There and back again.....

My contact course..... what can I say. Instead of the glorious family holiday where we spent hours in a hot car, driving 8 hours off to Palmy I hopped instead onto an aeroplane and whisked off to test my children story writing skills. The course was awesome, and hard, and challenging and incredibly worth. I wrote and wrote and occasionally ate the disugusting food the student cafe served up for really quite unreasonablly high prices. Sadly, the cruisy week I promised Chris vanished. Cameron was ok, little tyke just kept on trucking but K devolved into a sad, weeping little heap who got sent home from kindy on the last day. Lets just say the whole airport heard his scream of MUMMY MUMMY when I arrived. I got to enjoy the luxurious surrounds of the Air NZ lounge as my new BFF let us in. We ate and drank, surfed the net, wrote some stories and had an awesome time waiting for our plane. And best of all was getting off the other side and seeing Chris and the boys...Not so good was having to knuckle down and produce the next assignment in 3 days... especially as I had a TCANZ meeting to minute. That was a disaster too. The train was well late, the car not drivable, I had to be collected from Mt Albert train station and I only got home at 3:30. To say Chris was happy to see me would be an understatement.

Birthdays birthdays everywhere!!

So, it's my birthday again. Not fair how that happens every year. However the blow was lessened by a gloriously warm and sunny day :) Presents were pressed into my not unwilling hands, and kisses dispensed liberally (that would be the boys, I received the usual warm handshake from Chris of course). So I had a lovely cake free day. I would have murdered anyone who brought cake into the house after we had to eat the first birthday cake, then the second. I was caked out!! I did enjoy my delicious dinner of roast lamb - mmmm so yummy!!

Party time is here again!

The week ticked on but one little pirate waited anxiously for Saturday - also known as PARTY DAY! The day dawned rainy, then sunny, then rainy, then sunny..... For Kieran's 4th birthday party.....his pirate party!! K tried on a variety of Pirate costume parts on the day before choosing the ultimate outfit. Snacks were procured, food cooked, and the hordes descended. Man those kids could eat! Finally, the pirate treasure was brought out and the candles lit. Lets just say that the treasure chest cake that Chris and I slaved over for hours the previous night was friggin awesome. Kieran loved having his friends at playcentre, the treasure hunt in the sandpit (in the snazzy treasure chest box I painted that morning) went down well with the kids and we all had a blast. We tidied up at the end and Chris drove Sue and the boys home while I vacummed then locked up. I then had a lovely stroll home on a warm sunny day.

A great birthday party for a great little boy!

Happy 4th Birthday Kieran!!

Kieran's special day really started last night, when Chris and I blew up nearly 30 balloons and scattered them across the bedroom floor. Or maybe it started before that, when I discovered that his bike was the wrong size and had to move heaven and earth to get a replacement. Aaah yes, the bike saga. Basically we headed into KMart to procure a velocipede. I now now that bike buying is best done just before xmas or well afterwards, and not in early January when KMart has zero stock and no display bikes out. We therefore purchased a 50cm bike, paid more to have it assembled and bought a lightning McQueen helmet for Mum and Mike's bday pressie for K. So I call the store on Tuesday to check if they have training wheels. The guy on the phone sounds perplexed and says "we don't offer training wheels for bikes aimed at 10 year olds." This is where I panicked, and begged and pleaded for him to find a 40cm bike. To his credit he managed to find one. Problem: Bike assembly guy is only there on tuesdays - and he has already left. I called Chris and we made the decision to get bike assembled and collect it after I get back from the Massey contact course. So, tuesday night we have no bike. Instead, I blow up 30 balloons and scatter them across the boys floor. I decorate Kieran's place setting and pile up his presents. The next morning we wait, and wait, and wait. Yup, K is having one of his rare sleep ins. Eventually poor Chris has to leave for work. K staggers down half an hour later and enters an orgy of present unwrapping. He loved the helmet, the wooden blocks, the fishing rod, the scribble and learn, and the birthday cards. He was over the moon. He and Cameron were down on the floor making like architects, K still wearing the bike helmet :)

I love you my Kieran. You are a wonderful special loving little boy and I can't believe we've been lucky enough to have you in our lives for 4 years now :)

Goodbye 2011, hello 2012!!

