Curtains

We needed new curtains in the house. The ones that were up were not fitting the window correctly, nor were they suitable for maintaining the heat in the house.

So we organised for new ones and they arrived today.

We got 3 windows done and also wooden blinds in the kitchen.

The blinds look really good in the kitchen. I was very wary because I thought it would make it too dark in there, but now they are up, yes it is darker, but it gives it a totally different feel and I like it.

Kitchen before.

Kitchen after.

In the family area of our new living room, we have a very very big window. About 3m x 3m. So the curtains here were always going to be huge in drop. I think they fit the window so well and look great.

Family Room before.

Family Room after.

Now unfortunately I am not happy with the ones in the living room or dining room. No, that is wrong, I am happy with the curtains, I like the pattern and the colours, but I don't like the way they are positioned and that is a problem.

Apparently when you hang a curtain, you place the rail/track above the window edge. I have no problem with this, as I understand that if you place it on the wall then it stops a lot of heat from falling behind the curtain and getting cooled by the window.

What I have a problem with is how high above the window surround you place the rail?

To me it looks like we have brought curtains that are a certain length, and not correct for the window we are placing them at, and we have had to place the rail up high to fit the length of the curtain!

In the following picture, which is not the greatest, you can see that they have placed the rail 100mm above the window surround, and to me it looks silly.

Living Room

I think it should be just above the window surround, like this:

Living Room

Dining Room

Now in the Family Room, because the window is so high it is placed just above the surround, and this to me looks really neat and tidy.

Family Room Area

So I called the company and explained my dilemma. I got given all the usual explainations. This is the standard and best practice, policy etc.

I told them that that was fine but I didn't like how it looked at MY windows.

I also explained that I am not a curtain expert, I am a nurse and mother, so someone waffling to me about position and size doesn't mean much, if I visually see it, then I can understand, I am a visual thinking person by the way.

So the owner of the company has made a time for the lady that does the measuring and quotes to come out and see me on Monday at 11am, I think to try and convince me that what she had set them at was the style and correct place.

Something also to do with eye appeal, linear lines and flow through the house, well '#$*!*' to the linear lines and flow through the house, it doesn't look right, or nice to me and I am the one that has to live with it.

So the man that installed the curtains has left all the rails just where I want them, because for some strange reason he can see exactly what I am talking about and says that it is my house so they should be how I want them. He gets the point that all that needs to happen now is for them to take the curtains away and shorten them, oh yes, at their expense.

The lady did talk to me about where to position the rails, but I got the impression that they would sit just above the surround, not 100mm above. She just did her job and measured the windows for the curtains to sit where they routinely place the curtains, and unfortunately I don't like that.

So am I in the wrong for not saying more about where I wanted the curtains to be positioned? Or are they expected to sort the problem out because I don't like how the curtains look now they are hanging in my house? Dispite them just doing their job?

Sorry about all the different colours on the pictures. I am still getting use to the new camera and seem to be having a lot of trouble with it. It doesn't seem to be as easy as our last one.

I just seem to have trouble getting the pictures to be bright and clear.

Oh well over time hopefully things will get better, think you can see that in the differences in all the above pictures, but hey you get the point I am making, so who cares.

Family Circle

This magazine has been around for many many years.
A couple of years ago I subscribed to it, as I felt it was a wonderful resource for family things, funny seeing as it is called 'Family Circle'
Anyway, back in 2006 they suddenly sent me a letter informing me that Family Circle was no longer going to production and as I had a subscription with them then please enjoy the enclosed magazine instead. What ever was enclosed was crap and not worth the 2 months I had left, but hey that was life.

So imagine my surprise today when at the supermarket and I come across the 'Winter' edition of the Family Circle.
From what I can work out, although I haven't actually read it anywhere, I think they have decided to bring it back to product but only as a quarterly thing not monthly.
I brought the edition anyway, always good to see what they have to say or share.
It was completely full of recipes and craft ideas, lots of craft ideas, but hey that goes back to the TIME thing again.
I won't be subscribing to it, not that fantastic enough to warrent that, but nice to see it back.

