Happy families

Well, we all survived another Christmas and it was SO MUCH FUN having my two sisters, my bro and my Dad there to share it with us. And surprisingly stress-free! The food and drink were abundant, the conversation and laughter flowed and plenty of happy memories created. Also, we all took loads of photos to remind us of this rare time spent together.

In this picture, taken yesterday, we had taken a train into the city and walked along the sunny waterfront before heading into the city for lunch and then, on a whim, we went to the movies together. Bella had never been to the movies but was really really good and we all enjoyed the Bee Movie. Then we had ice creams and walked back to the Railway Station, stopping at Frank Kitts Park for a slide and a swing, etc. We had missed the train so opted for a bus back home - although it was at this point that Bella got a bit screamy/tantrumy in the bus and deafened everybody thoroughly as she became more and more hysterical, until we finally got back to Johnsonville - the longest 10 minute journey I've endured in a while! It was getting late and she was just really tired after a full-on day I think, but the other passengers probably didn't appreciate that...

Hanging in there...

I am starting to feel the strain! B***** power company is breathing down our necks just cos we are a teensy bit late with our bill - and at Christmas too - have they no Christmas spirit?? Stressful. Trying not to think about it too much. Much more fun things to be done! Have wrapped oodles of pressies for under the tree, baked gingerbread and shortbread stars and christmas tree bikkies, and checked with Santa that he will be bringing stockings-full of goodies for the kids.

We are set! My twin sis arrives late tonight, and my brother and Dad arrive Sunday, followed by another sis flying in from London on Christmas Eve - it's gonna be O for Awesome!!!!

If the worst comes to the worst, we will still have our gas bbq to fall back on in case of power blackout...

Oh yeah, big earthquake up Gisborne way last night. Only felt the smallest of tremors here in Welly and in fact, barely noticed it and wouldn't have known it was an earthquake at all if I hadn't seen it on the news and made the connection between the tinkling sound I heard [probably light fittings shaking] and the timing of it. I hear that 15 people had minor injuries and one old woman died of a heart attack soon after. Loads of damage to property though. Need to think about updating our Earthquake Kit. Can never decide quite where to store it - in the garage which is UNDER the house, or in the house itself...hmmm.

Watch out!!

Have you ever come across anything that puts such heebie jeebies in you that every tiny hair on your body stands on end... like this fine example of NZ wildlife which confronted me in the kitchen recently, to my horror. The New Zealand weta looks rather menacing - check out those waving spiky legs and the LARGE stinger thingy... but I do believe they are relatively harmless. I didn't ask it though - I just removed it as quickly as poss to the great outdoors where it belonged, and managed [very bravely I thought] not to scream loud enough to alarm the kids who were playing outside and remained oblivious to my distress - or indeed the distress of the poor weta. Once removed, I calmed down and reflected on where it may have come from, as I had been doing stuff in the kitchen for ages before I noticed it, bold as brass, on the stove top, possibly with its front leg stuck in the element.

Oooh, I am sitting here shuddering about it still, and this happened 5 days ago! What a wuss I am :)

How to Spend A Summer's Day

Bella was delighted when I stopped at a local park for a play today. She has the urge to be spun around til she can't walk straight on a regular basis!
We love our 'Mummy and Bella' Days and she's the ideal companion for shopping and cafe breaks! We met our new neighbours at the park today and we were shocked to see the mess that the toddler area was in - clearly some local high school kids had trashed their school text books and spread them everywhere, along with a whole lot of other rubbish... I actually gathered some of it up, including the parts of the books with school library barcodes on them, and returned them to the high school and even showed the office staff photos of the awful mess... call me a busybody but I was really
pissed off. Not fair for the little kids to have to play around such garbage.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. We had a lovely day today generally. Time now for the final episode of the latest series of my fave homegrown TV show: Outrageous Fortune.

Whew!! So hot today. The hottest this summer so far I reckon [considering Summer officially started a week ago!] I think we got to around 27 degrees Celsius. Anyway, as usual being Sunday, we headed to the beach, only the car trip was pretty roasty and it took a paddle in the sea to cool us down - a rather icy cold sea too, although that didn't deter the surfers today. Fraz had to work today but we didn't really notice his absence as he usually just naps in the car or on the beach anyway! On the way home, eating ice creams, the kids and I decided we would try out some other beaches on our Sundays in the future, like Hataitai Beach, and Balaena Bay, both spotted on our way home from Kilbirnie, via Oriental Bay. Roll on summer daze!!

Busy week ahead, with our cars booked in for warrants, etc - I feel like they are sitting exams and hold my breath that they will pass without it costing us an arm and a leg! Especially this close to Chrissy...wish me luck!

'Old MacDonald Had A Farm...'

