Lesson Learnt

If you let your kids have fun wave jumping on the beach and then leave their clothes on the sand, the clothes will get full of sand.
If you then place said clothes in a bag and bring them home to be washed, they will be wet and full of sand!

This is where the lesson is then learnt......you can not just place said clothes in the washing machine with the rest of the dark load!!
The sand will wash out of the clothes they were in and attach themselves to all the other wet washing in the machine!
When cycle has finished you will have one huge load of wet washing, covered in sand!

Moral of the story........rinse the clothes before placing them in a washing load.
Ok point taken, lesson learnt for next time!

New Blog to Follow

I , like always, come across new blogs to follow whilst reading someone else's blog. That is the way the cookie crumbles in the blogging world. So thanks to Rocks in My Dryer for this one.

The latest one I have come across is Owlhaven, an awesome wife and mum, with 10 kids from 3 countries, an awesome husband, fragrant kitchen, big ol' garden, busy homeschool, smoking camera and always something to write about.
I found her just at the beginning of October and she is the one that has inspired us to tell our Love Stories in October.
What is fun, is that her husband has now started his own blog too, Duct Tape and Baling Twine, which is actually fun to read. All about the garden antics that he gets up to etc. He has even been taking part in the Love Stories for October and posting his side of the stories.
I am actually enjoying reading his blog because it is not often that you come across a practical blog to read that is written by a guy.
The best post by him yet....the one on the Garden Vacuum. This made me laugh.

Look forward to reading more from both of these delightful people

Love Stories - Part 6

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5


Several of us decided to dress up for the Christmas party, so I wore my cocktail dress, which by the way looked so elegant with crutches!

I was walking reasonably well, but still needed the crutches to help with the walking, but having the restaurant over 3 floors was a tad difficult when it came to the buffet food time!

Steve was at the party but seemed to be playing it cool with me, said hi and joined in all the conversations etc but kept his distance.
Must admit this irked me slightly, don't like being ignored!

However at dinner he took it one step further and promptly sat at the other end of the table to me! I had to sit on the end because I couldn't manuover down the side, so he sat at the other, staring down the table at me.
He spent the whole dinner talking to a friend of ours, who by the way was wearing this drop dead gorgeous red dress, and watching me inbetween everyother bite. I don't do jealousy well, my eyes are blue but they can go green very quickly!
Needless to say, it was a long meal.

For November we were having really great weather so we all spent most of the evening outside on the deck overlooking the harbour. Steve did talk to me, eventually and the main theme of his conversation was "Could he take me home?"
I of course came up with every excuse in the book as to why I couldn't go home with him, but none of them seemed to stick too well.

After doing the rounds and talking to other friends there, I ended up having a quiet conversation with one of the doctors there. He was complaining about making a move on someone he liked at the party and I was giving him my opinion. He also gave me his opinion on Steve and also pointed out what the whole department had seen going on for several months, that I had been so oblivious too........

So I took a deep breath, decided 'what did I have to loose?' and hobbled over to him.
Next time he brought up the topic of whether he could take me home? I said 'Yes'

As this is Love Stories for October and therefore there will not be any more posts, then I will add a few things.

1. Our first official date was to the Santa Parade the next afternoon.
2. After only 24 hours I had already told my parents about him, they lived in England at the time.
3. Apart from a couple of nights, we have more or less been together ever since we got together on Nov 26, 1999. I was 29 and he was 38 when we got together, so we weren't fresh out of college!
4. I never thought we would go the distance because he said he didn't want to get married or have children.
5. Our first son was born in 2003
6. Our second son was born in 2005
7. We just got married on Sept 20th, 2008 (so we have only been married for 6 weeks!)
   

Nov 26, will always be a special date for me

Weight

I seem to have lost some weight!!
Not sure where I put it or when I lost it........but having said that I am not going to be putting up a sign asking for it back!

Like most people I am sort of consious of how much I weigh and whether I need to loose any weight.
I am happy with how I am but know that I could always loose a couple of kilos to get me back to my pre baby days, all mums know where I am coming from with this.

What is so surprising about this weight lose is that I haven't actually been doing anything big to warrent it!
I am not worried that there is anything medical going on, I think it is more that I am just being aware of what I am doing and eating.
I read somewhere that when you start to eat your dinner you should aim to eat half of it.
Then stop, take a breath and then plan to eat half of what is left, but at the same time you need to listen to your body. If it is starting to tell you it is full, then stop eating.
So I have been trying this. I have been eating all the same stuff, but just making my portion a little smaller, eating a little slower and actually listening to my body.
I am not determined to finish all my meals now because when my body is telling me it is full I stop.
Same with snacking in the evenings, I stop and think about whether I actually need it and also can I fit it in?
Seems to be working cause the 2 kilos I have lost is not much, but better than having them.

