Catch-Up- January Stories

I spent the better part of Sunday clearing a back log of photos and am left with a few pictures to share and stories to tell from January.

One of the really cool and remarkable things about this summer has been Will's increasing water confidence. He has always enjoyed the water in what ever form but was quite subdued in the pool. But over the course of the summer he has gone from a sit and splash, no water on my face sort kid. To a fully running around, being a crocodile, hard out splashing and being splashed mouth in the water blowing bubbles super confident wee dude. The big kids have been having cheap swimming lessons courtesy of the RNZAF and Les takes Will for a swim in the pool while the big kids have their lesson. He is really happy jumping in off the side into Les' arms and doing speed boats and other silly stuff. It's very cool!

I should really get Kieran to guest blog this but as he's a asleep right now I can't!
He got a voucher to go to the game and conned Les into taking him. Les scored a free ticket from a guy who had a spare on the bus so they only had to pay for Merenia- score!

I'm pretty sure it was Kieran's first live Chiefs game.

Pity about the final score...

Water Lillies have to be one of the COOLEST ever flowers in the world so I was absolutely stoked when I went to a bargain book place at Rosedale and pulled into the carpark to find this hidden gem! Way cool!

Will is changing so much lately I really need to do a full Will update post sometime soon.
This includes the fact that he is getting quite strong... it's looks like Kieran is a clear winner here- but it was a very close fought battle. Will fights mean. He practices thuggery- he's also extremely cute when he says "thuggery" as well!

More from the front yard as well...

Cool.
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Row, row.

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Unphotographed: Cat, Ducks.

This is the set of photos I didn't take as we backed out of our drive one morning last week. I looked down the road for oncoming traffic and spotted a black cat crossing the road following a little way behind it was a paddle of 15 ducks. The cat was unaware of his feathered stalkers. Until he turned his head at which point the ducks changed their mind and in a casual sort of way turned around and headed back to the other side of the road.

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Putting it out there

Message to the universe. I am looking for a cheapish cupboard something along the lines of this....

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The Dork Awards

At lunch on Sunday.

Kieran was finished and kind of hanging around in a weird manner.

G: You've already won the Dork award so you can stop hanging around acting so weird.
K: If I've won the award where is it huh?
W: Dork.
G: The trophy is in the mail.
M: Really? Is he really getting an award.
G: Yes and you are getting the little Miss Gullible cup.
M: Ok I have no idea what that means.
G: Well don't bother looking it up in the dictionary because it's not there.
M: Damn it!
W: Damn it.
M: Is it really not in the dictionary?
G & L: *laughing*

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A handy idea

If you, like we, have a bunch of Lego sets happening at your place then you might like this idea which is why I am sharing. Kieran likes to keep all the boxes from his sets and of course the instructions. Originally I cut them all down and stuck them in a large blank book but I like this idea better.

These day I trim the edges off the boxes and stick the front of the box to the back and punch holes in it and the instruction book and add them all onto a couple of big book rings. In this way it's easy to just pop off the instructions that you want and remake the thing that's broke (especially good for those with pesky 2 year old brothers) or get ideas to stimulate the imagination for your own creations.

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Ruby Right Now

Why do Cats insist on doing stuff like this??
She has the whole floor, two couches and a selection of beds available to her and yet she decides to sleep on wood with hard plastic spikes???

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Yesterday...

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if we had 7 kids? Something like this I guess.....

Yesterday we had the pleasure of sharing the day with the Dawson4!

It started at around 5:30am when Jozlyn called me up and come over to look after the kids, while she and Scott 'popped out'.

The kids woke at a reasonable hour which was nice.

We had some breakfast, did some playing and worked on a sweepstake.

Then I took the kids over to ours. It was a really lovely, if somewhat nervous, day.

It got really exciting around 11:07am when the Dawson4 became the Dawson5!

Baby Kellan Robert was born weighing 8lb 10.5oz.

That meant that Alex won the time of birth sweep for the Dawsons and Kieran for the Stockley's. And Hunter won the baby birth weight sweep for the Dawson's and me for the Stockley's. Resulting in Chocolate all around!

The rest of the day was spent watching Star Wars, playing on the computer, swimming, water fighting, running timed races, watching parachutes, and eating! :-)

It was really good to be able to do this for Joz and Scott- I'm fairly sure they feel like they can relax when the kids are with us (as much as you can relax while giving birth!) and piece of mind is a very satisfying gift to give. It was super sweet to be able to spend this day in particular with the kids. A highlight for me was the look on Alex's face when I was talking to him about being a big brother now. And when Scott picked up the kids- we had a hug and I said it was awesome- to which he replied "Yeah, it really is!"

