Step Away From My Stash Or Youré Gonna Get Hurt

Why is it just when you build a little stash of something necessary to your very survival, i.e. chocolate for when you need something sweet or chippies when you need that salty hit that your stash is discovered and raided leaving you with nothing but crumbs & guilty faces?!? Oh the devastation.....

It feels like I am sharing all the time, that sometimes I just wanna be a greedy little thing & say MINE MINE MINE.

Obviously the cupboard is bare when the kids lay into my muffin bars, which happen to be weight watchers bars, which I happen to love & I ain't admitting that I am fat, but well, have been stocking up for winter a little too much, but just sayin. HANDS OFF the blue bars.

Oh & King Carlyboy if you are reading this ~ I know nothing. Don't go looking for stashes that just aren't there.

STOP. I Wanna Get Off The Waaaahbulance!

So Miss Fairygirl is sick, anti-biotics necessary, sick.

Nuff said.

Tis the Season to be Wheezin

Just when we thought it was safe to un-label Miss Angelface as an asthmatic, along comes a night of coughin & a wheezin........ So it's off to the medical centre where she's back on the trusty old nebuliser & back to the puffer for a month. Luckily, they take it seriously & she is seen to straight away. Mind you, King Carlyboy was a little underwhelmed by Miss AF's amateur dramatics.

We were feeling pretty smug really, it's been a few years since we've had to deal with this, so we were thinking that she may have outgrown it. NOT.

I can't think how many times Miss AF has endured hospital stays for this bloody thing that ties her up in knots & seeing her little body work so hard for breath ~ it's just not fair peoples. But she always bounces back, whilst King Carlyboy & I schlep around looking like we're been worked over by thugs ~ it takes us longer to recover after juggling work, home & hospital for the duration.

This time around, a chest infection is the culprit that has lead to the asthma coming in for a visit. I hope it's not a sign of things to come, coz historically she's more a summer asthmatic.

It's damn cold & it's like autumn has left the building & winter has come on down. How do you keep up with the cold & damp & one girl who is busy busy busy all the time? Even better, Miss Fairygirl got her v. own puffer prescription last week, so we have to stay on top of that situation too.

I don't get this whole asthma thing ~ King Carlyboy & I don't have it, so it hardly seems fair that our girls have it.

I know, whine time on my behalf, but hey, it's my blog & I'll whine if I wanna.

Trash Talkin' ~ 2 Year Old Style

What is LMAO funny?!?

A 2 & a bit year old Miss Fairygirl hanging out our front window laughing HA HA repeatedly (think the Simpsons Nelson style) & pointing to the poor Intermediate school kids who have to schlep past our front door on "cross country training"runs this weel. Personally I think it's a secret teachers chardy break , but as I have no firm evidence, it will remain a theory......

Miss Fairygirl has also mastered the art of the Sooky La La trashtalk. HIL.ARI.OUS. Especially when directed towards King Carlyboy.

step 1 - Say sooky la la over & over
step 2 - Make crying & whinging motions on face repeatedly
step 3 - Laugh at recipient of the sooky la la

Aaaaahh ~ she's a klassy leetle laydee.

List of Stuff You May Or May Not Need To Know.

TV
The junkier & cheesier it is, the better, in my world. Reality tv ~ yes please. Watching taped shows & fast-forwarding the ads? Priceless.

NANA NAPS
Not just forleetle old laydees....

COFFEE MAMA, ALBURY
Miss those red stools on a Saturday morning. Miss Angelface was 3 days old & Miss Fairygirl was 5 days old on their first visit to this coffee den. They may have coffee running thru their veins.

HOT CINNAMON DOUGHNUTS
God's gift to our tastebuds. amen.

SMOOCHES
One of my favouritest words ever. Can't get enough of them from my family. From the tummy- flippin smooches from King Carlyboy to the generouse slurply supplies from Misses Angelface & Fairygirl.

MUMMY
Is there a cuter sound that a little voice calling your name? Well, obviously it isn't sometimes like when you've just settled in for a nap.....

BUBBLES
Sparkling wine for the Aussies. Takes the edge off, especially when poured by someone else.

CHOCOLATE
mmmmmmmmmm. more please, unless of course it's a little salty something that I need, then bring on the chippies.

HOUSE-CLEANING FAIRIES
Where are you & why are you so late in coming to my house?!? I'll be good I promise.

DRIVING
I dont. Am useless really. Don't know why, just am.

STOCKING UP FOR WINTER
I've already started on the next 3 winters already. Help!

CHRISTMAS
I.am.a.christmas.junkie.

JAMES & AUGUST HOODIES
Comfort dressing, bright colours, I wonder how many hoodies can my wardrobe hide, I mean hold? As many as I can cram in kiddies!

$1 WEEKLY DVDS
Love the cheap deal & Love even more handing them back after a week of Maisy Maisy Mouse on high rotation.