So now I am making a consious effort, being a little more active, thinking about what and when I eat. Just little things that could make a small difference.

Long Weekend

Here in New Zealand we have just had our Labour Day weekend.

So as usual we went over to our caravan and got away from it all for a couple of days.

We had the added joy of Grandma and Grandad joining us.

The weather was not fab, but that didn't stop us having a relaxing time and doing lots of swimming in the pool.

The highlight of the whole weekend for me, was on the Sunday evening, Grandad asked me to show him the beach. It was a little windy but the boys and I drove him to the beach.

For 15 minutes the four of us stood on this empty beach in the wind playing 'runaway'.

We would stand on the beach not far from where the water was coming in and then just as it was about to touch our shoes then we would runaway.

The boys had such a great time and I must admit I had fun being there with my dad, and the two of us playing with my children.

The downside of the weekend was discovering, even though it wasn't bothering him, that Ben had a raging ear infection!

When we arrived home I whipped him off to the emergency doctor, who took one look at the pus in his ear and said 'oh yes, need some antibiotics!'

So now we have the joy of getting him to take his medicine 3 times a day until finished. Ben is not into medicine and it is a fight everytime he has to take a spoonful.

It could make for a long week!

Love Stories - Part 5

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Steve was very concerned after I fell off the horse, always making sure I was ok, did I need a ride home from work? Was there anything I needed? Did I want to go out to dinner?

6 days after the horse fall I attended a Nursing Conference, Steve surprisingly was there too, so I had my own personal carer, someone to always make me laugh, make sure I was getting around ok, getting my food and drink at the dinner, I had one slight fall whilst at the conference and even though it hurt the only person I wanted at the time was Steve.

As I write this I can not imagine that I didn't see this all happening, I was still so totally oblivious to all this and thought he was just a great friend to have. How can I have been so stupid!

After the conference, yes I agreed to go out to dinner with him. He took me to this lovely restaurant and proceeded to ask me 101 questions all evening. It was an innocent dinner just between friends.

Although a couple of days later he asked me out to the movies, we went to see Blue Streak, a comedy about a thief who turns into a cop to retrieve a diamond that got hiden in the police station whilst he was in prison. Starred Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson. It was fun and light hearted
Steve did talk to me whilst at the movies about us maybe becoming more than just friends but I said no.
So there we were playing cat and mouse with each other. I was happy being friends, he wanted more. I didn't so he backed off, then he would try again and I would still be there saying 'No, just friends'

Well that was until the Christmas Party 2 weeks later.....

Love Stories - Part 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

So over the next few months Steve and I were circling each other but nothing ever happened. More my fault than anything because I only saw him as a friend, nothing else.

At the end of October several people from work went on a weekend away, we went to the Coromandel for a Weekend Pubcrawl on Horse Back

This consisted of going on a horse treck on the Saturday, ending back at the pub for Saturday evening and then another horse treck on the Sunday and then home.

Now Steve is a horse person, at the time he had his own horse and he had been riding for years.

Me, well I like them but had never learnt to ride and was not that bothered about learning.

The horse track was ok for beginners I got told, so several of us went.

Friday night was spent having a laugh in the local tavern of the township we were in. This is also where we were all staying in dormitory style rooms. Steve had managed to stay in the same room with myself and my best friend, sleeping arrangments were bunkbeds, not that this was a bother at all.

Saturday morning we all went off to the ranch and got given our chosen horses and off we trecked. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend, the weather was fabulous and so riding through the countryside was a fun thing to do on such a great day.

We stopped for lunch at some point and then carried on. The last part consisted of coming down off the hill we were on and arriving at the local tavern were we were all going to partake of a can of beer before having dinner. Oh yea by the way, I don't drink. So lots of fun on a pub crawl!

Unfortunately I am not a rider and my horse didn't like me trying to control her on the way down when she knew where she was going and wanted to get there a little quicker than I wanted her too! So we had a little to do me and the horse which ended with me getting very spooked by the horse!

All I wanted to do then was get off this horse, but I knew I had to stay on until we got to the tavern. Of course then we had to stay on the horses whilst we had the can of beer, which is great if you are not scared sensless on top of a horse with tears running down you face!

