], was very happy. She did Whitney Houston a treat! The Elvis impersonator didn't look too happy at not getting a placing and the worse performer left with his entourage before the competition finished. Can't please everyone. I'm thinking of doing it next week... I got free drinks at least.
Eeek! I have forsaken my poor lonely blog for far too long!
Now to remedy that, I will skim over my recent trip to Sydney. Meg was a wonderful hostess and made sure we kept very busy - we spent 8 days shopping, drinking/dancing, sightseeing and walking, plus numerous hours on public transport getting about the city. Lockie would have loved the trains I reckon, but we were kid-free! I really enjoyed seeing 'Varekai' by the amazing Cirque du Soleil, we saw an art exhibition by a highly acclaimed sort-of distant Swiss relative, visited many beaches, and the Sydney Aquarium with our cousin Ally and her two kids, and of course, I brought back loads of pressies for the family. In fact it was touch and go that I would be able to close my bulging suitcase.
Fraz seemed to have coped very well with his stint as sole carer of the children, with the help of his mother at times. I am toying with the idea of booking another week away in Sydney in fact.
Home now, after a week of extreme holidaying [for me anyway], life is back to normal, and I have just survived the first week of the school holidays relatively unscathed. One more week to go. The weather, so lovely and sunny and HOT in Sydney, is totally shite here, so maybe we will see some sun soon... PLEASE!
This morning I decided on the spur of the moment to take Bella to the Wellington Zoo. We arrived shortly after it opened and spent two hours roaming the exhibits in the sunshine. These two otters were delightful as they squealed at us for food. I think they mistook me for a zookeeper as I was wearing a black cap. Bella loved seeing the animals, including the lions, tigers, giraffes [we were only two feet from them with nothing between!], sun bears, kangaroos and meerkats. I was sad to see that Cairo the camel had died since my last visit there. Bella adores 'Alice The Camel' song and I wanted to show her a real live Alice. We had a really pleasant time. I think Lockie will be annoyed with me though!
Lockie is shown here proudly displaying both the medal he received at his soccer prizegiving yesterday, and the two sock puppets he created right before bedtime ['Ben and Lisa']. Bella was fascinated by them and a little afraid! This morning I had the medal engraved for him and have promised to deliver it to him when I collect him at the end of school today - so he can quickly show it off to his friends. I'm pretty sure the engraving cost way more than the medal... but it was worth it. He reckons he won't be playing next year but hopefully he will change his mind by next Winter. Not that I can blame him for not wanting to play - this is the harshest winter we've had in years. Wellington hasn't dipped below zero officially but the fields where Lockie plays soccer are sub-Antarctic as far as I am concerned.
I took Lockie to see his paediatrician last week for his regular 3-monthly checkup and all is going well. In fact, the Prof was delighted with his progress and the fact that he has been fairly well this winter - often a really hard time for Cfers it seems. I always feel a wave of relief when I hear this kind of feedback and can come away from the hospital smiling.
I went out last Friday night with two of my oldest girlfriends [not old old, I am older!], and we had a bite to eat up Cuba St followed by a drink at Kitty's and then boogied the night away at Boogie Wonderland, a really fun bar next to the Paramount Theatre on Courtenay Place. Haven't had so much fun in too long. A Ceroc dancing class had just finished before we got there and we watched in wonder as the dancers continued to monopolise the dancefloor with their wild shimmying and dipping, partner-swapping constantly and keeping us guessing as to who was actually with who! We even entertained the notion of returning another Friday night and joining in but I'm not sure any of us are quite that bold...
Gee,
I just can't resist posting cute photos of Bella on my blog! [A shame about the dirty sneakers though.] She's just so adorable... except this morning I was in the shower and Daddy was in charge of the kids and Lockie came in to tell me how she had picked up a bottle of Jif and sprinkled globs of it all over the kitchen floor and herself, and was starting on the living room before she was discovered! Fraz did an admirable [for a fella] job of cleaning it up but I still had to do a fair bit of scrubbing to get it off the carpet. I said to Bella, 'look at you', to which she replied 'I'm a messy girl', very matter of fact about it!
