All Hallows Eve

On Friday I whisked the Squeak up to the library and shops in the golden sunshine. We had experienced a power cut at 7am so at 10 I took him up the hill :) We shopped for sundry ingredients for carrot cake - but were unsuccessful in our quest for walnuts - a result of which has been that the cake remains unmade. On Saturday we had people around for a brunch and I roasted a chicken and baked an apple pie in my new pie dish. Both were delicious! We allowed our child to frolick nude in the garden before clothing him and placing him down for a nap. We were going to take Kieran to the Mainly Music Halloween festival but after we farewelled the guests at 3 we decided against it. Chris's back was out and besides, the toddler bed that we had bought on trade Me had just been dropped off. It is a cute little red bed, and came with an inner sprung mattress, 6 sheets and Wiggles bedding. We set it up in the spare room - I mean, Kieran's room - and he has been happily frolicking on it. We then celebrated Halloween by hiding upstairs and pretending no-one was home. Heeheehee. Yes, I do have issues handing strangers lots of chocolate - why do you ask? :)

I am looking forward to getting Kieran's pictures up - the ones my mum painted for him and the ones I have done too.

Today was Chris's turn for a sleep-in so the boy and I romped downstairs at 6 (!!!!). Chris decided against breakfast when he joined us later and then begged me for a meal at 11 :). After feeding the family corn fritters I whisked Squeak upstairs and trialled putting him down for the daytime nap. He settled like a dream. This is good, but means we will need to buy another safety gate for the top of the stairs. Kieran is not particularly nimble when encased in a sleep sack! We hope that if the daytime naps work out (and once a safety gate has been acquired) then he can go in for the nights. This should also mean that when he wakes up in the morning he will have toys and books to amuse himself - and hopefully delay our awakening.

Snork snork

God I'm tired!

It is 8:30 at night and I am about to crawl into bed. Yup, it's been that kind of week!!

My exam went well - always a bonus - and I am confident that I have passed the paper. Tomorrow I will log onto the Massey library site and see if any of the textbooks are there so I can get started with the reading for Summer School. After the exam I did a focus group thingy for Nivea. It was fab and I got some Nivea products afterwards - which was awesome!! Really cheered me up.

Today Coffee Group met at my place. I prepared breakfast for the family, baked berry muffins, made pizza dough and prepared banana custards. And all before 9am. Bow down before my domestic goddesshood! I asked the group if I could have it at mine as I was looking after Alex from 10-2 and the thought of walking up to the rooms and back with a K and an Alex didn't appeal. It was awesome catching up with the girls as the tots rampaged through the house like monkeys through the jungle. K rampaged with the best, but finally crashed at 11:45. Alex and I made pizza, watched movies, built blocks and created playdough masterpieces. Once K woke up we sauntered down to the playground and then Alex was whisked off home by his loving mother. I did manage to get the washing hung out in the afternoon sun which cheered me no end. I did my back at some stage in the early afternoon and have been staggering around with sharp pain radiating from my right sciatic - fun fun fun!! The plan for tomorrow is that there is no plan. We will head up to the shops, and the library and that will probably be it for the day.

Exam excitement

Studying didn't happen today - so sad as forgot had people round tonight so my last gasp effort will have to be delayed. Even my traditional panicky effort the morning of the exam may not happen as usual as little squeak will have to be fed and watered :(

Dammit.

Oh well, exam tomorrow morning - cross fingers and hope for the best!!