So finally Steve and Kim helped me down and Steve took me inside to rest, well actually to sit on the floor in his arms and cry myself sensless until I had no energy left, that is how much I got spooked.

He had just managed to get me to calm when someone came in and asked how I was, that set me off again and his face was quite a picture!

They all convinced me that the best thing to do was to get straight back on the horse, so the next morning I did just that.

The day went fine and we had no problems, well until the end anyway!

We got to the last field before heading back down to the ranch, several of the horses took off at a canter and my horse followed! All I remember was a friend calling 'Hang on' as my horse followed suit and cantered too.

I can tell you now I saw the sky, the ground, the sky and then stopped on the ground. Yes you guessed it I fell off, big time.....

So there I am laying on the grass, knowing not to move as someone would come to me. Steve comes over on Big Joe, yes a very big horse, and there I am laying in the grass with Big Joe towering over me, so I tell him to go away, not that I didn't want him there but Joe was so big I was feeling very vunerable.

After a little while they managed to move me down to the house on a quad bike and then reassess me there.

I couldn't walk and I was very sore through my pelvis, so the decision was to drive me through to Thames Hospital. The only problem was that I came with Kim and she was hoping to go back in a friends Sports car and I was going to drive back. So suddenly Steve is the person driving me to the hospital.

It was a quiet ride there, him worried about me and me in pain.

The long and short of it was that I finally got sent home on crunches with no breaks found. Lots of sprains and bruising. Ankle, hip & pelvis!

Because the next day people were not happy at work they got me back into the ED to be reassessed by our own docs from work but they found nothing new so I was sent home to rest.

6 weeks I spent on crutches, oh and Steve and I were still just friends.....

Survival Tips for Working Mums

Found this in a magazine and quite liked some of them. Have even started to implement some of them in my day to day running of the house when I am working.

1. Get yourself ready first. The 'thrown together look' looks better on the kids than you.
2. Stick a weekly menu on the refridgerator. It saves stress and last minute shopping.
3. Cook in bulk over the weekend so you can freeze a few quick weeknight meals.
4. Organise some reciprocal babysitting with a friend to allow some couple time for you and your partner.
5. Train your kids to do small tasks that'll save you time, such as tidying up or getting clothes ready.
6. Get to know the other mums at school or daycare. helping someone out can become a returnable favour.
7. Pack everyone's bags the night before, including your own, so they're ready to go in the morning.
8. Have a contingency plan in case the kids are sick on a workday.
9. If it's within your means, perhaps consider outsourcing the cleaning or ironing or, if not, your older kids can help with some tasks.
10. Start each day with a big hug. No matter what else happens as the day goes on, at least it begins well.

Survivor

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Now I can not stand the Survivor Series, but I would be there in the front row each night to watch this.....


Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids;
Keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the A & E.
He must also make biscuits or cakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
The men must shave their legs, wear make-up daily, adorn himself with jewellery, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 8:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:

1. each child's birthday,
2. height & weight,
3. shoe size & clothes size
4. doctor's name.
5. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labour,
6. each child's favourite colour,
7. middle name,
8. favourite snack,
9. favourite song,
10. favourite drink,
11. favourite toy,
12. biggest fear
13. what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right 'To be called Mum!'

After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a laugh out of it and as many men as you think can handle it!

Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed.

Love Stories - Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

It was about July time, so middle of winter for us here in New Zealand, not that we actually get that cold, well it gets cold but no snow in the North Island.

Because Steve had talked his way into having dinner he told me he would give me a lift home, as he was of course going that way. He didn't however tell me until we got to the car that he needed to stop by the building site of his new house to check on things! So I ended up having to go look at this wooden framed house that was just a shell at that time.

Dinner was fine although when I think about it now he did sit rather close to me on the settee after dinner, so close actually that my flat mate commented after he left about 'exactly what was going on between us?'

Me, still in total oblivion, answered 'that we were just friends!'

Of course that made me realise that maybe things were going where I didn't want them to go.

I don't remember having anymore close encounters like that but I do remember TGIF's and the fact that Steve was always there and so was I, and we were inevitably sat next to each other.

In fact I remember one of the evenings when several of us had got there quite early and had already decided what we wanted for dinner and had started going to the bar to order.

Steve had gone up and whilst he was away someone else arrived and promptly sat in the chair he had been using, well I turned and in no uncertain terms told them that that chair was already taken!