Oh and while we are talking about subscriptions to magazines then I must apologize to my mum, because she had a wonderful idea to subscribe to the magazine 'Healthy Food Guide' back in January.
The magazine was being sent to me and I would then have the privilege of reading it before I put it in the post to her in Dubai.
Well it keeps arriving, but somehow never seems to make it to the post box. I think I have sent her 2 editions and I have received 5-6.
Really sorry mum, now if I could just find all the ones left to mail her, I can keep them in a nice tidy corner until she gets here in 6 weeks time.
Will give her something to do in the 10 days she is here before my wedding....don't want her to be bored now do we?!

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

To find out more about this lovely poem, then visit here

Family Time

We have started our own little ritual at dinner each evening.
When everyone has finished eating, then we all hold hands and create what has now been named our 'Family Circle'
We find different things to talk about, but the general theme for the last few times has been....

What have you done today that you enjoyed doing?

It is definitely making the boys think about what they have doing today and did they enjoy doing it.
It is a start, can't expect perfection straight away, as they get older then I am sure things will change. Like whether we will all sit down to dinner at the same time due to school committments etc.

Sushi

I have discovered the wonderful taste of sushi in the last year or so.

Nothing too exotic, just chicken and tuna ones.

There is a wonderful little sushi cafe here in Hamilton just round the corner from where we live, that serves gorgeous sushi.

Now several times this year I have stopped to get myself some for lunch and the boys have watch me eat it, whilst they have their lunch.

That was until last week when Ben suddenly said that he wanted sushi too.

So I brought an extra piece of chicken sushi for him and Alex to try.

And yes they tried it and yes they liked it. Now this didn't amaze me with Alex as he will eat just about anything, but it did amaze me with Ben as this is definitely not like him. But good on him for trying it.

Today, I have to confess I had sushi for lunch, and yes this time I had to buy a piece each for the boys. Luckily I came across this little dwarf sushi piece in the cafe, so for 70c each they got a piece of their own.

_______________________________________

Oh and Alex is now up again, decided not to have a sleep and I have all the lala's, swapped them for a bowl of noodles that he had for lunch.

The sun is shinning, the washing is on the line and I might even get up the oomph to take the boys out in a minute to ride their bikes somewhere for 1/2 an hour.

Who knows what else the day will bring!

Sleeping!

Alex just came to me in the study with 3 Lala's in his hands, well one in his mouth and the others in his hand!
Lala's are dummies for those that don't know, and Alex is a conniesuer on dummies.

The first thing to hit me was 'how did he get those, they are on a high shelf?'
One step in to the kitchen and there is the dining room chair pushed up against the dishwasher where he had climbed up to get them!

I took them off of him and told him that he didn't have these during the day, only at nightime when he goes to bed.
As I made lunch so he climbed up again and got all 3 down.
So I told him again that he only has them at bedtime and if he wants them, then he must be tired and to go to bed.

So he did....!

As I write this, he is upstairs laid in Ben's bed with his 3 lala's and his Barney.
And he is very happy laid there too.

Now he does still have a daytime sleep at Daycare but has not had one at home since last year!
He hasn't had that much of a busy morning, he slept till 7am today after a big day yesterday and all he has done today is have his 1/2 hour swimming lesson.

I will leave him for 30 minutes and then I will go get him, sleep or no sleep, otherwise we will still know about it at 8.30pm tonight when he is wide a wake and wanting to watch tv with us, during our mummy daddy time, and that is a definite NO!

WOW 400

Yes that is correct I have reached my 400th post.
It has come a little quicker than planned, although I never was planning one a day, although if I stuck to that, then my 400th post was not due until Aug 4, thus allowing me to be able to manage my goal of 366 posts this year.
That is coming along quite nicely actually, as this post announces I am well a head of my target by about 9 posts at present, but I do like to have a little leaway, so that if something happens then I don't have to worry about posting for a few days.

So yea to me for my 400th, and roll on my 500th due in about November time.......

Persil's Fun List

Persil in New Zealand has put together a Top Ten list of things every kid should try before they are 10.

Persil's motto is "every child has the right to be a child" and "dirt is good"

So here is the list they suggest for all children to be children and enjoy........

1) Lie on your back and look for shapes in the clouds.

Clouds come in many different shapes and sizes. The cool thing is that sometimes clouds can make shapes that look like animals or other things. So go outside, lay on the grass and check out what shapes you can see.