Last week 'Old MacDonald's Farm' came to Bella's Monday morning playgroup! There is a small grassy driveway outside the door and they tied up several small goats, a miniature horse, a lamb, a small pig and an aloof alpaca, and inside they had some rabbits and a chicken. I'm sure lots of the small kids had never seen animals such as these, in the flesh, and there was great excitement. Bella loved the 'big horsie' [about 4 feet tall!] called Dusty Rose, and we helped feed milk to the goats and pig. We really like this playgroup, it's the best in our area I reckon and is very popular, yet never too full that people are turned away. I know loads of the parents who bring their kids there and try to meet a new one each week too. [And at a mere 50cents a week, it's completely affordable!]

Lockie was writing something after breakfast this morning and I sneaked a peek at it later - it was a Christmas wish list and all I could see were the $$$ signs!!! Oh boy. Bella's wishes are a lot simpler - she really wants a blue ball. Yesterday, on a girls' day out [ie shopping and lunch at a mall], we visited the mall Santa, and he spent several minutes chatting to her [despite a restless queue] about eating her veges each night and having Mum report back to Santa that she was being good! She took all this on board, and last night ate several more veges than usual. Thanks Santa!!! If only that logic would work on Lockie...

Christmas is coming...

Oops...have been a very slack blogger... have switched my allegiance to Facebook and Bebo and BADLY neglected my blog [again]. C'est la vie.

Here are my crazy yet cute kids, posing by our newly erected Christmas tree. We defied our family tradition of not doing things too early and actually put our tree up on 1st December. Shock, horror. So, here we are, 3 days later and it has only been tipped over once. My fault for balancing it precariously on a small table I guess. Sure gave Bella a nasty surprise - no-one else was in the room and we can only guess as to what she was doing when it fell, just missing her. Her screams had me going for a minute - I thought she was underneath it and then realised she was under the dining table, hiding. Anyway, no harm done and it sits on the floor now :)

This morning my friends' gorgeous burmese kitten was the victim of a hit and run outside their home. RIP tiny Tosh - you were the cutest and cuddliest kitten ever. Brought back memories of Hemi and his demise six months ago. We were really distraught at his loss and he was kinda old. Still, you do get quite attached to family pets that have been around 10+ years.

I am so excited about all the family who are making their way to Wellington to be with us this Christmas! The consumerism is annoying to say the least and the kids are easily sucked into it all but what better excuse to get the family together, right? Christmas rules!!!!!

Blogging along...

This week scooted by too fast! There has been coughs and sniffles to medicate and nurture, life insurance to sort out, end-of-winter sales shopping to do, work, school, daycare, blah blah blah... All good in the end :)

Bella's toilet training is continuing and she is going well, although 'number twos' are still a minor issue [I refuse to make them a Major Issue!] as she prefers to just go in her overnight nappy or her undies... hmmm. Yucky. Unfortunately she doesn't think it's as yucky as I do!

Stormy weather approaching this weekend so we will be hunkering down and staying in mostly. Brrrr.

And Lord Lucan most definitely does not live in Marton, NZ! That's just a stupid prank by a disgruntled neighbour who has been sparring with some poor old guy for years. He's not even the same age or height - yet TV and newspapers have made a field day of the story. Hahaha. Good for a laugh I s'pose.

Friends and fun

Well, I met up with a few ex-classmates [from 25 years ago] this week, for drinks at a bar in town after work. This was an interesting venture, but just when I was warming up to it I had to scoot over to the movies to meet a friend who had free tickets to 'Because I Said So' [Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore] and needed me to come with her. A fun feel-good girly flick. We were given free perfume samples and choccy pud on the way in too! Can't complain about that... and Fraz certainly didn't when I bravely gave him the pud when I got home, despite having only consumed beer and popcorn since lunchtime and being ravenously hungry. I broke out a frozen packet dinner and it was utter crap. Sigh. If only I was the organised sort with a freezer full of meals ready to be heated and eaten... hahaha.

This morning I had some of my old PIN [Plunket In the Neighbourhood] Group over for a play. Two mums and 4 kids came and we had a lovely time. Bella proved very good at sharing with so many kids [she often surprises me] but things started getting a little hairy closer to lunchtime and a few tears later, they left. Two of the kids are identical twins, who are only two days younger than B. She tends to call them the 'pink one' and the 'blue one' [depending on their clothing of course] - and I too have trouble telling them apart.

Toilet training is going well, with only one or two accidents per day. A bit stressful for me though, having to remember to plonk Bells on the loo every hour and planning outings carefully too - short and sweet as she is not keen on public toilets. She'll be right, mate.