Another time only 3 of us ended up having dinner at the bar we were at, when it was time to leave Steve agreed to take us home, as us 2 ladies lived close to each other.

On the way we went through a police drink driving check and yes Steve was registered as having alcohol on his breath, so he got asked to pull over to the side so they could do another test. Now I knwo he wasn't drunk, in fact I think he had had a grand total of 2 drinks with dinner.

Anyway the cop tested him and the 2nd test was fine but he adviced Steve to go and drink some coffee before continuing on his journey, so turns out my house was the stopping off place for an hour whilst he drank the coffee!

He always found a way to end up at my house?!

Jumping Beans

As Ben has now started school, Alex and I have 3 days together.
I decided that he needed something to do, and as he was not that much into swimming, at the time, then I thought something active would be good.
So I got him a term at Jumping Beans.

This is where they go and do music, actions, dancing and climbing activities.
Gets them thinking about using their hands to music and generally finding out what their little bodies are capable of doing. There is an activity obstacle course set up around the room, lots of ladder climbing, walking on beams, going down slides, jumping and rolling.

Alex had a blast, he loved it.
Pictures below show you just a few of the things he got up to on his first day....

Jump, jump.....how high can you go?

Rolling on cushions

Learning movement and momentum

Look mum, no feet!

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere

This post also just happens to be my 500th! Yea to me, although with my little challenge for the year I am actually still 24 days ahead of myself. Didn't think I would get this far a head, seeing as at the beginning of the year I had trouble getting enough for the amount of days in each month!

Oh well, roll on 600.....

Hi 5

During the recent school holidays we got to take the boys to the Hi 5 Circus Show.

Ben has been into Hi 5 since he was very little and each year that they come over to New Zealand, we keep on talking about taking them, but have always felt that they are too young to enjoy it.

We finally decided that it would be ok this year, so all 4 of us shuffled off to see the show.

The boys were not as active as some of the kids there, although Ben was clapping all the time, but never left Steve's side. Alex spent most of the show jumping on my lap. Neither of them was interested in going down the front to be closer, both just perfectly happy to stay standing by the seat.

But afterwards we asked Ben if he enjoyed it and we got a positive answer.

When asked if he would like to go again next year? We got a very quick and simple "Yes"

Guess it was a hit and guess he liked it.

Guess we might see them next year if they come this way....

Curtain Rods

He spent the first day packing his belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, he had the movers come and collect his things.
On the third day, he sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water.
When he had finished, he went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods.
He then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
When the wife returned with her new boyfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.
Then slowly, the house began to smell.
They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned.
Air fresheners were hung everywhere.
Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.
Nothing worked!!!
People stopped coming over to visit.
Repairmen refused to work in the house.
The maid quit.
Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.
A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house.
Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.
Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-husband called the lady and asked how things were going?
She told him the saga of the rotting house.
He listened politely and said that he missed his old home terribly and would be willing to reduce his divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house.
Knowing her ex-husband had no idea how bad the smell was, she agreed on a price that was about 1/10 th of what the house had been worth, but only if he were to sign the papers that very day ....!
He agreed and within the hour her lawyers delivered the paperwork.

A week later the lady and her boyfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home........

And to spite the ex-husband, they even took the the curtain rods.....!

I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?

Wedding Pictures

We have finally had the pictures from the photographer.

We were lucky enough to get a photographer who was prepared to take all the pictures and then give them all to us on a disc or 3!

So we now have the greatest pleasure of sifting through 900 odd pictures to make up our own arrangments in frames and albums.

Here is a sneaky peek of some of the ones I like......

I will post more, especially when I actually write about our wonderful day and how it all went.

Love Stories - Part 2

Link to Part 1

So suddenly I had the person Steve was seeing accusing me of wanting to take him away from her.

So not what I wanted at this time. Steve was great about it and told me not to worry and to just ignore it, he would take care of it all.

He continued to see someone until she left to go overseas to work sometime during the early part of '99.

I do however remember at the time knowing that I had a feeling that maybe Steve was going to ask me out!

At the time Steve was Steve and you just didn't date Steve, he was just Steve!

So ever though he started to get friendlier, it was the furthest thing from my mind and I totally ignored all the advances, oblivious to some of them I think you will find our friends will say!

I do however remember that he was just about to buy a new house and I somehow managed to agree to help him choose new curtains for it! He was now working in a different position within the department and I was working with him in a different way to when I first started at the hospital. So a friendship had started to come out, but I was still aware that he would have liked it to be more.