I decided not to take Lockie to soccer this morning as he is on antibiotics for a cough and also, I just couldn't be bothered. Woke up feeling apathetic and empty for some reason. I really really wanted Fraz to take the kids out for a while but he only took Lockie. I realised that a bit of retail therapy was in order so packed up Bella in the car and went to Westfield Queensgate for a browse. Came away with a pair of jeans for me and a little kiwi toy that makes REAL kiwi noises when you squeeze his tummy. The latter was a bribe to get Bella through me trying on copious pieces of clothing in the changing rooms of three different shops! We dropped in on Fraz and Lockie and then headed home for lunch and naps :)
I caught up with a couple of old friends I used to party with a lot years ago, before marriage and kids [of course], last night and it was great to see them. One was housesitting in Northland and we met there - there's a lot to be said for being single and unfettered, Jo! The house was awesome.
Only a few more weeks before I'm relaxing, shopping, partying, and most importantly, sleeping in [!] in sunny Sydney...can't wait. And can't wait to see my twin of course!!
Bella loves to brush her teeth in the bath, but only once she's opened her Maisy Mouse book to the right page!
Lockie played soccer on Sunday, for the first time in a month [weather woes,etc] and I nearly wet myself laughing at times! The best bit was when he was goalie and all the action was at the other end of the field, and then a wee voice could be heard asking "can I have a little help here please?" - Lockie had managed to half-collapse the portable goal posts and was trying to hold them up - and then the ball was heading his way! A couple of Dads rushed over to sort it out while I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to stop cracking up. He had a great time, despite the wintry wind and freezing drizzle that was falling. Last weekend he simply refused to go at all, to our horror. Not sure why he changed his mind this week but it could be he couldn't face his parents' ranting and raving about it!
What a gorgeous sunny weekend we have had. Now it's Monday again. They keep on happening. But so far so good - Lockie was on best behaviour this morning - he is trying to earn a new book which I have promised him at the end of the week, providing he is good that long! I'm kinda hoping he'll realise that being good has its own rewards e.g. happy Mummy, calm atmosphere at home, more cuddles and less shouting, etc. We'll see anyway... I am prepared for setbacks along the way.Last week Lockie had his first swimming lesson and all went errr... swimmingly! Bella was interested at the goings-on in the pool too, although not enough to want to get in, which was, for once, a good thing. We are all looking forward to tomorrow's lesson.Bella had her own 'first' class too - she is a 'Dancing Dot' on a Friday now. It was so cute to see her Incy Wincy Spider-ing and banging drums to a rhythm and shaking shakers, etc. Of the 6 kids her age there, she is the smallest, and [in my humble opinion] the most bold, and naturally musical. Of course, all Mums think this way so never mind me. I was really proud of her though and feel I have her childcare centre to thank for her ability to follow instructions when it comes to action songs. She can fool people who see her small stature and think she is much younger and therefore less capable.Today at our playgroup I met a man who has bought a house in our neighbourhood and moves in soon. He has a one-year-old son, and his wife works full-time. He's a Brit [there's loads of them at playgroup], and we have several mutual [English] friends. His son has just started to walk and was toddling around the room and landing on his bum frequently. When he ventured near Bella I noticed that they are the same height! We are sorry our old neighbours are moving out but it'll be nice to have fresh faces in our street, even tall people. [I have nothing against tall people and sometimes I put on tall boots and join them!!]Yawn... another early start for me, so am tempted to have a wee lie-down while Bella is napping. Why not.
I have been devouring a book these past few days that I wanted to blog about...it's called "Don't Kiss Them Goodbye" by Allison DuBois. [I think the title alludes to the idea that one doesn't need to say goodbye to a dying loved one - so much as 'until we meet again'.] It is the true story of the woman who inspired the TV series 'MEDIUM'. A fascinating read. This book was published in 2004 and she has recently published a second book [not sure of the title]. I like the thought of my Mum and grandparents dropping by to visit me and my family [invisibly]. It really makes me smile. I no longer think aloud 'I wish Mum was here to see the way Lockie is so smart and Bella is so funny' - I am convinced she can see them as clearly as I can. It would be fascinating to be psychic or 'mediumistic', but possibly over-rated - like those people who say they'd love to have a twin - if they actually had one they may not feel that way. What am I saying - there's nothing better than having a twin!!!! Being able to see dead people would have its fair share of stress though...
