A LOVELY VISITOR & DOCTOR TIMES TWO TODAY

Last night before dinner we got a visitor from way up North.
It was a lady who is a contributor on another blog I'm a member of.  Sew It Finished... is a group of sewers who support each other in our endeavours to get all our UFO's Finished.

http://sewitsfinished.blogspot.co.nz/

UFO's are Unfinished Objects... like I have about 20 items on the go right now.... like a couple of quilts, some bags, some aprons, some... YEAH... you get the drift?  lol  I haven't been able to get much finished this year yet thanks to the flood, and all me fabrics going into storage.

Anyway.. I digress yet again.  I took some photos of Monika while she was here dropping off a huge bag of nappies for Bex and Dante!
What a lovely lady eh?  *smiles*

She was a VERY lucky lady, one because Dante woke up, and two... Steve gave the baby to her for a cuddle.  This baby has almost never been held by anyone other than family, so Monika was lucky:

 ABOVE:  I would love some 'CAPTION' ideas for this photo!  lol  (sorry Monika!)

ABOVE (2):  Dante was in a very cuddly mood, which was lovely.
He even fell asleep in my arms later on too... so cute.

Today?
Kids to school, then Bex and I are off to the Dr's with Dante. He is due for his 6 weeks Immunisation.   I think Bex is dreading it... and anticipating having a very upset baby later on.  Me, I prefer to look on the optimist side and say he will be just fine.

When you anticipate problems, you are too quick to see them.

Well... that's how I look at some things... maybe not all...but some. Especially when it comes to babies.   NONE of mine had teething problems or reactions or grizzly periods after immunisations... maybe I was just lucky?  Or... maybe I just got on with it and wasn't looking for trouble.  

ANYWAY... moving on.   Later on this afternoon... and shit I can't remember the time (must ask while we are there this morning), it is my turn to go to the Dr's.  I am seeing the Diabetes Nurse... Diveka.  She's lovely.  I will find out what me blood test revealed.  I'm not expecting any change.  I have Type 2 Diabetes and I'm not managing it that well.
Oh ya.  But... let's see what Diveka says.

ONWARD...

It's been one of those days.  Hardly home at all.
Dante screamed holy blue murder when he got his injections... one in each leg.  Poor Bex bawled too.  But he's all good now.

After coming home, we had lunch, then I went and bought the kids stationery.  $98 gone in a blink.  I also paid all the school fees EXCEPT the 'DONATION'. That one has to wait. 
So far today I've spent just under $300 on school things.

AFTER that I went for my diabetes check up.
Everything was up.  Blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol... so I've got even more damn pills to take now.  *sigh*
Like I'm going to REMEMBER to take them... yeah right!  I'm a shocker at remembering bloody pills and when to take them.

Good news just now:  We will know by Thursday who is doing the repair job on our floor/walls etc, and more importantly, WHEN.  Here's hoping it's not too long till it's done and we can move on.  I've got some changes I want to make here, and I can't do them until the work is done.

MRS C:  'donations' are not COMPULSORY... but the wording is such that you are left in no doubt that you MUST PAY.  And in some schools if you don't pay the 'donation' your child is excluded from anything extra curricular... so no inclusion in sports teams, clubs, etc.  I don't think our school does that though.

End of Day:  well it's been a quiet evening, which I'm thankful for.  I'm really tired today... feeling a bit down.  I don't sleep well most nights at the moment.  Too hot.  Too much on the brain, just a few worries... nothing out of the usual for me I suppose.
Just wish once in a while everything was just smooth sailing, with some happiness thrown in for the hell of it... instead of the complete opposite.
nite nite.

HOSPITAL, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL... FUNERAL.

My day is gunna go something like this:

7 am:  Take Stew to Middlemore Hospital for a precautionary procedure which is gunna be yuk for him. (Colonoscopy).

8 am:  Hopefully I will be home in time to get the kids sorted out for their FIRST DAY back at school.

