Happy Mail

Everyone loves receiving surprises and things that make them feel special.
Well I am no exception to that and so was really lucky when I got a little package from my friend Alison over in Spain.
I say my friend, but we have never met, but in this day and age I don't think that makes any difference. You connect and bond wherever possible. As the saying goes....A Season, a reason or a lifetime. People come into your life for whatever the reason.

Here is what I was lucky enough to have received:

An adorable little handmade card with some lovely reassuring words inside. Just what I need at the moment whilst desperately seeking a new job.

A cute little mixed package of cross stitch stuff, several little DMC threads, how well she knows me to know I don't do Anchor! A lovely little cross stitch kit to make and a little bird to watch over me whilst I sew.

The kit is of a milk jug with tea cups and comes with everything you need to complete it. I will have fun one day making that up.

So thank you Alison, it finally arrived and in good time too, only took a week, although customs had opened it to inspect it (I know as there was a slip of paper in there telling me so!) but that doesn't bother me as one reason New Zealand is so beautiful is because we have such vigilant custom people who keep the country that way.

Thank you

Bikes

We planned many months ago what we wanted to get the boys for Christmas. A swing set for the garden.
We even went so far as to purchase it on lay-by and start paying it off week by week.

However Alex decided that he would manage to ride his bike with just 2 wheels back in October / November and it quickly became apparent that they would need new bikes as well.

You guessed it, this was not on our planned Christmas List but knew how much kids love riding bikes and how good it is for them then we relented.
I got them on lay-by as well, so we had secured them and they got to stay in the shop until we collected them on paying off the last payment. Makes storage so much easier.

We had discussed many times about how we were going to give the boys the bikes, seeing as they had a large present on its way already we really didn't want to over spoil them with giving them bikes for Christmas as well. Way too much in my eyes.

We even discussed getting them to the caravan, where we were going on Boxing Day, so they were there when we got there and that took the whole receiving huge amounts of gifts on Christmas Day pressure off.

However, the plan got made simpler at the beginning of December when Grandad came home for a visit from China for my cousins wedding.
He annouced that he wanted to give the boys some money as he didn't know what to get them for Christmas. I mentioned the bikes and said he was happy to contribute to them if so desired. he thought this was an excellent thing, as then the boys were not getting more toys that were not going to get played with and take up lots of unwanted space.
This then lead to my next thought, that we could actually collect the bikes immediately and that way Grandad would get to see the boys enjoy the bikes whilst he was with us. In fact this very thing had happened 3 years earlier when Grandma was visiting for Dubai and they brought the bikes the boys were currently riding.

A quick check from daddy and Gradad

Another quick check from daddy

So the boys gained brand new bikes for Christmas this year but they didn't get overloaded with presents on Christmas Day because they had an early Christmas at the beginning of December and that took the whole load off of Christmas Day.
In fact on Christmas Day they had even forgotten that they had received bikes for Christmas until they mentioned the bikes and we reminded them that they had received them for Christmas.

No Stress

It is Christmas Eve and I really have no stress.
I still have a huge amount of things to do but nothing that is worth stressing out about.

I am still at work, and probably will be until about 4pm. Sadly patient's don't want to be in Hospital anymore than we want to be working here, so we are doing our best to get people sorted with their procedure so they can go home tomorrow.

The boys are now at home with Steve, and they are the ones doing all the last minute shopping, not that we need much. Although Steve has just announced that he can' t find his bank card, so maybe at 2pm on Christmas Eve he is going to fight his way into the bank to get it sorted. have checked the account and there is no suspicious activity showing, so we think he has left it at a shop when paying for something!

The presents are all wrapped and ready to go, although we are considering putting up the climbing frame tonight so the boys can have that part tomorrow and the swing part they can know about but will go up after the Christmas holiday rush. Sure they will survive.

Although last night we realised that maybe we had a few too many presents for them, so some are not being shown the light of day and will stay hidden under the stairs and used for birthday presents through the year. I love buying my boys presents but there is definitely only so much that they need in one go.

So as the day is closing in and everyone is coming together, I hope you are all ready and have a pleasant few days with your family and loved ones.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I will catch you on the other side of 2011

Shopping, Presents and Carols

Today, like many others, we ventured down town to do some last minute shopping on the last Saturday before Christmas. Well, the boys wanted to get each other a present.
The place was not too over run and we managed to get done what we wanted with no hassle at all.

