Things I've learnt recently

What I've learnt recently...
* Chris and I are pretty much the only people I know NOT celebrating Valentines Day. Hahaha I honestly think it is over-rated and NO this isn't cos I didn't get a valentine from him! It's our wedding anniversary soon, we'll celebrate then.
* I wear waaaaay too much black. Thanks Sally Anne Moffat!! Next time I can afford to go shopping, I am going bright colours all the way!! Heck, I may even try purple again.
* Men definitely DO have periods but they are always without rhyme nor reason!! And you can't map them on a calendar... unfortunately.
* The good old fashioned 2 container disciplining method does work!! We are using two plastic see through containers to help James and US! There is one container with "good behaviour" marbles in it and one for "unacceptable behaviour" marbles. The marbles move around according to behaviour and once he has all the marbles in the good jar, he gets a very exciting outing or treat. So far so good .... touch wood.
* Some dog owners never pick up their poos around here. Gosh it drives me crazy, it is not that hard guys - just take a plastic bag out with you when you go walking.
* Oh look Briscoes are having a sale. AGAIN.
* Watching our children dance makes the Chipmunks CD bearable. Just. See photos below and yes James is "playing" his cricket bat!
Have a super week everyone!! xx

2010 - a new year and all sorts of new stuff being promised all over the place ...

When I was much younger I used to make all sorts of random New Years resolutions - I will drink less, (hah!), go out less, (yeah right), pash fewer boys (eventually I did that one!), etc etc but then the whole resolutions thing got a little boring and old hat so I stopped. This year for the first time in ages I decided to make a few "random promises to myself", not really resolutions, more like me attempting to make some new habits & stick to them! One of the first ones I made to myself was to try to let things go a little more, relax, don't sweat the small stuff - you know the kinda thing I mean. This one has worked quite well for me, well kind of! I had a few trying times during our summer holiday, where a certain someone (who shall remain nameless for this blog!), pushed my buttons again and again and again. Most of the time I let it go but once I did slip and got a little grumpy - boy did that come back to bite me on my bum!! Never mind, I decided to let it all go and forget about it, we came home and I moved on. See - I am trying!!
I simply LOVE being back home in Wellington, which leads to me to another of my promises ... to slow down little more. This involves this new thing I have read all about - letting yourself get bored. This is quite a hard thing to do, something that we all used to be great at when we were kids "Mum, I'm bored, what are we doing today??" ring any bells??! Nowdays we all end up rushing around, bustling from one appointment to another, dashing off to work, catching up with friends and generally being very busy, busy, busy - but I am going to try my best to sloooooow down & stop to smell the roses on the way. Well maybe not roses, but I can stop to smell the sweet aroma of freshly picked tomatoes from our own vege garden.
I made a few boring health type promises to myself (get my blood tests done, cholesterol, iron, boobs checked etc) and the other tricky and challenging promise I made to myself??? To pull my finger out of my butt and actually update my blog regularly of course!! Hahahahaha talk soon xx

Here is a wee snapshot of the family on the roadtrip home where we stopped at Huka Falls for a visit.

Definition of a holiday

Everyone has very different ideas of what a holiday should consist of. Some people love the thought of going overseas to exotic locations and relaxing on glorious beaches with a cocktail in their hand with one of those little umbrellas in them. I had a friend of mine who loved to spend every summer holiday going to the movies as much as possible, it was just what their family did. As we get older our idea of a holiday changes so I have decided what my definition of a proper holiday is made up of.
Firstly it must have family there. This is an essential part of any holiday: my amazing husband Chris, 4 year old James and 18 month old Mia. This also means if we go away anywhere, even around the block, we seem pack an extraordinary large amount of "essentials", an entire car load of crap, portacots, buggies, food, bottles, wipes, nappies the list goes on and on...
Another really important element are spending time with friends as well as family. Friends provide a good sanity check and a valuable moaning tool when the school holidays are really driving you mental and you just wish the sun would shine for a bit!!!
Plus during the school holidays they are often in the same boat, we do "child swap days" where you each take a turn during the hols to have their kids over to play, while their parents have some time off. Then you get the same in return which is a wondrous thing!
Another element which is big in our family are books - we always go away with some and make sure a trip to the library is made before the holidays start. The kids each get to select a few books each (see photo above) while Chris and I take time selecting our books of choice. Chris usually goes for the more intelligent read - a biography, non fiction or historical book or else one of those award winning books. And me??! Well a holiday to me MUST involve a trashy novel of some sort. These holidays my friend Bex came to the party by loaning me a huge pile of books - it has been heaven for me!!
Our holidays are always made up of "adventures" - these can be as simple as a trip to the local cafe, library or friends house for the day. It can also be more elaborate with visits to playgrounds, trips away to beaches, trips to the movies and roadtrips to families houses to stay for a few days. Of course using the word adventure generally means excitement for the children and the word can often be used to "sex up" a trip to the dentist or doctor!!
Food is a really important to our family, it makes up a large part of our lives and we do like to eat well. Holidays also means that you generally eat very well - we snack more on inappropriate food, drink loads more and generally indulge in everything going. Lollies, ice cream, chippies and lets be honest, nothing says holidays like chocolate!! xx

