Nicki Natter

Birthdays!

2011-08-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Another year has whizzed by and we are all another year older.

Niamh had a large gathering of special people that have watched her grow up over the last couple of years.

Beth had a small gathering with three kindy friends.

Dave and I went out for dinner and a show for his birthday, then I also took him to 'Man in Black' the Johnny Cash story which was very good!!
For my birthday I got a glamour shoot which was very self indulgent. They do your hair and make up and then take some very flattering pictures and give them to you on CD. It was a fun experience!

Battle Hill

2011-04-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we went out for a small adventure at Battle Hill. There was a pony club event on so we got to look at alot of horses as well as go on a small bush walk which the kids loved. We all packed into the beloved VW and beetled off on our adventure. Here are a couple of piccies from our morning.

Jumping off a log

2010-10-08T01:02:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we decided to go to Whitireia park and play at the beach, while we were there we took a few photos, hope you like them.

She's got personality!

2010-06-10T01:18:00.001-07:00

And now that Niamh is standing and walking around things she has realised how much more she can get into. ARRRRRRGGGHHHH nothing is safe!

Niamh's First Birthday

2010-05-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry!! I know it has taken me a long time to upload piccies of Niamh's birthday! Her birthday was March 6th and she got a swing for her birthday. She had a great time, eating lots of choccy cake and spreading it where the sun don't shine!!! It was a small family gathering but Niamh seemed to have fun.
I can't believe our wee gorgeous Niamh is already one!

Hong Kong

2010-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

The big family adventure started in Hong Kong where we had a lovely room (for the 4 of us!! Arrrgghh!) with a great view from Hong Kong island towards the mainland.

We had a wonderful days adventure at Hong Kong Disney, Beth had a great time dragging us from one ride to the next and Niamh had a lovely time sleeping through most of it.

The girls met the large disney characters and though Niamh was slightly bemused by them, Beth was terrified!!

Being blue eyed, blonde, white children, they attracted a lot of attention and ended up in a lot of random peoples pictures. Dave had to rescue Beth at one point as she was handed around a group of people who wanted to cuddle the white kid.

The end of the corn harvest

2010-05-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

Beth and I have had a lovely time seeing the whole lifecycle of the corn plant.

She helped me plant the seeds and then helped (I use that term loosely) transplant the seedlings from their warm conservatory haven into the outside vege plot. She helped to water them and we watched them grow and grow. Then the best part! Eating the corn! We picked it and the first day we just ate it raw because it was so juicy and devine!! Niamh loved it too and ate her corn very enthusiastically.

Now we have to wait until it is warm enough for us to start the whole cycle again.

Ireland

2010-03-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

Niamh on Grace and Donal's wedding day.

Beth and Colin ready for their big walk up the aisle.

The Bramwell-Cooke Family.

Niamh and Aunty Emma - they instantly had a special bond

Dave and Niamh at 'The Snug' in Bantry Bay.

Overseas adventures

2010-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

O.k so I know I've been slack at letting you know about the holiday....which was wonderful!! So when I get a chance I am just going to keep putting some photo highlights on for you to enjoy.

Beth exploring Beehive huts

Beth and Colin (flower girl and page boy) hanging out before the big day.

Me and Susanne with wee Jonathan in Brunsweig (Germany)

Niamh in Frankfurt

Dave, Beth and Niamh enjoying a refreshing bottle in our Hong Kong hotel.

The day is here!

2009-11-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Yep today we leave on a jetplane to the other side of the world. Are we ready? Are we finished packing? I don't think we are ever really going to be ready and no we have not finished packing. I have left the girls pack till last as I knew it was going to be the hardest! We are hoping to travel reasonably light for a family of four but already we have had to add another bag. My initial idea was one pack for Dave and I and another for the girls then a carry on bag for Dave and I too. Of course then we also have the two single umbrella strollers. But with the wedding pressy, christening gift etc Dave and I just can't fit everything in one pack hence the addition of another small bag.

Things we are looking forward to at the moment....Hong Kong Disney, Germany spending three days with lovely Susanne and her family, Ireland, getting to see Grace and Donal and their new house, catching up with old friends and spending two days with Ezi who is coming over from London to join us for a couple of days exploring the east coast. Grace and Donal's wedding where Beth is flower girl! Seeing the madness of Tokyo and the beauty of Kyoto again and then we are hoping to come home to hot weather!!!! The last comment is the only part I am not sure we are going to get!