Labour Weekend

Well we had gorgeous weather for the Saturday and Sunday of Labour weekend. Now, on Monday, it is cloudy and cool but not yet rainy. On Saturday we took K to The Cascades. Somehow, within the first 10 metres of the walk, his legs stopped being able to work. I carried him about a third of the way and Chris carried him the rest. It was a nice walk and we had a picnic with Garth, Kym and Alex at the end. Despite their 25 minute head start we caught up with them right at the end of the trail. The fact that Alex was walking (and examining trees with the fervour of a young Charles Darwin) might have helped! Sadly K has a cold making him somewhat temperamental and drippy. Even more sadly he has infected Chris. I laboured away at my study, hearing Chris's tolerance for babywrangling rapidly decreasing as he began to feel ever more wretched. We made sushi for dinner last night which was rather nice. Kieran thought so too as he munched away on his first dinner of sushi. He quite liked smoked chicken too :). Today we plan to head into Toyworld and pick up a puzzle or 2 for the wee one. Tomorrow will be more study and Wednesday will be my exam. I am betting that K will not make it to Mainly Music with his father hahaha. I am praying that I too do not fall under K's malady - I have just gotten over being sick for 3 weeks - I could do with a patch of good health, not to mention wanting to have a clear head (and nose) for Wednesday's exam!!

D Day

Today dawned bright and sunny, with the promise of a fantastic day ahead. Alas that it all fell apart so soon. I thought that I would take K to the zoo since the weather was so nice, so I washed up dishes etc before Chris left for work. Kieran and I then walked Chris to the car and returned to the house. It was then that we discovered that three ducks had taken advantage of our absence to sneak inside. Pandemonium ensued. All three ducks flew repeatedly into the ceiling while I tried to chivvy them out the door. Then Kieran began to chase them around the house! head:desk. One managed to make it out the front door, one fled to the garden door - which was closed, while the other cowered in the kitchen. All were shrieking like stuck pigs, sending K into hysterics. After much effort I managed to sneak up (with a child clamped to my leg) on the one by the garden door and got the door open. Turning back to the kitchen I saw to my horror that the third duck had managed to wind the blind cord around a wing and was shrieking and flailing away as it tried to fly out the (closed) kitchen window. Words cannot express my emotions. I managed to get into the kitchen without K, who had trotted towards the other duck, finally prompting it to dash out into the garden. Visions of both CYFS and the SPCA knocking on my door filled my head as I managed to grab the ducks wing and untangle the fiendishly knotted cord. The duck was well behaved during this, trying to break free only once as the cord began to loosen. After that it crouched on the (FILTHY!!!Previously CLEAN!!!) counter as I finished the job, picking my way among all the dishes that had been laid out to dry as I did so (Grrrrr!!!). The bloody thing then hopped onto the frying pan to pick through chicken remains as I opened the kitchen window and when I chivvied it away defecated in the frying pan before falling out the window. So instead of bathing and dressing K and heading out to the zoo I got to calm my unsettled son, clear all the dishes off the door, wash down dung besmeared counters, windowsills and windows (let's not even mention the floor!), and wash all the dishes - again! Then wash out the frying pan. By the time I had finished all that, thrown away papers that were no longer legible, and got K bathed and dressed I was shattered. We didn't go to the zoo, and we will not today because I don't fancy hitting rush hour traffic later this arvo, what with it being Labour weekend and all. It is also my last day with Leviathan - making me even more cross about the feathered terrorists who disrupted my plans for the day. For come Monday I shall be truck free. The pain, the sorrow!! Woe, woe! My exam is on Wednesday so this weekend being Labour weekend is great for me - if not for Chris hahahah!!! I get to study and he gets to babywrangle. ToyWorld has a 20% off all toys on this weekend so we will pick up a couple of puzzles for K too.