ANTHEA TURNER & MARTHA STEWART
2 Domestic Goddesses, love em', can't channel em' into my house. sigh.

HELL PIZZA
Best pizza ever. Well, that is if you can't get a genuine Saintly pizza made by King Carlyboy.

SKINNY JEANS
Hate em! they are no friend to the curvy laydees of the world. Burn them all.

WINTER BOOTS
I have 2 pairs thanks to the canny shopper eye of my King Carlyboy, they even fit over my pork chop legs -> yay.

MILK
Why do we need about 50 different types of milk people? Does the cow know this stuff?

Maximillions Aloyious Heriot Carlson

Farewell to our beautiful boy & faithful mate, Maxy.

Have fun playing with Neddy in doggy paradise.

We miss you.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Is There A Streaker In the Room?

I got to wondering today if there is a streaker streak in our family......

Miss Fairygirl has clearly decided that this is her new passion in life. She is adept at sneaking off quietly, shedding the clothes, dropping the nappy & running into whichever room I'm in & doing a spanky dance complete with ta da & waits for the applause! No, that room I'm in does not necessarily mean me on the couch with my box of chocolate, tv remote & bottle(s) of bubbles by my side. The kid is 2 & a bit years old. Where did she learn this? Even more so, where did she learn a spanky dance? Is this to become extreme potty-training, cos I sure didn't sign up for that. How do I keep up when she keeps launching surprise attacks? Those are NOT chocolate drops on the floor next to the abandoned nappy people.

After Miss FG had climbed up her changing table to kindly let me put a new nappy on (yeah, I know gasps of horror from parenting bodies, but apparently she's morphed into a monkey), I asked her to let me know when she wanted to change her nappy coz we could try, well I don't know - using the potty & the answer?!? NO WAY. There was no discussion, no coaxing, no nothing. Maybe next time I'll open negotiations with chocolate.......

Does this mean that she takes after her Uncle Roddy who is partial to the odd nudie run now & then?!? Well, the points of difference would be

1. She's not drunk (although quite possibly on a chocolate high)
2. She's not attending a bucks weekend
3. She's not drunk

Although, come to think of it, King Carlyboy has been known to also get his kit off in public as well. Strangely enough, each time he has been hanging out with Uncle Roddy....... (smooches to Uncle Roddy who is safely at least 10 - 12 hours travel away from getting revenge on his big sis. My room is safe from being tied up once again ha ha ha)

Co-incidence? I think not.

Is it in the genes or the jeans?!?

I Got Those Autumn Blues

Summer has gone & Autumn is here. Normally I LOOOOOOOVE the change of season, seeing the leaves change to sunbursts of yellow, fire-engine reds & finally crunchy browns, the chilly nip in the air, the layers of clothes, the snow trip with the Wilcox street gang, the trips to Bright to fossick for cool stuff, the comfort food & the stocking-up of winter pud kilos..... okay so the last part is not so hot & I've achieved that already, but now today, well nah uh do I want to venture onwards to Autumn & Winter. I wanna chuck a tanty & say NO WAY to the cold stuff.

Is it because we live in a house that has no heating & I'm yet to get used to the whole damp house phenomenon? The whole, it's raining AGAIN & the kids are bouncing off the walls with excess energy & stay away from those million clothes drying racks otherwise you'll be in big trouble missy days. Yep. Can't wait to have the tumbledryer on high rotation & looking forward to that huge bill from the power company.

I do love living in Auckland, but the housing scene seems to bite the big one on the whole. I miss our Lavi house, I miss the cosy feel of the fire roaring away. I miss using it to cook with, boil the kettle, dry clothes, read the papers next to, curl up in front of to watch tv... I just miss it. So there.

Yeah I know - suck it up & quit the sooky la la act.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGI-GIRL!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS

TO

MISS GEORGI-GIRL

I hope that you had an absolutely wonderful day my little georgie puddin pie!

Spot the little cutie.

Big smooches

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

So Long Summer...... it's been swell.

Or as Daffy would have coined it..... Sho long shummer...... it's been schwelllllll.

What a kiwi summer it was. Okay, well the previous summer seemed to go on & on & on as all the kiwi's around me were v. fond of saying on finding out that was our first in nu ziland soil.

So Easter was our final hip hip hooray we're off in the carlycampa, for the season. We went to a fave. holiday spot ~ Awhitu & man am I glad that we are in with management! The luxury of a hot shower & electricity is NOT to be underestimated. Hey, I am happy to go to camping spots with just the basics of a drop toilet & bush shower, i.e. all the camping spots we go to. But if you have the magic key to facilities then why the heck not use em?!? I mean, why stay all sweaty, salty & greasy if you don't have to? So yay to John & Thomas for the hot water, many thanks gentlemen.