After school today we are having more friends over to play. I hope Bella survives more kids rifling through her possessions again! She is waking in the night regularly at 3am, crying and talking about 'bad dreams', and then she's up bright as a button at 6:15am... oh boy. Can't wait for a newer [and easier] sleep pattern to develop, as it invariably will :) Anyway, by late afternoon she can be a bit wilt-y and weary and prone to tears for no good reason... Fingers crossed she'll behave.

Catch Up

I have been a naughty girl... abandoning my blog without a word. Sorry to anybody who has been checking in vain to see my latest musings... I'm back now and will try to be good.

In the past six weeks: Bella has moved out of her cot into a 'big girl bed' - [and her cot was sold in record time on Trademe], and now she is in the middle of toilet training. Next she'll be getting her driver's licence... hahaha. Here she is at our Monday playgroup - just as much fun for the Mums as for the kids!

Lockie is going well at school - last night I went to a meeting with his teacher to discuss his progress and it was pretty glowing. He is the Best Speller in his class and is doing exceptionally well at Maths too. His teacher says he has a great work ethic and a logical brain.

Recently, on school holidays, I took the kids up to Wanganui for a couple of nights. My Dad was away but we stayed at his house and hung with the cats anyway. Weather was a bit wintery but we got lots done and really enjoyed it. We will go for longer next time. The whole two weeks of holidays were rather wet but I'm glad we got away for even as short time :)

I took Lockie to see The Simpsons Movie last weekend - we laughed our heads off. He is a big fan of the yellow family - especially Homer. It was a fun time, and we bussed and trained home after that - more fun!

Have booked a trip to Sydney to stay with Meg and attend a two-day conference in October. Can't wait.

Busy weekend

Saturday! We packed up the car and drove to Palmerston North for a stay at the PNth Holiday Park. Not probably the best place to stay in winter [maybe we'll visit again in summer], but we took plenty of warm bedding and a spare heater - just as well as the one in the cabin crapped out on us. The weather was dodgy but we managed to get out and about between showers and Bella and I took a ride on the miniature railway through the Esplanade - a lovely scenic [but freeeezing!] trip. Lockie and Fraz were off elsewhere when we did this and I never heard the end of it from young L who was completely devastated that we had gone on the train without him. The railway only opened for a few hours on the weekends so he will have to experience that pleasure another trip. Bella and Lockie shared a bedroom and B slept in a 'big girl bed' for the first time ever - she loved it. The real reason we were there was for Fraz who had gigs on Friday and Saturday nights. So he was pretty knackered by Sunday...

Sunday! We were home by around 2pm, after popping in to see Nana's new house in Waikanae Beach on the way, with both kids asleep in the backseat [one in each car as we took two]. Then later, after dinner, I went off to Avalon Studios with a friend and watched the live filming of 'Pop's Ultimate Star', a TV2 NZ Idol spin-off, as the contestants are mostly from past NZ Idol series. There's even one from a past Australian Idol series, Emily, who is very very good. It was really fun and I hope to take Lockie next week to the next filming. There were lots of kids there and they seemed to really enjoy their foray into tv land.

Old friends from YEARS ago

The other day I got an email from an old school friend inviting me to drinks at a pub in town, a few weeks from now. My two years at Wanganui Intermediate School were probably my fave time at any of my schools. We had a class reunion in Wanganui back in 2002 which was really fun, although obviously not everyone could be there and indeed two of our class members had died a few years before. So it seems several of the class of '81/'82 will be meeting for after-work drinkies and I am really looking forward to catching up again. Will be weird though. 25 years on!!! Bound to be a few wrinkles and grey hairs creeping in... ha ha!

Pink pancakes and Dreams

It's Sunday morning and I've been up for nearly an hour, owing to my darling husband snoring VERY LOUDLY, dead to the world, having gotten to bed after 5am... so I braved the cold house and made some pink pancake mix in preparation for our normal Sunday brekkie[Teletubbies have a bit to answer for there], and a cup of tea and now I sit before the computer in my jammies and new purple slippers, musing about silly things:

'Last night I had the strangest dream - I sailed a ship to China'... nah, I dreamt I was walking down the street in Welly and bumped into my sis Aud and her friend. Aud was looking really glum, wearing a pretty sunfrock and cardy [this was extremely weird for starters], and sporting a bulging middle. She said she was pregnant [another weird thing as she prefers girls]. Where do these kind of odd dreams come from??? Maybe this was my conscience reminding me that I really don't know what she gets up to in her spare time and should be in touch more. Maybe it is to do with the fact that tomorrow my youngest sister leaves our fair Aotearoa for a long time and I will suddenly be the only sister [out of 5] left in NZ. A lonely feeling indeed.

What to do with daylight...