Celebrating my mum

I've been thinking - I know we celebrate Mothers Day in May, but sometimes I think we need to celebrate our Mums on other days as well ... therefore today is my "extra Mums Day" day ... I think that makes sense.
My Mum is choice. She's just been down to stay for a long weekend and it was just lovely to see her, spend some time with her and really hang out. Mum decided to visit us at the last minute (thanks grabaseat!) so it made our weekend a bonus weekend and it also meant that Chris and I could have some much needed alone time. We had two hot dates out - dinner and a movie (I fully recommend The Hangover, funny as!) and then on Sat night we went over to a friends house to watch the ruggers. It was so nice to go out and not have to worry about rushing home to relieve the babysitter, cos our babysitter was asleep in the spare room! Mum and I did the usual things, went shopping, hung out at malls, went for walks and chatted - it was superb. My Mum was even the extra coolest Nana in the world ever cos she would just take James out for the afternoon to spend some time with him, one on one, just him and her. On Saturday they went to Kilbirnie Pool, James had a ball and was knackered after ,(bonus!) and then on Sunday arvo they caught a train into town and went cruising, ending up at Westfield for a while before making the trek home. Days like those are the ones memories are made of - I certainly remember hanging out with my Nana when I was younger and those days are still some of my fondest childhood memories. My Mum never judges, never (really!) passes comment and leaves you to make your own mistakes. She knows eventually I will figure it out ... eventually!! Mum, it was simply glorious to have to come and visit, stay for a few days and spend some time hanging out - I love you and think you are one cool Mum and an awesome Nana - thank you and Happy Mothers Day! xx

Here is a pic of my Mum and James having a good ole snuggle!

Cough, cough, sniff, sneeze!

Oh the joys of the seasonal changes.
The change from summer to autumn is quite a tricky one and this year it feels like we have skipped autumn and jumped straight to winter, brrrrrrrrr! As soon as the temperature at night changes I can feel the difference in myself and also with the beautiful sounds of our children, sniffing, sneezing and the yukky dry cough. Blah. We've already had the first proper colds, Mia and Chris both came down with cranking coughs/snotty noses and Chris' seemed to go straight to a nasty case of the man flu - and nobody likes the man flu! I am reminded of a brilliant video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE have a look when you get a moment cos it is all true!! Seriously though Chris has soldiered on through his flu and now we are on the other side. Mia on the other hand ... well the snotty nose just keeps hanging in there. I blame the two new teeth that have just started poking through the gums, they are huge and they look so damn sore! 3 solid weeks of teething is enough to make any sane person go craaaaaaaaazy. (And I never said I was sane.) Winter officially starts on Monday June 1st which makes me wonder how long it will be until the first ice on the window in the morning? May also be time to get the old poly props out for those chilly mornings so both children can be all rugged up and hopefully, fingers crossed, not have a cold or a sniffle for at least two weeks... we hope! xx


This is me with James and Mia smiling in the face of the cold virus!

Ohhh the blogging pressure!

I love reading blogs, I like writing them ... but sometimes I suffer from blog envy. Some bloggers seem to be able write pages and pages about their lives, their thoughts and I wonder how they find the time?! Once you post a blog, there is a countdown til your next one is due, you can almost hear the clock ticking and people checking to see if there is a new update. I've decided to go at my own pace and at my own speed ie. slow!! So when in doubt, always post photos - such as this fabulous one of James and Mia. I find if I stare at the pic for a while it makes me smile and remember something cool which made me laugh today. This weekend we are in Auckland visiting family and on Saturday we are dropping the children to my Mum who is going to look after them for an entire week - cool eh!? I am feeling slightly guilty though as I will NOT be seeing my own children on Mothers Day. Does that make me a bad mother? Or should I just embrace the excitement of being child free for a few days and try to celebrate? Recently we were lucky enough to meet the Wiggles when they came to town - I am not sure who was more excited - Chris and I or the children!! Happy day everyone xx

A new fangled invention...

I have a confession to make. I am a lazy Facebooker.
I blame weekend laziness, I know I should be checking our Dave and Camille Facebook page, clearing emails and seeing what my friends are up to via their status updates. BUT it seems that the moment Saturday hits, I just run out of motivation and I can't for the life of me turn on the computer. I have friends in England who are still waiting for pictures to be posted of Mia's birthday ... which was in January. Oops sorry John and Belinda. Now I find that because it takes me so long to check and update my Facebook that I am desperately behind the 8 Ball; one of my friends was in hospital and I had no idea! Another one of my friends had been having serious issues with her husband and Facebooked me to tell me the full story cos she didn't want to ring me too late at night! I think the moral of the story here is don't trust me to update my status, just try that new fangled invention called a phone - who knows I may even answer it!! xx