I had a weird dream this morning - right before the alarm woke me up. It involved me bravely wrestling with an alligator while my sis [Meg] hurried my kids to safety. I've been trying to 'interpret' it ever since. Maybe I have found a new inner strength, or my sessions at the gym have inflated my ego along with my muscles...who knows. It was pretty cool anyway. Just can't figure out why I was wearing yellow rubber gloves at the time though. This morning I realised that the swimming togs I had bought in summer had never seen light, so, once it was confirmed that Lockie's soccer was cancelled [boggy pitch probably], I took him to the Karori Pool instead. It was pleasant and Lockie had fun as always. He starts 'water confidence' classes in a couple of days at our local pool and has mixed feelings towards the idea. He's never had swimming lessons before and is unsure of how much fun they'll be. His friend is joining him at the lessons so I'm sure it will be fine. I think the classes are kept small - only 5 kids at a time.
Bella loves to call me 'crazy mama' these days. Not sure how that started. Kids are intuitive though, and she hasn't learned to lie yet...Well, the school holidays are almost over and I feel I may have let Lockie down a bit. I'm not one of those Mums who are endlessly creative with entertaining their kids. I do kinda leave the creativity to Lockie - and he is a creative and imaginative kid generally. Only, I have let him watch a bit much telly [he's a Pokemon fan now, much to my horror], and let him play a few too many computer games too. The weather has been awful, Bella has a chest infection so my promises of a trip to the pool were nixed, and I've just not been in the mood to be 'fun'! I guess I 'must try harder'...maybe next school hol's will be better.Fraz's Granddad passed away last week, on the morning our 'family holiday' was scheduled to start. We don't normally go away all together and it turned out this time would be no exception to this rule. Fraz decided to stay home, with Lockie, and Bella and I skipped up the line to Wanganui, with a delay on the way of a night at Foxton Beach [thanks Ju!!!] as the road was closed at Whangaehu due to flooding. We only stayed a couple of nights at my Dad's but it was restful and had me resolved to return again soon. Bella seemed to enjoy having my full attention too. Then it was back to Wellington, in time for Granddad's funeral. A short, but emotional service. It was sweet to see a number of the caregivers from his resthome there too. I guess that can be a tough job and they might get attached to the oldies and be saddened when they pass. Resthomes have had a bad rap lately so it's good to see there are still good people in these places.I rather like the look of the Malvina Major Retirement Village here in Johnsonville actually. They are extending it at the mo, with a spa, sauna, gym, theatre, etc, being built. Not that I need to worry about it for another 40 - 50 years! Ha ha!Lockie has just informed me that 'blue-ringed octopuses are deadly', a fact I was unaware of previously. So it's true, your kids can teach you things.
I am not very happy today - I took a carload of clothes/shoes/toys, etc to the Johnsonville Sally Army Family Store and was treated with disdain... the two young women behind the counter were interested when I said I had a load of things to donate - until I mentioned that a few of the toys were left over from a recent garage sale. I was told 'we don't take ex-garage-sale stuff as it is mainly poor quality and we have to end up dumping it'. They seemed to presume I was giving them a carload of junk apparently. This was insulting to say the least! Sure, the toys were a bit the worse for wear and I was happy to chuck them myself, but most of the things I wanted to give them were clothes culled from my wardrobe, and clothes and shoes the kids had grown out of...not stuff I would consider junk. I decided to leave - I told them I would not be back to their store and they smirked bemusedly - and I went to the Mary Potter Hospice Shop in Tawa instead where I was greeted with smiles and delight by the dear little old ladies who worked there. They helped me take the things from the car and thanked me sweetly. I recommend this place!! Unfortunately I still have a bad taste in my mouth from those Sally Army tarts, hence I am blogging my frustrations out. I have since heard from another friend who had poor customer service from the same place. Sorry about the whinging, people!!
Bella is saying Hello to her cousin Lilli, in Boston. Although it was actually late at night in that part of the world and little Lilli was in bed - she's a few weeks older than Bella. Fraz doesn't catch up with his little bro much so this phonecall was a welcome one.
Today I had my Garage Sale. The weather was pretty dreary and it rained on and off all morning. The first punters only arrived half an hour before the advertised time and carted off $40 of stuff straight off so I was happy with that. A friend came over to help me out and Lockie was dropped at another friend's house as Fraz went to work - so it was just the 3 girls doing the biz. Bella pottered around the garage and got a bit underfoot at times - she just said 'sorry' a lot, very cutely, and nobody minded. We must have had at least 70 people come through over the next three hours and sold quite a bit. I made about what I expected, so it was all good. The rest of the stuff will be given to charity next week, and the de-cluttering will be complete! Feels good. Now I just have to go out in the cold to remove the signs I posted around the streets...brrrrrrr.
