Saturday, September 20, 2008

Wedding Day

Today is my Wedding Day.
I have waited a long time for this day.

I will be back soon with all the details and lots of pictures.
Have a great weekend.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Kimmy,
Happy Birthday to you...

Today is my best friend Kim's birthday, all 33 years of birthday.
Her only concern....why did I have to have my wedding the day after her birthday?
How was she meant to have a great day with drinking if she has to come to the weding tomorrow?

I told her to get over it.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Works For Me Wednesday


Over at Rocks In My Dryer, it is again WFMW where she posts what works for her and we post back with what works for us.

It has been a while since I last posted anything.

This week what works for me is LOVE & FAMILY

With my wedding coming up on Saturday, then having all my family around helping us and all working towards making Saturday a wonderful day for us, then that works for me.

Tomorrow all the grandparents will be staying here and the boys are going to have a ball with them all here. They talk about them constantly.

So love and family works for me as I am sure it does for everyone out there.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Hen's Party Update

On Saturday I went to Rotorua to have my Hen's Party.
It was a glorious day and a lovely break away, even just for 24 hours.
We drove over in the morning and spent the afternoon in the spa pool at Polynesian Spa Pools.
There was about 7 of us there and it was lovely just soaking in the warm water outside gossiping.
We finally got out after about 2 hours as we were all turning to prunes and beginning to feel a little light headed.

The evening was spent at a Moroccan restaurant that has just opened in Rotorua called Abracadabra.
It was fabulous, they had several little rooms away from the main restaurant, so there was 12 of us in our own little private green room.
So we could laugh and joke as much as we wanted without disturbing other people, we didn't have to listen to loud music being piped through and we could stay there as long as we wanted.
Apart from unfortunately having to wait a rather long time for the food to eventually arrive, it was a great meal. Good food and plenty of it.

They dressed me in fairy wings, a veil and tinsel for the evening. I think I was beginning to look like the Christmas Tree Fairy at the end.



Mum with our family friend Lynne



Aunty Pauline, she just blinked as the flash went and it caught one eye slightly closed, she is not drunk!



Veil and wings


Tinsel, wings and veil

The next day, mum and I headed over to the dressmakers to have a finally trying on of my dress. It is now all complete and hanging in my best friends house here in Hamilton.
Couldn't leave it hanging anywhere here at home as no rooms with anywhere that I could hang it so Steve won't noisy about it!
It looks awesome. Just right for me and so well done. I am very happy with how it turned out because it is now slightly different to how it was originally going to look.
I will post pictures of it next week sometime as son as I have some on the computer.

The weekend was also another momentous time for me, as it was the first time that Steve had ever been on his own over night with the boys.

May sound odd to some, but he has always been honest with me and said he wasn't sure he could cope. Ok also the opportunity for me to have a night away and leave him with the boys has never really come up. Yes I know he has had plenty of nights away and left me with the boys, but they have always been for work, 3 days this year and yes 3 weeks worth last year as we moved to Hamilton, but I have had 3 years of daily doses of the boys to learn how to deal with them all day.
I was always wary of leaving him when the boys were slightly younger because he was very good at having hypos at night and I always worried about who was going to help him if it was serious.

I do still have that worry all the time, but he doesn't seem to have many hypos at the moment so not so worried, plus the boys are older now and a lot easier to deal with, so no worries that he is going to get all hung up trying to sort the boys out and not eat enough.

So all in all a great weekend, apart from the part where my uncle was rushed into hospital at 1am on Sunday morning. Yes he is very sick, yes he has had an operation but he is now actually making a great recovery and crisis is a lot calmer now, although it was enough of a crisis for my dad to change his travel plans and be coming home a day earlier so he has more time to see him.

Only 5 days to go until the wedding

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Sign

Grandma is in the country!
Yes that is right Alex and I drove up to Auckland the other day and collected her.

Shame that as we had to get out of the car so the biggest thunder storm came over head, we were drenched by the time we got into the airport, although we timed our arrival so well that when I went to pay the carpark ticket we had been there all of 14 minutes, now that is well timed for international travel.

Because my parents have been known to travel rather a lot, then we have got into taking a sign to the airport for when they arrive.
Ben actually got to meet Grandad for the first time when he was 2 weeks old, at the airport.
Yes that is where I presented this bundle to my father with tears in my eyes, going 'look at what I did!'

