Tuesdays With Morrie

This is the name of a book I have just finished reading. It is a most amazing book - the dying days of an old college professor and the conversations he has with an ex-student, now grown up. I was sceptical that I would enjoy it but had heard of it and decided to give it a go. Right from the start I was hooked and at the end I cried. I really recommend reading this book - it really changed my perspective of the material world we live in. No, really! Go see for yourself and read Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom.

Roll on summer days

We've had such bitterly cold weather for days lately but today we are back to tees and shorts and loving it! It's great to be able to walk to school with ease again too.

Lockie is all excited about December starting tomorrow - possibly because of his 'Hot Wheels' advent choccy calendar... and the countdown to Christmas. He's been really well-behaved lately too - he has even instigated some methods to help himself stay good! He suggested an idea for his 'star chart': "don't make Bella cry", which is working a treat, and I started a 'bad word jar' with a counter being added for each bad word he uses in a day [I'm talking idiot, meanie and stupid here - mainly aimed at ME] and it has remained empty for last couple of days. I have made him a list of things to do in the morning that I had laminated and he checks off the boxes as he does them - this is fun for him and saves me nagging him to do the next thing like brushing his teeth and putting on sunscreen. Also, and most telling I feel, we have not had to use timeout for a few days. So I am holding off on the need for a homeopath appointment.

Bella is so cute - she is practising standing on her own a lot these days and will stand up in the middle of the room and clap her hands with delight - and to catch my attention. She loves to be walked around with someone holding her hands too. My baby is growing up!!! I'm excited to see my sisters and brother at Christmas and show her off to them. They'll be surprised how she's grown, for sure. 

My new hobby?

Here's another good book I've found - it's called "Your Ultimate Guide to New Zealand's Biggest Online Auction Site, Authorised by Trade Me". I am a big fan of Trade Me so snapped this brand-new book off the shelf [at the library anyway] straight away and have been studying it ever since...I recommend it for anyone unsure of whether they should use the website. Now that I am more of a seller than a buyer it is kind of turning into a hobby. What can I find to sell next? It's given me the onus to clean out my cupboards and wardrobes and drawers and sell sell sell - right from the comfort of my own home.

Most mornings after Bella and I drop Lockie off at school we will pop down to the Post Shop and post off another 1 [or 2 or 3] parcels around NZ although most of the people who buy my stuff are from Auckland. I am not making much money though because I don't charge much for my old junk. I'm just glad to shift it really.

Some weird and wacky things are sold on Trade Me - I found some guy selling a piece of A4 paper, two old plastic bananas and a bent piece of white plastic pipe...wtf???!!!?! Meg sent me details of one auction for a timemachine - and people were actually bidding on it! Hee hee. Not everybody has good experiences though - you can still get ripped off if you pay in good faith and then never receive your goods - I am lucky not to have had this happen to me yet.

To change the subject completely, today at work I helped a little old lady do some photocopying. She is 88 and soooo reminded me of my own dear departed grandmother. We chatted for a while and after she left one of my colleagues told me she was really rude and mean to her and one of my other workmates! I was surprised because she seemed so sweet and lovely. Apparently she was a teacher - I guess that makes me the teacher's pet...

blogging on

I've been reading a good book about blogging so will be trying a few more adventurous things with my blog soon. The book is from the library [where else?] and is called "Publishing a Blog with Blogger" by Elizabeth Castro. The trouble with working at the library is that I am unable to resist getting out piles of books that I am unlikely to get to read once I'm at home! I get a mix of fiction and non-fiction but half of them get returned without me opening them. This is not good! Maybe I should watch less TV and read more in the evenings - and not just in the ad breaks... TV's pretty crap these days anyway. I do like "Desperate Housewives" - they are sooo dysfunctional and yet so normal.

