6 months old

On friday I headed off to playcentre for the morning. K painted up a storm and we emerged at 12:30 content, happy, and ready for a nap. We all napped and at 3, when the boys awoke, we braved school traffic to head into Henderson to pick up Plunket posters, Alex's birthday present and look for small glass bottles for rhubarb vinegar. K was exceptionally well behaved and had a ride on Buzzy Bee outside the toy shop. We found an inflatable Ben10 beachball and a Ben10 watch. I also found some sticky wall decorations going cheap so got some for Kieran. I got some pirate ones for his birthday and a space theme for after the party. Well, Saturday dawned cool and grey and Cameron was 6 months old. It would have been nice to celebrate with an uninterrupted night of sleep but one can't have everything :) After racing around like a maniac looking for my wallet I left the house for K's dance class at 9:56. The class started at 10. I screeched into the carpark at 9:59, parked precipitously and hauled K across the carpark, and into the studio. TYPICALLY, K chose a day where I had no money and camera with me to truly dance his heart out. We dashed home and collected up Cameron (still snoozing in his cot) and Chris and headed off to Alex's 4th birthday. There was lots of toddlerish enjoyment, and K cavorted naked with Alex on the lawn, nimbly avoiding the water from the waterslide..... If I could have photographed those 2, buck naked, swinging together...... they looked so funny :) But alas! It was not to be. Cameron snacked ferociously upon watermelon and strawberry and pineapple... K ate nothing. He did however blow out Alex's candles as Alex was waiting for his happy birthday song to end. Face:palm. Chris has plans to do all sorts of exciting cooking this this weekend. YAY!

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa

For Christmas I would like a:

Ice cream

Lollipop

Sandwich

Sausage

BIG car

BIG truck

Fire engine

Blocks

xxxx Kieran

Dear Santa

GOO!

xxxx Cameron

My funny little boys :) As you can tell we have been working on the letters to Santa :)

The train trip was veeeeery long. We collected the newsletter but forgot the santa parade posters (doh), looked into the madness that was the Farmers sale, went to Toyworld where K found a HUGE truck ($800!!) that he fell in love with. We then hustled to catch the train, and got to watch it pull out of the station - without us. I took the boys down to the Zen garden next to the train station and K jumped in the fountains while C investigated the grass. Lunch was eaten and then we caught the train home. And K walked the entire time - very impressive!!

I was so tired by the time we got home at 1:40 that I fell asleep on the bed next to C, and K had to wake me up :) My evening was also quite exciting as my car got locked into the underground carpark! Luckily Suzie was there and called the property owner who turned up a moment later and released my vehicle hahaha. I could have walked home, Cameron in arm, but I didn't fancy it!!

Today is painting day at Playcentre and then I need to drive into Henderson to collect the posters, buy a birthday present and check out Briscoes :)

A bit of this, a bit of that

C is thoroughly enjoying starting solids - and what a messy beast he is!!! He rolling about like a loon and is desperate to crawl :) On saturday we visited rob and sam, borrowed their high chair and also visited spotlight on henderson road - also known as the store from hell! It took 40 minutes to get some fabric, the salesperson was rude, overcharged me and didn't give me a bag... Iwrote a complaint and they asked me to come in so they can :make it right". Perhaps saturday...The fabric will be used to make C a hat and also xmas presents for the twins. I was going to make K a superhero costume for the Glen Eden santa parade but Rob and Sam kindly lent us a Spiderman costume. We made a cat kite on friday. K mixed the paint. He was very excited as we cut out and painted the kite. I visited Kym yesterday morning, while the cat kite dried, at least, it was supposed to be morning! C threw a spanner in the works by sleeping for 2 hours 15 minutes! W drove past many trucks etc which K really enjoyed. He had a blast playing with Alex. Sadly he became very tired and fell asleep in the car. He slept for 15 minutes and woke up a right little horror! Even taking his kite to the playground to fly it didn't help - especially when he smashed it to the ground while having a tantrum.... on saturday we went to a BBQ over at Isabelle's. It was good fun and K cavorted about. They headed off to Quebec on Sunday. I don't know how K will cope without them haha. On Sunday we went to the Arataki Kids day which sent Chris's blood pressure through the roof. K used to be terrified of bouncy castles. At the kids day he flung himself on the "circus" and wouldn't come off. We hauled him off and he threw such a strop he had a timeout in the car. Sigh! I was mulling over doing a letter to santa so asked K what he wanted from Santa.... apparently he wants an ice cream and a lollipop lol! He loves Splat the cat books and we were debating getting him the splat books and Splat stuffed toy from the book depository for his birthday....we will see. On monday we went into playcentre and k loved it as always. I had a playventre meeting on monday that ran very late, so very late that Chris wass pacing the floor when I raced in the door....and he was jolly cross. On tuesday we went to visit Suzie and Amanda. K bustled about, playing with her toys and getting into the playdough like no ones business. Both boys slept like dream when we got home at 2! On wednesday we had plunket coffeegroup and K's behaviour was positively angelic! As a reward we will ride the train into henderson, buy some summer pj's, some xmas paper, pay money at the toyshop for K's xmas present, and pick up the plunket newsletter. I also have a Plunket meeting tonight, and a skype meeting to minute on Sunday..... Good times!