So going to the airport to meet grandma or grandad is not new to my children.
But because I couldn't find the usual sign I quickly threw one together the night before mum arrived.
Due to the rain and the quickness with which Alex and I entered the airport, found mum and then got back to the car, sadly I was unable to get a shot of Alex holding the sign, but I have posted a picture below of the sign.

So imagine Alex standing in the arrivals area of an airport holding the above sign and yes he was a hit!

The amount of people that read the sign and then smiled at the sight of this little 3 yr old boy looking for Grandma was amazing. I must have made everyones day. Pretty sure we probably could have come home with several other grandmas apart from our own if we had the space. I think several of the old ladies wanted to come home with Alex after seeing him with his sign.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Hen Party

Today is my Hen's Party.
Spending the weekend in Rotorua.
Will blog more about what we are doing and how it went later.

Oh yea, only 1 week (7 days!) to go until the wedding

Thursday, September 11, 2008

What Would You Do.....?

At family circle time the other evening I asked the boys 'What they would they buy if they had lots of money?'

Wendy, my best friend, has a 16 yr old son. Her husband and she have just finished a 6 week parenting course on Teenagers.
One of the things she got from this course was a box of conversation starters for dinnertime, because everyone knows that dinnertime is when teenagers say the least!
I happened to read one the other day whilst at her house and then suddenly thought I would try it on my 2 monkeys.

The responses we got was definitely not quite what I expected.

Ben - he would buy a scooter or skateboard for his big friend Jake. Although when we told him that we thought Jake already had one, then he said he would get something else for Jake.
Alex - he would sort out getting 2 dolls houses made for his friend Eleanor and apparently Bob the Builder and Wendy, with Lofty, Scope, Dizzy and Muck are all going to help him make these houses.

Ok maybe the answers were a little far fetched, but the thing that I got from it was that they had both thought of other people instead of themselves.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Grandma


Grandma gets here today from Dubai.

Alex and I are driving up to Auckland to meet her at the airport.

Not sure if she actually realises all that is left to do for the wedding that I have left so she can be included in some of the planning.

Oh well, she will find out when she gets here later.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

1st & 2nd Day Update

In the pouring rain at 3pm I stood outside the class room waiting for the teacher to release the animals.
Ben saw me through the window and waved, then eventually he came out with the teacher and started to tell me all about his day.
Whilst I stood talking to the teacher, Ben suddenly yelled 'Daddy' and went running off, I turned and there was daddy, come to meet his big boy from school on his first day.
No disrespect to Steve, I just hadn't thought about him meeting Ben from school, I thought we had taken him as a family and that after school would just be a normal everyday thing, but it was great to see Steve there, all smiles and questions for his big boy.
Turns out Steve had even finished work and was coming home then as well. As he said 'it is not everyday you have your first day of school, it is a special day'
Have I ever told you how much I love this guy, he is a sentimental as I am and a fabulous father to his boys.

So at dinner time we had our family circle time when we had all finished eating and we had some great talking going on.
Ben telling us all about his big day, Alex telling us about what he didn't like at swimming and us talking about taking our big boy to school.

This morning Alex had Daycare, all by himself, at first he wanted to know who was going to stay with him, but when I called Steve later to find out how he had been I got told that he had hung up his bag and then dissappeared, not a care in the world!
Ben and I walked to school and because we were rather early then we sat and read a book in his class room. We put his lunch box and drink bottle in the right place, emptied his book bag and then hung up his bag.
At 8.30am I went with Ben to the office to hand in some papers and then we walked back to his room, thinking we could sit and do something until the bell rang at 8.55am.
Instead he then turned to me and said 'bye mum, see you later, you can go now!'

Still got 15-20 minutes until the bell goes and I simply got dismissed!
Well I think he is going to be just fine, who said school was going to be a problem, he loves it.

WOW Toys

Several years ago I was looking for an areoplane for Ben because he was obsessed with them, we lived under the main flight path into Auckland Airport at the time, so he saw them everyday.