Recently a friend has taken her child along to a homeopath following some unhappy behaviour from him, and the results have been really encouraging - considering he only had to take one small pill. I am considering taking Lockie for a consultation - his moods can swing so quickly and he can get very aggressive and full of anger at the smallest of things. Sometimes Bella bears the brunt of his violence - she is sporting a bruised forehead at the moment from him throwing a toy at her. I sometimes wonder if the high-fat diet so necessary for his CF is affecting his behaviour - lots of junk food can't be great for anybody. I have checked out the website www.homeopathy.co.nz and have been cautiously impressed with the case studies there. Will keep you posted. Lots to do between now and Christmas so may not do anything further til January.

Only 32 days until Christmas Day!!!

Raging Little Man

Lockie is such a sweetie but lately his rages are all-consuming and require quick action from me - we're talking time out, in the laundry, for a good 5 minutes [timed on microwave timer!] This morning he came into the lounge all chatty and happy, and then I asked him to get dressed a few times before he SNAPPED and yelled and screamed at me for 'being such a mean Mum'. A bit OTT I feel. Anyway, he was duly manhandled into the laundry [wearing just a t-shirt mind you] and he spent the 5 minutes mandatory 'thinking time' shrieking at me through the door and calling me nasty names! Fraz came in and we whispered about what to do with him [he heard us and demanded that we 'stop talking!'] and eventually he came out and slowly calmed down. Whew, mornings can be a nightmare when he's like that. I watched Supernanny last night and thought about what she would do and that helped. Poor Bella was crawling around during this time, looking quite concerned that Lockie was making so much racket - he yells at her too, especially when she tries to cheer him up with her smiles and chirrups.

Luckily Lockie was a little angel after that and even walked uncomplainingly to school. Holly's Dad asked if we would like to come over next weekend for afternoon tea so that's nice. Locks is sooo besotted with her! She gives him hugs apparently but he is very shy telling us that. Is it just me or are kids growing up real fast these days?

Aside from that, Fraz is being such an extra-lovely husband lately - he does dishes, makes the bed and opens curtains, puts out rubbish and has even changed a nappy unasked! These may sound like small things to some, but they are not normally done by my man. Of course, I make sure I show my appreciation! I think he has a little less stress in his days now his band is off overseas for a few months. Only a little less mind you, as his work is pretty high-stress at best. 

Young Stud

The stud I am speaking of is none other than my own little boy. Yes, Lockie has a 'crush' on a little girl in his class at school. Although he'll only admit to being 'best friends', I like to think of it as the beginning of a life-long adoration of the opposite sex. On Sunday night he spent ages making a special card for Holly, and I watched from across the classroom on Monday morning as he gave her the card and she read the message. From memory it was along the lines of "to Holly, you are my best friend, I love playing with you, from Lockie". She seemed quite chuffed and a few other girls crowded around to look at it as Lockie strutted and preened like a peacock. Then on Monday night he was busy for ages making another card "to Holly, You are my best friend, I will never have anuvver best friend, from Lockie" - getting serious now! He lets me read them, in case you were wondering. This evening he made TWO more cards - apparently Holly has indicated she would like 150 cards please. Yikes. Lockie doesn't play exclusively with this lass, he also hangs out with Tom and Raymond from his class. I asked Lockie casually if any 'kissing' went on and he replied that sometimes Tom kisses Rex, and Rex runs away and tells on him. Hmmm. Takes me right back. Fraz likes to boast that he had a girlfriend at 5 too. I vaguely recall having a crush on a kid back then, but I'm pretty sure it was because it was the 'done thing' at the time.