During the winter months (Apr - Sept) Steve organised TGIF evenings, every week at work a notice would go up as to which bar TGIF was meeting in for that week. It was very popular and loads of people went, including me. Sometimes there were just a few people other weeks it was packed!

During this time I also went to a Tupperware Party and ended up agreeing to have a party of my own! Steve bought the most stuff from the catalogue, his excuse, at the time was that he was just setting up his new house and he needed all this stuff in his kitchen.

I remember letting him know that his order was now ready to be collected and somehow, will never understand how, he managed to wangle his way into having dinner at my house at the same time as collecting his order!

Calendars

I get a new calendar for Christmas, it has been this way for years.

And if you are at all suspicious then you know you don't hang a new calendar until New Years.

I am also aware that people are now able to get 17 month calendars starting in about August, although what that is about I do not know....because the calendar then runs out the following December and then a 17 month one won't help you again because it will start at the wrong time of year!!!

But what I want to know is why do they not make calendars with 13 months in them?

The extra month......would be January of the next year.

Even now, as I am sorting out this new role at work, it involves a lot of January and it would be so great to be able to look ahead to that month, but seeing as I don't have my new calendar yet, won't even be looking to buy it until late November early December, it is very annoying trying to plan the time.

Just having the space for that extra month would see me over until my new calendar for 2009 is up and running after Christmas. I don't even mind having to spend an evening transposing everything from one calendar to the next, that is just part of life at that time of year when you have a new calendar.

So I have broken all the superstition that lies around this and have printed out a page for January from Publisher on the computer, so now I am able to plan daycare, school holiday programmes, Christmas holidays and my work days with ease because I have to alter the daycare for one of the weeks in January etc and this can not be done the week before because I have to know I will get the care I need for that time!

Oh and while we are on this subject, why do people put calendars on the wall in the toilet?

If you go to peoples homes inevitably you will find a calendar on the toilet wall? What is with this? And also more often than not it is a Racing Car Calendar!

Yes I have to confess I do have a calendar on the wall in my toilet, an Anne Geddes one with all the little babies in cute shots. Why it is there I do not know....? Cute to look at whilst doing your business probably!

Do you have a calendar on the wall of your toilet?

Love Stories for October

Over at Owlhaven, she has started writing Love Stories for October.

This is where, on a Monday and Thursday, she will write about how her husband and she met, fell in love etc etc.

You can join her by writing your love story and sharing it with the fellow bloggers out there.

Seeing as Steve and I just got married last month, then I thought I would give you a little insight in to what we were doing 9 years ago when we met.

I moved to New Zealand February 98 and immediately started working in the Hospital Operating Rooms. About 4-5 weeks after I had started, one of the Charge Nurses had a 50th Birthday and we all went out to lunch at a winery for the afternoon.

Steve was one of the nurses in the operating rooms, but I don't ever actually remember working with him.

He was at the lunch, but I don't remember much about him being there. I have a picture of the day with him in it but that is all.

For most of 1998, he was around at work things but that is about all. In fact he started seeing someone during that year, I guess our friendship started, but at the end of the day he was just a work colleague.

I do however remember the Christmas party.....he was still seeing someone and I was seeing no one. In fact when I moved to New Zealand I hadn't actually been out on a date for just over 2 years, and I don't remember dating anyone in my first year in NZ! Quiet time for me on the dating front, but to tell you the truth I wasn't too bothered about it, I was enjoying my life.

The party was a huge work thing, ball style, and just about everyone who was anyone went to it.

I remember Steve at the party and I remember sitting and talking to him at one stage, but not for very long, in fact I think a group of us moved to the table he was at and we all sat talking to the people on the table. Just a group of friends all catching up.

So imagine my surprise a couple of days later when I got told I had been accused of hitting on Steve at the party whilst he was there with someone else.....?!

Job Update

Last week I got a call from someone at the Hospital I work at saying that she had been given my name and that she was interested in talking to me about a project they currently have about to come out in full force.
So I organised a meeting with her for the next day and then spent the next 24 hours wondering every imaginable thing possible!
I had a pleasant meeting with her for about 40 minutes, talking all about this computer programme they are planning on installing, what she would like the role to be that I would play as Project Coordinator and several other things.
She said she would get back to me later in the week and thanks for coming in to talk to her.