The only decent plane I could find was this one. A WOW toy, battery free, high quality, British designed, developmental toy which are guaranteed favorites with all pre school children.
It came with a pilot and an animal and has friction wheels, so you can run it along the ground and the propellers go round. It is a really solid toy and the best part is it requires NO batteries to make the parts move, which any mother will tell you is definitely a bonus.


This then lead us on to getting the helicopter, which is an animal rescue one, comes with several animals and the helicopter has a magnet, so you can pretend to fly down and grab the animal and fly it to safety. Again it has a friction button to make the blades go round and no batteries, in fact all WOW toys require NO batteries, so I love them.


We, over the time, have also collected the twin racing cars and the out door adventurer. Both allow much interaction and imaginative play, and everything goes together. All the people are the same size and can fit in any vehicle etc.


Alex has just found all these toys again in the toy box and now we regularly hear him playing along with them, talking to the people using lots of imaginative playing.


I think we might even have to look at getting another piece for him for Christmas as we need something aimed at his age group to get him, and although he loves all the toys Ben got for his birthday, we don't want Alex to suddenly jump 2 years in the types of toys he plays with when he is after all only 3yrs and needs to still learn what 3/4 yr olds learn at this age.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Alex Swimming

Alex had his swimming lesson this week and as usual loved it.
He has learnt how to float on his back and it is so funny to watch the teacher give him his float board, lay him on his back and then just go off and leave him floating around the pool, where he will just float for ages without going under.


Just floating around

They also tried a new activity this week, which was to sit on the floating board with their back to the teacher and then the teacher helped them to fall backwards into the water. Some of the children just fell back and others managed to do a roll at the same time as falling in, thus making them come up standing the right way up.

Alex wasn't so sure of this as he was told to put his goggles on his head and he didn't like that so much, said it hurt and that he wanted them on his eyes like normal.


I sit on the board like this.....





And then I end up in the water like this.

1st Day

I have not actually known what to do with myself today!?
Alex and I got to swimming at least 1/2 an hour before we needed to.....

WHY?

Because our little big boy started school today.

So am I happy or sad?
A little of both actually.

Did I cry?
Well I got a lump in my throat for about 2 seconds as Steve told me 'he would be ok' as we left the school, but a quick hug from Alex and I was fine.

I guess I was more worried about him not knowing what to do at lunchtime or getting himself confused about something and not knowing what to do or who to ask.
Other than that I am very happy for him to be at school, he so needs the stimulation that school will give him, someone else for him to ask all the questions too.
But how can I be worried when as the the teacher was taking the attendance roll this morning she casually asked the class 'what date is it today on my board?' and this voice popped up and said 'the 8th' and guess what?....it was Ben that had said the date, so what am I worried about he is already answering questions in class!

He looked so smart and grown up in his school uniform this morning, although his school bag was just about as big as him and probably as heavy! At least today was the only day that he had to carry all his books to school as they all live at school from now on and he just brings home his homework book and reading book, so a lot less to carry in his huge bag.

My best friends have been wonderful, I received a text from one making sure I was alright and I had a lovely talk with the other on the phone when I had nothing to do whilst sitting outside swimming. Makes the day go so much better when you have friends checking on you and thinking about you on these special days in your life.

Alex has had a good day, although everynow and then he has asked 'where's B?' and I will say 'school' and he will then be like 'oh ok' but it has felt weird not having him around. Usually if you are at home with just Alex then it is because Alex is not well and Ben is at Daycare and then you wouldn't be out doing things.
So I will now get some snacks ready for my big boy and then Alex and I will go and collect him from his momentous first day at school.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Sudden Dayout

At 5 to 10 this morning I got a text from my best friend saying 'Funky Monkeys on in 5 mins'
thinking she meant the tv, I quickly turned it on and tried to find the channel I thought it would show on, whilst also texting her back asking 'where?'

The reply I got back was not quite what I expected ' stage by river, city side'

So there I was screaming round the house for everyone to get their shoes on, me, who had just finished vacuuming was trying to get dressed, fast and we just flew out the door into the car.
Steve is driving over the bridge whilst we quickly discuss between us where we can park etc.
Ended with him dropping us off and he went to park the car.

The boys and I ran down the hill, past all these poor adults who must have thought we were mad, at the same time as singing 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' because you could hear the Funky Monkeys on the stage.