2) Camp out in the back yard

Whether you have your own tent or you construct something suitable, this activity will create a sense of adventure for the kids as they sleep out under the stars. If they do need adult supervision, then maybe consider putting up a second tent nearby, so they are on their own but with you close by.

3) Build a secret hut

Your kids will love having a secret hut all of their own, a special place they can meet their friends and have fun.

If your garden has lots of hidden areas, then consider helping them make something permanent with wood, maybe under or in a tree, even behind a bush.

4) Catch a fish

All kids love the excitment of actually catching a fish all by themselves, whether it be in the river, sea or off the end of the wharf.

5) Play in the rain

Simply put on you boots and coats and go jump in the puddles.

6) Build sandcastles at the beach

Who hasn't spent many a wonderful sunny day playing at the beach whilst on holiday building the fort or castle of your dreams. All you need is a bucket and spade and lots of imagination.

7) Learn to swim

Swimming is fun and every kid should learn to swim

8) Whoose down a mud slide

Have fun as a family by making your own in the back garden or visit one that is already made

9) Grow your own garden

Children love something that is all their own. You can give them a patch in the garden and let them decide what they would like to grow. Flowers, vegetables. Preferrably something that doesn't take too long to grow to begin with.

10) Make mud pies

Mud, water, plates, spoons and a wild imagination and you have the perfect setting for serving the family any creation made.

Isn't it amazing how the simple things are making a come back in what we should be doing and encouraging our children with. The world is their oyster, let them roam and imagine.

Wedding Countdown

8 weeks to go

I went and had a session with the florist during the week.

2 hours and several magazines later, I have found the style of bouquet I want for my flowers and Kerry, bridesmaid, we are having roses as the flower. The florist is now just going to see what colour she can obtain that will match the colour of the wedding.

We have also worked out how many button holes we require and who for and anyother flowers we may need for the day.

We are having button holes for the following:

• Steve
• Best Man
• Father of the Bride
• Mother of the Bride
• Father of the Groom
• MC ( currently my brother)

We have a meeting today with the restaurant, so will establish the lay out of the room etc and then this will give me a better indication of exactly how I want to decorate the room and tables. I can then let the florist know what we require on the tables in the way of flowers, although I am not going for too much, as I feel less is more, and does anyone really take that much notice of the flowers on the table and what happens to them at the end of the day?!

Although we do have a brunch for 50 people the day after at our house, so all flowers will go there for decoration.

I have also found the material for the bridesmaid dress and this is now with the dressmaker in Rotorua. Kerry will be visiting her in the next few weeks for measuring and then Jodie will get on and make the dress. I have my next dress fitting with everything in August. Should be a fun time.

Last weekend we went and sorted the kilts that Steve has decided that the men of the wedding are wearing. My dad will go and get his on the day before when we collect the others. No problems with this as we are not going with a set tartan per say, they don't have the one that matches any of the family, so are just going with random ones that are not too bad in colour.

Anyway they had kiddy kilts there and we asked the boys if they wanted to wear a kilt like daddy?

Alex jumped at the chance and was already for the lady to measure him and dress him. OMG he looked so cute! Ben on the other hand was a little reluctant to put one on and once had it on wanted to take it off! So Alex looks like he will be wearing a kilt, with sporen, at the wedding, Ben will not. But we are not too bothered as they are not part of the main wedding party so doesn't matter.

Although we came up with the wonderful idea that they could wear black trousers, white shirts and we will make them a tartan waistcoat. Ben likes this idea.

So 2 little tartan waistcoats will get made and then they have the choice of what they want to wear on the day. Less hassle, no arguements and all happy.

Last week I managed to obtain very cute little white shirts for them, black dress pants and some black shoes, so they are now already for the wedding.

Bears

Many years ago I brought myself the 5 disc box set of the Berenstain Bears DVD's. There are 40 episodes to watch, and I know there are many more episodes available, even to the point that Ma, Pa, Brother & Sister now have Honey Bear in their family!

They are my sort of thing. Good clean, family, moral and value learning.

I never in a million years imagined that my 2 cute little boys would love them as much as they do.

Alex calls them the 'Dancing Bears'

Their episodes seem to cover all sorts of everyday life things and the boys just love watching them.