Here's Bella at a friend's house. She adored this castle at the bottom of the garden, built by my friend's father, for the kids. A step up from your regular cubbyhouse! The picture doesn't show but it really looks like a castle.This morning I looked out the window to see our front lawn littered with much of our neighbours' recycling, released from its green bins by a helpful stormy night...yuck. That's the trouble with living at the very end of a cul-de-sac - the wind blows rubbish into our garden on a daily basis. At least the rest of the street looks clean... On a brighter note, the recycling collectors actually did clear much of the stuff off our lawn.Bella appears to have fallen for one of The Wiggles - Murray. Maybe he's just the easiest to say - she calls the yellow one Egg, although most of us would know him as Greg.
Somebody wants to read my thoughts! Thanks Jess :)Yesterday I had a cord of firewood delivered and spent a while stacking it into the garage. A friend came over and helped - although I wasn't keen for her to help as she is pregnant. Later in the night Fraz and I finished off the job and he even got the axe out and had a chop - 'just to see what it's like' - come on love, it's wood...what do you expect? Feel smug now that we will stay warm and cosy this winter, and even fed the fire last night way more than it needed...I am part-way through the list I had of jobs to do for Lockie's health - Day 1 of the Food Diary is complete [and what a crappy diet he has - not a fruit or veg in sight!], and we have handed over a sputum sample for luck, although still haven't tackled the other end one. Have also managed to miss only one dose of his Augmentin in the last week - he even takes a tablet to school for lunch. They are BIG tabs but he's such a trooper - I know some adults who would have trouble swallowing pills this big, but not our Locks.I am one step closer to the Garage Sale - Lockie will go to his Nana's in Otaki for the night [or two], so now I need to book a newspaper ad, or maybe just make a big cardboard sign to hang near the shopping mall - seems to be the done thing around here.Better go wake the kids - I hear Bella chatting to the toys in her cot but Lockie is bound to be sleeping in - what a great idea...it is Saturday after all. Sigh. Today we are hanging out with a friend who is a single mum with a son in Lockie's class. Not sure what we'll do - Lockie suggested we could 'go to The Warehouse and then McDonalds', but I'm sure we can do better than that. [These are activities that Fraz sometimes does with him on a Sunday and it's win-win for Lockie!]
I am reading a very interesting book called 'Rare Moments', by Jeanette Wilson, a medium who moved from the UK to NZ a few years back and published this book last year, following her first book, 'Medium Rare' which I have yet to read. It is fascinating stuff and extremely good for the soul - she doesn't believe in 'death' and says our loved ones who have 'passed on' are around us and often may appear to us in our dreams, to let us know they are alright. I love the thought of my Mum and grandparents being close by me; it's really comforting. Read this book yourself if you think I've lost the plot, and you decide... Jeanette is a very spiritual person but freely admits she was a sceptic for much of her life, until 10 years ago. She has recently published another book named after her TV series of 2005, called 'Dare To Believe'.Lockie and I went to his 3-monthly checkup at the hospital today, and, after parking halfway up a curb [kerb?] in the parking lot, owing to the severe lack of parking spaces - like about 50 other cars incidentally - we were seen straight away and very thoroughly. We had the usual 5 other medical people in the room, along with the paediatrician, but Lockie is used to this and performed ably. I sometimes feel I should take notes as we are often there for a good 45 minutes and a lot is said and discussed. I have three tasks to complete over the next 3 months - get a stool sample from Lockie to be tested [my least favourite task!], keep a food diary for 3 days and send to the dietician to analyse [this is just a drag], and call the paediatrician after two weeks of Lockie being on a new course of antibiotics to tell him how it's going. Game on.I think I'll have a Garage Sale. Not sure what I will be making cash for but there are a few options. I spent a couple of hours this morning clearing clothes and toys out of wardrobes in all the bedrooms, and put them in the garage [funnily enough]. Quite a 'cleansing' experience really. But I can see that I will have to lose Lockie on the day of the sale as he will not part easily with his old toys. I will have to rope in a few friends to help me.Today I cuddled a sleeping newborn boy [birthweight was 8lb 14oz incidentally!] for nearly an hour - my neighbour's third child. He is 8 days old and as he dozed in my arms I briefly imagined I was holding my new niece instead. His mum didn't mind! Later when I was sorting stuff for the garage sale I took a few useful baby items over to her and they were well-received. Whew this is getting long! Last thing to mention is that I took my car for a WOF today [it's been a BUSY DAY], and it failed because of one tyre needing replacing. Just gotta find the locking nut so they can remove the wheel now... My WOF ticket was so faded I didn't notice the date and see now it expired nearly 3 weeks ago...oops.