We found our friends, plonked down on the grass, watched the show and then told them that more than 5 minutes notice would be lovely next time!
Ben loves the Funky Monkeys, to the extent that if possible he would become the 4th Funky Monkey. He has met Chris, Neil and Joe many times and is always inviting them round for lunch, sadly they are always busy.

The event that was on was actually one that we knew about, the Great Race, a rowing race between Waikato University and Cambridge University, yes the one from England, that is usually racing Oxford!
But we had just expected to wander down to the river for the first race at 12.
Instead we ended staying out all day in the glorious weather that Hamilton has managed to produce for the last couple of days, having an impromptu picnic that was quickly brought from the local supermarket across the road.


With nothing else to do today and the fact it is Father's Day, then we had a great day out with friends that seemed to keep everyone happy.
Have a great week.

Birthday Party

Ben had his Birthday Party yesterday, and he loved it.
This is the first birthday that he has got excited about, totally understood what was happening and so totally enjoyed.
We just had a few family and friends come over for lunch.

I just put out a light cold meat and salad buffet and of course the birthday cake, which had to be chocolate said Ben.
Not sure where he got this idea of a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, but he has gone on about it all week, so good old Betty Crocker and I , with the help of my 2 little helpers, whipped up a chocolate cake with icing on Friday evening.

He loved having everyone come to his party, and although he clicked in that everyone who came seemed nice enough to bring him a wonderful present, he never expected it.
To top it all off, the sun has shone all weekend and so the kids were able to get outside for 5 minutes.
He received some wonderful presents, a new school bag, some toys to throw into the swimming pool and then go under to fetch. Loads of books to read, a skateboard, some Bionics Lego and some plastic mechaeno type set which he can make different things with.
Today daddy and him made this dune buggy, they also attempted a helicopter but it got taken over by one helicopter mad little brother.

Alex has actually been really good about the whole birthday thing, he has had moments when he has found it a little hard because Ben has been getting all the attention, especially when Ben's birthday was one day and then he had a party another, this was too much for Alex who felt like he needed some attention everynow and then! But Alex has suddenly discovered all the WOW toys that we have in the toy box and has started to amuse himself with the car, helicopter and areoplane.


One of our friends even ended up staying for the rest of the day, so we went on a huge bike ride down to the river. If the party hadn't tired them all out, the bike ride and walk sure did.
Our friends actually ended up staying the night, and by 7.30pm the 3 boys were crashed out for the night.

Ben had a fabulous day and is now all set ready for school.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

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.

Wedding Countdown


2 weeks until our wedding and our honeymoon in Taihiti

Friday, September 05, 2008

Birthday Boy


Today is our big boy's 5th Birthday.


We have finally got to the next chapter in his amazing life.
He woke us up this morning saying 'Get up guys, let's start my birthday'
We of course had presents that went down a treat. We managed to get just what he wanted.

He got a scooter, which he has seen lots of kids ride to school, so of course he wanted one! Although he wont be riding his to school.

He got a view finder, with several extra discs to look at. Now these are not new because I had one when I was his age. They make a come back every so often. I love them, think they are so simple but great fun.

We also got him a little kit to make a mosaic picture of a car. Something creative that he can sit quietly and do with us one time, maybe during the school holidays when Alex will be at daycare.

The day itself has been glorious. So very different to the day he was born. The sun has been shining since we left the house this morning, it was grey and cloudy and blowing a gail when he was born!


So we have spent much of it outside, running around, meeting daddy for lunch in the park and as always, getting the washing done.

Sadly when we took the scooter out of the box this morning the brake was broken, so our first job of the day after taking daddy to work, was to go and replace the scooter. Turns out there was a fault with that type and so we ended up buying one that cost more than the original one, but at least it works.

I haven't got too sentimental over this day, as he was born at 01.30am so all my sentimental time was yesterday as I watched the clock and remembered what I was doing this time 5 years ago!

He is already and raring to go for school on Monday, so the day maybe very easy as I get the feeling we will not be allowed to stay at school with him for more than 5 minutes before he kicks us out and tells us to 'go away'

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Wedding Proposal

As you all know by now, I am getting married in 2 weeks time.
Steve and I got engaged back in March, and it kinda has a fun story to it.