11 - 12 noon:  Pick up Stew from the hospital.

IF he is up to it we will then hot foot it across town for the funeral of a dear friends' Mum.

I am so very thankful that Bex is living with us now because she can fill the gaps if I'm not home in time for the kids.

Much later on today I am expecting a visit from a blogger from up North.  She is down here on business and is calling in to give Bex a whole heap of nappies!  How cool is that!

Now... I mentioned Stew got me some gifts yesterday, so I'll now show you:

 ABOVE: These gorgeous glass grapes!

ABOVE:  They are a blueish/purple colour and I love them.

ABOVE: He also got me this cute wall box...

 ABOVE:  You can put keys inside it, but I'm not going to.  It's going on my lounge wall along with all my other 'nautical' treasures.

I just realised I missed a photo yesterday of Liam that I wanted to post, so here it is:

ABOVE:  Amanda  ♥LOVES♥  The Smurfs... especially Poppa Smurf.  She got a Big Poppa Smurf when she was about 4 years old and still loves them. So I wasn't that surprised to see a small Poppa Smurf in the bassinet with Liam!

Well, that's all for now... I'm off to take Stew to hospital.

ONWARD...
WOW!  We have rain.... thick, dense, drizzle type rain.  The sort that might just soak into the ground and do some good.  Our ground is so parched right now, I took these photos yesterday:

ABOVE:  see?   Very dry, hardly any grass for the animals at all.  Hopefully today's rain lasts for a few days and helps the farmers with some grass growth.

ABOVE:  cracks in my lawn.  The one just above is really deep too.  The only greenery growing on my 'lawn' right now is weeds.

I just picked up Stew.  Apparently all is OK... we just have to wait for a biopsy report to be sure.
Awesome.   Now we all have to listen to him fart all day cos they pumped him full of air.  
I hope like hell he's passed most of it before we go the the funeral this afternoon!  Can you imagine him dropping farts all through the service?

Right, off to cuddle wee Dante, have lunch, get tidied up and then go to funeral.

The funeral was lovely, lots of people, and my word they put on an amazing 'cuppa' afterwards I must say.  I shouldn't have had any lunch before going cos there was a virtual mountain of food!

Coming home at 4pm... a NIGHTMARE.  The traffic was diabolical, our last stretch took 35 minutes to cover about 1 km.  Madness.

Very happy to be home, can relax now.  Bex has taken over dinner preperations tonight, so I get to do 'her' Wednesday night dinner now.  Being flexible is great.  I'm so happy we get on so well, she's such a help around the house, even while she is caring for Dante.  
Love you Bex.

End of Day: had a lovely visitor just before dinner, more on that tomorrow.  I'm knackered and just want to get to bed.
nite nite.

OFF TO MEET LIAM TODAY

Today we are going to Hamilton so I can see Amanda's new baby.
Stew and the kids are coming too... but they will probably hang out at the park/lake while I'm visiting the baby.

Hopefully I will have some lovely photos of the new baby when we get home.

Until then, I will leave you with a few I took yesterday:

LOL, I really enjoyed putting captions on that lot!
Neither baby was hurt in the making of that series by the way!

I showed Steve and Bex the photos last night and they both cracked up laughing.  So glad I can amuse them.

Right, better go get some jobs done, school starts for Brylee and Griffin tomorrow and I need to be organised...

OH, I will show you a photo of the baby gift I made for Liam when we get home this afternoon.

ONWARD...

Home.  The visit went well.  Stew, Brylee and Griffin got to see baby Liam too, which was nice.
We didn't stay long as it was just too hot in the room for me... I was about to become a big dripping puddle on the floor!
I will show you what I made for Liam's room...

ABOVE:  Amanda wasn't that keen on the Orange, but unfortunately I didn't have much fabric to choose from as most of me fabric is in storage.  She did like it overall, I think?  Her Father In Law thought the flowers were sperm! 

Mad Taranaki Farmer!