As it was food time, we stopped for a little snack in the shopping centre.
As we made our way to the table I noticed an older couple stood off to the side with black clip folders under their arms. My immediate thought was "what are they going to talk about when they stop people, let's just keep moving!"
However then I noticed another couple stood outside of another shop, and a few more over by the food court.
I, however, then got distracted from these people, by a solo carol singer starting up at the otherside of the foodcourt by the Christmas tree. She sounded really good

Suddenly she started to sound even better, because this stereo sound of carolers suddenly was all around us. It actually seemed like suddenly half the people in the shopping centre had joined in with her....but they hadn't!

Yes, that is right....all those people stood around with black clip folders were actually part of the choir and they had all started singing and were now making their way, from every direction possible, towards the tree in the far corner. The sound and the effect was awesome.
People singing, but looking like they were just casual shoppers, just made the whole place light up. Because you could hear the singers but not see them all very clearly, then everyone stopped what they were doing and were looking around for where the noise was coming from, so suddenly the whole shopping centre went still and quiet as the members of the chior slowly, whilst singing, made their way to the correct place.

The choir was a very good one and they sang all the good songs, including my favorite one "Oh Come All Yee Faithful" they even managed the descant (a group of the choir singing the same words but in a different way that compliments the original verse) to the last verse, which I know and love.

Sitting in the middle of it all was awesome and had a wonderful Christmas feeling, really putting you into the Christmas spirit.

This spirit must have got the right place, because when we went into K-mart, I noticed their Wishing Tree Appeal. This is where they have a tree up in the store and you can leave presents for the Salvation Army to give to less fortunate people at Christmas time. So I took 4 tags and made sure we bought and left 4 presents before we went home.

Advent Swap Update

Finally, 2 days after they said it would arrive, I have received my much awaited parcel from Italy that came via MAF Biosecurity!

From the outside it all looks ok, obviously it has been opened and there is MAF tape used to keep it closed.

Upon opening it, everything seems ok.

They have opened 1 or 2 of the little gifts, as you can see

The rest they have just ripped the paper to get a better look at what is inside.

So apart from 2 that I know exactly what they are (although one can be rescued) the others, I can see what they are made out of, but until I take all the paper off I am not 100% sure as to what it is.

So things not as bad as they could have been.

Roll on Dec 1 so I can start opening them to see what I got, thanks Simona, Merry Christmas to you.

Christmas Presents

Once again we are at that time of year when us mums have to rack our brains to come up with what we are getting our little darlings for Christmas.

What do they like, what are they into, will it last long or will they be over it by New Years Day!

Last year I was struggling with what to get Alex (youngest) because he was into everything that Ben was into and seeing as Ben was at the age to have those things it was difficult to find something to keep Alex happy without it being to babyish but at the same time remembering that he is in fact 2 years younger than Ben.

Well I can tell you now that this year I am having the opposite problem.
Everytime a mailer comes through the door I am having more and more problems finding something for Ben! Just about every mailer has something for Alex. At this present moment I could go out and buy Alex about 6 different things and they would all be a hit.

Now remember we are not going over board this year as we have already had our main present and that was the Wii Console, which was purchased earlier this year for our birthdays and Christmas, but I still want to get them something, but the choice is now endless for Alex and non exsistent for Ben.
Oh well keep looking, although Lego is looking better and better each day....!

Advent Parcel Update

I have received the invoice from the nice lady that called to tell me they had decided to open my parcel and for that I had to pay a release fee!
Just because they decide, then why do I have to pay the Bio Security Fee?

Anyway, have paid the fee and parcel should be here on Monday.
Will wait to see how it turns up?

Advent Swap

I am so looking forward to the Advent Swap that I am part of.
I love opening presents and so the joy of getting to open one daily is going to be fun.

However I live in New Zealand and they can be a little bio security safe, due to us being an island and them not wanting any unwanted anything in this country.
So I have just received a nice little call to say that my parcel, that is winging its way from Italy, has arrived safely in the country.
How nice of them to call and let me know, although sadly that is not why they called.......they called to let me know that they decided to open the parcel for security reasons and for doing this if I would like the parcel delivered then I have to pay the biosecurity fee!

