New Zealand Day Two

Thursday 9th August: 

One thing I've learned about travelling non-rev internationally is that if you check any bags, they will definitely NOT make it on the same flight as you.  Our first full day in NZ found us without our bags.  Luckily, both Mack and I had packed an extra set of clothes in, but unfortunately I had already gone through all three extra outfits I had packed in for each of the girls.  Jen loaned us some of Noah's clothes for Taz and Heidi just wore dirty clothes.

We had our first look at the famous black sandy beaches of NZ this day.  We were the only people on Karioitahi beach (only tourists go to the beach in the winter right?) and it was stunning.  The wind was whipping around us, but the sand was so soft under our feet and sparkled beautifully in the sun.  Oh and did I mention it was black?  I loved it.  Taz ran around collecting shells.  Little Miss H however wasn't thrilled with the wind.

 

The drive home was beautiful, and we decided to stop off and take a look at the Waitangi Falls.  It was really refreshing to be able to walk around and not have hand rails and warning signs everywhere.  We were just able to enjoy nature.  It was fabulous!

New Zealand Day One

It was a long flight especially with two very young kids, and travelling non-rev, but eventually we arrived in NZ and my friend Jen was at the airport to meet us (too bad our luggage didn't make it with us).  It was so good to see Jen again and we started catching up immediately on the car ride to her house.  When we got there she had made a delicious meal which we wolfed down and then just chilled.  The kids were pretty tired, especially Little Miss H who was kind of glassy eyed and looked a little shell shocked after dinner, so come 7pm which is their normal bed time they went to bed.  Taz, Mack and I had to borrow some pj's as ours were in our suitcases, but luckily I had a pair for Miss H.  I couldn't believe the kids went to bed at their normal bed time.  It was great.  Mack and I only made it till about an 1.5hrs later.

Knackered after a long flight

  

A glassy eyed Little Miss H with Uncle Grant

 The Tazling excited to be sleeping on a camp cot

 Mack taking full advantage of the massage chair

Daniel, Jen and Noah

Tazism

My darling child was looking at herself in the mirror while brushing her teeth at bed time.  She was naked of course as she always is.  She puffed her chest out and said:

T: Mommy, do you see my boobies?
M: Why yes I do.
T: Why are they so small? I need big boobies. I'm ready for my big boobies now.

Sigh.

Why the Silence

I've been quiet I know.  For good reason though.  I just spent the last two weeks in New Zealand hanging out with one of my best and dearest friends and her family.

Jen and I met before I can even remember and became friends fast.  We were inseparable all the way through our teen years and were there for one another through a whole bunch of turmoil.  She was always my rock, the one person who got me and I knew I could rely on.  Jen got married and soon afterward I decided to go work in England for a few years.  I saw her once on a trip back home.  Then I moved to the USA to go to school and Jen and her husband moved to England.  I saw her once more on a trip to visit my dad in the UK.  That was the last time I saw her.  Recently I've been feeling a physical need to just get some time with her.  Its weird to try and explain it, but I neeeeeeeeded some Jen time. 

Jen and her family moved to New Zealand a year ago, so the likelyhood of getting together again was becoming more and more remote.  Then lo and behold, I got a job with an airline and realized that with flight benefits it might just be possible.  Mack had always wanted to go to NZ and once the tiny seed was planted, it didn't take much to make the trip a reality.  So I started picking up an insane number of hrs to ensure I could get the time off I needed, booked our tickets and toted a 4yr old and an 18 month old across the international date line.

We just arrived home from two magical (and very much needed) weeks with Jen and her family.  We had an absolutely fantastic time, and just being with Jen, talking to her and reminiscing with her has filled a void in me that has been there for a very long time now.

I can't even begin to describe the amount of love I have for this woman!!  Everybody needs a friend like this - even if they have to be half way around the world.

                                                   Hamilton Gardens

                                         On the Gondola in Rotorua

                                                   North Head Bunker

                                                   Lolling at Miranda Hot Springs

Happy Birthday Punkin

My little girl is growing up - awww.  She just turned 4, and on a whim one day her father promised her a bouncy castle for her birthday.  Now one thing I've realized is that you don't actually promise that little girl anything because she remembers EVERY single promise.  So, guess who ended up having a bouncy castle in their backyard this weekend?  Mmhmm.  Anyway, a bouncy castle is a thing to share so we invited all the kids we know and threw a party for the munchkin.  I didn't go to too much trouble - I served hotdogs and chips for food.  I made cupcakes in ice-cream cones (so I didn't have cupcake papers all over my house) and just plain old ice water to drink.  We threw up a few streamers and blew up some balloons and that was the party.  Punkin decided she wanted two turtle cakes this birthday, so I baked two cakes in bowls, made some green rice crispy treats and molded them into flippers and heads and there you have it - turtle cakes.  As party favours I made these little turtles for the kids to take home with them out of ice-cream cones, they had candy and a surprise inside and were a total hit.  Oh and as a bonus, it took me less than an hour to put my house back together after the guests had left which gave me over an hour to chill before I had to work.  Yay!

