NEW YEAR'S EVE....

Kids playing nicely.... Teddy trying so hard to be a part of it... even though he is sooooo not allowed the Lego!

It's New Year's Eve... and we have NO plans, none whatsoever. *sigh*.

Probably watch TV on me own like last night... I didn't want to watch sport so Stew (the prick) sat in the family room on his own... left me to it.. like I'm not literally on my own most days (not counting bloody kids)? Oh well... whatever.

OBVIOUSLY I'm not in the best of moods! Might go take it out on the friggin pantry....

ONWARD....

Did anyone think I was going to CLEAN the pantry? Are you nuts? I meant raid it.. stuff me face... whatever I could find! BUT I didn't... I went grocery shopping instead. WHAT FUN that was... not.

End of Day: it's still early but I am going to sign off for this year. Yew Year's Eve is always a time I reflect on missing family... weird but true. I think of all the New Years Parties my brothers have missed out on... for my little brother... he's missed out on 10 and my big brother... 25! It doesn't seem that long ago that they both left us so suddenly.. and it still sucks and makes me sad. So, tonight I will remember them... and then move on to a new year.... a year I hope will be full of losses.... kilo losses! No New Year Resolutions as such... but some wishful notions!

I WISH EVERYONE OUT THERE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! nite nite.

THE CLOTH....

ABOVE: the TV Cabinet without a cloth....

ABOVE: And now.. with a cloth (to cut down on the dusting)... which I made, which we think is VERY nice!

Well... life doesn't get much more interesting than that today.. .so far!

ABOVE: Teddy say's "HI"... what are you all doing today? We are gunna go get me some more pretty BLUE pills.. and not much else! SPILL... who's having more fun than me today????

Seems I'm not the only one in a lull..... we really have just been chilling out all day! The kids are now in the pool ... and I'm taking the time to catch up on some blogs! Suppose I should cook or do SOMETHING about dinner tonight, made his nibs buy it last night! Lazy Tart I am!

End of Day: and I did cook! I made a ham/pasta salad, twas nice too. nite nite.

AHHHHHHHHH..... BLISS!

YEAH... YEAH I know! I. AM. A. SPOILT. TART.
He promised me a foot massage a couple of years ago... and like an ELEPHANT I had not forgotten, and finally got him to deliver!
Teddy is very intrigued by it all! So bloody cute.

Stew goes back to work today... and I think Steve is heading back to Palmerston North too. Sad. So maybe it will just be me and the two littlies for the rest of the week? At least they have 'stuff' to keep them occupied now eh?

ONWARD....

ABOVE: Steve left....

...it's raining, so another quiet inside day for me and the kids. It's darn hot and sticky now.... and I have a lot of housework to do! Hmmmmm... might just go watch a DVD... Stew bought me the entire DVD Collection of 'Outrageous Fortune'... so I shall start watching it! Housework can WAIT...

So... I've watched some of my first DVD, washed two loads of washing and hung them on racks inside to dry... sewn a cloth to cover the TV cabinet (dust drives me NUTS)... and now it's time to think about what's for dinner? As if I feel like cooking? *sigh*....

End of Day: and I didn't cook... we got takeaways instead. It's darn hot tonight... and soooo humid! I'm feeling ikkkkk now. Sitting with a fan blowing on me... which is quite nice. nite nite.

KAYAKING... and CRICKET

ABOVE: The first kayak of the season, in our new kayak...

ABOVE: having a rest....

ABOVE: we all played cricket on the foreshore with a few groups of other people.. it was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of our day yesterday. We all had so much fun mixing with everyone on the beach and enjoying the company.

ABOVE: 3 short videos of our kayaking yesterday.

TODAY: we have no plans, but it might be a quiet day here at home! We are all sunburnt from yesterday....

ONWARD.....

ABOVE: we are all lobsters today! It is going to be an 'inside' day... cos no one wants to get sunburnt again! The sunblock we were using was only an SPF 15 so Stew has gone out and bought an SPF 30+... hopefully that protects us better.