It wasn't a job interview per sa, just a meet with her and talk to her.
She finally called on Friday to say she needed to meet with me again, so I organised a time for today that suited all. I had to find a friend to care for Alex for an hour etc.
Today she texted to say that sadly the meeting will have to wait until next week when my manager is back from leave.
Not happy with that I called to enquire more.
Seems she is very happy to have me come on board, but as a curtesy to my manager we need to wait to discuss the finer points when he is back so he can start covering my shifts, that I will be unable to do.

So I have something else to do now, 3 days a week will suit me fine. It could lead on to some other project work when it finishes in 3-4 months time because the company are currently building a new hospital.
Currently the hospital is split between 2 sites.
You have the Day Hospital with 4 Operating Rooms, where all our cases are little minor ones and you probably stay at the hospital for no more than 4 hours max and you have the Main Hospital about 2ks away across town, this has 6 Operating Rooms and takes on all the big cases, Cardiac, General Surgery, Orthopaedics etc and you can probably stay here for days etc.
So the new hospital will combine both sites in one, so I can see quite a bit of project work ahead as they combine the 2 over the 18 months they are planning.

So something different for a while at least.

Cars

Yes I mean the movie, the boys are hooked, lined and sunk on this one!

They will quite happily sit and watch it back to back if allowed!

I know it came out a while ago now, but they have just got into it big time in the last couple of weeks.

Lightening McQueen is the biggest name in this household at present.

Ben knows the songs, most of the words, what happens, when it happens and everything else in between.

They finally managed to get me to sit down and watch it all the way through about 10 days ago and I have to say it is really quite fun.

Nothing too serious, although what would you expect for a Disney Pixar, but good story line with good morals in it.

I am all for Disney films, loved all the ones that I saw when I was little.

Lions

Those pesky lions have come to visit our house!

What I mean is that Alex came flying into our room at 2am last night, climbed in bed with me, curled up in a tight little ball and snuggled in really hard, all while having a little shaking fit.

I guessed that something had spooked him, so I let him stay.

Even half an hour later when Steve realised that he was there, he was still unsettled. he immediately crawled over to Steve and snuggled in with him. Almost in a 'Daddy please protect me way...?'

This morning, Alex was still totally attached to me, arms and legs wound round me in bed.

When I asked him what was wrong he just kept staring at the door.

Finally Steve came back in the room and Alex asked him if the lions had gone?

"Lions?' asked Steve

"Yes" said Alex

"Where were they?" asked Steve

"In our bedroom" said Alex

"Well they have gone now" said Steve

"Gone where?" asked Alex

Steve thought before he answered "Gone back to the zoo to see his friends"

"What with the giraffe?" asked Alex

"Yes" said Steve

"OK well then I can get a ladder and climb up on the giraffe and go see them" said Alex

"Guess so" said Steve

End of conversation but sadly not the end of the lions, seems they have popped up all day.

Alex wouldn't go in his room unless one of us went with him this morning, he tentatively peered round his door before entering his room.

When we asked him to go upstairs to get something before we went out, he wanted someone to go with him.

Even a little while ago he asked me where a certain toy was, and when I told him it was in his room, he wanted me to go with him because he said he didn't want to get scared.

So maybe the active little brain of a 3 yr old has finally got to bad dreams and wild imaginations.

Will let you know if the lions stay for too long, hope not, otherwise I may run out of food to feed them with!

Even as I have just finished writing this post, Alex has stood next to me and asked "Did daddy send the lions back to the zoo today?"

Beachtime

Seems the boys have suddenly found some imagination, which is actually really cool to watch.

Last week they kept getting the 2 throw blankets we have in the living room and making a beach area with them.

Luckily one is blue the other is brown, so naturally one was the water and the other the sand.

They kept inviting Steve and I to hang out with them in the sun at the beach.

Then they would suddenly dive onto the blue blanket and pretend to swim around.

It was so cute to watch.

This is them having just dived into the water

Wedding Pictures

The photographer has got in touch to say the pictures are ready for viewing.

So we should have them next week.

As a teaser though he sent me through one.......

Barney

Barney is back in town......well what I mean is that Alex has taken a shine to Barney the big purple dinosaur again.

He pops up every now and then.

Seems this week is one of the times for him to be noticed and played with.

Rain Rain Go Away

For some reason, sure I didn't influence it, my boys think that when it rains, if you sing Insy Winsy Spider then it will make the rain go away!

So today driving home after dropping Ben off at his Holiday Programme there was this little voice in the back singing his way through the rhythm as many times as he could to make the rain go away.

Insy Winsy spider climbed up the water spout

Down came the rain and washed the spider out

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain

So Insy Winsy spider climbed up the spout again

They also seem to think you can sing

Rain, rain go away

Come again another day

And that this will have the desired effect too.