MOTAT madness

I headed out today to meet up with Ruth for our visit to Motat. I fled the house, terrified that I would be late to meet Ruth at 9:40 - but was only 5 minutes late hehe). We parked by Western Springs/Zoo and walked through the park to get to Motat. It took us around 20 minutes. K frisked alongside like a little lamb, while Fin and Christian rode in the stroller. Once there the boys scattered in 3 different directions and were ruthlessly herded together before breaking apart. Almost like magnets repelling each other, now that I have the leisure to think about it. We saw 2 exhibits in the hour or so we were there (we got there as it opened at 10am). After collapsing onto a park bench in sheer exhaustion we fed the kidlets then walked back to our cars. It was a long walk.... K walked for all of 5 minutes before tearily demanding to be carried. My heart sank. I knew that quavery voice, those baggy eyes. There was NO WAY I was getting home without Squeak falling asleep in the car. And as we know, if I try and get him out of the car and into his cot...he wakes up and doesn't go back to sleep - aaaargh! I hopped in the car, and watched a policecar race down the road, do a U turn in the zoo entrance then turn at the end of the road and race back to the zoo. Very odd. Revving my engine I fled Mt Albert. I was so engrossed in trying to keep K awake (oh yes, and driving too!) that I found myself in the motorway lane. Dammit. As I drove the 20 metres onto the motorway I looked back... and K was asleep. Sigh. The trip was uneventful apart from the plethora of police cars at the Patiki onramp, and a policeman grilling a speeding vehicle in Glendene. I pulled into the drive, gazed at my sleeping son, went into the house and grabbed a book. The truck is not actually that comfortable a place to read a book for 2 hours - let me tell you!! Yup, the little devil slept for 2 hours!! After he woke up and had lunch I took him down to Foodtown to pick up some groceries - and bought smoked salmon. I LOVE smoked salmon. However, compared to K I detest the stuff :) He scarfed it down for dinner like gangbusters, closely followed by some apple slices and a chocolate yoghurt (blame Chris for that!)

My last day with Leviathan is tomorrow and I have NO idea what I will dream up for K to do. Hopefully it doesn't rain. Today was cloudy and cool - and that's workable!!

Boogie Woogie

I slept so well last night!! I was knackered and only crawled into bed at 10:40pm which might explain my excellent sleep. I was awakened by the "sweet" chirping of the toddler - a metre from my head (yes, his cot is still in our room, why do you ask?). Chris just groaned and burrowed deeper under the covers. I felt like doing much the same myself!! However, I forced myself awake and graciously received gifts of a bunny, seal and bear (his cot toys). I was then handed a bottle with a beaming smile and "Botta". He'e getting there with the words! Chris expressed his joy by turning off the alarm and digging even deeper under the covers, pursued by the Siamese. I was then handed another bottle, only to have it snatched back when K realised he hadn't drunk any of it!! I hauled him into bed and he drank his bottle and played with the cat and patted the lump that was his father. Chris finally left for work after feeding the kid chocolate so breakfast was much deferred and consisted of a pottle of strawberry yoghurt. I popped K into the bath after Bob the Builder and heard a knock on the door. I was surprised to see Isabella - our neighbour across the road. Her 1 yo has chickenpox and she wanted to know if I could take her little boy to MM with me when I took K. Naturally I laughed in her face and slammed the door...no, I opened the truck so she could get his car seat arranged while I went back up to make sure that K wasn't drowning. He wasn't. MM was good. Esteban was a little trooper and K danced joyously about whenever it wasn't called for and collapsed onto my lap (an interesting trick if your mother is currently standing up!!) whenever the dance numbers came up! Hmmm. He had however polished off most of a banana upon arriving at MM so I forgave him. He then scarfed down some chocolate cake and a biscuit, had a quick play with the toys and then I dashed home and dropped off Estaban. I am sure he was missing his mum after being away from her for an hour and a half! K then ate a sumptuous lunch of half a salami stick, a peanut butter sandwich, and 5 pikelets. More than he normally eats all day!!! I popped him into bed and cleaned out Leviathan. I will vacuum it tomorrow though, as I really can't be bothered today. My Massey summer school folder also arrived today. Aaargh!! How can I goof off while I wait for it to arrive in November if it is already here!!! Unfair, unfair!!