One v. impotant piece of advice when camping with itty-bitties ~ don't go when daylight saving has finished, it makes for a very looooooooong night. Waiting for bed-time means that the time has to be filled in without copious amounts of use of torches & lanterns. Mozzies love that light. That's when we got started on the what animal? game, more about that one some other time. Sure, it got dark early, but who wants to send the kids to bed at 6.30pm when you know that they'll then wake up at 5AM?!?!?! And an itty-bitty whispering in your ear that they are awake and is everyone else awake & can I get dressed & I'm hungry & where's my breakfast & & & & & ......is just toooooo much at that unearthly time of the morning, that I just ain't the morning fairy that I used to be (not). Pity that the canvas tenting doesn't mask the screams.......

King Carlyboy is da man. He built us a pay-shio (Kath Day Knight would be so proud of my v. own Kel) onto the carlycampa. This means we have a covered outdoor play area in which to house the table & chairs, stoves, stove stands & most importantly the newest gadget -> the camp kitchen. Even better, this pay-shio is totally detachable & comes in a lovely shade of blue in which to co-exist beautifully with the carlycampa. Already he is planning to add to this area, he's talking walls & clothes line people -> v. civilised indeed.

The area prior to building the pay-shio (after the night-time clean-up & pack-up, but what a thing of beauty the camp kitchen is) :

Now, the same area with the pay-shio da da da da da....... sweet ain't it?!?




That would be Angelface & Fairygirl with their over-flowing Easter Bunny lootbags ~ yes indeedy, the v. same gorgeous bags from Aunty Mel. So the whole thing matches. I'm not much of a blue kinda gal, but them's the breaks. We may even have to venture back to Otahuhu to get a 2 fold mat for the outdoor area to go with the 3 fold mat inside the carlycampa. Now that the camping season is over we get to unpack everything, circle the catalogues, plan for stuff we need & then hopefully we get to go shopping....

So, a few shots from the weekend:




I have gotten into the habit (thanks to a few birthdays) of baking some cupcakes & taking them along with us for dessert. Chocolate cupcakes seem to go down especially well.....

The kid-bait or swing as it is more commonly known. As you can see it attracts kids no matter what & whether you can see it in the dark is of no consequence. But it is bloody funny to see kids racing each other over to use it, reaching up to grab it kind of mid-stride & then come to a screeching stop when they realise the swing is missing. (Does that make me a masochist?!?)

Anyhoo, it's a great thing to have.

It was cold peoples.

That's post chocolate cupcake feast smeared on Fairygirl.

Told you the bags were stuffed full. Not all chocolate thank goodness, our resident choco-holic Miss Fairygirl was in absolute heaven. We had to cut off her supply once we kept finding egg wrappers trails leading straight to her. Harsh, but we had to save her from complete chocolate melt-down (geddit?!? ha ha)





I would just like to state for the record that King Carlyboy was there on the weekend, although there is no actual photographic evidence of his fine self. He was the one on the non-flashing end of the camera for these pics.

Good Morning to Youuuuuuu........ NOT

What's the first thing a mummy wants to hear in the morning? Is it a) Miss Angelface & Miss Fairygirl gently whispering Ï love you's with lots of smooches & cuddles, b) King Carlyboy setting down a cup of coffee next to me, gently whispering I love you with lots of smooches & .... or is it c) hearing a joyfully yelled rendition of Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin flew away, WonderWoman lost her bosoms flying TAA* yaaaaaaay........ let me tell you it was option c) this morning & although that's a great xmas song for the primary school set & I am the one who taught her this particular version & Miss Angelface is clearly becoming a christmas junkie like me, it is NOT a great start to the day. Welcome to the last day of term 1 ~ which means 2 weeks of holidays...... da da da dummmmmmm. (<- hum the music in your head, believe me it works)

In the past I have not been a big morning person (okay ~ stop laughing now, you'll fall off your chair), but have done my bit & gotten going, granted some days it is with a raised voice. But today it was damn hard & it was all my own fault, well not entirely my own due to my staying up til 2am reading other blogs. I only realised the time when King Carlyboy came stumbling out of the bedroom looking mighty cute & all rumpled & wanted to know what the hell I was doing at 2am?!? Obviously my chuckling over the other blogs woke him up, can't help it, it's addictive stuff dontchaknow?!?

So today I have to stumble thru packing (curse my obsessive control freak self) for us all except King Carlyboy ~ he's in control of his clothes (he can stretch a pair of undies thru until... ooops too much info right?!) & the manly stuff like the bbq, stove, camping gadgets etc. Okay, I can do this I thought until I noticed that The Wotwots tv show seems to be extra loud this morning, maybe Miss Fairygirl found the remote (AGAIN), but nooooooo ~ it's raining! Not only is it raining, but it is now HAILING, oh yeah, bring on a camping weekend in that -> noice.

* TAA -> vintage Aussie airline, look it up peoples if you don't believe me.