I am looking forward to meeting this last little installment of the Dawson Family. It is awesome that he is finally here safe and sound.

It really is.

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Brother Bother

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It's Not Smacking But....

Don't Panic- he's just pretending. But I suggest you don't try and climb up on the bench while he's cooking tea... even if you are his best 'helper boy'.

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Summer Slide Fun

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"Silence is the voice of complicity"

"Silence is the voice of complicity."

This really resonates with me at the moment.

There are things at school bugging the hell out of me.
We are still deadlocked with the MOE.
And the Airforce is up to some new tricks with regards to housing.

What can/am I doing about these things?

Nothing.

Silence is the voice of complicity.

Grrrrrr.

Who Cut the Cheese?

Helper Boy has been at it again.

I just love that we place no limits on what this kid can do. Sometimes it bites us on the butt but most times it's just a source of immense pleasure and serious cuteness.

Perhaps I should have asked who bit the cheese!

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Just Sweet

REally do have to love them when they are sleeping!
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Round- up ~ February 2010

On our bookshelf this month....

Nurture Shock (Very interesting parenting book)- No time for anything else except kids books.

Loving on the box....

Dr Who, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Survivor- I watched the first episode of heros's vs. villians online way cool!! Get growing with New Zealand Gardener, Modern Family (funny!!), House and Private Practice.

For you...For me?

Charms for the Nielson Girls. A couple of books for Master Ehren. Shannon and Lisa scored me some seriously cool tiny stuff for a special project I am planning. Les got me roses just because.

Germs and bugs and botherations....

Will had a coldy-snotty- high temperature thing. I had some random symptoms and stuff that made me think I was getting sick but they amounted to nothing- weird! Merenia went to the Kinesiologist . Kieran, Merenia and Les also all got the cold at the end of the month- it was snot-o-rama, just in time for Les to go away to Matamata unfortunately

Today was good today was fun, tomorrow is another one...

Kieran won tickets to the Breakers (basketball) so Les took him and Merenia to the game on the 4th. The Breakers won by 28 points! Les and the kids went to catch up with Ehren and company.

Les took the big kids to the Blues Vs. Hurricanes. Kieran had a sleep over at Jakes, Alyssa and Ashlyn had sleepovers at ours. Les went flying at Ambury for the day. Miss Wendy and Miss Vienna came to visit. Merenia had her first Ukulele and Choir lessons. Will and I enjoyed the beach at Brown's Bay. I got to spend Valentines Day scrapbooking. Les went to Matamata for the Soarfest. Kieran went to Tony's after school and he and Les got to meet the new baby, Hamish, while there. Jake came over for an after school play. We had Petra and Alyssa over after school and then went to netball sign-ups this year the girls are playing for a club. I got to do an online scrapbooking class which was kind of cool even though I didn't get to do it at my scrap-table as planned because Les took my laptop away with him.

Yum, yum, yum....

Les made Miss Wendy's Corn bread (not quite as well as Miss Wendy though). We made Rubarb and Apple Crumble- Yum. Kieran started doing cooking at Tech and taught us all how to make Bread case savouries, chocolate pudding and french toast (well we kind of knew that one). Miss Wendy brought yummy biscuits. Les made Plum Cake, and Passionfruit Flummery Pie and I made some SUPER yummy Brandy Ice Cream. And Les made his best ever batch of Gucamole.

'It was on sale'....

Books, but other than that have been really good this month- we have to be to pay for K's trip to Japan in August.

Bugger!

Will really isn't coping with a new baby in the house, he is seriously upset at having to share his mummy especially when he was sick and he refuses point blank to let Merenia talk to Jake.

Having to have to provide 'further information' to the MOE twice in an effort to get our exemption.

Hooray!

Kieran became a House Captain.

Tony came to lay the vinyl next door.

Etc...

We started looking after baby Jake.

The kids had swimming lessons on Base.

Will got a lunch box so he's all set for when I'm busy with baby Jake- super cute to watch him use it!

We spent some time doing some stuff for fundrainsing for Kieran's trip to Kasuga in August.

You know who's good idea this was? Katie The Scrapbook Lady. Go check out her list of tasks to do at the end of each month as well.

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