Anyway as well as packing I have cleaning and washing to do so this domestic goddess better sign off and get busy. Dave must be excited too as he is outside trimming the hedge and it's not even 9 o'clock yet!

We will try and post the odd update here and there so you can see what we are up too. We have decided to also take the video camera so we have a recording of our adventure seeing the girls probably won't remember the trip otherwise.

Look after New Zealand for us while we are away.

16 days to go!!!

2009-10-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Whoa, reality is starting to kick in! In only 16 days we will be loading ourselves and our precious cargo on a large plane to head overseas!!

We head out of Auckland just before midnight on Nov 15th and head to Hong Kong. We are staying in Hong Kong for three nights...we are hoping that breaking up the trip will help the girls adjust to the time changes a little better.

We then travel to Frankfurt where we are staying one night in Frankfurt and then three nights with my friend Susanne and her family for three nights...they live in Braunschweig which is three hours on the fast train north east of Frankfurt.

We then hop across to Ireland, stay one night in Dublin before heading south to Killarney. We are in Ireland for just over three weeks. Our big reason for travelling at this time of year is that my friend Grace is getting married to the lovely Donal and we have been invited, Beth is even the flower girl! So we have a few things to do once we are in Killarney and fabulous people to catch up with! We are going to travel round some of Ireland as well so that I can show Dave some of the highlights.

On the way home we are stopping in Japan for three nights, one night in Tokyo and two nights in Kyoto. We will be in Kyoto for our third wedding anniversary on the 16th of December. Then we get home on the 19th!
I imagine we will be very happy to be home and will be happily shattered from all our adventures!

Two great friends are house and dog sitting for us so it is great to know we don't have anything to worry about on the home front.

So don't expect any updates while we are away I will be having far too good a time to be sitting at the computer!!

I will have to load photos later as it isn't working at the mo. :)

August Antics

2009-08-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Change

2009-08-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

Well both girls have had changes in their lives lately, with Beth moving into a bed and Niamh now in the cot.

Beth was wonderful for the first week and then she realised that she can get out of the bed.....hmmmm, she is still excellent at night, but the day nap is a little more work!! I have now removed anything that she likes to play with out of her room so that she has less need to get out of bed. This seems to have helped, yesterday she went straight to sleep at nap time but who knows what today will bring!

Niamh is now enjoying having more space and is now able to stretch out in all directions without touching the sides. She settles well to sleep, but is still waking up during the night. I have given her the rest of August and then I will get tough!

August Update

2009-08-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had our plunket appointment for Niamhs 5 month check and Beth's 2 year old check on Tuesday.

Niamh is still sitting just above average for her height and weight (6.8 kg) measurements and Beth is still in the 25th percentile for her measurements (weight 10.8 kg) but still gaining nicely. So both girls passed with flying colours, though Beth needs to work on her speech, putting a few words together. She has started to parrot a few words...like book, ball, purple, blue etc but as usual Plunket want more! She is always improving so I am not worried about her. She will speak in sentences when she is ready.

Beth has introduced us to two year old trantrums which are always at their best out in public when it is close to her sleep time. They usually involve high pitched squealing and running away from us, I think I would prefer the collaspe on the floor version! Needless to say we do not give in and she doesn't get what she wants so soon enough she will discover there is not a lot of point having them.

Niamh is still a happy wee girl, though I think the teeth have started to play up a little, there is definitely movement under the gums. It would be so much easier if she just woke up one morning with a full set!!
Beth has discovered that she can undress Niamh quite easily by undoing the domes so I have to check Niamh regularly to make sure she is still fully clothed!

Two Years Old!

2009-07-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that our wee girl is now two!! What a journey so far!

Born at 31+5 weeks old she was flown to Wellington hospital by plane and was in the neonatal ward there for 3 weeks, we were then transported by ambulance back to Masterton and spent a further few days in the paediatric ward there before finally going home with a baby who still didn't weigh 2 kg!!