A 2 mouse day

Bandit surprised us the other day with not one but TWO mice, both lovingly stashed in the house. One had passed on to the great Brambly Hedge in the sky but the other was very much alive (and very well hidden by Mr B). Chris hurried out the door with the mouse hanging by its tail and flung its corpse into the garden. I am sure it was mere coincidence that it was flung at the fence of our loud party throwing neighbours :) After hunting high and low we found the mouse stashed in a box. It waxed lyrical and bitter on its predicament, and was released (again next to the neighbours fence). On Halloween we headed out to Craigavon park for a picnic. I dressed the boys as pirates and we had a blast! The weather was gorgeous and the boys really enjoyed themselves. A little orchard was planted opposite our playground, across the stream and K and I and C in the stroller headed over to the new community orchard which was planted across the stream from our playground. K was more interested in the mural on the wall than the orchard itself but enjoyed the walk, especially as we went on to the playground by the library. The week passed in a blur of meetings and minuting :) Guy Fawkes was then upon us and again our home sounded like we were sited in Iraq. Cameron then decided to destroy us by NOT SLEEPING. This has gone on ever since Guy Fawkes. The combination of a cold, fireworks and his first tooth have turned mr I sleep 8 hours a night into mr I wake every 85 minutes. Sigh. Some hard work has gone into trying to get his daytime sleeps sorted and last night we had slightly over 2 hours before each waking. I miss sleep! Today we picked our first strawberry which C shared with Chris. K declined to participate. We need to plant nasturtiums so that we can pickle their seeds. Apparently they are just like capers - but cheaper! K has dealt instant death to any tomato or capsicum seedling foolish enough to try and grow in my pots. They are now cunningly hidden throughout the house where he can't dig them up or tip out the soil. I plan to make C a new hat this weekend and also need to ..... see next entry

The world's longest blog post - ever! Part 3

It was the best labour weekend ever!!
The sun shone, the boys sang, and life was good!!
K's second dance lesson went well. He participated for most of the class and I was really proud of him!! We headed out to Olympic Park and he had a blast. We also headed out to Craig Avon Park for a picnic on Sunday. Colin and Ros joined us and we had a blast. I will however prepare a picnic basket with all the essentials pre-packed and ready to go :) The weather has been sunny and hot all weekend and I got all our washing done. I can't wait for summer. When we arrived at Playcentre on Friday I opened K's door to see him beaming at me, hat on his head. That's my boy!!!

The world's longest blog post - ever! Part 2

The train trip - from hell!!!
On friday K was promised a trip on the train. The previous friday we had gone to the Sid and Scrat show which was just a glorified decorate a gingerbread man event. K did enjoy decorating and eating his man, and eating C's as well. Anyway we had a blast and I found K's xmas present at Toyworld - which i was well pleased about. We headed into Warehouse Stationery to collect and pay for the Plunket newsletter and I was feeling pretty chipper when an idiot of a train conductor got my childs arm stuck. We were waiting by the doors and he grabbed for K to "help him out" K flinched away with his hand pressed on the door which whooshed open, sucking his arm into the side of the door. The pratt just stood there tucking on K, unable to understand that he was STUCK! I leapt across, jammed my knee into the door and made anough space to free the arm while the conductor just stood there, wringing his hands. Though he recovered enough to tell my weeping son to "man up". Only my great respect for the laws of New Zealand and my equeally keen desire to get my child to a doctor left him able to walk. Twit!! Anyway, K was fine, some mild bruising but nothing more. I took him on the train soon after and he isn't scared of trains thank god. The occassion of this trip? Monday evening, a fundraising Plunket event that Chris was supposed to babywrangle to allow me to set up. I was to be there at 6. I called Chris at 5:40. At 5:45 I was racing for the train with with boys in the stroller. Chris had been delayed and had forgotten about the event....grrrrrr. Apart from many run ins with the police, multiple meetings to attend and minute and a newsletter to prepare for - life has been pretty calm.

The world's longest blog post - ever! Part 1

It was a dark and stormy night when K came howling out of the night and into our bedroom..... the rather unsettled weather of the last month has not been doing our sleep any favours alas. Luckily, now that the weather is becoming more settled, these episodes are beginning to become fewer (ie 3 uninterrupted nights in 2.5 weeks). The time has been absolutely jam packed! Minutes have been taken, children excursed, more minutes done, trips undertaken, events setup and children to enjoy.... so, to begin....
Chris has gone on a pickling binge! Every jar in the house has been washed and filled with pickled red cabbage, pickled onions or rhubarb relish. While the results are lovely - especially the relish - the pungency of the vinegar seething through the house was a bit hard to take. He vanished off to Gilmours to see Chef Doyle last saturday when K had his first dance lesson and was gone for hours. HOURS!! It was a terrifying moment seeing him struggle through the door laden down with bags haha. K's first dance leson went well. We walked there. I am trying to walk more with the stroller as this should have dual benefit of exercising me and conserving petrol. K enjoyed it but only participated in a fifth of the class. There were also episodes of lying on the floor weeping that he had to follow orders :) Obviously I am not enough of a mean mummy! We also planned on going to playcentre on Monday. As I gazed out the window at the teeming rain I mentally scratched Playcentre from my list of "things to do today". Instead we stayed home, and cleaned. The boys were a big help :P Speaking of the boys C is well on his way to crawling. He rolls around on his mat like a maniac and my days are punctuated with excited goos then pitiful shrieks... I trot over, flip him over and the cycle resumes.... oy vey. In other exciting boy news K managed to break the clip on the side of the high chair. We now have a ravenous 5 month old baby and no high chair.... yay! We have also now ended the PORSE sessions. By going to Playcentre on tuesday (rainy Monday remember) I was able to mitigate the blow for Kieran. Truth be told he hasn't mentioned it or seemed to care at all. Which is fantastic. We also headed out to Cornwallis beach - the boys just loved it and I could hardly tear K away. All that digging. It was so good in fact that Chris and I went out there again on the weekend. K had a blast - especially as he was allowed to dig to his heart's content. I must pronounce a death knell on the poor beetroot and capsicum seedlings that I so happily planted in recent weeks. K's furtive diggings in their pots have killed them all.