The cake

The party favour

The bouncy castle

The Munchkin

Blowing out candles

Pilfering gifts

Opening pressies

Putting together her gift from us

 

What she insisted on wearing the next morning

Cracks Me Up

This cracks me up every time I watch it.

Curls, Curls Everywhere

Would you believe that when her hair is wet, it hangs down to her waist.  No lies.  It is just that insanely curly.

On Two Legs

Little Miss H finally decided it was time to walk.  She's been doing so for about a week now and walks instead of crawls a little more each day.  When she wants to get somewhere quickly though she still drops and hoofs it on her knees.  My baby is growing up.  Its a bitter sweet moment.

And here are a few more photos, purely for the cuteness factor.

Whew!!

I haven't really posted lately, because life has been a little hectic and there have been so many things to do that blogging kind of landed at the bottom of the list.

So what's been going on the last 2 months you may ask.  Well, first we moved from our condo into our very own house.

Before:

After:

(The window at the bottom of the porch stairs is where the garage is - yip, I have windows in my garage.)

We literally doubled our living space overnight.  I LOVE IT!!!!!!  The condo was a ground floor unit and only had windows on one side.  It always seemed dark.  In the house I have windows and light and it makes such a difference.  The girls are loving having a yard to play in, and both of our nextdoor neighbours have kids the same age as Taz and she has already taken liberties with just walking into their yards and playing with the kids.  

The house was move in ready, but not so move in ready that I'm going to feel guilty about ripping things out and replacing them with my own style.  It definitely needs a new coat of paint and I'm excited to get going.

So we moved, and literally 4 days later Mack left for Korea for just under a month, so I was left with this to contend with:

  And on top of that, I had just started training for a new job.  I was in training from 7am-3pm every week day.  My training ended the day before Mack left, and then I worked at the center for 2 weeks (thur - sun), and now I work from home.  Its been a rough transition, but we're finally settling down, the boxes are mostly packed away and I've started decorating (mostly in my head for now though) and getting things organised.

Health wise its been tough too.  I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me for so long now, that it almost seems unreal that I've been getting a few answers.  Turns out I have Lead poisoning.  I know?  Seriously?  And I have NO idea where I could have gotten it from.  The heavy metals in my system did a number on my adrenals and my thyroid which have been causing the insomnia, muscles pains, anxiety, fatigue and overall craziness.   So now I'm on a cocktail of drugs to try to calm things down and get the lead out of my system.  After a few months, the hope is that the toxins will be out of my system and my body can start re-learning how to do what its supposed to do.  I am impatient though and so I continually have to take restock of my situation and remind myself of how grateful I am that I am finally getting answers and that I do still have the full function of my body (if not my mind right now.)

I also joined the local gym two weeks ago (which has a great play area and kid care center) so I go every morning, drop the kids off and then get a good workout in.  The working out is strengthening my core, which is really helping with my back.  I've been in much less pain lately which is such a blessing.  And, I've started to lose a little weight - Whoop!

So, now that life is settling into more of a routine I'll start to post a little more, and of course I'm excited to post before and after photos of my plans for the house.

Conversation

This is a conversation between Taz and myself this evening. Bear in mind she is still only 3yrs old.

Me: Its bathtime, so upstairs and in the bath ok.

Taz: No, I don't want to take a bath.

Me: Sweetie, its not your choice tonight, so please go upstairs and get ready to bath.

Taz: I'll only bath in the big bath. (We have a large jetted tub downstairs)

Me: Not tonight. Tonight we're bathing upstairs in your bathroom.

Taz: No

Me: Its not up for debate my child, now please go upstairs before I start to get angry with you.

Taz: You're just ruining my life.

Say what?