It feels like Beth has always been in our life and I know our lives are richer for it. Despite the odd tanty and squeal she is a lovely, funny wee girl who loves to socialise and spend time with those she loves.

Our little girl who loves sitting on your knee to read a story, dancing, talking to her toys, spotting planes in the sky, jumping, galloping and running everywhere and watching High5!

Life with Niamh

2009-05-28T17:19:00.001-07:00

Well Niamh has fitted in well. She loves giving cheeky grins and loves a good chat. It is getting easier at night time now that I usually only have one interruption during the night to feed her. If she goes to sleep at about 9pm she will often sleep through till 5 or 6am which is bliss.
Niamh is 3 months old today....now it seems that the time has gone really quickly!!

Beth and the cows

2009-04-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter over in Masterton with mum and dad. Beth always has a great time out and about around the house and in the paddocks. She loves a good wheelbarrow ride...poor mum and dad have to hide the wheelbarrow otherwise they could be there all day!
She has now discovered the cows (thanks to her dad) and it is really cute watching her crouch down and clap her hands in front of her calling the cows just like she calls the cats! Thankfully these are some very friendly dairy cows that don't mind an inquisitive wee girl approaching them.

Too cute!

2009-04-16T17:09:00.001-07:00

Imagine my excitement last night when after putting Niamh and myself to bed at 10.30pm I wasn't woken until 3am!! Four and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep! YAY!!!! Then she let me sleep for another 3 hours after that! I know I have probably jinxed it now and tonight will be the night from hell....but you can't blame me for getting excited!

Family photos

2009-03-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos of the new extended family. Enjoy!

Baby Niamh Isabella

2009-03-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here is our new addition, Niamh (pronounced Neeve) Isabella Bramwell-Cooke. A quick explanation of our name choices, Niamh is a name I have always loved, I like the fact it is a celtic name which links nicely with the Gleeson Irish roots. My middle name is Margaret which has been handed down from generation to generation linking us back to our Irish grandmother through mum's side. But because we really wanted to use a middle name from Dave's side, having an Irish first name kept us both happy. It took us a while to decide on the spelling....whether to go traditional or not and in the end we decided she is always going to have to spell it...just like we all have to spell our names for others anyway. Keeping the traditional celtic spelling means it keeps its Irish link.

Isabella is the name of Daves grandmother and Isobel is his mum's middle name. We both love Isabella as a name too. One of the reasons we didn't put the names around the other way is that at the moment there seems to be an influx of babies with Isabella as their first name.

Niamh is just over a week old now, this photo was taken today. She seems to be a very content baby so far and she has an attentive older sister who gasps every time Niamh makes a noise in the bassinet. Beth loved watching Niamh's first bath, she was very helpful, offering the loofer and trying to put on Niamh's hat and booties.

It has been great having Dave at home to help out and help me adjust to managing two little ones. So far so good....

So here it is....

2009-02-17T15:25:00.001-08:00

I know I know it has been forever since I last blogged...and it's not because nothing has been happening, maybe it's because too much has been happening?

We are now living in (what we call) our family home in Whitby. Yes we sold Kedge lane (also in Whitby) and now have a lovely 200 square metre blank canvas we call home. Blank canvas because it doesn't look like it has been renovated since 1987 when it was built! Thankfully there are neutral colours throughout so nothing hideous that needs to be done immediately.

I am still pregnant! At 36 weeks I think my specialist is patting herself on the back pretty chuffed that we have got this far. Me on the other hand am thinking why would you do the third trimester unless you REALLY had to! It is nice to think of having a normal (well as normal as can be expected) new born that you can cuddle and feed straight away instead of the little bundle being whisked away and placed in a hot fish tank.

The pregnancy has gone well and now that I think about it I guess it has gone reasonably fast. I have another ultrasound tomorrow to check on the babies growth, the specialist seems to think the baby is looking quite small for my dates....I think I am supposed to be upset about this....but as long as the baby is healthy, having a small baby (considering where it will be entering the world from!) has to be a good thing!!!!

Our wee girl is walking and has been doing this since January, but since we moved into a spacious place she has taken up running too! The photo of Beth was taken a month ago, so she is 18 months old in it.

