Wiggle me not

Easter came and went by in a blur. Mostly because I was busy organizing the Square Affair Retro Festival for the city. While everyone was enjoying their Easter 'break' I was working day and night. The festival was a success, and I even managed to squeeze in a few Easter celebrations too.

Luckily on Good Friday (the day prior to the Retro Festival beginning) I did not have to work in the morning, so we hosted the coffee group for an Easter Lunch and egg hunt. It had been while since our whole group got together. All but one, has had their 2nd baby. One women in our group even had twins! It's amazing to think that in just the past year our coffee group has doubled in size. Toys, toys, toys were everywhere.

At 3 years old there is definitly a division between boys and girls - and this was apparent when we got all the kids together. The boys would yell, jump, and run, and throw things. The girls would sit patiently while I gave out Easter Egg hunt instructions. And we have 17 more years of this to endure? Someone, please help me.

The egg hunt was a hit. We hid them in a weed lawn (which I mowed for the occasion) and down the forest path (which James weed wacked for the occasion). All but two foil wrapped eggs were found. The missing two were found by Luca and I last night. They had sat outside all week in the pouring rain, and I only briefly thought that they may be questionable to eat. Briefly. Try telling a 3 year old "no, you can't eat the missing easter egg you just found." Ha, ha. Actually they were fresh as the day they were put out. Three cheers for foil wrapped easter eggs.


notice the girls sitting still....the boys itching to run away!

After the busy Easter/Retro Festival weekend, I was one of the parents chosen to help out for the preschool trip to see the Wiggles concert (free ticket for me...YES!)

Will I ever go to see a Wiggles concert again? NO

What a waste. Firstly let me start by saying our household isn't a huge follower of the
Wiggles to begin with. We 'try' to limit TV that the kids watch, and we don't have the fancy extra channels of SKY so we rarely ever watch them. Luca enjoyed it...but not as much as some of the other kids who were dancing and singing in the isles. After about 30 mins I think we had both had enough. To make matters worse, on facebook many of my 'stay at home' freinds were raving about how fantastic the concert was. Did I miss something?

It was mad. Kids were waving home made signs. They had brought dog bones to give to the wiggle dog (not sure what his name was), they brought roses for Dorothy the Dinosour (yeah, I guess she's a big fan of roses or something). Wait! Forget to bring that bone or rose from home? Well, never fear - you can purchase one in the lobby, and then give it to the characters as they come around. What!? Money making scam if you ask me. Don't even get me started on the balloons for sale in the lobby (which blocked the views of the stage).

Yes, I sound like a spoil sport. I love taking the kids to things...children's plays, concerts, museums etc, and we do make an effort to go to lots of things but this Wiggle concert....well lets just say it's now ticked off the list. Uggh. Remind me not to try to get the kids hooked on merchandises or brands. Darn...guess we messed up when introducing Luca to Lightning McQueen.

Best part of the feild trip - the bus ride! The one saving grace of the whole Wiggle expierence. My ticket was free.

Hope everyone had a good Easter. I do wish I could have had a family gathering in the States. Easter and springy decorations just don't fit in with Autumn.

When you build a house...

Get the driveway done at the same time. Yes. Do it, otherwise you'll be sorry.

This is just one of the many things we learned during our housebuilding process. We were stretched for money and thought that it'd be easy to live without a driveway until we could afford one. WRONG. The dirt, the dust, the mud...it made life with children extremely difficult. Bearable, yes. But very very unpleasant. It seemed like everything in the house was covered in dust and dirt. It got into the carpets, a fine layer of it covered everything in the garage. Cleaning was futile.

Now that I'm back at work full time, the bank has so graciously 'given' us the money to do our driveway. Who knew that a bit of concrete or asphalt would be so expensive! We are in the wrong business. I wander if it's too late for another career change?

The day the diggers, trucks, steamrollers and team of 7 men arrived, was a very exciting day indeed! Wyatt climbed up on a box so that he could see all the action too.

The men hard at work...it wasn't a painless process. We had to get the crew to come back to the house THREE times to do repairs and finish the job. (not to mention the cracked front tile, chipped plaster on the house.....grrrrr!) Don't you just LOVE tradesman? But finally we have a driveway, and the children can play outside mud and dust free. Oh, wait...they're boys! They'll never be completely mud and dust free. The driveway has made our house look so much better. Don't you agree?

Love the curbing to help keep our gardens (yes...there are two planted already) under control. We can fit about 7-8 cars parked tight. Maybe we should have a party to test it out?