Comprehension

Little Miss H is a delight right now. I absolutely love this age where they pick up new things all the time. Last night I was giving her a bottle, when I dropped it and said, "Uh-oh." She looked at me, smiled and repeated, "Uh-oh" back to me. It was seriously the cutest thing. She then spent the next ten minutes saying uh-oh and getting me to repeat it back to her. The smile on her face as we played her little game was huge.

What a precious moment.

Tazism

My child slays me. She really does.

Every night before bed she has a wee wee, and every night before bed I ask her if she wiped, and she nods her head in confirmation. So, last night I told her to go do her nightly before bed tinkle, and off she toddled and had her pee. Now I usually wait for her in her room, but for some reason I needed to put something in the bathroom and so walked in as she was jumping off the loo. I reminded her to wipe, and she proceeded to take her hand and wipe her bits. I realized that every time she's gone to the loo by herself, she'd been using her hand to wipe. (Dry heave and gag!). I promptly washed her hand and then reminded her that she needed to use the toilet paper to wipe her bits not her hand (once again, dry heave and gag).

Where she got the idea that her hand was the appropriate thing to use to wipe with I have NO idea. Anyway, Little miss H is at that age where she likes to unroll an entire roll of toilet paper if left on the toilet roll holder, so we keep the roll of toilet paper on the counter in the bathroom right now.

Tonight, I told Taz to have her wee before bed, and reminded her that she needed to use the toilet paper to wipe with and not her hand. And when I went in to check on her, she had the entire roll of toilet paper in her hand and was wiping the ENTIRE roll back and forth over her bits.

At least she was being obedient right? It was so funny to watch her, I'm still chuckling to myself.

1st Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated Little Miss H's birthday on Sunday at my Mom's house. And, even though Little Miss had no idea what was going on, she still had a grand 'ol time. Taz and their cousin Maeve were super excited about the owl cake I made and were even more excited that they got to blow out the candle and then help open presents. Little Miss was only interested in the candy eyes on the cake, the rest she wasn't really bothered with. Oh the joys of being young.

Happy Birthday Little Miss H

Yesterday was little Miss H's first birthday. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. To celebrate we had a little party at Ouma's house, but I forgot the camera so I have to wait till the pictures are e-mailed to me.

At home, Taz insisted we bake cupcakes for the occasion and Little Miss H agreed whole heartedly.

Another Tazism

My 3 yr old just said the following to me:

Mom, I just need a Popsicle to keep me fresh.

I'm not really sure what that means, but she is eating a Popsicle right now because I really don't want her to go stale.

Tazism

My little Tazling is growing up so fast. I love it and don't at the same time. She is such a headstrong little creature (now where did she get that gene from, huh?). She has taken to asserting herself with me when I'm trying to discipline her, and sometimes its really hard to keep a straight face. This is how a few of our conversations have gone lately:

Me: No Tamsine, I am the mommy and I say no.
T: Well I am the Tamsine and I say yes!
Me: It doesn't work that way. When the mommy says no, it means no.
T: Well when the Tamsine says yes, it means yes.
( I see her logic.)
Me. The mommy gets to say if its yes or no. And since I am the mommy, its still no.
T: Well the Tamsine still says yes.
Me: No!
T: I say YES!

Invariably these conversations (sometimes shorter, sometimes longer depending on my mood) end with me telling her to go chill in her room and Taz throwing herself on the couch and sobbing hysterically in the hopes that I'll give in.

And generally all I have to say about that is: I'm a red head too my sweetheart, I'm a red head too.

Toasty Tushy

I am the proud new owner of this little beauty. Pretty isn't she? And the best part - it has seat warmers....mmhmm, that's right, I have one toasty little tush when I drive around on cold days. Seriously though I am loving having something reliable to drive. Our family car was my old '95 Toyota Corolla that made really strange noises when I drove it, and was held together in areas by duct tape. I had a panic attack everytime I had to take the kids out in her. She served me well though, and I can't complain. But, oh my word its so nice driving in style. I find myself making up excuses to have to go get something from the shops. It will wear off I know, kind of like the new car smell, but for now I'm enjoying it.

Super Busy

Things have gotten CRAZY busy around here in the last month and blogging has been the last thing on my mind, but here are a few things to get excited about seeing in the next couple of weeks/months. (this is so I don't forget).

1. Little Miss updates - these kids are seriously cracking me up right now.
2. My new wheels - I'm driving all over the place
3. Pics of me in my delightful fatness - I'm going on a program and want to document if it works.
4. Moving - we're getting ready to move on to newer pastures.
5. All about my new job - training starts in Feb.

Whew! And that's just the tip of the iceberg.