Oh the pleasure of being an little child

Bucket List

Now this is not something that everyone likes to think about, but at the same time it is something that everyone should think about as it can be such fun.

For those out there who are wondering what I am talking about, a Bucket List is a list of things you would like to do before you die. That simple.
I haven't actually managed to see the movie 'The Bucket List' yet although I have been told it is not bad.
But I have heard mentioned on the radio several times now people going on about achieving things on their bucket list.

Do I have one?.......I can hear you all cry, well sort of although like all good things it is not complete yet, but then I am not sure any bucket list can ever be totally complete as I think it is something you should review all the time, constantly adding to if something new comes along.

What I do have and have had for several years now is a pack of 50 cards which are apparently '50 things everyone must do (at least) once in a lifetime'
It says on the back of the pack the following.......

"Want to know how to make your life complete? This pack contains 50 suggestions, some funny, some obscure, some romantic and some crazy, that will enable you to say that you've really lived life to the full!"

So I will list what the cards say and then if you haven't thought about putting your bucket list together then maybe this will help you start......

1. Buy everyone in the pub/bar a drink
2. Swim with wild dolphins
3. Climb a mountain
4. Take a Ferrari for a test drive
5. See the Pyramids at night
6. Hold a tarantula
7. Take a candlelit bath with someone
8. Say 'I Love You' and mean it
9. Hug a tree
10. Do a striptease
11. Do a bungee or parachute jump
12. Visit Paris
13. Watch a lightning storm at sea
14. Clean behind the fridge
15. Stay up all night long and watch the sun rise
16. Ask the question you've always been too embarrassed to ask
17. See the Northern Lights
18. Go to a huge sports game - football, rugby, baseball, American Football etc
19. Have sex outside
20. Grow and eat your own vegetables
21. Touch and iceberg
22. Have sex at work
23. Sleep under the stars
24. Compromise
25. Change a baby's nappy / diaper
26. Take a trip in a hot air balloon
27. Watch a meteor shower
28. Get drunk on champagne
29. Have sex in every room in your home
30. Give more than you can afford to charity
31. Look up at the night sky through a telescope
32. Have an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
33. Have a food fight
34. Bet on a winning horse
35. Take a sick day when you are not ill
36. Have a threesome
37. Ask a stranger out
38. Have a snowball fight
39. Photocopy your bottom on the office photocopier
40. Scream as loudly as you possible can
41. Hold a lamb
42. Enact a favourite fantasy
43. Take a midnight skinny dip
44. Hear the words 'I Love You'
45. Fly on Concorde - a little difficult as it no longer runs!
46. poo in the bath
47. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar
48. See a total eclipse
49. Ride a rollercoaster
50. Hit a home run

As you can see, some are stupid, some are weird and some are down right odd. But it is your bucket list you are making and I hope these suggestions help you to get started.

Have fun.........

Cool Dude

On Friday we managed to leave Hamilton early so we got a good start at getting to the caravan early.

Alex was not too interested in the just over an hour drive, and so all he did on the way was sleep. (although this back fired in our face at 9pm later that night!)

Ben on the other hand now gets all chatty in the car and will discuss foreign politics given half the chance! So when the conversation dried up, or was that when mummy started to ignore the silly questions and constant, mum, mum ,mum from him, he turned to other ways to amuze himself.

So he bent down and rescued the paper from the floor and sat in the car reading the local newspaper.

When I got the camera out, well then he started posing!

New Baby

I would just like to welcome a new addition to our extended family.

Kayla Mae was born on Thursday 2nd October at 02.30am to our nephew Gareth and his wife Olga.

We wish them all the best with their new bundle of joy and all the best to Steve's brother Ken, who is now a brand new granddaddy.

Hi 5 Are Coming to Town

Ben loves Hi 5, the Australian Children's Group.

We must have at least 2/3 of their DVD's and he knows most of the songs.

What I am surprised at is he hasn't picked up on all the adverts on the radio for Hi 5 who just happen to be touring NZ this school holidays!

Yes we have tickets to go on Thursday, and neither of the boys know anything about it.

I think it will be a great time for Ben, not sure how Alex will take to the show as he is not too bothered by them and could quite happily take them or leave them.

Will let you know how it all went later......

Oh Help

I was just in the study posting about Alex's swimming while I had 2 minutes prior to us going for Ben's lesson.