Look the tiles are grey! The rest of the tiling will be done this week

After the driveway was in, we joyously (and I do mean joyously...it was a big occasion!) water blasted the mud and took out every item in the garage to clean. It felt so satisfying to clean off a years worth of filth that was slowly eating away at our happiness. Yes that's a bit extreme, but I wouldn't wish a mud pit front lawn/driveway for anyone.

Beg, borrow, steal. Get it put in with the house.

Now onto the rest of the landscaping. It's massive. A massive section, and a massive undertaking. Luckily we have entrusted the help of an landscape architect to design it for us. Best decesion e-v-e-r. It's going to be fab, and all we have to do is condition the soil (it's mainly clay), grow the plants, get more contractors to do all the hardscape, and win the lottery. We'll do it piece by piece.

This summer the goal was the front entrance way gardens, the retaining walls (still a work in process) and the driveway. I love how it looks so far.

Our big section, requires hundreds (maybe thousands) of plants. Maybe I'm a bit out of touch...but concrete and plants?! Who would have thought they'd both cost a small fortune. My investigative skills led me to discounted plants from city council and also a plant propagator who has just about anything you could want for a fraction of the cost of the nurseries....but they are tiny.

Our plan. Buy the small propagated plants, repot and fertilize them, then watch them get established till they are ready to be planted. We have a couple hundred scattered around the yard growing, and will plant a few more hundred this fall.

Special shout out to my mom, who helped us replant many of these when she was here for a visit! I admit, that I actually like the job of repotting the plants, and look forward to our next order of several hundred propagated plants.

Shelly gets crafty

James is away (yes...again). 5 weeks - but sometimes comes home on the weekends. The boys and I have gotten into a pretty good routine while James is away, and things usually work like clockwork. Well just cover your eyes when you walk in the house and through the landmine of laundry, toys, and leftover food crumbs on the ground. The weekdays are hectic. Very hectic. It's all go until both boys are asleep, and then it's cleanup kitchen time - you'd be suprised how long this takes. One of the pitfalls of having a large kitchen. If I'm lucky I get maybe an hour and half of 'free' time (for TV/internet/reading/baking). Last week I was ambitious and tried to beautify the house with a few projects. I made this...

To keep me organized. I'm a fan of weekly menu planning, and this will save the lists that always seem to get lost. It's a whiteboard thingy for menu planning, so when I'm half asleep at 6am and running around sorting out bottles and school bags I'll remember to get the meat out of the freezer. I'm pretty chuffed at how it came out.



Before you say it....No, I'm not that clever, I stole this idea off the internet. I've been a bit addicted to some blogs about crafty home decorations on the cheap. You'd be suprised at the millions of blogs out there by stay at home moms. Don't ask me how these people have the time to do it...but they do, and there are plenty more projects from them that I want to steal.

Guess who is finally on the road to be toliet trained? YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!

Speaking of blogs - I was feeling pretty lame about my own. Sometimes I wander why I do it? Does anyone see it? Maybe it's just a good way to record things about my children. Children. That's all I ever blog about. It's as if my life has become completly boring, and I have nothing clever to say or do. Hmmm, I must really get a life.



My cousin Melissa started up this really clever blog a few weeks ago. Yep, she's one of those crafty stay at home mom types (and her blog is awesome by the way!) but she has over a thousand followers! A THOUSAND. So I was feeling a bit pathetic about my own.

I often think about things to blog about (mainly musings, and other random things) but then whenever I do finally find the time to sit and type I forget all that stuff, and revert to 'life' aka children updates. Okay, will make more of an effort to be interesting/crafty/inspirational/supermom/event organiser/wife.

Ha! Sure.....

Bubba one

3 years ago when we first entered into the world of NZ parenthood, the term 'Bubba' or 'Bubs' (slang for baby) really iritated me. I refused to use it. Who would call their baby such a thing? Several years later I now use it as a term of endearment. It just rolls effortlessley from my mouth...you, Wyatt, are my Bubba and last month your turned one. My how things change.

This week you have begun to master the art of walking, and you think it is the coolest thing in the world. You walk a bit like Frankenstein - arms out in front of you, legs kicking out in front of you, till you lose your ballance and fall down. You look so proud of yourself, when you are walking, and indeed WE ARE very proud of you. Claps, cuddles, and laughter encourage you to keep going.