Once I reached page 200 of my book I discovered that the heroine [Anna] is actually a widow - she's 33 and was married for less than a year. So now I'm depressed. Marian Keyes does that though: she writes with a hilarious quirky Irish style and throws 'serious life issues' into every one of her books...but I still like her stuff anyway. Just not sure if it's really 'chick lit'.'Tis raining and bleak this afternoon. Spent much of the morning sipping tea and chatting at a neighbour's house, with another neighbour who is awaiting the birth of her third child - she's a week off her due date. Our 3 littlies played together nicely [mostly]. Bella was thrilled to get her hands on a full-on wooden Thomas the Tank Engine set-up, although she pretty much demolished it. The owner [aged 3] was very good about it. He wants his Mum to have a baby girl so was very sweet to Bella.
I took this photo around 7:20am today, as I wanted my family to see it too, only I was the first one up. Had to mix the pancake batter you see. We always have pancakes on Sunday mornings and I could mix them with my eyes closed - sometimes I nearly do.
This morning was Lockie's second time at soccer, and once more he excelled in enthusiasm and even kicked the ball a few times. I even nipped away for 20 minutes in the middle to go to the shops - don't worry, I put a team member's grandparents in the picture first, and I'd told Lockie I'd be doing this - he didn't notice I was gone anyway. I had to book a haircut for him as the shaggy dog look was getting beyond a joke. So we trotted down to the mall after soccer, and left a short while later for home, one of us looking very trim and tidy, and the other looking windblown and a bit scruffy [me]. Spent the rest of the day pottering around the house - Bella is so good at doing her own thing, which is lovely as I can do my own thing too, and we are each comfortable with that. She comes and goes from the room, often pushing a doll in a buggy, or in a shopping trolley, with a bag over her arm, waving goodbye as she passes through. Cute as.
I am reading the latest Marian Keyes novel ['Anybody Out There'] and I am worried I'll be unable to get through it before it's due back at the library. I waited several weeks to get it on reserve so cannot return it late as someone else will be waiting for it. In my defense, it is nearly 600 pages long and the fattest book I've read in a long while. BTW, its main character is called Anna. Nice.
Watched 'Narnia' again tonight on DVD with Fraz. Not as powerful on a TV screen but still a gorgeous movie. Lucy is so adorable. We borrowed it from new friends we have made. They are fresh to Wellington from New Plymouth so I'm going to help them find their feet in the area if I can. They have two boys and a baby on the way. The eldest boy is a week younger than Lockie. They've played together and may become friends hopefully. A pity they go to different schools though.
Here's Bella in her Big Red Car, checking out the stamp on her hand that she got at Story Time at the library this morning. Today a good friend gave us this Cozy Coupe car with its top missing and quite a bit of scuffing and fading, and she LOVES it. As I write this, Lockie is pushing her around the house endlessly - she hasn't figured out how to push it along herself, Flintstone-style. He really wants to drive it himself, but I am trying to convince him that he is just too big.
Fraz is away tonight in Auckland at a managers' conference, and he has given Lockie the role of 'Boss of the House'. Funnily enough, Lockie realised this was a thankless task only 5 minutes in and handed the power back to me... No, but seriously, I had a lovely Mothers' Day on Sunday, with chocolates and a tiny glass Guardian Angel from the kids, and a gorgeous dinner from Frazer. And Lockie and I hung out all morning at a special viewing of 'Narnia' at The Penthouse, and then picnic-lunched at Mt Vic Lookout, although we had to eat in the car as icy rain was falling at the time. A great day!
I wanted to be the first aunty to blog about my brand-new niece! She is a beautiful baby girl, named Elizabeth and she lives far away in sunny(?) London, and was born on 9 May. Hearty congrats to my awesome big sis and her lovely hubby and Elizabeth's big sis too. Have heard no details so am waiting in anticipation of them, as we mums must stick together in sharing our birth stories with each other!