So I am not actually sure now what state the parcel will be in when it arrives after I have paid the fee on my credit card to the Bio Security people in Auckalnd. They may have sadly opened each individual item or just opened the box and x-rayed each individual item.
I will keep you posted as to the state of the parcel when it arrives, hopefully on Friday or early next week!

Book Giveaway #2

Mary over at Owlhaven is giving away another copy of her wonderful book she has written.

Pop over sometime and check it out

Christmas Presents

It sounds like all we do in this family is celebrate an occassion and then delay the actually enjoyment of it until later on?

Well for Christmas last year, Grandma and Grandad gave the boys vouchers to buy themselves something when they knew what they wanted.

Of course they had no idea that they had these vouchers and so they have been in my handbag since Christmas Day.

Finally at the weekend I decided we would take them to the shop and let them look at the toys. We didn't actually tell them they had money to spend, again they are too young to understand that yet, but it was just nice to be able to say 'Yes' when they asked if they could have something.

They perused several things and then finally I found some 'Hot Wheels' Car stuff. They had lots of track that you make loop the loops with and send the cars flying. The boys thought this was all good fun and came away with a nice little supply each.

Alex got 2 things with his money. 2 things that build into a track and have a loop the loop, one sets a plane flying as the car goes around the loop and the other the car jumps at the end of the track.

Ben managed to get something quite huge. A series of loop the loops all around itself, like a roller coaster. The car zooms through the maze of track and then shoots up a jump and lands back in the motorised starting area and then races off again, all on its own.

I managed to get a small video of it running. What is so funny is that the cat loves this toy! She happily sits there with the boys watching the cars zoom round and round. Occassionally she will put out a paw to try and catch the car, but she is content to just sit and watch.
Can't get video to load at present so will try again later

In fact when the boys finished playing the other day, she climbed on in and tried to get the cars moving again! It was so cute to watch.

Birthday Presents

For Steve's Birthday last year, I know sounds really bad but you have to remember that his birthday is actually on Dec 26, so not that long ago!

Well I got him tickets to see Billy Connolly. Yes the one and only, comedian extraordinar.

I had never seen this guy live before and after a little prying last year, I discovered that Steve had actually seen him on stage before, but I knew that wouldn't matter.

I bought the tickets last November (they sold out within days) and we finally got to see the show last week.

It was a blast, very funny and so on the ball.

He spent most of the night relating to New Zealand and seeing as he has been here many times in the last couple of years, he knew what he was talking about.

A few places had me laughing so much I was crying, but overall a wonderful night out with a lot of laughs.

How Special

The other day I collected Ben from his Holiday Programme.
He had made loads of Christmas decorations and goodies which of course all had to come home with him!
He did however make one thing that just went straight to those great big heart strings I have.
He picked up something off of a table and said "This is for you mum"

It was a present all wrapped up and decorated with little foil bits and a ribbon.
Attached to the ribbon was a card and this is what it said.....

"This is a very special gift

that you can never see.

The reason it's so special is

it's just for you from Me.

Whenever you are lonely

or are ever feeling blue,

you only have to hold this gift

and know I'm hugging you.

You never can unwrap it

please leave the ribbon tied.

Just hold the box close to your heart

it's filled with hugs inside."

I just about cried there and then in the YMCA Hall. It was one of the bestest gifts I have ever received and it came from my cute gorgeous son who is 5 yrs old, and I will treasure it forever.

Christmas Shopping

Finally my brother informed me of what my SIL wanted for Christmas.
Even luckier for me was to see an ad on the tv last night for everything she wanted at half price from the wonderful shop Briscoes.
So I scootted on over there today and had a ball.

1. I got everything for Claire at 50% off
2. I got 1 thing for Steve at 50% off
3. Another 2 things for him at 30% off
4. I picked up a little something for Ben at 30% off
5. Oh and I also picked up a little Christmas Tree for the caravan for $16.99 because it was 60% off (we want to put our presents under the tree in the caravan)

I needed everything I picked up and it was even better to get the things I needed with extra off.

Don't you just love it when you get a great bargain and it is also everything you wanted in the first place!

Christmas Presents

K-Mart have a sale on at the moment, where you buy 1 toy and get 50% of the 2nd. Not the most originally discount but better than nothing when you have things to buy.

I didn't actually have a particular thing to buy, but I still don't have anything for the boys, so in my lunch break, thought I would take a little stroll down the hill from work and check it out.