Big and Hairy

OK Jess, so you are not the only one with a big fat spider lurking in your house! I found this marching across the kitchen floor and whacked a large glass over it. It froze and has been like that for the last half hour - I can see it from where I am sitting now. I kinda feel sorry for it, but then again, maybe it's already laid a whole bunch of eggs and is planning an invasion...time to get the house sprayed again. We had it sprayed last year and the effects certainly did last 12 months as they predicted. We didn't see any live bugs or spideys for the whole time, which meant no cobwebs to clear from corners, and any bugs that flew/crawled into the house died pretty quickly. I wonder if this is a redback spider - but maybe not because I think they are only in Australia, right??! Fraz is down in the basement tonight learning some music for a solo gig he is doing in a few weeks [his first!] so I will wait till he comes back upstairs and get his opinion. I am OK about removing it outside [far from the house mind you!] but would rather not go too close to it if possible. I have a can of flyspray handy in case it goes nutso like the ones in the "Arachnophobia" movie.

On the brighter side, today we had a family excursion [a rare occurence for us!] and drove over to the Grasslees Reserve in Tawa, with Lockie's bike in the boot. He zoomed around the large concreted area and Bella had a big swinging sesh which she loved. Later we came home and ate iceblocks on the back lawn. Lockie managed to have several temper fits throughout the day but despite this we had a good day and had our first BBQ for the summer. Normally the boys head off for 'boy adventures' for several hours on a Sunday so this was a refreshing change - usually Bella and I can get quite bored waiting for them to return.

Lockie went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday and had a ball - he even got his face painted [first time ever!] with a rainbow - his idea. He wore it all day and we had to scrub quite hard to remove it in the bath. Fraz showed him some pictures of KISS in their makeup.

Bella is starting to cruise around the furniture and last night she pushed her little yellow trolley up and down the lounge and giggled gorgeously with glee the whole time [till she fell over!]; it was very cute. Lockie used this same trolley when he was learning to walk too.

My Mum

My Mum will never age - in my mind she will forever be 55, as that was how old she was when she was taken from us. I vividly remember the day I got a phonecall from my brother-in-law, telling me that she had died, in PNG, where she and Dad were living. I was 5 months pregnant with my first child and my grief was for my own loss as much as my child's loss of his grandmother. Mum and Dad had come to Fiji for my wedding 3 months earlier and I had told them of the pregnancy then, not guessing for a minute that it would be the last time I would see my Mum alive. She was vibrant and beautiful that night. Now, exactly 6 years on, I have another child who has only my Dad to cherish her as a grandparent can - lucky for me that he is a wonderful man and well able to step up to the mark - thanks Bubu. I sometimes daydream about Mum meeting my kids and how she might react to them if she was alive today. It's really hard to imagine. Theirs would have been a unique relationship and it's a tragedy that I'll never know. RIP Mum, I love you XXX

Guy Fawkes Night

Lockie and I had a blast on 5 November this year. We caught a train into the city and joined the thousands down at the waterfront for the 9pm fireworks. Just prior to 9pm we spotted a fire up on Mt Victoria - I could imagine that the fire engines would have a hard time reaching the summit because it was an ideal spot to view the fireworks and it's such a narrow winding road to get there. Lockie said he was scared of it! I pointed out that half the harbour lay between us and the fire... We travelled back on a packed train later and Lockie was so adorable, giving me hugs and kisses all the time and saying how great it was to spend time with me like this, to which I agreed. He really enjoyed the fireworks too - his second big display ever I think.

It was nearly 11pm when I was heading off to bed that I got a phone call from London. It was two of my sisters and one little niece with some happy stuff to tell me - love phonecalls like that!!! I went off to sleep happy, thanks girls. A pity Lockie 'forgot' to sleep in the next morning though.

The next day was Sunday and Fraz and Lockie went off for a spot of fishing off a wharf in Petone, and they saw a small fire started near the beach by some people setting off fireworks carelessly. Fire engines, police, the works followed. Lockie was a bit freaked and had a nightmare that night, but he didn't tell me until the morning. I can understand the call for a ban on public sales of fireworks - I agree! 