My cousin Kerry, who is going to be my bridesmaid, got married herself last November. The boys were ring bearers at the ceremony and looked so cute in their little tuxedos.
At the reception in the evening, I caught Steve talking to my dad, nothing too strange here, as they do get on really well and dad was just back in the country for a couple of days.
They both said something to me as I passed them and then they told me to go away as they were talking.
This struck me as a little odd, but I didn’t dwell on it further.

Later on in the evening, my dad, now with a few drinks in him, came and sat down next to Steve, across the table from me and proceeded to say...

'Tomorrow would be a good day my son'

To which Steve quietly replied

'I was hoping to do it in a couple of weeks time with a ring!'

Now at the time I am not sure if they realised that I was there and that however quietly they were whispering, I could still hear them!
Later on I even saw Steve talking to my mother, so I knew he was doing the rounds of the family.

You see I had always said that when it ever came to the time when he wanted to propose to me, and he had to propose to me as I was never asking him, read about that here, I wanted him to do the right nice thing and ask my dad first, knew my dad would be quite chuffed at that happening.

So I let it go and moved it to the back burner and got on with the weekend.
The next day just happened to be my birthday, so the day was a little long with me wondering if at anytime Steve might ask me.
My cousin went on her honeymoon / OE Holiday for 8 weeks and at the airport I told her what I had overheard, mainly because I thought that by the time she returned I would be engaged.

The following week I was looking at some rings and necklaces in a catalogue and Steve asked me if I had seen anything I liked? I knew of course why he was asking me, but he was not aware that I knew.
I told mum that I knew what he was asking and she told me to be quiet and not ruin it for him, which I would never have done.
I told her that I would therefore be getting married in 2009 when they returned from Dubai, but she was pretty adamant that I was going to be getting married in 2008.
Turned out that Steve and Dad had even planned when I was going to get married because Steve and I were planning on going to Dubai to see mum and dad and they had decided between them that we would turn the holiday into our honeymoon.

The following week, Steve and I passed through our 8 year anniversary of getting together and still nothing happened.
Then the days that it could have happened on just kept flying past:
Christmas Day
Boxing Day – his birthday
New Years
Valentines Day
Even Feb 29 came along, in fact the day before he actually asked me. Not that I would have ever asked him.

At Christmas time my Uncle took me on a turn about the garden, whilst at a BBQ and proceeded to ask what was happening? Turns out my dad had let it slip to his big brother. So I reassured him that nothing had happened and that he would know when I knew.
That same day my Sister in Law Claire asked when Steve was ever going to marry me, to which I then told her about Kerry’s wedding and everything to date. She said she knew all that and that in fact so did just about all the family members in New Zealand.
So for the next 10 weeks just about all my family knew that sometime, when he got round to it, Steve was going to propose to me.

In fact the only person who didn’t seem to know that Steve was going to propose to me was STEVE!

Some 14 weeks after I had heard him talking to my dad, I discovered a receipt in his pocket for a large sum of money at Diamond & Time, Jewelers.
I do the laundry in the house so I do empty pockets before I wash things!
So then I knew that finally after nearly 15 weeks of agony maybe he was going to ask me to marry him!
On the Tuesday before, he casually asked if I could get a sitter for the next Saturday so we could maybe go out for a drink!
I not only got a sitter but on the Friday I got a manicure too!

And of course on Saturday 1st March he finally asked me and I finally got the ability to say yes to him.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Blog Post Count

As you may remember from the beginning of the year, I am trying to post 366 (leap year) posts this year.
I have even gone so far as to put together an Excel spreadsheet with all the dates on and then what number post I should be on on what day.

If you look at my Blog Archive on the right hand side you will see that for 2008 I have posted 267 posts so far.
That is not bad going considering #267 actually equates to Sept 23!
So I am actually about 20 posts ahead of myself, which is great when I have such a busy couple of weeks ahead of me.

Means I can go to Tahiti and not have to worry if I don't get to add a few posts whilst there, although I will try to post something.
Maybe my challenge is not quite as difficult as I first thought it would be.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Labour!

This weekend just gone was Labour Day in the good ol US of A.

In honor of Labour Day, Rocks in my Dryer put together a rather different meme, it's about........well, labour. And not the kind you get a day off for, either.