I know what to do with moonlight - sleep sleep sleep. Boy,do I love to SLEEP! Of course, I'm lucky to get enough of it, as you do when you have small kids around the house. And the bloody gym that opens at 5:30am doesn't help either. I had such a good workout yesterday and my muscles are reminding me today that they are there - good to know! I have to resolve to not sleep in so much and get there more often... A possible barrier [oh and there are lots of possibles!] is that I have told Bella I will take the side off her cot this weekend, so she will be able to get up whenever her little heart desires, and she can open her door these days too. Fraz is NOT a morning person and if I am absent [at gym] and she happens to decide she wants to be up at 6am.... I won't be a popular person with my bloke. Tough! [Now that she has given up her day sleeps she does tend to sleep in until after 7am so it may be OK.]

Some of you may be surprised to hear that Bell still sleeps in a cot, but she fits it, so, there. She is only a fairly tiny person still - yesterday we walked down to collect Lockie from school and we saw a small boy with his mum - the lad was the same height as Bella - he was actually 20 months old as opposed to Bella's 32 months...

Recently Lockie and I had his class's Zoo Sleepover and we had a great time. The weather was drizzly and cold in the morning when we walked around the zoo with our guide, but the evening before was divine and very informative. We were able to go behind the scenes and learned a lot more than you learn when you trek around the zoo on your own. We slept in a large function room, on mattresses [marae-style] but 32 kids aged 7 and 8 are quite excitable in a herd like this and it was a wakeful night for we parents [6 mums and 1 teacher]. We did enjoy it but enjoyed getting home and drying out too.

Pretty

As Bella has just pointed out to me - this is HER tree, at least it is the only tree right outside her bedroom window. Such a gorgeous Autumnal sight. We think it is a fruit tree but have no idea what fruit it may bear.

We invited the kids' Nana to dinner for Mothers Day, and Lockie has carefully wrapped her present and written in her card... I could have won big time if I had bet that she wouldn't come and there we go... still, she has a busy life. It will have to be all about ME instead! We are going to see a human circus in the morning - 'Circus Quirkus' - which should be fun. And I may even get dinner cooked for me [or ordered via a telephone!], so that will be pleasant. I feel absurdly cheated that I have no Mum to buy a pressie for this Mothers Day - commercialism ingrained in my head it seems!

NZSO rules!

On Wednesday I went to a rehearsal of the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the Michael Fowler Centre. It was an early afternoon affair, with tea and bikkies with the Mayor of Wellington beforehand! The music was just magical and my friend, Judi, and I sat there quite entranced. Time passed so quickly and after a while we had to sneak out to feed the parking meters, and then had lunch and sneaked back in for some more 'musical chocolate' - my term which means it was really delicious to listen to! Later I met my boys over at the hospital for Lockie's paediatrician appointment, where the news was all good and we left the hospital feeling rather pleased with ourselves - Lockie's health is really good so we must be doing something right.

Our house is getting the exterior painted this week [and next] which is a pretty messy and noisy job - at least until the sanding is completed. The all-women middle-aged crew are very nice, and their Pekinese, Ty, very hairy and cute. I don't know if the lawns will ever look the same again though - paint chips and dust galore has decorated the grass with off-white and pink [that's the undercoat]. And there's certainly plenty of dust/dirt/paint chips that creeps inside on a daily basis.

Less than two weeks now until the Zoo Sleepover that Lockie's class is participating in takes place. I have volunteered to be one of the parent helpers who come along. Should be fun! I don't expect to get too much sleep though...

So, lots of excitement going on here!!! How about you?

Another birthday!

Here are the kids giving Dad some last cuddles before they went to bed, on his birthday. Funnily enough, Frazer was snoozing on the couch before the shot, and again soon after... He'd had a late night the night before and had spent much of the day looking after the kids while I went to our annual National Cf Conference, here in Wellington this year. The 3-day conference is an awesome chance to meet up with other Cf parents and Cf adults, and compare notes, etc, plus hear some excellent speakers on a great range of relevant topics. Next year it is to be held in Taupo and I am determined to get Fraz there too! I met several new people, including a local man in his fifties, who told me he had been diagnosed at age 33. Wow. I have so much to discuss with Lockie's paediatrician when we see him on Wednesday for his regular 3-monthly checkup. Lots of new ideas for us to think about when it comes to Lockie's care and treatments.

Busy happenings

Bella loves defacing the walls in the backyard - with chalk. And of course who am I to stifle her artistic streak!? Keeps her busy. And the rain deals with it eventually.

We are coping without our cat, although the other day Bella gently told me not to worry, he would turn up soon. Sweet child.