Beth amid the daffodils

2008-10-12T00:57:00.000-07:00

Don't want to say anything really, just thought this photo turned out beautifully and wanted to share it!

Moving, Death and an Accident with a Sausage!

2008-10-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well we did move on September the 5th and are now residing in Whitby. The move itself went fine, I was a little worried when two wee skinny white guys turned up from the moving company. I had images of us taking a week just to load the truck!! But they were machines and packed the truck with no trouble. The day had started badly with me having to take Gizmo to the vet, he was acting a bit strange and felt quite cold so I dropped him of at the vet while the madness of moving continued. Then I was shocked to get a phone call from the vet to say that he had advanced cancer!!! We went down to the vet's and when we saw him we knew there was no tough decision to be made he had deteriorated so rapidly since that morning that we needed to put him down because he was in pain. So there I was on our moving day saying goodbye to my best mate for the past 13 years! It didn't seem like a good way to start our new life back in Wellington. Jane had been very kind to come over and help with packing prior to moving day and was also helping on the day. Thank goodness for good friends!!!! Jane was able to guide the movers while we were dealing with the Gizmo tragedy.

So anyway here we are established in Whitby, I must admit after a rough start of missing Gizmo, mum and dad and our lovely Masterton house and fenced yard, that Whitby does have some good things going for it. There are wonderful walkways to playgrounds and around lakes which are really quite picturesque considering they are dotted around a suburb. There are masses of Tui and other birdlife and lots of trees, it is a lovely green neighbourhood. Now we just need to be in a house that caters for all of our needs and we will be 100% happy!!

Now on to the accident with the sausage, yesterday Dave and I were pushing the VW out of the garage so I wouldn't wake Beth up by starting it in the garage (it is very noisy!) only to discover the battery was still flat as a pancake. So we went to push it back in and pushed it over Harley!!!!! Our wee sausage dog!!! I thought we'd killed him, he yelped and even attempted to bite me when I went to try and get him from under the car. I quickly rang the vet and took him straight there, all the time Harley was just shaking and watching my every move. I had to leave him with them so they could do X rays to make sure he didn't have any broken bones or internal injuries. Then I got the phone call to say he had broken a toe!!!! He was run over by a VW beetle and he broke a toe!!!! I couldn't believe it!! I was so thankful he was o.k!

The time is here....

2008-09-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

Yep it is time to say good-bye to the first house that I bought all by myself and which has since become Dave, Beth's and my home. We move tomorrow and though it is sad to say good bye to this lovely wee house and of course mum and dad! Wellington has got some good things going for it. We are going to be closer to the majority of our friends again and the theatre!! I'm looking forward to exploring the Whitby walking tracks, going to the beach when it finally gets warm and having friends around for dinner.

At the moment I am surrounded by many boxes and I must say thanks to my amazingly good packing friend Jane, everything seems quite under control!! Which is just as well as I am not allowed to lift boxes at the moment....being pregnant and all! Yep that's right! I am pregnant with little number two and due on March 18th. So you know me I have been taking it all very easy considering I am choreographing and am also in a show 'Bat Boy' which means rehearsals three times a week. Though I have just finished the 20 hour contract I was doing for Kahutara School teaching dance so that is one less thing to worry about. Oh and of course moving house into a place that we are trying to sell still, so I will have the lovely interruptions of real estate agents showing people through and open homes to contend with. Oh and did I mention that we are moving into a place that is not fenced with two dogs!! Hopefully it will sell soon and then of course we need to find a place to live that both Dave and I really like....hmmmm hopefully that won't be as hard as it sounds?

Anyway I think I have done enough today to warrant going to bed early and reading my book!

Decision Made!

2008-08-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

We are looking at moving into the Whitby place hopefully on Friday the 5th of September. So will be based in Wellington again soon after a nice three yearish break away.

In the weekend we had the auditions for the musical 'Bat Boy' at Porirua Little Theatre...it was a long weekend and we had so much talent audition! Especially as usual on the female side of things!! I know there were some very disappointed people who missed out, but some very excited people who are in it.