What a man! Here's my Dad, perched high in the mountains of Nepal, looking quite comfortable in these snowy surroundings. This picture was taken on a recent trip there with a bunch of like-minded NZers. I have yet to hear all the stories but I'm looking forward to that. My Dad is awesome!
We are almost back to full health in our house and not a day too soon I say. A few boxes of tissues and several days later, Bella and I are nearly over our colds and coughs, and this week should hopefully be a 'normal' one, with me going to work and Bella to childcare, etc - unlike last week.
This morning I took Lockie along to his first session with the North Wellington Junior Soccer Club - he is in the Nursery Grade [!?] in a team called The Wolves, and was all kitted out with soccer boots [cleats!], shinpads [compulsory], and long thick socks to keep out the pre-winter chill. It was a drizzly morning with icy winds so it was with some trepidation that I went along. Contrary to my expectations Lockie had a great time and we parents had lots of laughs watching the kids gang up on the ball as they had a couple of 10-minute 'games', and a couple of sets of 'ball skills' [happy feet was a cute one]. Frazer had lit the fire at home so I was able to thaw out eventually. Not surprisingly, Lockie wasn't cold at all after all that racing around. I was delighted to find we can recoup all our costs for Lockie's sports from Breath4cf.
Yesterday some b****** broke into Frazer's car while he was at work, smashing a window and rifling through the glovebox. It was parked in a parking building in Lower Hutt, where he always parks. [This happened last year too, in a nearby caprpark.] What is it with the Hutt? Anyway, it's more a nuisance as nothing of value was taken, and insurance covers the smashed window. Ironically, it meant Fraz got home late from work, and this delayed his BIRTHDAY DINNER celebrations. What bad luck to have this happen on his birthday!
Today I took a walk in my lunchbreak, through a park next to my work. It was sunny, but I could smell a familiar dampness emanating from the bush that signified that rain had recently fallen. The gravel crunched pleasingly under my sneakers and several tuis were warbling busily. I watched as one sang on, the cottonwool quivering beneath its beak, oblivious to my presence for a moment, before spying me and flitting to the safety of a further branch. To complete the tranquility, a hidden stream merrily babbled, as streams do. Felt quite meditative. I don't often do this without my children and it was refreshing to not speak to anyone.
It has been a while since I managed to get myself sorted to blog. I have celebrated our birthday since then, and my dear twin has spent 10 days here with me - oh what shopping we did do! Unfortunately for her, the last 5 days of her holiday Bella was ill with gastroenteritis and this consumed a lot of my time and energy [cleaning up all the vomit and poo...]. My twin was extremely good about that and just the most helpful person I could have asked for. A BIG THANK YOU!!! Now she has returned to the land of Oz and I am planning my trip to go visit her there later in the year. I have a few misgivings about leaving the kids alone with their Dad for a week though. Shall just have to get over it - what's the worst he can do??!?! [Don't answer that - I don't want to know!]
BTW, when I show Bella this photo of herself she calls it 'bubba' and looks quite bemused when I tell her it is herself!
Bella has survived her first week at daycare [all two days of it!] and I feel hopeful that she will be good from now on. Not that I don't expect angst from her at drop-off time of course. I'm sure she feels it is her duty to make me feel guilty at dumping her while I swan off on my own and do adult stuff. Anyway I am hanging out to hang out with my Sydney sis - and she'll be flying in in only a few more days...yippee! Bella said her name quite clearly yesterday so that's cool. Bella is popping out all sorts of words now - she learned 'shadow' and now pipes up with this every time she spots her own one. So clever. I love the way toddlers have unique personalities - this never fails to fascinate and surprise me, cos they are so little and barely speaking [English that is] and yet they have so many little 'ways' already. Bella cocks her head to one side and raises her hands in a questioning gesture as if she requires an answer from me. People who don't know her often comment on how clever she is to be walking, etc, as if she is a lot younger than her 18 months. I know she's little, but not that little surely!?
In a few days Bella will start officially at a local childcare centre, for two days a week [their minimum]. She has spent a few half-days there over the last week, to help settle her in, at which time she refused to eat the lunches they offered, nor sleep for very long. Not a promising start, but it can only get better, right?!? She was really pissed off with me when I left her each time, but was notably happier when I returned to collect her. Helps assuage my guilt at dumping her there and scurrying off to the gym... of course I'll be scurrying off to work instead this week.