Let The Choc-Fest Begin

So, it's that time of year when chocoholics are looking in equal parts extremely blissful (oh, the chocolate supplies to choose from!) & extremely frazzled (how do I choose just a few dozen types?), yep peoples ~ it's EASTER!!! The magical time of the year when the fam goes camping, eat chocolate & chocolate hot cross buns (well, think about eating them coz $9.00 for half dozen is just out of the ballgame right then & there -> thanks a lot B.D.) & the new winter pj's arrive for Miss Angelface & Miss Fairygirl from team Heriot........

We got a lovely surprise from the Scotties, Miss AF & Miss FG received easter presents early. My beautiful S-I-L Mel saw some handbags that my girls just NEEDED & I have to say that they went down V. well in our ken & barbie household. Easter Bunny will be extremely impressed when he hippity-hops into the carly-campa on Sunday to load up the goodies in these stylin' bags. Miss AF immediately took herself off to her room & loaded the bag up wth just the essentials, you know, phones, lipgloss, notebook, pens & bling. It was also carted outside in order for the little girl over the fence to ooooh & aaaaah over the fabulous new accessory. Score!!! Miss FG was v. impressed that her little bag had a chicken on it. Miss FG is a big fan of "chick-ahhhhhhn"as she pronounces it. Pretty much well every meat is chick-ahhhhhhhn to her way of thinking & King Carlyboy & I are not bothering to clear things up if she's happy to eat it then it can be chicken for as long as she wants.

Did I mention that this craft-challenged mummy spent an entire afternoon primping & recycling 3 Tea2 shopping bags into easter eggs bags?!? (Did I also mention that we looooove this shop & Miss FG is their unnofficial mascot for the Botany Downs store) They looked pretty okay (well so I thought) until we unwrapped the pressies & copped a look at the accessories & then my easter bags took themselves off to a dark corner of the cupboard & wept in shame....... We were allowed to open them early coz Aunty Mel said we could. So there. Plus I knew that they'd be mega-cute. Pics will follow on after easter has actually arrived.

All good so far. Miss AF & King Carlyboy attended a clean-up & easter egg hunt on the weekend & Miss AF came home with an absolute stash of goodies. Obviously it pays to be in with the in-crowd at these events. Mega pot of marshmellow easter eggs have found a new home in our fridge & I for one am actually a little over them.

Then today the second easter goody package arrived in the post for Miss AF & Miss FG, & thus it was the official start to easter for the carly gang (all easter eggs consumed prior to this point in time was just practice) -> the arrival of the winter pj's. Okay, laugh if you will, but you can rely on Aunty Dann to always come up with the goods of cute & funky pj's for my girls. Now this year was a little different as Miss Georgie-Girl (aged 4 almost) put her fashionably shoe'd foot down & decided on who was to receive which pair. Well, my whirlwind G-G just knew that Miss AF needed to have the pink ones as that's her favourite colour. It's just an absolute JOY to know these cousins are all so alike in being strong, individual girls...... I'm holding onto that thought the next time we have a drama-rama over fashion, yes I'm looking at you Miss FG.

Anyway, after the excitement of checking out the pj's & me laughing at my midget-legged children they discovered the chocolate rabbit lurking within the package. One smarties rabbit had unfortunately been squished en-route & was looking a bit sad & inside-out, who knew that rabbits guts are smartie sized?!? So, what's a mum to do? Either, a) wait for the "mine's broken & her's isn't & it's not fair speech", b) oooops, the rabbit dropped on the floor.....accidently.....4 times. (that rabbit was hard to kill) or c) tell the kids to harden up & wait for the fall-out to start. Hmmmm, I'll take option b) thanks = smart mummy.

Miss AF & Miss FG proceeded to devour their chocolate rabbits, I was hearing Nigel Thornberry narrating in my head "Watch the hungry carnivores as they pore over the carcass of their latest kill... see how they react angrily if another carnivore takes some of their prize from them. What an absolute feast for the carnivore....let's hope that they rest up before going out hunting again....." Well, nuh ,they SOOOOOOO did not rest up after the feast. I was responsible (of sorts) & stopped the little chocoholics in training before they reached the half-way point, but it was too late. Picture this, rainy afternoon, chocolate buzzing thru the pint-sized bodies & stuck inside with no King Carlyboy in sight. It was a recipe for ÖKAY - OUTSIDE NOW! if ever there was one.

I wish you all a very happy Easter peoples, enjoy the holiday weekend the best way you know how, whether that means church, family, friends, camping, eating, drinking & being merry or all of the above, have fun & take some time out for yourself......

Angelface is a Tri-athlete!

Me ~ I am a certified couch potato ~"NO TRAIN - NO PAIN" is my motto.