Dave has been cast as the Sheriff/ensemble and I have been cast as part of the ensemble too. There are four women and four men in the ensemble, each of which has around two characters to play, I just don't know which characters I am playing yet.
Mum and dad are very kindly helping out with babysitting so we can go to rehearsals that start from August 17th. We have rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday nights as well as on Sundays from 1pm - 5pm. So anyone that can help with babysitting duties down in Wellington? I would love to hear from you!! Tuesdays and Thursdays will be more like... come around and watch our telly because Beth will already be asleep, Sundays will be more interactive.....aunty Chris?!?!? Anyway the show starts at the end of October so it is going to be a busy few months! What with the show and teaching the next four Mondays! Oh and Beth!!

For sale and tenantless!

2008-07-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

It seems we are going to have to make some hard decisions sooner rather than later. Our beloved Ali has informed us that she has found a new love shack which she is moving into in about three weeks time...bugger!
So soon the Whitby house is going to be empty. Either we move down into it and rent out our Masterton house, which has a smaller mortgage. Or we stay in Masterton and have to pay two mortgages!!!! I am going to be in Wellington a lot over the next few months so maybe moving some of our possessions into the Whitby place will mean we can have two homes for a while?!?!? Arrrrgggghhhh but what if it takes ages to sell? We also have three fluffy children to think about.....oh I think I need a lie down!

Beth's First Birthday!

2008-07-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Well it was a day filled with wrapping paper, pressies, fairy bread and party hats. Beth was on her best behaviour, so excited there was no afternoon sleep to be had thank you very much!! It was a combined party for Monty and Beth, who are only hours apart in age. She had her wee friend Abby there to celebrate with her as well as the older friends Bethany, Harriet and Xanthe who helped with such things as blowing out the candles and eating the cheerios. Monty missed out on the party part as he slept through it all!

Beth had her first taste of a few things that day, the marshmallows were the funniest to watch.....the look on her face was priceless! Yuck! The chocolate fish someone gave her was promptly flung to the dog and the fairy bread? Well she liked the fairy bread!

Beth was very spoilt by everyone and when a pressy arrived the following day I think she thought it was all going to happen again!!!

Wow one already! Crazy! At first with a newborn you think your life is moving in slow motion (when will it ever end?) but get to this point and you think wow where did the time go?! She is so much fun and I love her to bits.

On the Market!

2008-07-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last two weekends painting and tidying up the Whitby property to sell. We had to paint the stairwell and around the top of the bathroom. Dave was busy cleaning out spoutings, cleaning the outside of the house, weeding the patio area, fixing a couple of appliances and basically keeping very busy to avoid any painting duties.
We were very lucky to have help from Jane and Denis for a day of painting (yay!!!) and the lovely Ali did everything from feeding us and our helpers to babysitting, painting, cleaning up after us, homing us for the night.....the list just goes on. We are so lucky to have great friends!!
So it goes on the market this week! Open to View is taking photos this week and getting it on the website, Lyn (real estate agent) is taking her caravan through today! AND the first open home is Sunday at 12.40pm! You may even see the quarter page spread in the Kapimana! So spread the word, 5 Kedge Lane, Whitby...buy it today!!!

Antenatal Group

2008-07-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

We have finally managed to start getting together again. Don't these guys look cute!! There was alot of biscuit stealing, face grabbing and drooling fun had by all.

Bat Boy The Musical

2008-07-07T12:43:00.001-07:00

My major dance project this year is called 'Bat Boy' which Rob Ormsby is directing at Porirua Little Theatre. The auditions are the 2nd and 3rd of August and we also have a back up date of the 9th. I am choreographing the show.
'Bat Boy' has nothing to do with Batman it can be quite a dark tale depending on the angle the director takes. Bat Boy is half man half bat and the way that happens does not involve a simple bite.... I am looking forward to doing this production, with a bit more time on my hands instead of having to choreograph at night after work or weekends, I guess I have no excuse not to be organised and get most of the movement completed before the auditions begin. That's as long as Beth doesn't start crawling any time soon....
I have even asked if I can audition, the last show I was in was 'Nunsense' as Sister Mary Leo, that was before I travelled to Ireland!

I had a job offer from Kahutara school last week too. If they get funding from REAP they are going to employ me to teach the four classes - alongside the teachers, a dance and song from another country. So four different cultural dances and songs to compliment their Olympics project. Hopefully we will also get to design the costume as well. They said they are flexible in regard to when I teach each class so I am hoping to be able to do four hours at a time when I travel down to the school. That means less mucking around with Beth.