AND he kept pointing out that their van is a 7 SEATER.... and so there was room for ONE MORE BABY!  Somehow I don't think Amanda is having a bar of it!

I will go now and sort out some baby photos to show ya...

 ABOVE:  My first hold of Liam... Yes... I cried. 

 ABOVE:  CLEARLY we do not make many bald babies in our family!  Liam has a good crop of hair.

ABOVE:  Stew and Liam, our 12th Grandchild.   We now have 7 grandsons and 5 granddaughters.  Wonder who will reproduce next!

ABOVE:  isn't he adorable!  I just had to take his booties off and check out the fingers and toes.  I'm happy to report he has ten of each... *smiles*

 ABOVE:  Just checking!

 ABOVE:  Andrew with his son.  A very happy man.

ABOVE:  Amanda, tired but otherwise all good.

ABOVE:  Brylee got a cuddle too, which was lovely.  Griffin... nah he didn't want to.

On our way home we stopped at Pokeno for an ice cream.  Stew couldn't have one as he's fasting for a procedure tomorrow at hospital.  Poor bugger.  He wasn't even allowed lunch.

Anyway, I digress.  He bought me a couple of lovely gifts from a cute gift shop in Pokeno, which was so lovely of him.  He knew I was feeling a bit low and cry babyish... *smiles*
I will show you what he gave me tomorrow, I NEED something to put on for tomorrow eh?

Something totally unrelated to anything else today.... I wrote a 'Roster' of who cooks dinner each night.
I felt it was time I did it so the load is shared.
So, it goes like this:

MONDAY - ME
TUESDAY - ME
WEDNESDAY - BEX
THURSDAY - ME
FRIDAY - TAKEAWAYS
SATURDAY - STEW
SUNDAY - STEVE

Sooooo... tonight is Steve's first turn.  And he's gone all out and is actually COOKING something more than baked beans on toast!

 ABOVE:  it would appear we are having something called 'Chicken and Mushroom Bake'!   OOOOOwww.... my expectations are high now.  lol
I wonder if he realises his Dad can have none of it?

How sad Stew can't eat any dinner, the smell coming out of my kitchen right now is mouth wateringly divine...

ABOVE:  Dinner! Chicken baked in a mushroom and leek sauce, served with scalloped potatoes and sour cream.  OMG it was lovely!!! 
I think I am really going to enjoy having other people cooking in my kitchen.  Apparently Steve was really excited about cooking dinner tonight.  Awwww... he did such a good job too.  No baked beans on toast after all.  *smiles*

End of Day:  lots happening today.  Just spent the past hour or so sewing the kids names on the new uniform items they both got.
Time for bed, we have to get up extra early tomorrow.
nite nite.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD LIAM JOSEPH HARRISON O'BEIRNE

Our Daughter Amanda and her husband Andrew welcomed their son Liam into the world last night.  I am hoping to go down tomorrow to see them, all going well of course.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's a rare event, but today Stew has to work from 7 am until about 6 pm.  There is a Chinese New Year Festival being held at the ASB Showgrounds and Stew's company are going to be there to advertise their company/products.
Anyone wanting a new will... just look for Stew!  lol

His company does more than wills of course, but most KIWI'S only associate his company with wills.  

It will be a long day for him... and he's already tired after only one week back at work.

Steve is working all day also, so it's just Bex, the kids and me all morning.
After lunch we are expecting a friend of Bex's, along with her husband.
They are coming up here from Hamilton for a 90th Birthday Party, and are calling in to say 'Hi' to Bex and check out Dante.  That will be lovely for Bex eh.

 ABOVE: the 'men' clucking over Dante.

ABOVE:  Stew and Dante, just chillin...

ABOVE:  Coco trying to get in on the act...

ABOVE:  "Oi Mum!  Take MY photo!"   ha ha!

ABOVE:  Baby's had enough now... time to hand him over to him Mum.  See how his hair is going lighter... still think he will end up a blonde.