End of Day: it's been a totally relaxing day today! I finally got to watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" tonight... loved it. nite nite.

WORDLESS...well almost!

TEDDY CAN SWIM!!! His first ever swim.

We going kayaking now....
ONWARD...

We have had the most GORGEOUS DAY at the beach... we kayak'd, we swam, we played cricket with some of the other people on the beachfront... we had hotdogs and chips for lunch... it's been just the most fantastic day again! I will put some photos and short videos on tomorrow's blog post, there's is quite enough on for today!

Steve and the kids are now in the splash pool... and I am going to join them! It's soooo hot!

End of Day: We are all SUNBURNT.. hot and bothered.. and going to bed ... nite nite.

BOXING DAY...

Here's a few more family shots ... taken yesterday afternoon....
Today we are heading off to the beach with the kayak... wooo hoooo!

BACK later with photos!

Today we WERE going to spend on the water ... at the beach with the kayak... but now we are not.

WHY?

Because this is how Brylee looked when she woke up this morning! We took her straight to the doctor, who thinks she is either having an allergic reaction to bites or has gotten an infection from a bite... since we have come home from the Doctor's her left hand has also started to swell up... so we may be going back to the Doctors yet.

So... we are hanging out at home today... it is better to be safe than sorry...

ONWARD.. we will have a nice day anyway!

Oh and while I'm telling news.. Mike's Subaru WRX was stolen on Christmas Eve... and he only has 3rd Party Insurance... so his $8,000 car is gone and he can't get another one. SAD.

I have taken masses of photos today..of the guys putting the big splash pool up, and the kids in it... but will show some photos of that tomorrow. Brylee's face/hand are a little better, so she is not getting worse, thank gawd! I will leave you with ONE PHOTO of the pool fun:

Steve and I nearly died laughing at this photo of Brylee's face! It's hysterical!

End of Day: even though we didn't get to go kayaking, we have had a lovely, lovely day. Family fun. nite nite.

P.S. we drove down to the Botanic Gardens to feed the ducks... Griffin fell in the lake... and Steve made me walk home! Pfffft. But it was nice.

CHRISTMAS AS A KIWI

MEANS:
- summer time
- BBQ's
- The Pohutakaw Trees blooming bright red
- Beaches and Boating
- suntans
AND SUNBURN.... and a time to be with Family.... and to be Thankful for each and every family member who is still with us, because we have ALL lost loved family members somewhere along the line.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS DAY... today and 'TOMORROW' for everyone in the Northern Hemisphere!

I will endeavour to come back during the day and share some photos of our Day...

ONWARD... The unwrapping awaits!

THE CHRISTMAS EVE BBQ... had a ball.. they finally left at 1 am! Luckily for us the kids slept in till almost 8am! UNHEARD OF!

WAITING FOR THE 'GO' TO START UNWRAPPING! Shit Griffin looks like A DICK!

Stew.... Heee heee... I got him Silver Check for his hair... cos he has LOTS of grey hair.. not that you can see much of his hair seeing as he shaves it so short.

UNWRAPPING..... going on..... huge mess ..... but that's ok.

CUTE...

YES! YES! YES~! no more bored kids in the car .... PSP's are AWESOME....

CHOCOLATES FOR BREAKFAST... kind of a 'family tradition' around this house! So bad!

HAPPILY MARRIED.... happily hoping for a new baby this year.

FUN... FUN.... FUN... going to go kayaking tomorrow!

End of Day: DINNER IS SERVED:

And it was delicious! nite nite.

LAST THING...

I have to do last minute shopping today... all the fresh meats, salads, fruit, pudding stuff etc.

We have dinner guests tonight, and then of course throughout Christmas day!

So we will brave the crowds at the supermarket again... shit I can hardly wait!

At least today I will have Steve to help me with all the bags!