BUT, Miss Angelface completed a triathlon at school & I am one proud momma!!! She sooooo didn't get any athletic ability from me. Okay, so it was downsized for the munchkins abilities, but my AF gave it her all & she scored. She was in the turtle group for the swim & came first in her group (YAY) & then it was a little drama in getting her shoes on before the run to the scooters & a final run around the field for the breathtaking finish! My girl was so proud of herself to finish & so was I.

There were a few tense moments this morning as my athlete hasn't grasped the concept of shoelace tying - we are almost there - & was convinced that she would get into trouble at school because she couldn't get the job done, but I managed to coax her into by letting her know that there would be help if she needed it. Connor's mum was a gem in helping out at this stage.

After the swim across the pool & changing drama, she was so busy concentrating that she zipped right by Miss Fairygirl & I on her way to the scooter arena. I don't know how she did coz the scooter bit was around the corner & there was no parental access. So will imagine that she put the pedal to the medal & went for it as afterwards she sprinted as fast as her legs would pump past us to the running field. Miss FG & I only made it down to the track in time to see the last 20 metres of he run, she was going that fast!

So my big girl had a blast & I didn't get any pics (ooops sorry!) Unfortunately King Carlyboy had to work so he'll get the full details tonight at dinner. That's my girl!

Crafty Carlygirl - NOT

Okay, so it's official ~ I am craft-challenged & have a baaaaaad case of craft envy.

My name is Fiona & I am useless at arts & crafts. (when do I get to feel better?)

I wonder if I google "craft envy" if it will come up as a real-life diagnosis on wikipedia. Stop rolling your eyes King Carlyboy ~ I can hear your reaction from across the room.

I've been reading some blogs, especially the country craft ones (which I LOVE) & the green-eyed witch of envy has settled firmly on my shoulder. It's great that there are people out there in blog-world who are so generously including how-to tips & steps to those of us with this particular challenge, whilst also showing off stuff they made but people, this is just a bit depressing. This also means that Miss Angelface & Miss Fairygirl kinda miss out on trying out new stuff, coz I just know that wth me involved -> the project just ain't gonna work out. & it's a fair assumption that there's going to be heated words involved.

I would like to overcome this & have enlisted the help of a friend who is going to attempt to teach me how to knit..... Little does she know what she's let herself in for! I'm determined to excel at making knitted squares so one day I'll have to sew them together & make a blanket -> woo hoo. Yeah, stop sniggering, I have to start somewhere.


My sister-in-law is soooo talented, check out some of the reborn babies she makes:

These bambinos look like the real deal & she should know, having had 4 real ones ..... (big smooches to my gorgeous nephews & nieces). This is just the tip of the iceberg of what she can do. Kudos to my S-I-L Dann, but could you just share a little sprinkle of some craft talent around? Pretty please with sugar on top?!? Maybe just tip some into a thimble & post it to me.

I am a Christmas junkie & I should be able to produce something country-style for my beautiful 6 foot xmas tree, that most importantly I made (& actually stays together). Okay, I admit I attempted to get crafty last Xmas ~ I made a beachy Xmas tree for our garden. The tree is made out of driftwood & I hung seashells on the branches for decorations. It looked great, for a while. Now 4 of the shells have snapped off their twine hangers & it's looking a bit sad all in all. I can't really blame it all on Auckland wind & rain (dammit.)

Sigh. Maybe one day I'll be able to proudly post pics of something crafty I did. One day. Stay tuned.

Oh Sleep, Where Art Thou?

I am sooooooo tired that I am officially grumpy-butt mummy. I couldn't sleep last night, of course it was because I am the ultimate professional & couldn't switch off after work..... rather than the reality of it being cold & then waking up roasting like a stuffed chook from leaving the electric blanket on & drifting off in the cocooned warmth it provided. So now things are really annoying me too easily & it's only 9.30am. You know what pissed me off this morning? The toaster booby-trapped my cinnamon & raisin bagel & incinerated it. Have you ever tried to bite a burnt bagel, oh yes I tried scraping off the black bits, but lets face it - the bagel could have shattered concrete should it fall on the floor. So I tried smothering it in chocolate spread to disguise the taste. End of story -> I licked all the chocolate spread off the top & ditched the bagel. MMMMMMMM..... soooo yummy, but not a good filler. I could always actually walk downstairs to the freezer & get another bagel out & go thru the process again, but I really need minions for that, it's too hard.

Miss Angelface will be finishing school in 2.5 HOURS. As a sleep-deprived non-fully functioning member of the parent squad ~ that just messes with my head people. It's a teacher day or something official like that, all I know is that it means that I've gotta find my happy mummy hat somewhere beneath the gray cloud of fog that is surrounding my head & ENJOY (or else, dammit.) an easter craft session that I promised Miss Angelface we could have this afternoon. Yay me. In a fit of mummy-guilts I was happy to suggest making easter baskets to take with us when we go camping -> stupido me! Now I'm hoping that Miss Angelface & Miss Fairygirl will take a very long time to do the colouring bits so my efforts wont look quite so pathetic.