Tonight we are heading off to Rob and Sam's for dinner and tomorrow Ruth and I are taking the boys to Motat. Hopefully the weather is as sunny and gorgeous as it is today. When K wakes up I am going to walk him to the playground and rugby fields so he can stretch his legs :P

Of shoes, and ships and strange Siamese

Sunday's trip to Bethells withered and died as the rain gently (yet persistently) cascaded from the sky. I daresay the boy would have been keen to hit the sand - but his father decided early on not to stir from the house :P I slaved away on my exam study for much of the day before going for a walk up to the shops around 5. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze - all in all the weather was unlike the rest of the day's offering!

On Monday I whisked K off to playgroup. It was a lovely sunny day initially but rapidly became a game of sunny - take off jumper, cloudy - brrr, put on jumper. K cavorted with the water activity table, frolicked in the sandpit and had a glorious time - except for falling in the carpark and skinning his knees. We barely made it home before he was rattling the fridge door, bottle in one hand and sleepsack in the other (this is a metaphor) He was asleep 10 minutes after we got home :) Then in the afternoon I walked up to the library and shops pushing a heavy little heffalump. It was sunny!! I got washing done! Woot! He had a great time playing with puzzles, assaulting the bears and sounding out the letters of BOOK RETURNS. Then this evening, just as I got him settled in the cot and was about to sneak out of the room away from my slumbering child, ... Bandit springs up onto the cot, and into it (first time ever). Cries of delight announced that K was NOT as asleep as I had thought and a small figure rose from the depths of the cot not once, not twice but yea verily three times to assault the Siamese... who sat there unperturbed. He must have eaten a piece of meat laced with valium is all I can say!! Then once kidlet had collapsed back down and was asleep said Siamese sauntered downstairs for a cuddle. Truly,, the ways of the Siamese are inscrutable. A trip to the zoo is planned for tomorrow - if the weather co-operates... for as I write this the rain is falling heavily down. I am so glad I got all the washing in earlier!

Franticulation!

On thursday we had coffeegroup. Despite K deciding to dissolve into fits of tears we went - in the pouring rain - and he had a great time. I forget what I did on thursday afternoon - it was obviously completely unforgettable :P On friday I headed up to the library on foot (it wasn't raining - imagine!!) and K participated in the first active movement session at the library. He danced, he pranced, he hugged toys, he stole balls, he beamed with delight - and made an utter spectacle of himself. I was exhausted just watching him! I only just managed to get him home before he succumbed to the lure of that evil siren, Sleep. That afternoon I went off to the Glendale road playground/fields. I took a ball and K frisked and frolicked like a puppy at my heels. I called it quits after 40 minutes of sprinting across rugby fields and lolloping around playgrounds, as I do not have the energy reserves of my son! On saturday K woke up at 6am. This was particularly sucky as it was Chris' sleep-in...sigh!! Later, I studied while Chris babywrangled, then we headed out to the zoo for the late afternoon. We were extremely lucky, arriving (umbrella free) as the sky clouded over and the deluge began, leaving as the skies cleared and blued up.. head:desk! We were able to view the lions, cheetahs et al but especially 2 seals, one of which reminded us irresistably of Colin. I think it was the way it hovered by the window, winking and showing off its mad skilz. The whiskers might have had something to do with it too :P

Tomorrow Chris will take K off to Bethels to run him ragged while I study....aaah, Boy, dad and dogs. He'll LOVE it!!

Raindrops keep falling....

Gosh, dont you just hate it when all you want to do is have an early night - then remember that you need to blog!! Aaaiiieee the cruelty of life is indescribable :)

On Monday - to celebrate Chris getting his PhD - woot! - I made nachos and an apple and rhubarb pie. Colin generously loaned us the pie plate - so appreciated!. On Tuesday we headed out to Western Springs. It was a blast. K had a great time and we avoided the avian and water hazards - even better!! Then, despite me leaving early to prevent this very thing, K tried to go to sleep on the way home. His eyes fluttered shut halfway down the Barnea Circle hill. I shrieked like a tea kettle and woke him up enough for me to park the car, nuke milk, sleepsack him and get him into the cot before he fell asleep again. Phew! I need that 2 hour sleep in the middle of the day - I get positively vicious without it. Then that night we headed into Henderson and Adriatico for a celebratory dinner. It was so sad to see all the Aisling Symes flyers up - especially as we now know the poor little thing died in that drain. Still, at least her parents know. I think the not knowing would be so much worse... Though my heart goes out to them. It's an awful situation to be in!! The dinner was delicious and K was feisty. That was probably his last dinner out untill he hits 5 - just 2 active and undisciplined hehe.

