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 ;)

!!!!!!

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.

Trying to be an angel

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

New beginnings...

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!!

Take Your Positions

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 :)

Masterpiece

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...