High School Musical will definately be called up for action on the DVD player this afternoon I suspect. Nine more days until HSM3 is released on DVD & will be hired for an afternoon's viewing pleasure (Miss Angelface ~ not me) over the holidays -> yippee.

But, back to the lack of sleep. Oscar here is gonna be a mean momma & put Miss Fairygirl down for a kip this morning instead of after lunch all because I wanna!!! Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY JACKYBOY!!!

Look I'll be honest, I am really happy that we've moved to NZ to try a new adventure, but I totally miss when birthdays come around. With 8 beautiful, funny & totally adorable nieces & nephews that equals lots of birthday moments gone by. But between e-mails & stalking by telephone, I can get a whiff of the birthday perfume.

HAPPY HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY

to my gorgeous Jackyboy!!!!

go hawks.

My, haven't you grown up!!!

I hope that you had an awesome day & loved the pics. Have fun shopping mate!

big smooches.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Oooops We're in Hot Water Now

So, it's off in the carlycampa for another adventure, the leyland brothers we are not. I got a lot of the list-making & packing done early on in the week in anticipation of an early get-away -> HA. I make no apology for the fact that I am a list-maker queen. I even have a menu plan for our camping weekends. We (i.e. me) is trying to downsize the amount of stuff we need to take away & I am currently in love with the idea of stuff that can double-duty. Miss Angelface did a sterling job of wearing & re-wearing her clothes each day, well not the reg-grundies of course. Now if only she could translate that determination to at home, then my washing days will be numbered...... one can wish.

Hahei beach resort on the Coromandel peninsula here we come. Miss AF had a half day at school, missing lunch, so of course was starving. She & Fairygirl devoured their lunch goodybags in the car before we left Auckland, which wasn't the intention, but what can you do?! We were moving along nicely, belting out all the Hi-5 hits when a big truck zoomed up past us & shot out a bullet of a stone onto our windscreen. AAAAAGH. A new windscreen was so not in the budget for a weekend away. Needless to say, the truck got away before I could write down the no. attached to the "How's my driving?"sign -> grrrr. So with a detour, we can now check off the I've been to Drury & Pukeko townships. Hmmmmm, wait for FOUR hours for a new windscreen with tired, hungry impatiently waiting to hit the beach kids or hang in for another week & add it to the WOF bill next week?!? Well - derrrrr people, hoidays it is.

We hit the campsite after 4pm, just a few hours off schedule, unpacked with no help from AF ~ she'd already started her social networking with a little girl across the way & checked out the beach. Yay to King Carly Boy for picking this site. Check it out below ~ noice huh?!?


We hit Hot Water Beach the next morning, KCB swatted up before the trip & brought along our very own shovel to dig a pool for his carlygirls. Okay, so what's the drill with this? H.W. beach is a beach that has hot water springs under it in a little section & at low tide you can dig into the bech & hot water comes up, so you make a little pool & wallow like a hippo or a mermaid - it takes all sorts. Well, it was tourist central. KCB got started & it wasnt happening, so we moved site & got started on pool no. 2 & no luck- finally on pool no. 3 we hit hot water. The fact that we shimmied right up against an existing pool of tourists, well that was just co-incidence people. So, this was the end result.

The other legs belong to a new kiwi teenager originally from Spain, her dad was v. kind in helping dig the pool. Another example of how teeny tiny the world is, the dad has friends in common with KCB. These hot pools were magic to sit in. It's a tricky thing to get just right as the hot water was boiling hot coming up, so the trusty bucket of cold sea-water was used a lot. We ended up spending a few hours on the beach.

After a clean-up back at camp - kudos to the camp managers, the facilities were great. Hot showers, flushing toilets, microwaves & toasters are definately NOT overrated when one is camping. I can live I without them, but its nice to have them. The action continued with a tramp down to Cathedral Cove. It's a 35 minute walk in & Miss AF pretty much well ran, skipped & hopped most of the way ~ oh to have some of that energy. Miss FG was in the back-pack, leaning over KCB's shoulder the whole way. It's a great spot ~ filled with lots of people, but still managed to not look over-crowded. Very pretty, KCB took his scenary pics, he's a bit keen on that, check it out:
Cathedral Cove is the little black spot down the bottom of the white cliff, we walked from this spot down to it. It's not really that small.... that's Miss AF in the front of the walk-thru!