I THINK I have done all the gift shopping/wrapping? I hope so anyway!

ONWARD....

Everything is done! I have an enormous Ambrosia Dessert chilling in the fridge for tonight... trifle for tomorrow ready to throw together.... etc etc etc! Relaxing for a while before doing some housework in readiness before this evening's guests arrive for our EVE BBQ. *smiles*

I am soooo looking forward to seeing the kids faces tomorrow, I just KNOW they are going to be thrilled with their gifts this year. I really went a bit OVERBOARD...... but these two littlies usually only get gifts from us (I mean SANTA)... so I over compensate I suppose, but these two are special to me and Stew. Very special.

ABOVE: I just cut 'Midget's' hair... think I did a good job too! AND I weighed both of them.... Brylee is 24 kilos... (she was 26 kilos 3 months ago)... and Griffin is 47 kilos... (he was 36 kilos 3 months ago). Hmmmmmmmmmm... I need to fatten one up and shrink the other! Not an easy thing to do with either of them.

End of Day: it's 12.56 am, Christmas morning really! We are just heading off to bed....and will be up in about 5 hours when the kids wake up.... our BBQ was awesome.... nite nite!

IN FOR A PENNY.....

In for a pound!
Totally lost the 'Diet' plot in the past 3 weeks.... anything goes it would seem.

I just don't 'get' myself?
Stessed out and just over it... self indulgent tart behaviour! Grrrrrrr.

Hopefully I will be able to pull my sorry butt out of this diet funk and get back on track soon!!!

I do the washing.... like most days... yet Griffin ran out of undies today! Little shit always dumps all his dirty clothes under his bed... NO WONDER he has no undies! Grrrr... so today I am doing lots of washing. And getting all the housework up to date.
Steve arrives this afternoon! I can't wait to see him... seems like ages since we saw him last.

ABOVE: the sky right now....I just hung out the washing... how do you rate my chances of getting it dry outside today???

I got a letter in the mail today, finally Griffin has been assessed by the Moderal Needs Team again and been found to need HELP.. which is going to start next year... so along with the RTLB Team there will be help from the Moderate Needs team too! AMAZING! And thank God! Three years worrying and asking for help...

Our wee man is going to get help! YAAAAA... now maybe I can relax a bit?

Steve is due here soon... and I've just put chicken pieces in the oven for dinner... should be yum!

End of Day: Steve got here safely... we had a lovely dinner then the bugger dragged me out for a walk! It nearly KILLED me! We took Griffin too... why should I suffer alone eh? Nah, it was OK, and Steve tells me we are doing it every night while he is here...oh HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY! On that note... nite nite!

GAINFULLY EMPLOYED...

Two small people in this house said the 'BORED' word....

So.... being the bestest Mother EVER... I found something for them to do! Oh yeah... they were not BORED after that! lol

Later on today we will go into town and get some more 'Last Minute Things'.... crikey, every time I turn around there is something else I JUST HAVE TO GET! pffffft.

There is this really COOL DUDE in America who is doing an amazing GIVEAWAY right now... so pop on over to DADDY FOREVER'S blog to be in to win a HP Computer!

Been ... done... home again! The shopping mall wasn't quite so CROWED this morning... ran into my cousin Theresa and her partner.. they were off to have their 20 week scan... and invited us along! So off we trotted to Radiology... and they are having their second wee SON! Dominick is to be his name... DOM for short! It was lovely to see him all happy and squirming on the screen... a perfect wee baby. That is what Christmas is all about... FAMILY.

ABOVE: our tree... already looking cluttered.. and SANTA has not even been yet! I hate to think what SANTA has spent this year! Luckily 'SHE' has been gathering presents ALL YEAR eh?

End of Day: another nice day... didn't get that much done really... just hung out withthe kids this afternoon. Stew late home... silly dinner of toasted sandwiches! Watching "The United States of Tara".... totally LOVE IT! nite nite.