On wednesday we were out of cat biscuits. I had not got a good night's sleep so did not take well to Bandit pleading for nourishment. On my way to mainly music I made sure I popped into the 4Square and chose sustenance from their "vast" array of cat biscuits... oh yes, all those choices not. And did Bandit dig in with cried of delight? Heh. He metaphorically shook his hind legs at it while stoically chowing down. Mainly Music was a bust as K seemed to lose the use of his legs as soon as the session started!! Then, at morning tea he lolled across my legs, cramming a muffin into his mouth and moaning like a lovesick cow. I am sure people there thought I don't feed my child!! Today dawned absolutely pouring with rain. I lay in bed and wished I had the kind of child who likes to sleep in on rainy days. The problem is that I will, just not for another 10 years or so!

I was going to head off to the Plunket Committee tonight which started at 7:3-. K decided to be a little ratbag and only fell asleep at 8:10....so here I am, at home.

I just wish the rain would stop cos I am going bananas staying at home the whole time!!

Veni Vidi Vici

Chris achieved a pass with minor corrections. Booyah!!!!! Yay, I can now start calling him Dr Seal hehehe. I asked him what he wanted for a special dinner but he was surfing his personal sea of euphoria - so no details for you there :) He will however be having an apple and rhubarb pie with custard for dessert -as Colin has most graciously and kindly lent us a pie tin (ours died in the great pumpkin pie debacle!). Yay, all those years of work are done and sealed and PhD'ed.

Took K to playgroup this morning. There was a sticky moment when I realised that I had no idea where my wallet had been placed by Forgetful Bear (aka Chris). A frantic search ensued and we even got out the door on time. The weather is cold and grey... BUT IT'S NOT RAINING!! K had a good time, though oddly he didn't climb the fort or go on the slides - go figure!!

If anyone wants a pressie idea for him - for his Bday or Xmas or joint - try a marble run - he is absolutely FASCINATED with them :)

Bethels Bedlam

On Sunday a miracle occurred - a warm, blue sunny day. I nearly fainted with shock and delight. Instantly we decided that the long deferred trip to Bethels Beach would take place - in the afternoon when there was no chance that K would fall asleep in the car hehe. I did many loads of washing and sundry other chores while Chris studiedthen K had his nap. Upon hearing his welcoming chirps (he was reading his book and watching the cat on the bed) we rescued him and headed out to Bryony's. Lunch was fabulous, and Bryony baked a lovely ginger cake that K had to eat with both fists - it was soooo good, you see! K had a ball chasing Rabbit the dog, and cavorting around the deck and assaulting the cat and generally having an incredible time. Then we headed off to Bethel's Beach - and if K had thought he was having a great time at Bryony's he changed his mind. I don't think he stopped screaming with delight for even a second! He dashed about on the warm sand, flung a pinecone about and danced in the shallow wavelets - we never even made it onto the beach proper haha. I was saturated, and sandy and puffed, while Chris glided about at the water's edge carrying shoes and a change of clothes for K. We were there for about 40 minutes. At this stage K was starting to stagger and have the occasional squall - while still having a great time leaping about in the wavelets with his mum! We staggered off to the car where K was stripped to a nappy and dressed in a t shirt and I got to sit all wet and sandy) and desperate for the loo). Once home K barely touched dinner - until I chucked some frosted Shreddies (tres nutritious!) at him - then he was showered and popped into bed. Tomorrow playgroup resumes and on Wednesday Mainly Music. Yay. Hopefully the nice weather will hold too!