Anyway, we had a great time of it. Never in my life had I seen so many campers in one place. They are obviously v. popular homes on wheels. We were the only camper-trailer in the campsite. I love camping & think that we are pretty good at respecting other campers, but some campers are TOTALLY CLUELESS. Case in point, the campground gates close at 10.30pm. The roads are v. windy & would be a task for the big campers on the road, so you'd expect that they'd be parked & set up way before that time. Nuh uh to the big camper that pulled in at 10.15pm in front of us. Okay, we can handle that, no probs here. Until, HE started talking. A big man - yankman I'll call him. He had to navigate the camper into position. The sites are all marked out ~ how hard can it be? But he had to describe the whole process - 20 minutes it took, unti eventually the outcome was "Freakin awesome spot man". Hmmm, okay, well they'll get sorted quickly & quietly & we'll be right. NO WAY. The 4 guys proceeded to sit outside drinking & discussing the merits of world series baseball & why doesn't it affect the world, the US currency & why all nations should use it etc. This was increadibly annoying as it was past midnight & keeping us & other campers awake. You could have taken a sauna in the amount of steam coming out my ears. I just couldn't take the crap anymore & marched over to ask them if they were aware how loud their voices were & to keep it down. I was nice people ~ it was a HUGE effort not to tell them what I really thought...... anyway, nearly an hour later & they finally gave it a rest. And the next morning my little AF & FG got up very, very early & mummy didn't ask them to be quiet, just sent them on their way to play as noisily as possible in the playground -> right next to the yankman camper. Payback - thy name is Carlygirl...... HA HA HA.

Great weekend was had by all.

TGIF

YAY! It's Friday..... Gotta love Fridays people. I'm off the hook for subbing in at work tonight. I do like my job really, I work with some gorgeous ladies who make me laugh, point out all the great bargains (loooove those yellow reduced stickers) & are a minefield of information on places to visit & stuff to do in NZ. But Friday nights are snugglebunny night with Angelface as we watch & commentate on American Idol in bed, we are one step away from consuming a lot of chocolate at the same time, but I'm trying not to encourage it...... It's not often that it's time for just us & yes, that would be my fault. AF has a big week at school, she tries hard & it's a slog, so after some netball on a Friday afternoon (probably not looking at a future Silver Fern), it's well-deserved chill-out time on a Friday night.

But today's Friday is pretty darn good right now. Mr Courierman just delivered to my door a special package of Harry!!! Well, hellooooooooo Harry Connick Jr. I am a Christmas junkie & have added Harry Connick Jr xmas cd to the ever-growing collection (Mr Chris Isaak ~you are next on my list thanks to trademe). So Miss Fairygirl & I have had a good session of jumping round the loungeroom to the big band xmas sound. Whitney Houston came in the same package, but sometimes you've gotta make sacrifices. You never know, in very small doses she could be okay. So break out the chocolate stash & we are having a party.

Sixteen Years Is a Loooooooong TIme

YAY ~ it's been 16 years of bliss with my King Carlyboy (well, yesterday was the actual milestone)...... but hey, what's one day late? So, happy anniversary poss!!!

Random Acts of Munchkin Cuteness

So I was at work on Tuesday night at the supermarket (I'm an on-line shopper which means I am a CHAMPION shopper, but more about that another time) and am picking items in the produce section at the front of the store when a v. cute little munchkin came up to me and started burbling away in a mix of toddler-speak & an Asian language ~ her own little concoction, fully expecting me to understand every word of course..... Anyway, she was very interested in what I was doing, checked out my grocery trolley & then gave me a little knee-hug which were on her eye level & toddled off! Her mum caught up with her about halfway through her explorations and we had a general chat about kids & stuff & then they left to finish her shopping. Now I hadn't met either the woman nor the child before, had seen them a few times in the supermarket when they were shopping, but that's about it.

Come Wednesday morning I was at my local shopping centre (shopping again ~ I told you I was a champion!) when the same little munchkin appeared this time to say hello & talk to Fairygirl. This time she flung herself into my arms for a cuddle when I bent down to say hi! Don't you just love kids enthusiasm? (Okay, well, not all kids truth be told, some you want to keep at a distance and kind of pat them on the head & keep it at that....) She was such a cutie-pie! Anyway, her mum has noticed us & got up from her coffee ~ a huge effort I can appreciate as not having had a coffee myself at that stage..... to say hi & we oooohed & aaaaahed over our v. cute kids. Now keep in mind we are really strangers who have just kinda chitchatted in passing once, but these were genuinely nice people who didn't have to, but took the time out to be nice to someone. Which really gave me a nice buzz.

Anyway, after that cute encounter, we headed up to Whitcoulls bookstore for story time. I was thinking maybe FG would love to hear some stories & sing & dance with other kids ~ well nuh uh. She was waaaaay more interested in checking the place out & when the storyteller brought out a bunch of stickers ~ well she was like a guided missile to those stickers!!! Miss AF is currently obsessed with stickers & therefore FG is too. Eventually she got into the Ring-a-rosie dance and was probably the most enthusiastic kid at throwing herself down at the end - it's okay for her, she doesn't have as far to to the ground to go. But it was at the end of the story time when Fairygirl started making a bee-line for the cutest boy in class....she knows how to work those baby blues!! Pity that the little boy is only 9 months, at that age he really is a toy-boy that she can boss around. That's my girl.