You crawl faster than the speed of light, and often you chase your brother around the house on all fours - walking can't quite get you there fast enough. You have no sense of fear. You like to climb up on the couch (where your brother sits perched in the corner watching cartoons) and then tumble off when you lose your ballance. Your sense of adventure has made us very aware of where you are at all times. This year has gone by so incredibly fast. You still feel very new to us, and it's hard to believe that you are already one. You have become very vocal, and like to chatter and babble away to no one in particular. You like to make yourself heard, and especially like to pick up the phone and say 'Da-da.'

Your favourite things are pushing the buttons on the telephone (luckily 111 has yet to be dialed!), opening up the microwave, unrolling TP, taking every tissue out of the box, dropping things into the toliet (my cell phone was the latest casuality), throwing balls, and your of course your big brother, Luca.

You are my little dancer. When you hear music, your whole face lights up, and you start shaking your head and bending your knees. You like it most when I dance with you - the more crazy the better. Your love being dipped down low and raised up high. Perhaps (shhh don't tell Daddy this plan) you'll want to take dance lessons when you are older. Everyone knows that guys that can dance get all the girls, right?

Grandma Cassie was visiting us for your Birthday. I feel so lucky that she was able to help us celebrate. She made you a pretty amazing tractor cake, and we invited close family and friends round for a BBQ dinner and cake.

You are more relaxed than your brother was at this age, and a much better sleeper. Dare I say that from about 6-7 months you sleep effortlessly through the night. Perhaps I'm jinxing myself by declaring that...You even take naps in your cot, which we struggled to get Luca to do. I think that's the 2nd child syndrome. The parents have figured out how to do things and we don't stress as much along the way. That, and a fairly structured bedtime routine helps.

I've spent countless hours with you balanced on my hip as we go about our everyday routines. I cherish how you grab on to my shoulders and shirt with your pudgy little hands - like a monkey clinging on for the ride. Still my favourite part of the day is putting you bed to night. I feed you a bottle (he's still a baby, ok?) and then pat your back as I wait for that gut wrenching burp to come out. You then rub your eyes, yawn, and put your head on my shoulder before I put you into bed. When I wake you up in the morning, you lay that little head again on my shoulder and give me cuddles. Warm, just woken up baby cuddles. There is no sweeter moment in life.

I love you Bubba~

Mommy

Earthquake

It has been exactly one week since NZ was shook by a very shallow earthquake which destroyed Christchurch. To date 164 have died, still around 60 missing, and many many more severely injured. I can't even begin to describe how emotional this week was for the entire country.



Those of you that live here, will know. And will be familiar with these images. These are only a few of the many, many horror sights around the city.



You expect things like this to happen to third world countries, but not developed countries with good infrastructure. 6 months ago Christchurch had a larger in size, but further away earthquake in which just about all the buildings in the city had to be evaluated and reinforced. NZ was lucky - there were no casualties and the damage was only minor compared to the latest earth quake.



Christchurch is a beautiful city. In fact, if I had my way - I'd move there in a heartbeat. Gorgeous old historic buildings, close to the Southern Alps and ski resorts, the gateway to Antarctica etc. I'm not entirely surprised about the historic buildings that collapsed. Who would expect a modern building to collapse? I pray that those trapped, and who perished died very quickly. I can't even imagine the fear they must have felt.



Now that I have kids of my own, everything is seen with a different perspective. One of the first casualties named was of a 9 month old and a 4 month old. The 4 month old had a TV fall on top of him. I read the story of the mother on the Internet and just couldn't stop crying. This could happen to anybody. At any time. What if it was me? That poor baby had no chance. The mother saw that he was turning grey. Desperately tried to ring the ambulance but couldn't get through. Ended up trying to drive herself to the hospital. Found a nurse helping others in the streets along the way. He died. That poor baby had no chance. Precious moments to be held onto forever. I'm wishing his family and all the others who have missing loved ones all the strength in the world to get through this. The entire country is thinking of you.



Then there are the children. The children who waited at school to be picked up by a parent after the earthquake, and no one arrived. The children who have lost a mother or a father. The difficulty of picking up your family and moving forward after a death...



James just happened to be on a navy ship in the port of Littleton (the epicenter) when the quake hit. Thank goodness he was on that ship and not on the land. He said that the ship 'literally jumped up out of the water and there was a big BOOM.' Their first reaction was 'there's been an engine explosion.' Fortunately, there were about 500 army/navy/airforce personnel who immediately sprung into action helping out with search and rescue, and security around the inner CBD. James got very little sleep those first few days and he helped stand guard and assist others. I am incredibly proud of him, and his ability to help during this awful time. Most of NZ is wanting to help, to do more, but all we can do is donate money and give support.