I must say that I am looking forward to the new year. We have more swimming classes planned, Massey papers, Round the Bays, a 10th wedding anniversary and a summer and autumn to enjoy. Bring on the good times :)

We're all going on a Christmas holiday

I decided that the boys needed to have their Imm's before we headed off on xmas break. Kieran was still musing bitterly upon this event on thursday.... and friday.... but luckily this seemed to have been relegated to the past on Saturday morning. It was an absolute scorcher of a day...not ideal as we were walking to Lydia's house to collect Playcentre key, then going to Playcentre to collect my Celtic Woman xmas cd, K's xmas cd, and K's sunhat, then walking back to Lydia's to return the key... then walking back home!! Suffice it to say that I was wondering if the hat and cd's were worth it with slowpoke seal dragging at my heels for the 3.5k walk. However Louisa gave us a ride home and returned the key to Lydia so that was a win, and we even left home a mere 5 minutes late... sans my hairbrush, but still on time. The car behaved beautifully, the boys likewise with a lovely 2 hours sleep from then and we got to Kerikeri around 3pm Christmas Eve.

From that golden day the weather only deteriorated sadly. However Christmas day was an exciting one, and sunny, as the boys opened their presents chock full of excitement! We got the boys some BIG cars, I got an IPAD and Chris got some roleplaying books. Then we headed off to the beach house in Russell for the rest of the day. There were lots more presents and plenty of food followed by some sandcastle building and shell hunting afterwards. Much later we dragged two knackered little boys off to Kerikeri. We chilled out on Boxing day before heading off to the Warehouse. I staggered out some time later with swimming shorts ($6), 2 sunhats, socks, moisturiser and ungvita cos C is cutting YET ANOTHER tooth, then headed to the beachhouse the following day. This time we hit the beach first, and K ran in and out of the waves while his brother built sandcastles. As Chris was co sandcastle building I perforce had to gallop up and down the beach and in and out of the waves. Good times. Our last day in Kerikeri was Sue's birthday, and Blair made Gordon's sage pressed belly pork.... while I made Frangelico trifle....mmmmmm so yummy!!! Then we headed off on the 30th at 10:15 where to our surprise we saw a policeman and Jenny and Sue and Kingsley all pulled over on the side of the road with Jenny being spoken to by a Police Officer. In the very same spot Chris was pulled over 3 years ago lol. The boys were very good and there was very little traffic. So that, and a 1 hour snooze from the boys made it an awesome trip! And we are home, and all is good!

Twas 2 days before Christmas

... and all through the house frantic packing ensued, without a doubt! Chris had today off so Chris walked up to the local shops to get the fixings for chocolate shortbread and onion marmalade. I cleaned kidlets, dressed kidlets then scrubbed out the bathroom...finishing just before Chris arrived home. Once the ingredients had been procured, Kieran and I began baking! Cameron was a big help, licking the beaters for us lol. After the bread and shortbread had been baked we set off on a train ride to Henderson and the great present expedition. We paid off the laybye on the presents, collected them up and bought presents from mum and Mike. We finally staggered home at 1:30. C was asleep after tipping chocolate milk all over himself and the stroller...sigh. Chris staggered upstairs shortly after we got home for a nap, and even Kieran conked out on the couch...lol, I felt so alone hehehe. Anyway, onion marmalade has been made, dinners have been served, boys have been bathed and popped into bed.... and I am off to bed too. Tomorrow I have to pack our clothes, collect the Playcentre key so I can retrieve K's hat and my xmas cd's, return home to Chris having packed the presents in the car, and then we shall away. There is something wrong with the hib of the left front wheel atm, it screams like a stuck pig when going round corners (hence why the train ride to Henderson). The mechanic assured me it would hold for the Kerikeri round trip... but it does mean we won't be able to get to Palmerston North. I have had to contact Massey to see if I can skive out of the contact course...and the mechanic is struggling to find a replacement from the wreckers (cost:$300)... if we have to buy parts... it'll probably cost more than we paid for the car!! Fingers crossed anyway!! Boy, I can't wait to see the boys face on xmas day!!!