Slacker

I just realised that I have been neglecting my blog - this is unforgiveable but understandable I hope: I have been doing the 'Trademe' thing lately. I've been a 'buyer' for several months now but recently decided to become a 'seller'! So I've been culling my collection of paperbacks [mostly the chick lit stuff] and also attempting to get rid of a pile of old LPs we were given a while back. Don't know if we'll have much luck with the LPs - who has a turntable these days anyway - unless they are a DJ and then they probably wouldn't be into Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers or even Bruce Springsteen. [Told you they were OLD]. It takes ages to load auctions [for me anyway] and I have been having a few late nights hunched over the keyboard sorting them out. Knowing my luck not one will sell. At least the chick lit is getting snapped up. At my prices I'm not surprised. I am a Bargain Queen!
Lockie is throwing daily tanties these days and I am determined to get him back on the straight and narrow - I watch 'Supernanny' religiously and agree with everything she says so he'd better watch out. Fraz just despairs of him sometimes but I have faith that he is a good kid underneath the shouting and tears. Kids are little for such a short time - I want to enjoy his childhood and for him to enjoy it too. And this might mean a bit of 'timeout' and lost privileges but that's not the end of the world [now I just have to convince Lockie this!]
Bella is her usual adorable self - she nods and shakes her head when I ask her questions and it is surprising how much she understands. She loves toast and Marmite and this morning at breakfast time she pointed to the toaster and told me 'toas'. She also loves to see birds flying about and she stands at the lounge window and tweets at the birds outside. Her pointing is useful too. The only troublesome new behaviour from her is when she arches her back and flings herself backwards when she is cross - usually when she is being carried. This is tricky when manoeuvring through a doorway...ouch.

LOTR time

I am watching "LOTR: the two towers" on the telly while I write this - it is sooo long with the ads left in. I didn't get to the theatre when any of the LOTR movies came out so this is my chance to get with the programme and check out what all the hype was about. So far, I've seen 2 of the trilogy and am pretty impressed. I love seeing so much of the NZ landscape and the special effects are spectacular. The acting is great too - love that Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortenson. Lots of faces I recognise from Shorty St too. Gotta go now as the fight for the two towers is about to begin and I must give it my full attention. 

BBBBBoston!

Frazer is back! Yes, my husband has returned and we are happy to have him home safe and sound. It sounds like his US trip went well and he saw a whole lot in the two weeks he was there. This photo shows the kid-sized Boston cap he brought back for Lockie - modelled by Bella. Most of the time he and his Mum were in Boston visiting his brother and family, but they spent a few nights in Las Vegas before their return - what a crazy place by all accounts. Quite mind-blowing apparently, so little ol' Johnsonville must be quite a shock to come back to. It appears they put everything into aerosol cans over there - my mum-in-law brought back spray-on butter and canned marshmallow fluff! Bizarre but fascinating, and calorie-free - main ingredient being air I think, and a few dozen chemicals and flavourings of course.

Bella has been unwell this week, with the runs and off her food, thank God I'm still breastfeeding as it's the only thing she has taken. Although today, after 3 days of being off-colour, she has been quite perky and actually playing with her toys again. She even ate some chicken at dinner, and a small vanilla ice cream in a cone.

Lockie got a surprise on Wednesday - I had not told him exactly which day Fraz was arriving home so he was not expecting his Daddy to collect him from school that day; apparently he hugged him for a very long time, and then they spent the afternoon together while I was at work and Bella was at Fiona's. He really missed his Dad - more so than Bella and I even. 

Recycling King

Here is my boy - the recycling king indeed. I was ready to put the recycling bin out for collection today when I realised that he had emptied it, and here is the result: a 'weapon castle' in case you need translation. We are not into weapons as such in our house, but I have yet to spot any in the castle anyway. He did this just before bedtime, hence the jammies. It isn't dark til about 8pm these days so summer is definitely nearing. Not that todays gloom and rain would have us believing. I could swear we were promised BRILLIANT weather today, over most of the country. Maybe Wellington is the loser and if we ventured North we could find some sun...naaah. We are staying put today I reckon.