I felt guilty being at work last week. The whole week was a write off. The country was glued to the TV and internet - waiting for them to announce if they had found any more survivors and for live updates.



Christchurch has a long way to go in recovery. Still most of the city is without water, sewerage, and many still have no electricity. There's a massive effort in trying to reduce crime (looters are being named and shame and because it's a national emergency will not get bail, and immediately get thrown into jail). Most of all the country has joined together in support and it amazes me that a few lowlifes will take advantage of the situation. The good that has come out of this, has been the incredible generosity and spirit that the whole country has displayed. A country as small as this, really can come together in times of crisis.



The whole country stopped today for 2 mins of reflection at 12:50pm. Everyone. McDonald's shut. Buses stopped, the radio was quiet. Wyatt and I attended a memorial service at All Saints church with several hundred people, including the Mayor and other community leaders. While we all grieved and prayed together, I couldn't stop thinking about the things I have been blessed with. As Wyatt wiggled to get out of my arms, and I kissed his forehead I felt so incredibly lucky. To be alive. To have my family. This week has really put everything in perspective.



As sad as it has been, it has reminded me to hold tight to those that you love. Cherish each day, and tuck those memories to be buried deep into your hearts forever.

Turning 3

Dear Luca~

You recently turned three, who ever thought it would come. You have gone from toddler, to full fledged little boy. No longer do you have cute fat rolls, but your legs have become longer and leaner - you run everywhere you go, and you move at a million miles per second. This has been quite a big year for you. We moved houses, and you embraced the role of big brother with pride. You and Wyatt are buddies - you make each other laugh, and you help look after him. You tell him 'it's going to be okay', when he cries. You make sure he doesn't go out into the garage or outside when he's not suppose to, and you check up on him while you are both at daycare. Wyatt Idolizes you. Wants to do everything that you do, follow you where ever you go, and (much to your disliking) wants to play with everything that you do. It makes us laugh, when you try to act like a 'parent' to your younger brother. "No, Wyatt....(as he throws his sippy cup on the ground). It goes here." "No Wyatt, I'm not picking it up again." You mimic what we do, and it cracks me up. I look forward to seeing how your relationship develops.

You hare a vivid imagination, and like to tell us stories. When you start talking, your eyes get all big and round, and you can't seem to stop yourself. Our nightly ritual includes reading books, and then making up a story. Lately, I've been letting you make up the story for me.

Your enjoyment of books, makes me smile. It's something that we've tried to instill in you from a very young age, and it pleases me that you look forward to our fortnightly trips to the library. I'm constantly amazed at how you can almost repeat a book back to me after only hearing it read to you once. Your brain is like a sponge, just soaking it all up.

You are a usually a good helper around the house - you push your toy mower next to me when I mow the lawns, and you make sure we both have our ear protection on. You pick up your toys, and also help out at school.

Teachers at daycare have described you as a natural leader, but also very 'strong willed'. This is very apparent as you constantly test our authority, and need to be talked into doing things. You like to try and tell us what 'the plan' is. "no, mom. First I'm going to take a bath, then I'm going to eat dessert. Then watch Lighting McQueen." Hmmmm, who's the boss here?

At 3 you adore The Cars movie (wait till you hear that there is a 2nd one coming out soon), you try to walk in front of us, and you always have to be 'first'. You have just recently in the past few months dropped the -my from mommy. I'm now called 'mom' (or 'mum' in nz). How did that ever happen? Where did you pick that up from? Oh, well....I must acknowledge growing up is only part of the natural process of life.

For your Birthday we had a small celebration at home, with just us. It is unfortunate that the Christmas Holidays compete with your birthday, but we try to make the day special non the less. We love you dearly, and can't believe how much of a 'big boy' you have become.

XOXO

Mom(my)

Grandma Cassie's Visit

We've had a spring and summer full of visitors. First Erin and Ethan, then Dad and Fran, and for our third and final pickup at the airport....Grandma Cassie! Luca had been looking forward to her visit, and I couldn't wait to show her how much Wyatt had grown. Actually, how much they had both grown.

I took a week off work, and we hung out around Palmy - swimming in rivers, going for picnics, farm animal visits, shopping, and the local Super Seven's (7km walk/runs). Grandma Cassie expierenced our busy lives, and also how exhausting the two boys can be. The second week I had to work, but Grandma Cassie got to spend time with the boys and also help us out on our massive landscaping project (more about that in later posts). Thanks for your help, mom!

