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!!!!!