Ben seems to love the ones that show the bears doing sport, in particular Basketball, and as we have a significant birthday coming up soon, followed not too far behind with Christmas, then the conversation about what he would like keeps appearing.

His answer to all at present is.....basketball and hoop please.

So the bears win hands down in our house at the moment, I know this will probably change in the next 6 months with Ben starting school and having peer influences, but for now I am happy to keep them watching fun innocent stuff like the Berenstain Bears, they have plenty of time to grow up on to bigger stuff next year!

New Blog

Over the time I have created a list of blogs that I like to follow.
Ok I follow some more religiously that others.
In my favourites list on my computer I have a file called 'Blogs'. These are ones that I don't check out every day, just when I have some time to browse.
As always, these are blogs that I have come across whilst reading another blog, and have decided that I like what they are blogging about and decide to check back on them every now and then.

One such blog is Grace Violet
A wonderful blog about a crafty person, who manages to explain how she did all her crafts at the same time as showing you.
The inspiration that people seem to comment they have received from reading her posts and viewing the pictures is wonderful.
I always wanted to decoupage, I know what it is, I know sorta how to do it, but was never actually sure, yet here she has several posts all on the same thing showing you step by step what she did and how. Check out here, here, here and here for examples of how well she details things.

Perfect, my own reference manual for the future when I have that little thing called TIME to do something.

Sex in The City

I finally got to see this movie last night.

I am not an avid fan of the show, although I have watched several of the series, but not all of them.

The movie was what I expected it to be. A nice recap of the individual girls before the movie and where they would potentially be now.

I found it a little slow in the middle and maybe found they stretched things out a little to far, but over all I enjoyed the show and had a great evening out.

If you haven't had chance to see this movie and you enjoyed watching the girls then it is worth seeing. It was nice to have total closure on the show.

Now all I have to do is organise time to go and see Mama Mia. This one I really want to see and I am not waiting until it is almost finished either. Cinema here I come....

Bridges

For those that don't know Hamilton, It is a wonderful town situated around the Waikato River.

The river actually runs up the centre of Hamilton. Which means that Hamilton is divided into 2 parts, either side of the river.

There are several bridges to use at certain points that enable you to cross over the river, and these are limited, only 5 that I can think of!

Now it is just under a year since the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota where the bridge collapsed in the middle into the Mississippi River, sadly killing 7 people.

Unfortunately, evertime I go over a bridge in Hamilton I always think about what could happen. I am not morbid or neurotic, it is just always there.

There is nothing I can do about this, it is like thinking about all the plane crashes around the world. You hear about them, but it doesn't stop you getting on the plane, because the chance of it ever happening to you is such a slim chance that it is part of life that you are prepared to deal with.

It is the same with the bridges with me. I know it will never happen. I also know life would cease to function if I suddenly had an over whelming morbid fear of going on the bridges, because we live on the other side of the river to work, school, daycare, downtown, all the supermarkets that are worth shopping at and the hospital. Generally to live in Hamilton you must be prepared to travel across a bridge!

But that won't stop me thinking about the safety of the bridges everytime I have to travel across one.

The Wall That Was....

We have been making some adjustments to the house.

We decided that there was one room in the house that was not getting utilised to its full potential.

As you come in the front door there is a room either side. The left is the study and the right , well it was a spare room, come playroom, come anything room, but because it is cold in there nothing much happens there.

The living room though is too small and the wall between the front room and the living room was a false wall, as you can see in the pictures.

So on Saturday we took it down, now don't fear this was not a spur of the moment decision, we had already talked about doing this. In fact we had even gone so far as to plan it, with the position we put the heat pump when it was installed last week.

So we planned to knock the wall down and extend the living area, thus creating a tucked away lounge and now a lovely sitting welcoming area where the boys can play with their toys in the warmth and everyone is much happier, oh yea and with much more space.

The wall actually came down very simply and cleanly, apart from decorating, which we are planning on doing very last, it looks so well done.

Of course the boys helped us and it was very much a family smashing of the wall.

I was a little eager in my picture taking and that is why everything is still in such a mess!