So it is a very busy term ahead...yay! I am looking forward to it.

Beanies for all!

2008-06-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

I have finally done it.....I have completed a knitting project, in fact I have now completed two! It gives hope to all those half completed scarves that lie in wait in different parts of my house, who knows maybe one day they too will be finished. The first beanie that I knitted (with mum's tutoring) was the bigger one, this is for Beth to use over the next couple of months. The little one I finished knitting yesterday just in time to deliver to Mel for her little baby Maxwell who is one week old today. Now I have to go and buy another ball of wool as I have another cold head to cover!

Mohawk Girl

2008-06-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our wee girl is getting a lot more hair these days.....but it only seems to be on the top!!! Thought I would include this picture which I took after her bath the other night just to show she has a pretty good mohawk going on!

Fish go 'ome?'

2008-06-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

I bought three new books for Beth and they are all about animals and the sounds they make. There is one about farm animals, this one has all the animals and sounds that you would expect, except a pig that goes 'snore snore snore'? The wild animal book includes lions that 'roar', flamingos that 'onk' and warthogs that 'squee' and the pet animal book covers the sounds of cats, dogs, guinea-pigs, rabbits...it all makes sense until we get to the goldfish. What sound does a goldfish make!?!?!? Apparently, according to the author Alison Lester a goldfish goes splish splash splish..... which is quite a cute noise and it fits in nicely with the rhyme the author is creating in the book. However this is where Dave piped up and said " Fish don't make that noise they go 'ome'" (pronounced home, but drop the h - like they do in Coro) and he is dead right. Try it!
So what sound does a snail make?

Money please..

2008-05-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

It is one of the hardest things to get used to when you are no longer financially independent. Imagine having to get your visa paid off by your husband, I know a lot of people would love that. But I can no longer save for large purchases, he does and then we buy it. I miss my financial independence, to work towards something whether it is paying something off or buying something new.

Sanity Regained

2008-05-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Monday the 12th of May is a day to remember, it is the day that I had my first paid day of work since having Beth. I relieved at Wainuioru School which is a small three teacher rural school about 20km? out of Masterton. What a lovely way to start back! I taught the juniors (5 and 6 year olds) for the day, a gorgeous class of 15 students. It was so nice planning the day and dressing in clothes with no baby drool on them....I felt like a grown up again, though I almost went to school in my slippers, luckily Dave pointed them out to me as I was getting in the car! It was even nicer leaving at the end of the day knowing I was going home to my little girl with no marking or planning work to do!!
This week I was lucky to be rung again to relieve in the same class and I must say roaring off through the rolling countryside in the VW on a fine, misty, Wednesday morning, it felt great to be alive!

Porridge

2008-05-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Cold wintry weather always brings back the memory of my grandad standing over the old range making porridge for us all. The brown sugar and silver capped milk at the ready. So it has been wonderful the last couple of cold mornings standing with Grandad looking over my shoulder, as I have made porridge for Beth and myself. The wonderful porridge pool plopping away with Beth listening, a bemused look on her face. Although it is only me who has the brown sugar and milk, Beth still seems to have been enjoying her porridge (with stewed fruit) experience. I hope one day she remembers these cold mornings with her and I huddled lovingly over our porridge.

Crankiness and Snot Goblins

2008-05-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well it seems to be that this time of the year everyone gets a cold. Beth is the first to suffer in our household. She is fairly cranky, unless she has just woken up and then of course there is the streaming nose! Pipes, candlesticks....whatever you want to call them. My biggest problem is how to avoid getting it all over me! Apart from just not picking her up at all or going anywhere near her to avoid getting sneezed on there really is no hope. So it comes down to wearing old clothes I don't mind the odd goblin on, and having a wash at night once she has gone to bed to cleanse myself.

Things that make you go.....

2008-04-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have to share a funny moment I had the other day, because at the time there was only Mack and myself there and frankly?!?! Mack didn't get it.