The school holidays are over now, and ended up being fairly busy, for me anyway! I went to the Brooke Fraser concert which was brilliant, and a few days later, on my birthday no less, I took Bella to see Hi-5 in concert. She loved it and didn't want it to end. And then, a couple of days ago I had the best day ever - went into the city in the morning with a good friend, and left the kids in their Dad's charge. We saw the Egyptian exhibition at Te Papa which was fascinating, and lunched at Arizona [delectable], then we saw Fiddler On The Roof [wonderful], and finished off with dinner and a movie in Brooklyn [very relaxing]. I considered my birthday well-celebrated and myself well-spoiled. [It certainly bet my actual birthday evening wherein I drank too much and was rather horribly ill later in the night, and never even left the house. How sad is that!?]

Had a great chat to my twin in Sydney last night, and it turned out her birthday evening wasn't much to write about either. Next year we will be in the same city and do it in style!!!

Yum yum yum!

This morning it is very rainy and cold outside. So we are being sensible and staying indoors, at least until we have to go out later and do some stuff. I have made some Caramello. My sisters will remember this delish sweet treat - I used an old recipe book of Mum's, with the recipes typed on the back of old Blind Assoc. calendar pages and glued into a scrapbook. It is very well used and covered in food smears, but somehow reminds me of Mum a lot. Here's the recipe should you wish to try it:

CARAMELLO

8 oz butter

5 oz brown sugar

1/2 tin condensed milk

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 lb crushed biscuits [I used Girl Guide ones!]

Melt butter in saucepan, add sugar, condensed milk and syrup. Heat gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to biscuits. Press into greased dish. Cut while warm. ENJOY!

My sister Katy was the expert at this recipe in our house, growing up. Yay for big sisters!!

Bot Gardens

Such a lovely day today - we went to the Botanical Gardens and spent ages strolling through the grounds, playing at the playground and then took the Cable Car down to the shops, and had McDs for tea, before doing it all again in reverse. It was dark by the time we got home. We all had a blast!

The photo of Bella and the Sad Tree Man is at the playground, where a tree stump was cleverly turned into a work of art - the back of the stump features two large tuataras. And the other photo is taken at the top of the Cable Car, with Soames Island in the background, at dusk.

Grim News

It looks like the end has indeed come for our Hemi... a neighbour called this morning, after Bella and I had dropped off 40 flyers to nearby letterboxes, to say he heard a car brake suddenly a few nights ago and went out to see a man get out of his car and admit to hitting a cat that was crossing the road [by corner of our old street]. They saw the cat limp up the neighbour's driveway - towards our property, but he disappeared from their sight and certainly never made it home... there is a lot of thick bush at the back of our property so he may be in there somewhere.
We are very sad - Fraz and I more so than the kids, as we had Hemi since he was a kitten and he's been with us a long time. We used to joke that he was our first [and hairiest] child.

RIP dear Hems. [Ernest Hemingway S-J!] Condolences welcomed.

Is this the end for Hemi?

Our beloved Hemi is missing... gone for 5 days now. At nearly 12 years of age he has had an interesting life; he's lived in many many houses [we tend to move a lot], and in 4 different towns, but he has NEVER been away so long without a postcard.
Tonight Fraz was convinced he heard a faint squeaking outside and spent a while out in the back yard with a torch, whistling and calling for the cat, but to no avail.
We have made up flyers with this handsome photo on them and have added his name to the Lost Pets database at the local petstore/vet clinic.
We feel pretty helpless other than that, and keep asking ourselves if we could have done him better. The kids did harrass him frequently, and we don't have a cat flap at this house, which sucks. Plus the neighbours' two cats hang out in our yard a lot, much to Hemi's horror. A couple of days before he disappeared I had to rescue him from the two cats who cornered him, and that must have been quite humiliating for him. He still frequents our old address, as it is only a block away, but even the old neighbours haven't seen him for a few days.

WHERE FORE ART THOU HEMI???!!?!?!

Late summer fun anyone?

Lockie is pictured here with a classmate, on a day trip to Days Bay a few days ago. The idea was that the kids of Years 3 & 4 would make their own boats and then sail them, and later assess their seaworthiness, etc. Lockie was not at school on the day the kids all paired up and made their boats, but he did spend a lot of time on the weekend at home, tucked away in his bedroom with a box of recycling materials and a roll of duct tape! They went on the ferry from Wellington on one way, and caught a bus back to school later in the day. I went along for a couple of hours before work started in the afternoon. I ended up being the 'class photographer' as Lockie's teacher spent much of the time in a small inflatable boat, retrieving boats that were heading for deeper waters. It was fun, and there were heaps of other mums whom I caught up with while I was there. The weather was perfect - not too sunny, and zero wind - a bonus in our fair city! And warm enough to go into the water, even in Autumn.