Now the living room is warm and cosy, very important, we have a lovely big play area for the boys, plus somewhere to sit that is different from the living room when someone pops over, and the fold down sofa bed has lots of space, ok those staying do now have to sleep in the middle of the house at the bottom of the stairs with no privacy, but who cares, we don't get that many over night guests versus our comfort whilst living in the house.

So now we are better utilising the space within our house and I am sure all those house sorting programmes would be well please with our efforts to conserve and maintain an efficient heating system within the house, that is using the heat correctly and with minimal effort and cost!

Man I am good, too good sometimes!!

Horse Training in the Future

High-tech horse training buggy today, bionic horses tomorrow

Sometimes the power of one horse is all you need — especially if that horse is one you're looking to train and keep tabs on. The Roush horse buggy lets its operator do just that, providing them with a steady stream of information about the animal's well-being, all the while trotting and galloping the horse at different speeds in a controlled manner, up to almost 40 mph. The cabin is mercifully motorized, and (as if the horse didn't have enough of a burden) it holds three: a driver, trainer and a vet.

The cabin, which is mounted rearward of the horse, includes a centrally mounted drivers seat.

On board systems include 12-volt and 240-volt electrical supplies, to power systems such as computerised heart, blood oxygen and fitness monitoring. All this just for the horse!
Roush Technologies developed the buggy for horse-and-camel training equipment company Kurt Systems out of Turkey. Is this a bold new age for training super-horses or, like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV, will technological might still get trumped by an underdog horse with some heart? Roush expects the vehicle to enter production soon.

What will they come up with next??

Maybe someone will come up with something like this for people training for the olympics! Wonders never cease to amaze me!

Washing

I am sick of washing clothes. I think we should invest in disposable clothes, would make life so much easier.

It is not that I don't like doing the washing, sometimes I do, it is just the amount we seem to create and then the joy of getting it all dried on wet days.

I have realised that of course it is worse in the winter due to the fact we are wearing more clothes.

In the summer the average person wears a t-shirt and shorts, with underwear of course, so this amounts to very small things per person per day to wash. Unfortunately in the winter everyone wears 15 layers, well it feels like it!

But when you have had to wash per day for one person, socks, trousers, vest, shirt and jumper, some which are not thin things because that wouldn't keep you warm! Well then you end up with a full basket after just 2 days with 4 of you wearing the clothes.

No wonder it is never ending in the winter but so easy to get through in the summer.

Oh by the way, I do now own a tumble drier, only a little one, just big enough to do a small load if need be, my spirits are rising..

Wedding

9 weeks to go

Camera Update

As you will remember Alex succeeded in breaking our last camera.

So thankfully our nice insurance company have helped us out with a new one.

Quite smart too.

It is actually the next grade up from the one we had, but considering ours was 2 years old we never expected to get the same thing.

It is smarter and more up to date, oh and thinner, yes that is right, our new camera is almost like a credit card than a camera.

The picture at the top of the post shows you the front and back of the camera and the other picture shows you just how thin it is!

Buttons all do the same as the last one as it is the same make, but I don't like the flash so much and the movies are not so good when you record them, you can't hear anything!

School Countdown

7 weeks to go

Back Update

It is now half way through July and my back is still sore!
Ok not as bad as it has been, but it is so easy to tweak it and have pain.
sitting, standing and walking for any length of time is annoying, so I am constantly on the move, because I can't stay doing the same thing for too long before I have aches and pains through my lower back.
I am still at physio, although if I have had a rough evening the day before then the day of the physio is really bad after I have been there.
I am usually in so much pain all I want to do is cry!

I can't believe I have spent all of July with this niggle of pain.
I have just under 10 weeks till I get married and all I am worried about is whether I will still be uncomfortable then.
I have made an appointment to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon as recommended, but the earliest appointment is in September, 4 days before the wedding, although I have said I will be available for a cancellation appointment if one comes up, although as I have said before, not sure what he will be able to advice me on, as it is not bone structure that is damaged, just muscular.
Oh well can't help to get it checked out, especially as I have been uncomfortable for so long this time round.
The doctor has even put me on light duties at work because workign in the theatre was agrevating my back, so no theatre scrubbing for me at the moment!

Oh to have a day of no pain.......