How long were your labors?
Ben - 7 1/2 hours, although was having twinges all day for about 9 hours.
Alex - 7 hours

How did you know you were in labor?
Ben - I didn't! Until the contractions were about 4 minutes apart and then I believed it!
Alex - started getting niggles and knew what to look out for as this was #2

Where did you deliver?
Ben - private birthing unit, although had to transfer to hospital 30 minutes after birth due to retained placenta
Alex - hospital due to 50/50 chance of needing an op again, which I did do.

Drugs?
No, although I took 2 paracetamol about 7 hours before Ben was born. Not sure what this was going to touch!!??

With Alex I talked myself out of any drugs during the labour, as I knew the reason why I couldn't have any of them. You know like, contractions too short and fast (gas & air), too close to delivery (pethidine) and no way (epidural)

C-section?
Nope,

Who delivered?
Midwife for both, although different ones as my first one had moved city's by the time I was pregnant with Alex.
Both were delivered on the floor as I was sqwatting next to the bed. 2nd midwife didn't like this so much and kept encouraging me to get on the bed, which I didn't.

How many weeks pregnant?
Ben - 38 .2 weeks
Alex - 39.1 weeks

Would you do it all again?
Oh yes, in a heart beat.
I loved my delivery with Alex.
Just the pregnancies that don't agree with me or Steve!
Unfortunately we discovered the source of the problem to getting them and fixed the problem!

Have a great week.

Breasts

Just like Diabetes, Breast Cancer plays a big roll in this family.
My mum had breast cancer 23 years ago and she is fighting fit.

So for precautionary measures I have an annual mammogram and check up with a specialist.

All $250 worth of check up....wow am I so glad I get it all back on insurance.

So for 10 minutes once a year, off I go and get squashed and flattened, poked and prodded all in the name of my own health.

But then hey, rather that then not being here for my 2 little guys.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Random Acts of Kindness

Today, here in New Zealand is Random Acts of Kindness Day, well that is what they said on the radio this morning.
I love random acts, I think they are just so great, makes you feel good for doing it and makes the other person feel good to have someone think about them.

I did a random act of kindness today whilst at swimming. Ben had finished his lesson and Alex was having his.

There was this little girl, probably about 2 1/2 yrs, sat in the playpen whilst her mum and baby sister were in the pool having a lesson.
Now this child sat there and sobbed. I mean really sobbed, talk about huge act and all that, she had mum just where she wanted her, at the end of her little pinky!

So the mum decided to get out of the pool and sit this child on a chair with her soft toys. She then went back into the water. So I decided to move and sit next to the little girl so mum didn't have to worry about her for the last 20 minutes of the lesson.
Mum waved to her at every oppotunity and she was very talkative.

She interacted with Ben and became quite relaxed and happy. Mum saw all this and carried on with her lesson.
Ben and the little girl even wanted to get in the playpen before the end and so I lifted them both in and they played together so nicely.

When the lesson was finished I went and got Alex dressed and then he wanted to play in the playpen, so I stood and let them all play together.
The mum then came and got her 2 children out of the playpen, looked at me with a funny look and then just walked off.

Now I wasn't expecting any huge praise or anything, but an acknowledgement of some small amount would have been so nice.
I didn't do a random act to get any praise or thanks, but I felt so snubbed.

But the day was not all lost, because we had to go downtown after swimming to pay some bonds for the venues we are hiring for the wedding.
When I had done this the boys and I had some other little errands to run.
Unfortunately they took longer than expected and so we stopped to get some lunch. When I had been served I then had to master a tray of food, with the puschair and Ben walking.

For 2 seconds I thought 'oh yea, like how will this happen' I was just about to get Ben to push the pushchair when this lady appeared and asked if I needed a hand.
Said she had heard on the radio today about helping people today and so she was helping me.

Ya ho, there is a kind world out there, it does go round in circles when you least expect it.

So go on, do a random act of kindness and make someone else smile today.

Spring

Today is officially the first day of spring in New Zealand
And isn't spring going to be busy for us......

7 days till Ben starts school
9 days till Grandma gets here from Dubai
16 days till Grandad gets here from Dubai
19 days until our wedding
21 days until our honeymoon

To name just a few of the things happening to our family in the next month.

Happy Spring to you all.....