little bites of happy

Little boy hand picked flowers just for me. Although I can't actually have them, they have live in his schoolbag (?)

Little girl offerings to the printer gods

She finally "got" toddler ballet and utterly loves it. Yes this is actually one of her ballet moves... it's called the "crouch down and spring up"...

Ice creams on the beach together on a rare sunny Auckland November Saturday (note drip on the chin- he just lurves "dalilla" ice cream!!)

Putting dolly and lion to sleep and then sleeping on top of them- Plunket would have a heart attack!

Happy weekend friends!!!

tradition sweetness

This year we made the annual trip to the Christmas tree heaven shop with the cousins. It was chaotic and lots of fun. The idea is that each child gets to choose an ornament of their own. No boundaries, well, except the giant stuffed reindeer costing over $800....

This is the first year that Rupi has really understood the tradition. And he just loved it. While Blossom ran around the shop creating havoc he carefully selected his own ornament. Which was....

...an ENORMOUS lolly (sweet)! He truly is his mother's son as this is excatly what I would have chosen as a child! It dominates the whole one side of the tree and makes me giggle every time I look at it. All of his ornaments are carefully hung close to each other and he relates the story of each again and again.

This is Blossom's. I chose it for her as she was randomly selecting candles, lights, tinsel and carrying them all around the store. Bless.

I love this silly little tradition! It doesn't take away from the true meaning of Christmas and provides a great introduction into the Christmas season. Traditions bind family together and this one doesn't get much better!

2011  

2010

2009/ 2008

my crowning glory

“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 54: 1

We had a family shoot with these amazing photographers. They did my MIL's shoot and I loved their photos and they way they handled the kids, so booked them for my business shots and a family session.

They asked to use the kiddies as models last week (ummm yes!) and those photos are amazing. I can't wait to get copies of the images!

I highly recommend them and they have given me some vouchers to hand out to my clients or people like me. By that I mean, people who turn up on time and are polite. So if that's you, and of course it is, and you would use a voucher, say so in the comments and I will organise one for you x

Sometimes....

... a photo gives you a glimpse of what your child will look like when they are older...

And she is going to be a stunner!

made it

We made it. Through one long 11 week term without the nanny. It was tough and crazy but now we know that we can do it. The kiddies are tired and so are we but we made it.

Blossom is going through one crazy time of pants wetting at pre-school. She's fine at home but there she's Queen Wet-Pants. As you can imagine (being low on drama and analysis) I have tormented myself about this. Did we put her in too early? Is she being hurt? Is she scared of the toilets? On and on. The teachers put it down to her being too busy doing things and forgetting or not wanting to bother. For the sake of my sanity, I am agreeing. And buying more undies and leggings.

Rupi is having his own crisis. He likes to read about dinosaurs and loves anything that features a large man eating animal. All well and good until the middle of the night. Between nightmares about big teeth "getting him/ me/ Dida/ Blossom" and growing pains in his knees, sleep is scarce. So this week I had him in bed with me and Dida slept in Rupi's single bed (haha!). So when Rupi wakes I put an arm out and cuddle him. The shadows have disappeared from beneath his eyes but not sure of the long term viability of sleeping separately to my husband!

Still, these are minor blips and we made it. We made it to the school holidays! I still have next week to negotiate between work and kids but in the second week of the holidays we are going away for 4 nights. No internet, no computers, just us. And that will be bliss.

Happy school holidays!

P.S. Photos from Normanton Park, on the North Shore. This park is the bomb.

here and there

Life is good. Crazy good, you know?

We are just ending a bout of coughing sickness with one kiddie catching it after the other. The type of coughing sickness that keeps them (and us) awake at night. After a couple of nights of it, I went out yesterday to escape Dida. Men do not cope, is all I am saying.

I am loving making the bunting for Rupi's 4th birthday party. I realise that his birthday is in November but I am a freak planner. I have a list of "to-do's" breaking the weeks down until the day. I am in heaven. Anyway, I have 83 double sided triangles of fabric ready to sew together- because I like to do things the hard way.

We are selling our house which is exciting. The market is good and it's time. That and we are exploding out the seams of this little house. The business and 4 people are mashed in a very small 3 bedroom house. Cosy in the extreme.

So we are doing a car boot sale at the school's garage sale to sell off stuff. I am washing all the baby/ kids clothing before selling it. Dida thinks I am nuts which is why I would really like someone to tell me they would do it too. I would not want buyers thinking we are stinky/ dirty people. And I am ironing it too...

Blossom had her first hair cut last week. I was mean and took her when she was sick, but in my defense I did not know. She sat on the chair weeping and crying for a cuddle with me. Stab me in the heart. She does looks amazingly cute though!