Yesterday I juggled the kids' care and went on a day course for work [leaving the house at 7:30am was a shock to the system!], an 'Orientation' course, mostly for newcomers to the City Council. Of the 20 or so of us there, I was the only one working for the Libraries, and nearly the only one who had worked for WCC for more than 3 months! Not sure why I never did this course when I first started, 4 years ago, but it was worth the wait. A few speakers in the morning filled us in on the intricate workings of the various parts of the council, we walked around the Civic Square - and under it even - and we spent the afternoon on a mystery bus tour around several council sites, including Wellington City Archives, Truby King House, and Wellington Emergency Management Office ['Ground Zero' for communications in Welly in the event of a civil emergency.] We also toured the Regional Aquatic Centre [aka Kilbirnie Pool], and got to look through small windows under the water level into the main pools - a bit pervy!

Have a favourite new song at present: 'Maybe' by Opshop. Very catchy. [And a lot trendier than the stoopid song stuck in my head all day yesterday: 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake!!]

Incidentally the lead singer in Opshop is a guy who used to sing with an old bandmate of Fraz, a long time ago when we first came to Welly, and 'The Gathering' thrashed their way around the inner city bogan bars. We lived on Courtenay Place at that time. A strange six months of sleeping days and waking nights as I recall. When the band broke up [drug charges against the lead singer had him flee the country or some such drama], the bass player went off and joined up with Jason, the Opshop singer - get it now? Anyway, Shay is doing who knows what now and we're not that interesting either! Ha ha!

Cousins meet

Here are Lilli and Bella, American and Kiwi cousins, meeting for the first time, this week. They seem quite fascinated with each other and wanted to do/have/eat/drink exactly the same things, at the same time mostly, which was tricky. Lilli and her parents stayed over last night and the girls shared a bath in the evening. There was a little squabbling and possessiveness over the bath toys, but it went well otherwise. Lilli has crazily thick long curly-as hair and this was hard to handle - her Mom wasn't allowed to wash her hair but Aunty Anna was, eventually. She was concerned about the amount of water I let in her ears though, so I have room for improvement obviously.

This morning they continued to copy each other, down to the same cereal and - potential for problems here: the same pair of sandals... Luckily Lilli wears a larger size so Bella was spared seeing her fave Winnie The Pooh sandals on the feet of another. The two Dads and I and the two girls walked Lockie to school, and soon after Lilli and her parents left, but we caught up later for lunch at Petone McDonalds, with the girls' Great Aunt, and they spent ages exploring the playground there. [Bella surprised her parents with her daring on the big steep tunnel slides.]

Soon we will head off to Mokau, in Taranaki, for a few days. When I say we, at the moment that excludes Bella and me, as I have work commitments and Fraz doesn't feel he can handle sole care of two kids at once. It's a five hour drive from home, although Nana and Lilli and her parents will be there too. It is supposed to be a chance for the two families to hang together, but frankly, it's a bloody long trip to do this, when our house fits everyone quite nicely... Still, it's not our holiday. We would have chosen somewhere closer! [We have changed our minds many times about how to do this trip so everyone is included, but in vain. We figure that the toddlers won't remember it anyway.]

Enjoyed watching 'Rude Awakenings' tonight on the box, as usual. Love NZ dramas and there's plenty of drama [and dubious acting] in this one. A few glasses of vino didn't go amiss of course. Got Fraz through it at least!

Last night I went out with Lilli's parents, to the bar in the city where Frazer's band was playing. It was a good night, although as the driver I only had a couple of drinks early on. Ben Hazelwood, a finalist for the last NZ Idol, got up and sang with the band for several songs. He was very good and the crowd was appreciative, although I wonder if many recognised him. Apparently he's a friend of the drummer's girlfriend, which got him a place on the stage in the first place, and then he wouldn't leave!! I had a nice chat at one point to a couple of lads in kilts. I only understood half of what they said, with their broad Scottish accents, which was quite funny. A bit sleep-deprived today, but that's the pay-off, with young kids, and a night out.

Back to normal

Lockie is fully recovered and back to school today...phew! His operation was uneventful, and presumably successful - they left some resorbable (?) packing up his nose to control the bleeding and I think it should be 'resorbed' in a day or so, and hopefully he will breathe easier from now on. His hospital stay was so very disruptive to our normal life, that we are all happy it is over. He vows never to return so we will see what we can do!

I ended up staying overnight with Lockie for one night, and he had Fraz for one night, and was by himself for two (we stayed til he was asleep and came back early in the morning). In his shared room were a few other boys, all a couple of years older at least, and this meant that lights out didn't happen before 9:30pm each night... he was pretty tired and ratty by the time he came home. And sleep was a bit disturbed by his beeping IV machine beeping intermittently through the night - loud enough to wake everyone nearby, but not loud enough to alert a nurse, without someone calling for one...grrr. Earlier in his stay a nurse had admitted that they were supposed to predict when an IV machine would need attention and get to it first, before it started beeping. Someone should have told the night nurses this.