I thought the boys were again watching Funky Monkeys, but how wrong I was.

Alex was apparently playing with the kitchen scissors..............ok I know as a mother you can now imagine exactly what I am going to say or even show you.

Before I do I can honestly say that I didn't even notice this until he started having a hissy fit in front of me because I took the scissors away from him and then I noticed the problem.

Ok, I can hear you all say, we are all sat down now waiting for this horror story, we are prepared for the worst........ok well here goes

This picture shows you exactly what Alex just got up to, very quietly like all things are when children are being sneaky, playing with the kitchen scissors...

Now am I allowed to sell him??

Swimming

Swimming lessons are going well at the moment.

We spent the weekend at the caravan and the boys always do so well when we return because they have spent so much time swimming over the weekend.

Alex spent the whole weekend with a flutter board swimming back and forth across the pool. So now his kicking has improved and because of that he has achieved everything in his current class to be able to move up to the next one.

So well done to Alex who is now a Turtle 2.

If Ben was not at school, then they would both now be in the same class. A little daunting to think that because I know that Ben is so much a better swimmer than Alex, but I think when they get to be a Turtle 2 then they tend to stall in their progression for a little while. But then having said that we may find that when Ben has his lesson this afternoon we could come away with him moving up a class. You just never know with kids!

New Job

I want a new job.....!

I know back here I wrote about my current work and I have done a little towards finding something new, but whenever I read the Vacancy Bulletin at the hospital there is never anything.
I have sent my CV to some people at the hospital but I have never heard anything back, not that I expected them to just pick up the phone and call saying 'Hey guess what? We have just the job for you...'

At our wedding my brother's boss was talking about looking for an Office Manager for their branch here in Hamilton, he runs an architecture company, apart from the fact the pay would just be so stupid to go backwards for and I think they want someone full time rather than 3 1/2 day a week, I seriously would have been tempted to check it out further.
The swimming school that the boys go to are also looking for people to train as teachers. I talked further with one of the teachers and even brought the application form home, but again, I just can not justify changing my job to a job that will pay me half of what I am currently earning an hour now.

So I have a few other people to send my CV to and I will slowly plod along keeping my eyes wide open in the hope that something new might come my way that would maybe at least get me in the door.

Feet

Last night I woke at about 2am to find a body next to me! Nothing suspicious, just one of the boys, although as we were at the caravan and it was so dark I couldn't actually tell who I had next to me!
I did a quick feel down their body and still had no definite answer, as I stood up to return them to bed I decided from the weight that I had Ben in my arms.
So I manuovered myself in such a way so I could swing him around the ladder on the bunk bed to lie him back down.
So imagine my surprise as I went to lie him on the bed to find a body already there!
For 2 seconds I thought maybe Steve had put Alex back at the wrong end of the bed, they are top and tailing on the bottom bunk when we stay at the caravan because neither of them want to sleep on the top bunk, plus they are still a little small to sleep there, so I placed the body I had down on the bed and then I felt for their feet.
I found the feet of the person already in the bed and then found the feet of the person I had just returned and was immediately able to tell who was who in the dark.

The powers of being a mother....when you can tell your children apart in the dark by feeling their feet!

Tahiti - Snorkelling

We booked ourselves on an all day picnic and snorkelling tour on one of the days.
This involved getting picked up from the resort by boat, taken out to a fish feeding area, snorkelling and watching the fish and 5 foot long black fin tip sharks. The water is as clear as you see in the pictures, I have seen swimming pools murkier than this before!
We then got taken to feed some sting rays and finished up spending the afternoon on a quiet island, soaking in the sun, snorkelling some more and having a BBQ. It was a great day out.

Below are oddles of pictures showing you everything we got up too.....

This magnificant ship was moored in one of the bays. You stay on it and travel round all the islands.

Start of the fish as they began getting fed.

Steve being braver than me, and actually getting in the water, which was so warm, to watch the fish.

They secured a rope from the boat, and you stayed on one side of the rope and the fish and sharks were fed on the other side.

Just a small picture of one of the creatures we got to see up close and personal.

Yes, I finally got in the water to watch the amazing view. It is so many years since I had done any snorkelling, it took a while to get your breathing right and to actually enjoy it. But it was like looking through clear glass at them.

Had to put this shot in just to show you the pure colour of the water. You can see how far out from land we were and it was just awesome.

The boat driver and leader of the tour is in the water surrounded by sting ray. Unfortunately I was never brave enough to get in the water with the rays, but Steve said they were all slimey.