Before

After...

good life

Loving life right now. It's mental and insane and also wonderful. This is the "dream life" and I also know that a good life is not an easy life. So life is tough and a little bit overwhelming but also super good.

Work is exploding and I am tired. But I still have Wednesdays off and a little bit of Fridays. Tomorrow we do the zoo again and the kids are really excited.

This is my face- shattered or what? Hello watery eyes...

But then these faces make it all worth while! Better go and get Blossom who is asleep in the car (in the garage with the doors locked- stupid I am not)

And woohoo for SPRING around the corner. Two words 'Praise Jesus', I am not a happy camper in winter. It's starting to get much lighter in the morning and I can smell the warmer weather coming. Bring it on!

playing

This morning there was the kind of playing I have dreamed of. Extended, sweet and no-one cried. It was bliss.

It was a boat apparently with all their supplies on board including beanbags and blankets. They and their pet stuffed animals were taking refuge away from the circling sharks. Love it.

the backseat

My love of blogging is suffering as we settle into this new phase of our lives- the nanny-free phase. It's good, really good. We miss Mel, but this new phase is good for us.

The stretch comes in trying to fit work into it all. So I find myself working almost every night for a couple of hours. I don't mind in the least, but it does not leave any time for blogging. Poor blogging is firmly in the back seat!

[So is reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. I love you muchly, even through there's a silence from my end!]

Today on Adventure Wednesday we visited the museum. Auckland has an amazing museum with free entry for Auckland residents. Woop! The children's ages mean that most of the experience is way over their heads but they did love it all anyway.

There is an incredible "Weird and wonderful" kids area, full of stuffed animals (the real ones), insects, fish and so much more. Some of it was totally gross to me, like the glass box full of cockroaches, but it was fascinating for the kiddies.

I got busted big time by one of the security people. You can't take ANY food or drink into the actual museum and I bought a coffee just before we went in. I stuck it down in the stroller storage unit knowing I was being a very bad person. I was happily sneaking sips when I was busted and endured a lecture in front of a bunch of about 400 Korean students. The shame.

I also realized that I am going to have to get with the program and start learning what things are and how they work. A "big picture creative style" is not going to cut the mustard with kids. For now I can mumble an answer to "what is that?"/ "how does that work?"/ "what is that called?" or even better make something up that sounds kind of right...but sooner or later someone is going to call my bluff.

In my defense, it's actually a skill to sound as if you know what you are talking about even when you have no idea, and one that I have used to great effect over the years in my career. It gives you the wriggle room to find out what you need to know. Possibly won't work with kids????

it's not you, it's me

I am culling my reading list. I just can't read some blogs anymore. They are not good for my soul.

I love "warts and all" blogs. The ones that show the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. The real ones. I can't do the ones that show only the good. I end up comparing my life to their blog and feel all inferior and horrible.

I don't mean that we have to let it all hang out. Some of my favorite blogs are cooking blogs. But in-between the lines of the recipes and in the odd post you get a glimpse of them. Their triumphs and struggles, battles and emotions.

I know that there are some that don't like the "warts and all" blogs. People that like to read about only the good side of life and I think it's great that there are so many different types of blogs out there. It would be boring if we were all the same, wouldn't it?

So, for those whose blogs I choose not to read anymore, it's me not you. I don't blog for an audience but for a group of people I would be "in real life" friends with if we ever met. Friends I could have a coffee with, share a bar of chocolate with and laugh with. In short, with you. If you read this, you ARE a "warts and all" person and I appreciate you.

And... we had the second Adventure Wednesday today. We took my Mom along and rode a carousel. We caught a ferry to the city, walked for miles and ate delicious food. Then caught the ferry back again. Loved it!

 Long live Adventure Wednesdays!

post-nanny

This first week without Mel has been scary and really good, at the same time. She's amazing and we miss her but it's so wonderful to be just us.

I have shuffled life around to have Wednesday's free with the kiddies. Rupi will begin big school in less than 18 months time and so I want a day in the week with the two of them where we have adventures and fun and build memories.

This Wednesday we went to the zoo. It was pure awesomeness. We saw "hotters" (otters), "rhihooceroses" (rhinoceroses), a tiger at very close range and Red Panda's who are actually orange. The hippos were the smash hit of the day, and were identified as a Dida hippo and a Rupi hippo. Of course.

Long live Adventure Wednesdays!

love

We heard another pretty bad adoption story this weekend that made us thank God for our adoption story. Sweetpea, Rupi's birth mother, is amazing- 18 years old, studying to be a social worker so she can change and affect our social services. In love with BOTH our kids and happy to be a part of our lives. Blessed!

We had a great time with her this weekend. We had a walk on the beach with shell collecting, ice cream eating and cuddles. Then went to church with her this morning and did our traditional pre-church coffee and chocolate. Such fun, we love this girl!