So people ~ be nice to others, you just might make their day!!!

Birthday Princess & Birthday Prince

So, we've enjoyed a 2nd birthday for Fairygirl & a __th birthday for King Carlyboy on the 23rd & 24th of January. We hitched up the carlycampa and headed to one of NZ's many fine parks & enjoyed some family time over the long weekend. I know that having 2 birthdays one directly after the other is not the world's best timing, but if you've gotta put up with it, then having them over a long weekend in summer is the best way. It was Auckland Anniversay weekend for us (we don't have Autralia Day in NZ, but thank you for asking ~ you know who you are!!!)

I even managed to sneak in some balloons & birthday banners to decorate the carlycampa for the birthday princess & prince! Wayne was a bit concerned that he'd be getting left-over cake for his big day, so we managed that issue by me baking lots of chocolate cupcakes & taking along a bag of frosting & making up lots of little birthday cakes each day for dessert -> yum-o! Everyone was happy.

Our Angelface was her usual social butterfly & made lots of buddies amongst fitting in swimming, kayakking, snorkelling, eating & exploring. Our site became kid city as KCB rigged up a swing in the tree ~ there was always at least 3 or 4 extra munchkins about having a swing, a hit of tennis or cricket or a kick of the soccer ball. AF took it upon herself to take a nuddie tour of the campground outfitted in just shoes & a hat (for sun protection - ha ha) & wave to the fans..... the kid was a bit of a naturalist.

All in all it was a great weekend away, lots of outdoor activities, a bit of exploring of the countryside & a bit of a relax for us, the long weekend was well needed!

Where's my social life?!?

You know, it's a really sad thing when my 7 year old, AF has a more hectic social life than me... I have hardly seen her in the past couple of days. She's had 2 sleep-overs & 3 play dates & more to come next week.

But really, if it were a choice between a social life & extra sleep, hmmmmmm ~ what to pick??? OKAY ~I know that extra sleep would win out every time. Especially if you include a few boxes of chocolates, a TV with remote & a few bottles of bubbles next to that bed & I would be one v. happy mummy!!!

Boys like to feel special too...

We have only 1 male in this family of girls (girls rule dontcha know!) & sometimes he gets a bit left out amongst all the pink stuff in our house.... Okay, that's not strictly true, we do have a male dog which Wayne recruits to his voting side from time to time. But Maximillions Aloyious Heriot Carlson is currently staying in his doggy penthouse with Rusty in Australia whereas we are in NZ & therefore I think his vote doesn't count.

Anyway, on reading my new blog, he happened to mention that he (Wayne, not the dog that is) doesn't really feature much at all, if any. Now it could have been a pouting moment, but no, he manfully charged ahead after reading & moved onwards....

So this blog is dedicated to my hubby Wayne who without him, my life would be v. v. different! He is cute, funny, kind, patient, caring, crazy, grumpy, adventurous, loving & sometimes I think he is a 15 year old boy trapped in a man's body the way he goes nuts playing with our gorgeous kids & nieces & nephews. It's his birthday on Saturday ~ so hip, hip hooray for my poss.

AF had dubbed him "King of the Family", which I guess, being the only boy is about right. He was big enough to pay for my 2009 Boys are Stupid calender & put up with the taunts after AF memorized each month's statements. So from hereon he shall be referred to as KOTF.

2009 - A New Years Resolution (or is Resolution a naughty word?!)

Well folks, this is it, 2009 has begun & it's time for me to try something new ~ which is where the New Years Resolution comes in! I've spent some time looking at other blogs & being amazed at how clever & creative some bloggers are & wondering whether I could do it too........ I am in particular awe of the craftsmanship shown in them (& secretly wishing that I had one thimbleful of talent in any craft area). There are some gorgeous blogs out in netspace & hopefully mine will work itself out somewhere along the way.

This blog is my attempt to keep family & friends up to date with our happenings as we are living far away from our immediate family. I can tell already that it's gonna be a slow start as summer school holidays are stil going strong & scraps of spare time to try to unleash some creativity are few & far between, so please bear with me! Oh the dilema of a mum -> wanting to spend quality time with the kids & then also counting down the sleeps til school goes back..... aagh, I now have true appreciation for mum's & dad's everywhere.

I just have to say that I love the colour red ~ I can't promise not to use it all the time as a font, I know it makes for hard reading & fingers crossed that someone will actually read this, but it's the first post & well, I'm just excited (thanks Big Kev!)

We have an OOOOOPS situation already. Angelface is out on a playdate (YAY!) & Fairygirl has snuck into her room to help herself to her stuff. Big sister stuff is always better than your stuff (I know this from experience ~ sorry Sam!) But boy, is it hard to keep FG outta that room! Okay, this means the Little People Farm is coming out to play, my talented animal noises always cracks FG up, i'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not........