Beth likes to suck on a dummy when she is going to sleep, so like any good parent I have two dummies, the main one and a back up one in case of emergencies. Being back up dummy is a thankless job and it so happened on this day the dummy was on the couch in the dining room when Gizmo (the cat) discovered it. He promptly flicked it from the couch and had a great game of bat the dummy around the wooden floor. I heard this going on from the kitchen so thought I better rescue it. Mack (the dog) and I went to investigate but strangely enough I couldn't find it anywhere!?!?! Puzzled I asked Mack "Mack have you seen it?"

Half a Rodent!

2008-04-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

Yes Beth has teeth!! A scarey thought for any breastfeeding mother... Believe me when she bites you'll all know about it! Yes even you Grace over in Ireland!
She got the bottom right tooth first and then a few days later the bottom left cut through. I hadn't really given it a thought but boy it must hurt a bit when they come through the skin. Yes she has been a bit grumpy but she does look very cute with the bright red cheeks and startling blue eyes.
Speaking of startling blue eyes.... couldn't resist putting this picture on!

Selfish or Essential?

2008-04-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

It's not that I'm lonely or bored in any way, but I do crave adult conversation and company at times that doesn't involve babies! I think it's the guilt free non-baby time which is the hardest to achieve. I love going to the movies with friends, hanging out singing karaoke very loudly in a new subdivision with the windows open....thanks Gazza and Shazza!!

It is these moments that make me feel like me again and not just a wife and mother. I think that is why I have really enjoyed getting back into my running...because it's all about ME for a change. I spend the majority of my day doing things for my family so to get away and only think about me and do what I want to do.... is LOVELY!!

Definitely essential for me! Time out keeps me human.

Murphy's Law

2008-03-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been training for the last couple of months to run the 10km Round the Vines race in Martinborough on the 16th of March. The training went really well with both mum, dad and Dave looking after Beth at various times so I could run off to pound the pavements. I felt well prepared....

However over the last week or so Beth has been unsettled some nights, I thought she may be teething, but who knows? No teeth yet anyway. So you can imagine my dismay when she decided to have an unsetted night, the night before my race! Dave did his best to shoulder the load of getting up to appease the beast, but as every mother knows you can't sleep through your child's crys, as much as you may want to!!!

Then just to top things off my body decided to throw the monthly curse at me! I had a decision to make, do I take up the foetal position and whimper beneath my duvet deciding bed is a better option for the day or do I crush Murphy into the ground as I get up and prepare for the event I have been training so hard for? You know me.....

So as I took my place at the starting line I looked around wondering if anyone else had had 5-6 hours of broken sleep and had breast fed twice already that morning?!?

I was still determined to achieve my goal of running it in under an hour and.....I did!! 56 mins and 29 sec to be exact! Take that Murphy!

Special thanks go out to my lovely husband who did star jumps and shouted encouragement in the middle of the Martinborough School field (by himself!) and then proceeded to run 300m beside me (pushing the stroller) telling me I was almost there. What support! Though he did complain later about having sore legs...

Dave and Duvets

2008-03-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Is this normal? Has anyone else ever seen anyone put on a duvet cover like this? Or am I the lucky gal who has nabbed the one and only duvet burrowing male around here?

We have discussed the different techniques there are to putting a duvet cover on and this is the one that Dave believes is best. Now, who am I to say he is wrong? My way is not nearly as entertaining, so I am more than happy for him to continue the butt up head down technique for as long as he likes.

Date scones and the linen cupboard

2008-03-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

I remember when I was teaching that I used to have these weird little homely fantasies about having time to clean out my drawers, sort out the wardrobe, bake a cake etc... Well yesterday I did it! I cleaned out the linen cupboard and finally got rid of the fitted sheets that no longer fit. I also made a batch of date scones, much to the amusement of my husband.
Hmmm I obviously have too much time on my hands.... well must go, I'm going to clean out my drawers.

Innocence

2008-03-03T13:35:00.001-08:00

This morning as I was watching my daughter play, I started thinking about the beauty of her innocence. As far as she is concerned the world is a wonderful place that consists of boobs, toys, mum, dad, grandparents and people who give her loads of cuddles.