We donated a couple of board games to the Play Specialist's stash. It was the least we could do I felt. Lockie also made some art to hang on the wall there. When we left the hospital, on Friday morning, we stopped by The Warehouse and picked up a Hot Wheels racing track that Lockie had been promised, and upon arriving home we wrestled with the construction of the damn thing for nearly 40 minutes. (It lies in pieces again for unknown reasons and I have promised - foolishly - to put it back together by the time he arrives home from school with a friend).

Today our Boston rellies arrived, exhausted but happy to be here at last. Little Lilli is so cool in person, and Bella was very excited to see her. (Both cousins have been primed to meet each other for the first time). Lilli is just a few weeks older, and seemed to find Fraz rather fascinating - he looks quite a lot like his bro, her Daddy. They dropped in here for a while, then went off up to Otaki to sort out their jetlag and we will see them again in a couple of days. Bells was quite sad to see them go. As they were leaving she asked where 'the brother' was - as if Lilli would have a big bro like her! Ha ha.

Human Pincushion

Poor Lockie. He's had such a tough day. I arrived with Bella [who shortly after left with Fraz], late morning and Lockie had been nil by mouth since the night before. An ultrasound scan was scheduled for 2pm, after which he would be allowed to eat. Anyone who knows my boy would know that he is not a pleasant person to be around when he is hungry... so, by the time his scan happened [2:45pm...] he was ropeable. Blubbering and threatening to leave, snot everywhere, a real mess, very unhappy and fed up. The scan was pretty interesting - we saw his kidneys, spleen and liver. It only took 10 mins thank goodness, so we then hurried him back to the ward for FOOD! An hour later, his hunger sated, his headache gone, and his physio done, he was a much calmer happier kid. Another drama that occurred during the scan debacle was the attempts to insert an IV shunt - yesterday's one in his hand went bad and further attempts on further veins didn't work, but they finally found a non-collapsing [we hope!] vein in his arm and he didn't actually feel the needle go in. A big sigh of relief went out around the treatment room when it succeeded, biggest of all from Lockie.

Oh, and he no longer has his single room [with bed for Dad] - he's been shifted to a shared room [with 4 other boys], as a sicker child needed his room more. This time there is only an old lazyboy for Fraz to sleep in, so he is going to come home once Locks is sleeping. Hope that works. A real shame that he can't have a parent stay there to comfort him if he wakes in the night.

Action Stations!

Ha ha. 'Action stations' was something I recall hearing a lot as a kid. So daggy.
This morning I took Lockie off to hospital, for his first admission since birth. He was pretty cool about it although I embarrassed him at the nurses' station by suggesting he needed a single room, owing to his 'snoring and farting problem'. They had him down to share a four-bed room, but soon changed that. The real reason I wanted his own room was that they came with a bed for a parent to stay over, unlike the shared rooms, where a lazyboy chair may have been the only bed-like piece of furniture for an adult over-nighting on the kids' ward! His room is quite good, and comes with a tv and video on the wall too. Fraz came in to see him around lunchtime and I was home for Bella's afternoon nap, then brought her in too. She thought the place was pretty all right - loads of toys! There is a great outdoor playground too, so they teared around there for a bit. Lockie had loads of energy to burn after sitting around most of the day, as various medical people came in and listened to his chest and prodded his tum and drilled me about his medical history - again and again and AGAIN. I really felt interrogated in the end and tripped myself up with the facts I'm sure - I wish they'd just written it down and SHARED with each other... I wonder if this will happen again tomorrow. That's the trouble with a public hospital I guess - there are always people in training who need to practise on real live bodies, with their superiors hovering over as they nervously examine the patient - and then the superior does it all over again!

Lockie's nasal polyps op is in a couple of days, so will keep you all posted... Fraz is staying over tonight and when I called at bedtime, things were looking good. I expect Fraz will have spent the evening in the Ronald McDonald Family Room, just along the corridor, and a very lovely welcoming place for family members to hang out.

Decorations

Bella took great care to peel these little stickers off a toy car and apply them to her face. She used a mirror, and announced to me 'I am beautiful'. I was enchanted and agreed with her. Daddy thought so too.

She sometimes follows Fraz and Lockie around and calls them 'my boys'. She gets upset if they go out without her, and really enjoys the excursions they all three go on sometimes. But she is also really delighted to see me when they return home - it's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned. Bless her little cotton sox.

Summer Daze

This image is close to the one on my library card. It is taken on the pedestrian bridge between Civic Square and the waterfront area in Wellington. Lockie and I were there on a beautifully sunny Sunday, looking around for Fraz and Bella, who it turned out were eating Maccas for lunch at Courtney Central! We found them in the end.