In this photo she is clutching a bowl that she was banging with a spoon and nearby is her bucket which she fills with toys and carts around the house. She is nearly 18 months old now, and still has only 5 teeth...I look every day for more but no luck so far. A friend has pointed out [on more than one occasion] that she has quite large teeth, to which I reply that they fit her perfectly. When you think about it, a baby's teeth need to be a bit largish as they keep them for several years and a big 6-year-old with tiny teeth looks a bit odd.
Lockie kindly let me photograph him on his brand new physio table. It's a massage table too, as the guy who made it mentioned when he dropped it off last week. That explains the face hole at one end [Lockie thinks it's pretty funny!]
He was real keen to have his physio for the first few days, and even wanted it more than twice a day. Of course, this hasn't lasted and he is back to moaning about it like normal. It folds up neatly and we leave it in the hall, although today Bella managed to pull it over on herself which gave her quite a fright. It's pretty heavy so I squeezed her limbs to feel for broken bones but luckily she was fine. Apparently babies are born with 300 bones, and by adulthood they only have 206. [Thanks to Libra for this handy info.]
Today Lockie's school had a fair ["Fun Day"] and he and I cruised down there and had a great time. He tried out several of the attractions - lucky dip, 10-pin bowling, merry-go-round, bouncy castle, gumboot toss, candle-dipping, jeeps [he drove and I helped and we both giggled a lot!], and tile smash - he knocked down all 4 plates and got several small prizes and was very very proud of himself. Later we had saussies from a BBQ and fudge from a sweet stall. All typical Kiwi school gala stuff and I only spent $20! Not that we came away with much, but it was loads of fun for both of us.
Later today Fraz took Lockie out for tea and they came home with "Maybe Tomorrow" single from Goldenhorse on CD. Lockie's school is learning this song and he sings it at home often. Now Fraz is going to teach him how to play it on his guitar. Gotta feeling Lockie is going to follow in his Dad's musical footsteps...
Here's Lockie on his way to a friend's pirate birthday party today. The eye-patch was removed in the car a few minutes later, but the bandana stayed put for hours. He had a great time, and later in the day Frazer taught him another chord on his guitar, so that's 3 he can play now - enough for a tune! He looks so little behind his guitar, despite it being a half-size model.
Last night I went to see Bic Runga at MFC with my friend Judi. We got there a bit late and caught the last song from hilarious support act 'The Flight of the Conchords' and wished we could have seen more. But then Bic and her studio band came onstage and blew us away. She sang all the songs from her new album 'Birds', and many more familiar songs too, finishing with my favourite, "Drive". I can't say enough good things about Bic - she has such a unique, almost haunting voice and her songs are just beautiful. A multi-talented woman - she can even cut hair - namely my littlest sister's!
It was sunny today - this is noteworthy only because it's rained every day for the past week [at least] and everyone's been grumbling about Winter arriving early, etc. The rain is supposed to return tomorrow. Typical.
I actually went out on St Patricks Day last night!!! This is rare for me and I had a groovy time on the sticky dancefloor of JJ Murphys with 2 friends whom I first met exactly 8 years ago, at a gig of Frazer's then band, Zoo Station. I don't see much of them these days but we'll always be friends. It was worth the half hour queue to get in and all the bright green clothes people seemed to feel obliged to wear. I actually forgot the occasion so was dressed more demurely [what an old fart!]
My boots were great though, and Bella loves them. Yawn, am a bit sleep deprived now. Hopefully I can get away with a quiet Saturday today.
I'm finding this blog thing more of a chore than I should, and I feel absurdly guilty about it. I mean, it's pretty self-indulgent to rattle on about my kids, my complaints, and books I read! But that's just the nature of it I guess. Once I do get around to it it's fun. And I occasionally get a comment from a friend about how much they enjoy reading it and this makes it all worthwhile.
BTW, I read a good book recently - The Children Of The Dust, can't remember the author. A woman I work with said she had studied it in 3rd form English, so I thought it might be worth a try. It's set over 55 years and chronicles several generations of Britons, starting with the nuclear war that all but destroyed the entire world. It's really hopeful at the end though. I couldn't help thinking that it would make a great mini-series....OMG I am a product of too much TV viewing...