Now their toy dept is not a big place, only a few rows, but I expected to found maybe one or 2 somethings I could possible get for them....

Nothing, nada, niltch, a big fat O.

There were one or two things, like a jigsaw puzzle or a game, but it would only be suitable for Ben and even then it was maybe a little adventurous for now, maybe better next Christmas.

Alex is only 3 1/2 but I expected there to be something, they have enough cars, they do not need any more Thomas Train stuff, they have no idea who 'Ben 10' is so would not appreciate an alien or anything from that range. Ben is just at the point of being too big for Duplo Lego, but not quite into the smaller size lego. Ben doesn't play with the Magnetix box he currently has so no reason to buy him more of that just yet. And so it goes on....

I can honestly admit I do not know what to buy my children for a christmas present, how sad is that?

Although it is Alex I feel sorry for because Ben is bigger and therefore there will be the odd new thing that he will be growing into, Alex has everything in the house and therefore there is nothing left to buy. I know, a typical thing when you have 2 children of the same sex, but annoying when trying to sort out presents.

This will also be the first Christmas that Ben really knows what is going on and is excited about it even today and I can't come up with anything to get them to make it exciting!

I am beginning to think I might just buy the whole family a new BBQ for the caravan for $149 and stick everyones name on it and say 'Merry Christmas'. That is is, that is all I could come up with!

Presents

Grandma and Grandad are still in Dubai, although Grandma arrives back on Wednesday.

She was very good at planning though because she left a present for Ben here in New Zealand.

So because I knew what it was I left it until the evening to give it to him, so he could open it after dinner at the table.

They had been kind enough to give him a whole 200 piece box of Magnetix.

So there we were chasing these magnetic balls all over the dining room table, trying to make weird and wonderful shapes with coloured plastic sticks that joined the balls together.

We had a great time with this and can see many fun family times ahead.

Ben even spoke to Grandma whilst we were playing with the new toy and I sent her a copy of this picture whilst he was talking to her, as her blog says, the power of modern technology.

Birthday

We have had a very busy day today for Alex's 3rd Birthday.

He started the day with an enormous pile of presents which would have happily kept him entertained for the whole day!

He decided that he had to have a Thomas cake today, Thomas the Tank Engine that is....my cake making skills are not that flash!

So in between swimming lessons, that went really well and everyone did so well, we tried to find things to make a Thomas cake. We found some suitable items.

We didn't have a party this year, he is only 3 after all, doubt he will remember this day that well! But we did have some friends round for dinner. So we decorated enough for him to feel like it was a special meal.

The cake turned out better than expected and he had lots of fun getting into the spirit of his birthday and he was all for blowing the candles out. Good old Betty Crocker and Vanilla Frosting!

Alex gained a crane and a construction set for his birthday, which he happily combined to see if he could rebuild the crane!

He also got 2 books for his birthday, my boys are always getting books and they love them, so we had 2 lovely new books to read at the end of the day, although when it was sleep time this little bundle came down the stairs wanting mummy. I gave him a big bear hug and he promptly fell a sleep in my arms.

Just the way I like to end the day, my gorgeous baby a sleep in my arms.

Early or Late...you decide

The house we are renting is wonderful. It has a seperate living room to dining room and kitchen. So the boys etc can be in the living room and I can cook in peace etc in the other room.

Only thing is the peace, have noticed lately that it would be great to have some music playing or something. We do have a small tv in the dining room but I don't always want to watch it, plus there is usually nothing on anyway.

So I treated myself to a little present. Whether this is an early / late Birthday or Christmas present well that can be decided later, although I think it is a present I have brought myself 'just because' and I am sure we are all worthy of those types at some stage or other.

So here is my simple cheap unit, cost me all of NZ$69 from The Warehouse.

Hey I only want it to play CD's and the radio, probably turn out to last us for years and be the best thing we ever brought!

Christmas Day

Ben got this lovely red bike for Christmas. We weren't planning a bike, but that's how life goes, all the best plans get changed at the last minute!

He still loved it, and had great fun riding it down to the lake.

Alex had fun on Christmas day as well. Got himself a little trike to ride and a lovely pull a long train that sounds like a train when you press the funnel.
Best of all, it was a glorious day and we were able to take a lovely walk down to the lake before going to join the rest of the family up the hill.