In a week, Lockie is being admitted to the kids' ward for a minor op, although he'll be in for several days, as the op carries a risk of pneumonia because of his cf. He is anxious, apprehensive and nervous - not a great combination of feelings for a 7-year-old at the best of times. It is his first admission, so everything is a new experience for him. Of course, we will be attempting to make it as 'fun' as possible! I have a few tricks up my sleeve...

In about two weeks, rellies from Boston will arrive for a two-week holiday, including our 2-year-old niece. Lilli is only a few weeks older than Bella, so we can't wait to see them together. Bella is prepared to play with her and possibly share her toys. Hope she remembers when the time comes... she can be quite possessive of her stuff. I hope she'll be over her endless cold by then too.

I feel like my whole family is making plans to go and have big adventures overseas! Actually, it's only two sisters and our Dad, but that's a lot. All I can do is say wow and how cool for you. Sigh. My time will come one day...won't it?

Sunny Days

Oops, there goes January...flying past at the speed of light. This pic is taken at the beach beside Freyberg Pool, at Oriental Bay. A sanitised version of the kind of beach we frequented as kids; totally man-made, and freshly swept and sifted as we arrived in the carpark nearby. But it was also Bella's first introduction to sand as not confined to a sandpit. Yes, I am a slack mother, not to have taken her to a beach before the age of 2! It's not as if we are not surrounded by multitudes of beaches here, it's just that we never got around to it. She had a ball anyway, and is still talking about it, days later. Lockie enjoyed himself too, and he and a friend dug a deep hole that had many of the other kids on the beach wandering over for an curious look.

Today we picked up a set of bunks for Lockie's room, that I bought from Trademe. Lockie insisted he would sleep on the top bunk tonight, but I just found him transferring himself to the bottom bunk, 90 minutes after I turned out his light!

Today Bella decided to forgo her nap - although she did spend an hour and a half in her cot at naptime! I could hear her singing and chatting to her toys the whole time, as I willed her to go to sleep from the next room. Funny kid. I finally went in and rescued her and she announced 'it's morning!'

This morning Bella became convinced that her Aunty Meg was here - she spotted me lying in bed after breakfast, having sneaked in to see Fraz as he slept in. She must have thought I was Meg then, because she looked at me and said "you're daddy's friend" and then ran out calling "Aunty Meggie's here!" That was pretty funny, and even though I told her I was her Mummy, she didn't believe me!! Later I got up and she asked me to come and find where Meggie had gone. We went outside and saw a Qantas plane passing overhead - I said Meg was on it, going home. Not the first time I've been mistaken for my twin but the first time my child had insisted she was right!

Fun and games

This afternoon we had friends over to play - we've known this family since shortly after moving to Johnsonville more than 5 years ago, when both our sons were small and starting Playcentre. Now we live in different suburbs and our kids attend different schools but there's still the great connection you have with great friends, even when we don't catch up very often anymore. The boys put a silly show on for us Mums and Bella, who clapped and laughed appropriately at their hilarious antics. Later, when they had gone home, Bella decided to dress-up too. She shed her fairy clothes just minutes after I snapped this photo though.

Oops

Feeling a bit twitchy tonight. It turns out that when we went with broadband a month ago, we didn't anticipate the increased usage that would happen as we thrilled to the speed and convenience of it all... now we are way over our monthly limit and I am nervous about connecting at all! Too bad though, it's been so long since I blogged that I find myself feeling a bit shy about it all.

Well, Christmas was a blast, with my two sisters and father staying for several days, and much food and booze consumed by all. Loads of lovely pressies opened and enjoyed, especially by the kids whose bedrooms need to be rearranged to accommodate the large amount of loot they received from generous rellies. Everyone remained well-behaved [except for me having a couple of PMT-inspired meltdowns in the lead-up to Christmas Day!]. The weather has been, for the most part, absolutely atrocious and practically wintery, very ho-hum. Still, when there's a break in the weather on any given day, you'll find Lockie zipping outdoors and playing on his trampoline - until he gets too cold that is.

Bella has been unwell - viral gastroenteritis no less, since a few days before Chrissy, and for a week after also. Poor mite. And poor me having to change so many disgusting nappies. She's all good now, which is lucky as she decided to undress herself for her bath this evening, including a poo-laden nappy... in Lockie's bedroom for unknown reasons... oh boy. I cleaned up the mess and later told him about it - he announced then that his room 'smelled of dung'. Great. He thinks his sister is a horse/cow/sheep.

Back to work tomorrow, and Lockie possibly to his Nana's in Otaki for a couple of nights. Ahh, peace. I may even go in early to work and help with the huge backload of 'returns' that will be piling up over the long weekend. I will also be setting up a display in the Adult Fiction section, of 'Banned and Challenged Books'. Hope people will borrow them... I haven't done many displays so have some credibilty to build there ;)