My protective instinct is well in place as my heart breaks with the thought of her getting emotionally or physically hurt. I guess the biggest thing to learn as a new parent is to step back and let her learn by her mistakes but to always be there to guide her, teach her good values and give her plenty of opportunities to discover the world and everything in it.

If all babies had this kind of start in life would that mean that there would not be evil people in the world? Or do bad people turn out to be bad anyway, despite being brought up with loads of love?

Shark Infested Waters

2008-02-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

House Hunting! This is a scarey yet exciting event. I think I get excited looking at the different property websites and then realise I am looking at houses WAY out of our price range. But there are some properties that sit there not selling that look really good....but why aren't they selling? I am told it is definitely a buyers market at the moment which is good, but we do have to sell a house before we can buy another one!
It's the real estate agents that put me off, I really appreciate the ones that show me through, give me a call a couple of days later and then leave me alone. I think they are hard to find. If it's a buyers market I bet we will be like the fresh meat being thrown into the shark infested sea, the real estate agents will be fighting for a piece of us!
Anyway we are viewing our first property tomorrow so wish us luck!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

2008-01-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

I think snoring must be one of the worst curses to have...you could never have a sneaky little nap, everyone around you knows exactly when you nodded off and when you woke up. Although my husband is very talented and can snore when he is awake "How could I be snoring? I was awake!"
I am writing this after another night of little sleep, it's a terrifying feeling to wake to a noise which makes you believe Armageddon is happening right there inside your bedroom. Yes my poor husband has the curse, otherwise known as being a snorer. The poor guy wakes after a lovely night of sleep only to be confronted by a prickly, eyeball hanging wife with enough luggage under her eyes for a world trip. Sometimes I just can't be nice after a night of living on the edge, trying to get to sleep beside a ticking time bomb that you know is going to go off, it's just a matter of when!

Big Country

2008-01-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

We have been on holiday in the South Island for two weeks now and I have to say...wow what a beautiful part of the world we have here! Parts remind me of my adventures around Ireland and Scotland with the mountainous countryside, strong dominating coastlines and lakes tucked up against the beautifully serene backdrop of green...wow.

The land of the rolling R's reminds me that we share the world with a lot of other fabulous people all sucking up the stunning views from the safety of their motorhomes or the not so safe seats of their bicycles.

I have been inspired into getting back into my running, every second day I head out to explore my immediate surroundings on foot. New scenery always makes the run seem less like work. I'm taking it pretty easy as I am still breastfeeding and want to continue for a while yet. We only have two more nights left before returning home then I am going to have to get good at running behind a stroller...ho hum.

Baby Talk

2008-01-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

Listen to an adult talking to a small child and you would swear that they had lost their mind. They suddenly become mumbling, bumbling, goo gaaing idiots! This is one thing I wanted to ensure I never stooped too. As far as I am concerned dancing around the house with my wee girl, pulling faces, girly giggles and singing nursery rhymes at the top of my voice, as well as other songs are quite acceptable. But making new baby names for things which already have perfectly good names? Well lets just say I fight the urge to goo gaa every day, sometimes I slip, but I am going to do my best to ensure my little girl has a fully coherent mother, who doesn't embarrass her in public with Baby Talk.

Home Executive?

2008-01-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

There are benefits to living in a small town.....house prices are lower, you can always get a car park, there are no traffic jams, cycling doesn't involve taking your life into your own hands and when you go for walks to get some fresh air....you really do!!
Don't get me wrong there are disadvantages, less people to hang out with, not so many options for extra curricular activities/classes for adults and not to mention the six finger and inbreeding jokes you have to endure.
I've recently become a 'home executive', what is with that by the way? There is nothing executive about the position? I don't wear heels and a suit to work, carry my coffee in its little trendy take away cup, covered with some gross advert outlining the benefits of drinking copeous amounts of the tarry stinky syrup! Nor do I have a plastic see through file under my arm full of incredibly important documents which I have spent the early hours meticulously checking whilst drinking my tarry stinky syrup!?!
I'm an at home mum, I spend most of my day wearing comfy clothing and looking particularly unglamorous. I drink water...it's free, good for you and won't burn the baby. I try to read a good novel, do the sudoku and crosswords to keep my brain functioning. I've given up a well paying job to take on this new role which involves puke, nappies and drool......hmmmm.