Childless

Yes you have read right, childless, well at least we were for the whole weekend from 9am to 4pm on Sunday.
Our very good friends here in Hamilton kindly looked after the boys so we could go and see the Celebrant, but then they offered to have the boys for the night as well and took them out to her parents farm. They had a ball by the way.

So did we though, and that is what part of the weekend was meant to be about, Steve and i having time together without the boys.
We actually went to the caravan for the night. Ok so not the most romantic thing to do, but it was time away from Hamilton and that is what mattered.
We did go out to dinner in the evening, although it wasn't the greatest meal we had had, but it was dinner out without the boys.
It was a lovely 24 hours, where no one kept calling out 'mum, mum' or I had to worry about the time with regards to when the next lot of food had to be sorted etc.
We even got to go in the heated adult pool at the caravan, something we hardly do as it is a little too hot for the boys to be in.

So a great weekend had by all, only 10 weeks and we will have 7 nights without the boys...!!

Celebrant

We had a meeting with the Marriage Celebrant on Saturday morning.
2 1/2 hours later we had chosen the whole service.
We had to decide on absolutely everything, whenever she is going to say something we had to chose what we wanted her to say and how.
We had to say how we would like my dad to give me away, is he going to shake Steve's hand? Just hand me over with a hug, or even just run me down the aisle saying "Here take her!"
Did we want to include all the parents in the service or just my dad?
What did we want her to say when we exchange rings, if we are exchanging them?
Are we writing our own vows or using one of the 50 she showed us, or are we adapting one of the 50?

There is so much to decide on and chose from just for a 20 minute service to get married.

It will be worth it though, as it makes the day extra special.

Heat Pump

Yes we finally got a heat pump installed. Yeh
The house is a lot warmer than it was last week and the whole feeling in the hosue is nicer.
The pump is so quiet you hardly know it is on!
As for the outside unit, well that just ticks over quietly too. If you are in the garden you don't know they have the pump on in the house.
Now all we have to do is take down a wall in the lounge and we will have a lovely large room with lots of heat.

Wedding Countdown

We get married in 10 weeks time and then we have a wonderful honeymoon without the boys!

Swimming

Ben has gone up another class at swimming.

He is still a turtle but is now in Turtle 2 not 1.

He is loving his swimming and doing so well.

We are really proud of him.

School Countdown

Ben has his 5th Birthday in 8 weeks and at the same time he starts school.

He can't wait.

Cold!

It is freezing cold here!! -1 & -2 most mornings with frost. Haven't seen frost since I lived in England over 10 years ago!
And I wish I could say that it is just outside! For some reason this house is so cold.
We are talking wrap up in blankets with the heat going cold. I am sat typing this at 11am and I have gloves and a wolly hat on! I don't think the temperature in this house is higher than 18c
We just don't seem to be able to get this house warm?
We have spent a fortune on electricity in the last 2 months and still have a freezing cold house!

We do have some solutions:

1. Putting in a heat pump tomorrow. Hopefully this will be better than the oil fin radiator we are using.
2. We are getting new curtains in most of the windows and blinds at the kitchen window. To try to keep as much heat in a possible. We have curtains up already, but they don't fit completely.
3. We are thinking of getting the walls insulated with foam.

Now the last house we had did not have insulation in the walls, and we managed to heat the place with the oil fin heater.

Ok we have stairs coming off the lounge, but the upstairs is not warm either. This whole house is like a freezer. I can put meat out on the kitchen surface to defrost and it is still partly frozen 8-9 hours later.

We have a cover over the banister of the stairs to prevent all the heat from dissappearing up there, hoping it will stay in the lounge.

I love this house, just roll on spring and summer when it will be warmer.

Kids & Cameras

We have always let the boys take pictures with the camera when they have wanted to, always with us nearby for assistance.

Ben is actually getting really good at taking pictures, and Alex is catching on up behind.

The only problem is that this now means they know how to use the camera, which can have its downfalls when they find the camera laying around and decide to use it without us nearby!

Alex did this 2 weeks ago, and unfortunately we discovered this when we came downstairs to see him trying to close it by leaning on the lens!

One quick call to the insurance company and off went the camera for a 'damage assessment'

The results.......the camera is not economically worth fixing and so a replacement will be issued. So now we are waiting for the insurance company to let us know this officially and then we get to go and buy a new camera. They will give us a voucher for a certain amount and if we want to spend more then we can, so hopefully in a week or so we will be back, well I will, in action with the camera.