Have just baked some banana muffins for morning tea and the house smells yummy. Bella is snoozing away in her room and I may curl up with a book for a while. I am starting "Farewell My Ovaries" by Wendy Harmer. Another 'chick lit'; my fave I admit. Call me shallow but I like to escape when I'm reading.

Yesterday we had Lily-from-next-door over for the morning, to play with Locks. And in the afternoon we took off to the park and had a great time in the sun. Bella indulged in a little swinging, a little sliding and cooed at the ducks and seagulls. Lockie posed for umpteen photos as I wielded the camera madly. Some of them are actually quite sweet.

Sleepy cat

I wish I were a cat...napping whenever I wanted, coming and going as I liked, and being fed without having to cook anything. Although I wouldn't fancy shitting in the garden...especially after the weather we've had today - rain and drizzle all day long. Still, I got to spend it at the library, which is a great place to hang out on a wet day. Bella spent the whole day with her childminder Fiona, and was reportedly well-behaved and happy - phew!! I thought about her a lot today and missed her little face.

On the telly behind me is a doco about people with facial deformities caused by fibromas, etc. Amazing stuff. People's faces are just so important - first impressions and all that.

I actually should be reading - I'm nearly at the end of "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" by Alexander McCall Smith. It's a great read but I struggle to empathise with the main character as she is written by a man! Silly I know. I even took the book to work today - kinda odd to take a book to read at the library I s'pose.

Fraz is home in 6 days now, and it seems like forever since he left. I don't think Lockie is coping very well - his behaviour is erratic of late. He's not 100% healthy either - we started him on antibiotics a couple of days ago as his cough was interrupting his sleep. Roll on the long weekend!
 

My Dad

Happy Birthday time again - this time it's Dad's birthday. As the only parent I have left he is extra special to me - and my siblings will agree. Here is a photo dating back 20 years, with one of my sisters. As far as old Dads go he is a great guy, a get-up-and-go kind of man who could NEVER be called a couch potato. When we were growing up he made sure we went away every school holidays as a family, whether camping in New Plymouth or Masterton, tramping anywhere in the lower North Is, house-swapping in Nelson, countless bush walks, beach trips, etc etc! We all spent time with him canoeing, and tramping up, down and around mountains and ranges. I remember numerous Tramping Club trips - especially the really social ones like pine-pulling on the slopes of Ruapehu, and camping at Vinegar Hill. Aaaah, those were the days. A special thanks to Dad for all the great memories I have of my childhood. If it wasn't for you I may not have met my husband and had my two wonderful children. [I met Fraz while doing hut-warden duty up the Whanganui River, aged 17: he was canoeing down, stopped at the hut, and the rest is history!]
So Dad, I love you and wish you a happy birthday xxxxxxxx

Day Out

Lockie has taken to pulling funny faces like this one, whenever I whip out the digital camera to snap a pic...poor kid. Today we took Bella on her first train trip, into the city to visit the Mega Toyworld. What a great store, we spent ages there. Later at home, Lockie went to bed for a sleep - unheard of for him to do this so he must have been feeling poorly. When I woke him he had a slight fever. Maybe yesterday he had a viral rash. Anyway, some brufen lowered his temp and he was a box of fluffy ducks once more. Of course, with the unscheduled afternoon nap he was still bouncing around the house til well after bedtime. Dad phoned to see how we were doing without Fraz and I was able to say 'pretty damn good actually'. We had pizza tonight from Divine in Khandallah. Thumbs up for taste and speedy delivery. Might go and have a tiny nibble more pizza before I hit the sack... 