Snuffle Trouble

Sigh. I am still sick. Yup, almost 2 weeks now of coughing and a runny nose, and absolutely no energy. None of which makes for a very exciting life, or indeed, helps one study!!

The early part of the week was a write-off - partly due to the awful weather - how much rain have we got in the last 3 weeks!! - and partly due to my breathing/energy issues. On wednesday K was investigating the kitchen while I prepared his dinner. I heard a suspicious "Splooosh" and turned around to see that K had poured one of his nighttime bottles all over himself. He just stood there staring at me, milk dripping off his eyelashes, off his clothes. He gazed at me with worried green eyes (cause he KNEW he isn't supposed to sneak the milk haha) and I started to scold him, but gave up and laughed my ass off, he started laughing too... as he dripped onto the floor. His little face!! On thursday I took K up to the library for storytime (we walked.. well, I walked and he rode in the stroller). It was pirate themed and K had a blast until a chorus of "Arrr's" signalled Pirate Captain Rob's arrival. The hearty "Yarrr!" bellowed from behind K scuttled his interest in the books, and signalled the return of Owl-eyed-limpet-boy. He clung to me the rest of the session, refusing to stand , or let go of me.... sigh. Then on thursday afternoon I prepared lasagna while I chased K into the garden and gave him kiss attacks. I was exhausted by the time the lasagna was made, and K had been fed and bathed. Chris got home, and we headed out to Jen's for dinner with friends. We had a great time but K didn't sleep until we got home (at 10:20) and tucked him up with a bottle. On friday we stared out at the rain before I decided I couldn't take the lack of company anymore, and we headed out to Kym's. It was good to catch up and K had a ball playing with Alex's toys. We left just before noon - and as the rain poured down the traffic moved like glue.... naturally K fell asleep 5 minutes from home. I attempted to transfer him to the cot with some milk - with no success! Aaaiiiyyeeee. I was actually counting on his naptime as the house was a mess - no seriously, it was a shocker! Alas, no go. Isabella popped around - of course, she WOULD, when the house looked like incontinent monkeys had rampaged through it while eating 18 loaves of toasted bread. And her house so pristine... oh well. By the time Chris got home I was yearning for a nap. Instead, I was dragged out to the shops as Chris desperately needed a new pair of shoes. Not just because his current pair smile at him and are very reverent but also because he has his Viva Voce on Monday. Yup, he has his oral defense of his PhD on Monday. This is a BIG DEAL and Chris has been as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. We checked out several purveyors of footwear and settled on a pair of Hushpuppies. Today, the weather continues rotten and K continues sleep deprived so we stayed home this morning. K got put to bed early and I made hamburger patties for dinner. Later, we will head out to the library and go food shopping. Depending on the weather we will head out to Craig Avon park so K can have a run around. No plans for Sunday except that both Chris and I need to study :P

Frisking and Frolicking

It has been a pretty miserable week, especially after my bad cold was compounded by throwing out my back. I curse again the impulse that drove me to walk up to the library for storytime - my thrilled-to-bits-to-get-out-of-the-house son riding triumphantly in the stroller. While restraining Kieran during storytime I did something to my back and have experienced sciatic pain on my right side since Thursday morning. This has made babywrangling fun fun fun. Got the test results back from the Dr on Friday - and they show no reason for my system to have experienced a meltdown after the miscarriage. So, I have an appointment on Monday at 9:30 and I will be asking for an ultrasound to see if there is anything showing up there. Today Chris and I took the Squeak up to the Glendale Road rugby fields/playground. Despite the threat of rain K shrilled his delight to the skies, and didn't stop running until AT LEAST half an hour had elapsed. We had chatting, and leaves brought to us, and inspection of flowers and sand - and a fab day for a little boy, probably the best he has had all week :P Poor little guy. He has been very good about me being so listless while ill.

Tomorrow is my sleep-in and my lazy day :) although that means I must study for my upcoming exam - boo!!