Here's my boy - Mr Guitar Man! Well, Fraz has finally succumbed to pressure and bought his son a geetar. It's a half-size model and I forget the brand. Anyway, Frazer and Lockie have worked their way through 2 music theory books to get to the stage of actually handling a real live guitar, and Lockie is so proud of it! Not that this makes him any more likely to practise it, although he has told a friend of mine that he prefers to practise his guitar over watching Playhouse Disney channel on TV...yeah right. He's lost a couple of picks already down into the soundhole so it rattles a bit. [He won't accept help to get them out]. To those who are astute enough to notice, it's a left-handed model, because the poor kid takes after both his parents in that respect. It's a bloody bugger to get hold of decent left-handed electric guitars apparently, or so Fraz would tell it, and he should know, having played guitar for about 26 years now.
I like to think Bella may also be musical - she chimes in quite tunefully when I sing 'Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day'. And she too is handy with a guitar pick - when I can persuade her to keep it out of her mouth...
Today I took Bella over to the house of the new woman who will be minding her one day each week. She has a daughter a few weeks older [but several cm taller], and loads of lovely toys. Bella was interested in the place but only if I was in view. I sure hope it works out OK as Bella was so settled at the last caregiver's but that only lasted 6 months. I have put her name on the waiting list at a few childcare centres but at least two of them were reluctant to even put her name down - as if their current waiting list was miles long and I would never get a place! I insisted anyway. Apparently next year the Govt. has decreed that we can get 20 hours free childcare per week. Sounds good, but I've been advised to get Bella's name down at as many places as practical to ensure she gets a place somewhere. Hmmm. Seems quite political.
Lockie saw his paediatrician a couple of days ago and he has given him on a course of antibiotics [to kick a persistent cough] that requires me to wake him at 6am to take a pill, and for his teacher at school to administer two doses also - they've gotta be on an empty stomach which is actually quite hard to work out. It seems he normally eats a lot more frequently than fits the prescription needs. 3 weeks of this better be worth it...
At least the check-up was a good one. There's a new treatment for CF pioneered in Australia [hypertonic saline] that is being discussed at the next NZ CF Conference in Christchurch in May and Lockie's paediatrician is very interested in this subject and the possibility of good benefits for young CF sufferers like Lockie. Sounds good.
The smile on her face says it all - Bella loves her new stroller very much. She never used to look twice at the doll [bought for Lockie a few years back] but now it serves a purpose! After I took this photo she tried to climb into the stroller and suck on baby's head... Turned out she wanted a breastfeed. Easy mistake to make?
Bell has been unwell for over a week now, with nappy woes and a short temper being the main symptoms. Also, waking in the night has been a regular thing lately [yawn!], but the last couple of nights she's pulled it together and slept through. I dropped into the doctor's surgery with a poo sample for testing last Friday but it turned out it went missing [like who would possibly want to take it??!?!] so we did another one this morning. She's got a bit of upheaval coming up over the next couple of weeks as her Thursday caregiver is [sob sob] having to call it quits as her own work hours have changed. So it's the last day with Fiona this week, and next week a day with another friend, and then hopefully I can settle her in with yet another friend on a temporary basis until I can get a place sorted at a local childcare centre. It's enough to make me want to give up work but as Jo pointed out - I really do love going to work, so will persevere and hope for the best.
Yikes just noticed it's after 2 and Bella is still napping, so will need to wake her and shovel some lunch in before the school pickup...
Yesterday Lockie whispered to me [Bella was in the room too], that he didn't really like Bella at all. I said surely there was one thing he liked about her, but he couldn't think of a thing. What's that about I wonder - how long does the sibling jealousy thing continue? Despite this, he often tells me how cute she is and gives her kisses and hugs, so I'm not too worried. Personally I can't see a thing not to adore about this wee girl! She's been a bit unwell with a tummy bug lately, but is still chirpy and happy mostly [when she stopped vomiting!!]
Have just finished a rather riveting book, if not a grim and ghastly one: 'I Choose To Live' by Sabine Dardenne. She is the 22-year-old survivor of the Monster of Belgium, Marc Dutroux, who kidnapped her at age 12, and kept her as his sex slave in hideous conditions for 80 days, before her rescue. He had previously raped, tortured and murdered several other young girls, with the complicity and full knowledge of his wife... I vaguely remember the media stories about this case, back in 1996. Not a happy book obviously. Makes me want to lock up my children away from harm almost...lucky I'm not the paranoid sort.