Fireman

My brother has become a volunteer firefighter since he moved here last year.

It is a huge committment, especially with a young family and work.

But still he has stuck by it and is having a great time with it.

This picture is of him putting out a scrub fire.

Way to go little brother, very proud of you.

Back!

About 12 years ago I managed to hurt my lower lumbar spine area, over my sacral iliac joint(SIJ) on the left side.

Nobody, including me, has any idea as to what I did, but it was painful and took an nice long 3 weeks to come right.

When I moved here 10 years ago, I was still having trouble with it.

So off I went to see an Osteopath, she did 1 session of something and said all was fine, well all was not fine and a couple of months later I was still suffering, so this time I went to a Chiropractor, this worked.

So on and off over a 3 year period I went to see a Chiropractor who kept me pain free, even managed to relieve the tightness in my neck which affected my hands just after Ben was born. About 18 months to 2 years ago I managed to tweak my SIJ again and this time I saw a Physiotherapist, few sessions later and all was right in the world.

Unfortunately coming home on Saturday from Auckland I managed to tweak my SIJ again whilst twisting in the front seat to deal with the boys.

Yesterday I think I reached the pinnacle of the pain I could take. The strong pain killers are going in, along with the anti inflammatory tablets and slow moving around. I have a physio appointment tomorrow (earliest I could get when I booked on Tuesday!) and I am not at work today. Sitting is uncomfortable without medication and standing takes its toll after a while.

So all in all not a happy time for me.

Have been given the name of an Orthopaedic guy I could get referred to if I wanted to, but not sure what they would do, SIJ areas are very difficult to do anything with and seeing as this is not an ongoing problem and doesn't prevent me from living a full life, well apart from when it gets tweaked once every 2 years or so, I am not sure if seeing him will be benificial. Will think more about it, have medical insurance so not worried if I do need to see him.

As you can see from this picture, the SIJ is located at the base of the spine in the pelvis region. According to some websites I have seen, the SIJ doesn't actually do much, although it has a lot to do during pregnancy and childbirth, although would you believe I never had one iota of pain during my 2 pregnancies with my SIJ, and this was something I was well prepared for.

They actually call in Sacral Iliac Joint Dysfunction on the website and in fact it was quite useful reading stuff on exactly what I have and to see what they recommend.

I like this picture of the pelvis because that is exactly the picture I have in my head of what the pain looks like. A red burning area at the base of the spine in my pelvis.

And that lady in the picture is stood in exactly the same pose as I seem to have during these episodes.

Man this website I found is so good, says everything I already know and feel. Like...

Problems with the SI joint may make sitting difficult. Pain in one SI joint may cause a person to sit with that buttock tilted up. It is usually uncomfortable to sit flat in a chair.

Ok so here endith the science lesson for today, hope you all have a better understanding of my lower back pain and have lots of sympathy for me.

Catch you all when I can sit down again!

Honeymoon

Yes Steve and I are going on a honeymoon in September when we get married.

The whole plan was that we would, as a family, go to Dubai where my parents currently are. This was organised last November by Steve and my father, part of that other story about my engagement that I still need to tell you!
So since we got engaged the wedding has been planned around us having our honeymoon in Dubai in September, thus the reason we chose a September wedding, get married the week before we go to Dubai, simple really.
Anyway, this last week there have been a few developments shall I say and sadly Dubai is now not a happening thing. Several different factors leading to situation that can not be changed and therefore not the wises thing to do.

So my parents solution to it is that my mum will now have the boys for a week here in our house and Steve and I will go away for a whole week by ourselves!
Yes you heard right...A WHOLE WEEK BY OURSELVES

I never dreamed I would get a proper honeymoon, well, not that I wouldn't have a honeymoon, but you know, with having the boys I always presumed that where ever we went they would come too, part of the joy of doing everything backwards!
I always imagined that we would be one of those couples that had a second honeymoon when the boys were older and we would say at the time that it was because they had come with us on our first one.

"So where are we going?" I can hear you all ask...