Busy day

Mixed bag today. Lockie had his friend Lily's sushi party to attend this morning but threw a wobbly at the bottom of her driveway and refused to go any further, so I sent him home and went in to say sorry to her mum. An hour later, a subdued [and really bored] Lockie advised me he wouldn't mind going after all. So I trotted him over again [thank goodness they live next door!], and left him, although he refused to join in the pass-the-parcel that was starting as we got there. Not long after Bella woke from her morning nap and I took her over to collect our boy. He was munching cake along with a lot of little girls but managed to scowl at me when I was spotted. What a mean mum I am for making him go to a party! He scored this lovely Japanese bamboo umbrella as a parting gift.
Not long after, I dropped him off at the local pool and he went swimming with a friend, and her grandmother who is a friend of his Nana's. She treated the kids to McD's after that, with some play time at the park next to the pool in-between.
Bella and I went shopping and I bought a bunch of Christmas pressies from Craftworld - love that place. We too stopped in at McD's and she loved watching all the kids running around the playground. Yeah, I know I'm getting in early for Chrissie shopping but, as Meg pointed out, there are only a handful of paydays left before Christmas.
Lockie was knackered when he got home. He also was sporting a rash on his tummy which he showed me when he was in the bath - it looked like suburn and he cried when he got out - said it was really sore. Don't know what that was [maybe a reaction to the chlorine?] but I put some nappy rash cream on it and spooned some pain medicine into him for good measure and he cheered up. I did press the rash to check for meningitis though...you never know, do you?

Ho hum

TGIF! Actually, most days are the same to me. I'm up early every day [not my choice usually] and the cat yowls til his food dish is put down full.

Today I got all industrious when Bella was down for her morning nap and started to make a banana loaf with the last of the bananas. Unfortunately the first egg I added to the mix was ROTTEN, so that put the kybosh [?] on that and I made chocolate chunk oat cookies instead, which, despite their boring appearance, tasted pretty good. I've never come across a bad egg before, boy they smell disgusting and this one actually exploded when I cracked it.

I am watching Strictly Ballroom on DVD at the mo, so will now go and give it my full attention [as I fold washing], then maybe, just maybe, I'll actually be good enough to give myself an early night. [Yeah right].

Bella had a playdate today - her little friend William came over to our place. There were some cute moments when he patted her head when she was crying and tried to hug her. She was less than impressed but I thought it was adorable.

Gorgeous sunny day today - really summery - gives me hope! I even wore sandals - must get around to painting my toenails tho, cos they aren't too pretty to look at.

Proud Creator

Lockie picked up some twigs after school today and disappeared into his room when we got home - some time later he came out with this 'thing' [his description] which he 'just loves' and can 'imagine what it is' [as we too must do!] It is made of twigs, buttercups, paper and sellotape. Bless his cotton socks!
Bella woke this morning with a strange sounding cough, which the doctor says is 'like croup', only he calls it a virus. A bit vague really, but it should clear up in a few days and in the meantime she may be bothered by it at night. Great. That means I'll be bothered by it too. But I bet she'll sleep through as usual; dear wee dot.
Feel like I had a productive day today - if you can count doing the groceries, one load of washing, cooking up a feast of food for Bella [most to be frozen], filling the car with petrol when I realised it was payday [yay, forgot it was this week!], taking Bella to the doc, and posting off Thank Yous for B's pressies. Wow, I am soooo domesticated! Maybe tomorrow I'll slack off a bit. Oooh, how wicked, God I'm a sad case... 

Pretty as a picture

Bella is modelling her new birthday PP top and Bobux shoes, and holds her new rubber ducky and glo carebear, so thanks to all those who donated to her cause!
Lockie told me today that he knew what the 'olden days' were: "years ago, just after the dinosaurs died out, and when cameras were still not colour". Gotta love kids' logic. He is off to his school disco this Friday - maybe I should teach him a few dance moves...or maybe I should spare him.
Frazer has made contact and everything is good for him. We are coping admirably - maybe better considering I am not working this week as my childminder has a sick baby at her house, so I can't send Bella there. There goes my 'sanity time'.

I gave Bella a tiny toothbrush today - she has two tiny teeth, and she copied me brushing quite ably. Babies are total sponges and brilliant mimics. So much fun.