I think my Mom had these grand plans of taking me shopping. Heaven knows I need some new clothes. I haven't gone shopping in ages. I've been trying to avoid the mall because it just depressed me to see all the pretty clothes and feel like we couldn't afford anything...plus there's that little thing called baby weight, which doesn't make shopping fun anymore.

Okay so mom wants to take me shopping with both boys. She says - "it'll be fun, and we can both watch them - how bad can it be?" I think are you completly out of your mind...that's anything but fun and after a few days with us, I think she might just feel the same way. Alas - James watched the boys while we took advantage of Thursday night late night shopping where (drumroll please....) the shops stay open till 8pm! Yeah, pathetic one night of the week ...We had 2.5 hours and Christmas money from the States to spend. And you know what...I just couldn't find much that I liked. Wierd - when I'm forced to go shopping it just doesn't work. I did, however, come home with two pairs of badly needed shoes, so it was semi successful.Sorry I'm too lazy to go back and rotate this picture..enjoying a summer picnic

We showed Grandma our favourite new camping/swimming spot.

Of the four times that my mom has been to NZ she had never been to the Hawkes Bay wine region, so off we went. The weather was HOT. SO HOT (but I'm not complaining!) and we visited some wineries (tried and true) and also new. Here we are enjoying a lunch at Clearview - one of my favourites because it's very laid back and family friendly.

Dinner in Napier

Naturally because it was so hot, Luca struggled to go to bed. We discovered him 'watching' TV from down the hall. We put the only fan in the small holiday home in his room. When he finally did go to sleep (at about 9:30pm) I went in to check on him. He had taken his diaper off, and flung it on the ground next to his bed. He was sprawled out on the bed naked, with the fan pointed directly at his balls. It was the funniest thing, and I was tempted to take a photo...boys!? ahhhh....

Wyatt showing Grandma where all the fishing boats are
Looking at more boats. Luca's got this thing for boats now. Fishing boats, cruise ship boats, cargo boats....

On the rowboat looking for sunken pirate ships before the lights came on. Wyatt actually sat still the entire boatride.

We went from coast to coast, and also took an overnight trip to New Plymouth to visit the Festival of Lights - something which I've been meaning go to for a few years now. We had a sweet 'family room' style hotel within walking distance of the park. The park was lit up at night with all kinds of coloured lights and special exhibits, and there were free concerts and activities going on. The boys loved it, and they both managed to stay awake until about 10pm!

walking to the festival from our hotel room, wine in tow

Exploring Wanganui enroute to New Plymouth. Wanganui has this cool elevator built into the hillside as an old fashioned method of transportation - to get to the elevator, you gotta walk through this very long tunnel. At the top of the elevator you can climb to the top of the war memorial (which looks like a giant tower). Luca thought this was pretty sweet.

Oma and Grandma Cassie with Wyatt

Celebrating James' Birthday. We had a small party for him after work. Mom babysat the kids so we could go out to a movie - it had been a long time since we'd seen a movie together. Maybe a year?

Mom got to participate in two of the Super Seven 7km runs while she was here. She pushed the boys in the double buggy with the walkers while James and I ran (and I got some of my best times ever...also made me feel really sick...but still....best time ever! yay!!!). I think Mom enjoyed the walks. She also got to witness me do a triatholon, while James went for a training run. I can't even tell you how nice it was to have an extra pair of hands to help out with the boys.

Unfortunatly all good things must come to and end, and we had to sadly say goodbye at the airport. I think next time we go to the airport - it needs to be US on the plane. Luca agrees.

A Very Big Year

2010 saw the arrival of Wyatt, and our family of three grew to four.

We moved into a new house, and are still in the process of decorating and unpacking boxes!

I crazily decieded to go to school full time while I was on maternity leave - I'm now certified to teach High School.

James completed his first year as an Officer in the NZ army

It's been a crazy roller coster year for us. Plenty of ups and downs, but the one thing I am most grateful for is to be married to the most amazing and supportive husband, and wonderful father that one could ask for. Life is better when him. I'm also thanful for two beautiful and healthy (most of the time) boys, and a warm house which makes the NZ weather all the more enjoyable. Wait...I think I might have my holidays mixed up....anyways... Happy New Year - it can only get better from here!

We celebrated with the boys by going to the Square to watch the children's concert and eat a picnic of Pizza on the lawns. We had no babysitters, so we decided to bring the party to us. The kids...they slept through the whole thing, and by 1am I was ready for bed.

What do guys in the army do when they have a few weeks off work? Grow beards, of course.

My wondeful and gorgeous friend Toni and her husband Darron

And there were many, many more

Happy New Year!