Well we thought of Australia, seeing as it is just a hop skip and a jump across the water, but then thought we ought to go somewhere a little more romantic and exotic so would you believe we are going to Tahiti, to one of the islands in the French Polynesian Region.
It is a dream honeymoon, golden white beaches, crystal blue clear water, hot sun, quaint little rooms amongst the gardens of the resort, I could go on and on....

So the boys will stay here, Ben will have started school by then, so he will be out all week, Alex will still be at Daycare 2 days during the week, so mum will have a quite an easy week actually, at least 2 full days to herself. So I think it will all go well.

Joys of Parenting

I can honestly say that I was the one to instigate having children in this relationship.
Steve has been married before and children was not something that was going to happen in that relationship, so when I met him, children were not really on the agenda.
It took me several years before he agreed to children and I think I can honestly say, that even with the bad days, he still wouldn't change any of it.
To prove my point, yesterday I woke just after 6am to hear Steve and the boys in the boys room singing 'Miss Polly had a Dolly'
Seems Steve had taken Ben back in the middle of the night and ended up sleeping with Ben, because his bed was cold and he wanted daddy to warm it up for him.
When Alex woke up he joined them and Ben then put the light on, got out some books and started reading with daddy, one of the books was 'Miss Polly'

Last night Steve was telling me all about it and we were laughing so much, about how Ben was the leader and instigated the reading session and also about the fact that I wondered if Steve ever thought in his life he would be singing Nursery Rhymes at 6am!

Guess that is parenting for you.

Raclette

For those that don't know what Raclette is then read on.......this is a form of Swiss cheese, and when cooked under a funny little grill can create the most amazing dinners to share with Go check out here to find out much more about it.

My family first got introduced to this wonderful meal in Europe.

My parents now actually have a raclette machine, although coming across cheese for it here in NZ is sometimes a little challenging.

Anyway, the way it works is that you cook up a whole load of boiled potatoes, have dishes of salad, pickles etc and a nice big plate of assorted cold meats.

Everyone has their own little grill plate and this is where you place the cheese to have it melt, whilst the cheese is melting, you then place what ever food you want on your plate. When cheese has melted you pour it over food on your plate and eat whilst the next lot of cheese is melting.

So all in all a very slow process of eating, but that makes it good, because there is lots of chatter whilst slowly eating, where eventually you don't realise exactly how much you have eaten, or not, but that you feel quite full anyway.

We have some friends here in Hamilton who have just informed us they have a raclette machine and would we like dinner with them one evening. So the night is planned and I am now going to check if I can find the cheese in the local supermarket again.

My parents, as I mentioned, also have a machine and I think I am going to have to go and raid their house for it because we have a couple here in Hamilton who I would love to have over for dinner one night, and this would make for a wonderful evening. Although having just read the website I have for it, I think I might be purchasing one myself in the next couple of years as they are alive and well in Aussie and ship to NZ!

Mama Mia

The smash hit musical hit the stage here in Auckland in 2004.

Steve and Ben brought me tickets for chistmas and we had a blast.

The stage show was amazing and it was a fabulous night out, lots of singing and dancing. I would see it again tomorrow if I knew where it was playing!

So imagine my surprise when earlier this year I saw an advert at the cinema for the musical movie! Starring Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and many other well know people.

It is finally coming here on July 10th, which turns out to be before the USA, wow NZ is priviledge to get something before the US.

I will be there, at some stage, to watch it on the big screen. Not sure if I will invite Steve to go with me or my girlfriend Wendy.

Out already quite a lot next week so will maybe have to be the week after, but this is one movie I will be watching on the big screen.

Bridesmaid Dress

I found a pattern yesterday for the bridesmaid dress to be made from.

I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, although I think the dress maker will find she can make it in one evening.

It is plain and simple and I think will suit my bridesmaid just right.

Now I have to find the material to make it from and get it all over to Rotorua.

This is the actually pattern, I just have to decide whether I want the little bolero jacket made to go with the dress? Was thinking of maybe getting it made in a contrasting colour, maybe gold. This would then go with the colours of the wedding. The main colour of the wedding is a burgundy maroon wine colour. This colour square gives you an idea but the actually colour is a little pinker. although I think most of the stuff used in the wedding will not actually match exactly but will be all very close in the colour range of the spectrum.