Right, time to go... stuff to do....

ONWARD...

Well... been doing 'stuff'... tried to find the baby quilt for Liam, but it went into storage along with so many other things I now WANT.  Grrrr.
So, I'm working on something else to give Liam when I see him tomorrow.... hopefully anyway.  It will mean sewing all day...  OR NOT!  I'm making good progress on the thingee for the new baby.

Got to take a nice break midday when friends of Steve and Bex visited.  Kerrin and Rick and their wee boy Cole were just lovely to have visit... Kerrin is 39 weeks pregnant, so expecting their new baby any day!  Kerrin spent 2 months in hospital during her pregnancy as she was at risk of a very early baby.  Young Cole was 12 weeks early... so they sure didn't want that to happen again.

 ABOVE:  because I was sewing in the garage, they all came down and kept me company.  That was lovely. 

End of Day:  well a really nice day today.  Shame Stew had to work... he's knackered now.
I sewed for about 9 hours today, and am happy to say I got a gift made for wee Liam.  Happy about that.
nite nite.

PARCELS.... GOTTA LOVE 'EM

We got more parcels in the post yesterday... stuff my Mum had bought at a craft market.  I do believe the postage probably cost more than the contents!

ABOVE:  Can you believe the number of stamps?  One has to wonder if me Mum used stamps she already had.... cos surely the post offices in Australia have stamps worth more than $1.60!  There are 32 stamps totaling about $50.

 ABOVE:  inside the parcel... half a dozen lightweight summer tops for me that don't fit me Mum (so I get them), and a romper suit and hat for Dante... he's in the suit (above)... and the hat.  Well the hat is supposed to fit a baby 3-6 months old, but is far too small for him.  I think Bex is going to put it on one of Dante's Teddys. edit:  all he needs now is a piece of straw poking outta his mouth and he will look like a right dag!  lol

ABOVE: how cute is he?  
The other 'stuff' in the parcel:  Mum got this cute wee doll and doll carrier at the craft market:

 ABOVE:  some lovely lady had knitted a cardigan, booties, nappy and blanket for the doll, and...

ABOVE:  all these gorgeous clothes too.  They are beautifully made and so cute.  I am going to put them into our toy box for visiting little girls... I can think of a couple who are going to love playing with them, and carrying the 'baby' around in the carrier.

TODAY?  I think Bex and I are going to give sewing a go!   She wants to try making a sleeping bag type thingee for Dante.   Could be interesting.  

The other thing on my agenda is sorting out the kids clothes, getting rid of stuff that no longer fits. I am thinking there is a mountain of stuff Griffin no longer fits!  He's grown so much taller lately.  And Brylee... well maybe she has grown a bit too!  

ONWARD...

REST IN PEACE Sir Paul Holmes, you were an awesome Dude.  Kiwi Radio and TV won't be the same without you.

Bex, the kids and I went to Sylvia Park ... needed to post off some parcels.  Caroline:  OMG  I just found the parcel I should have posted to you weeks ago... it had gone into the roof storage!  Whoops!  So sorry, it is now on it's way to you... just a bit late.

I needed to post a letter too... so I went out into the mall to put it in the New Zealand Postbox, but there was a problem:

 ABOVE:  the mailbox was so full when I tried putting my letter in, a whole heap of other people's mail fell out! So, I went inside to the KiwiPost counter and told them ... and they said "Oh well, it will be emptied at 2pm", and I'm like... "Are you kidding, you mean that all that mail that is falling out is just going to stay there for anyone to take until 2pm?"  Seems so.

ABOVE:  I thought STUFF THAT! And I went out and hauled MY LETTER and a whole heap of other ones out and took them inside and asked the KiwiPost lady to hold it behind their counter until the mailbox was being cleared.  NOT ON.  
At least I've done me 'Good Deed' of the day now.

I might even ring NZPost and lodge a complaint.   It's not on.  Our mail is supposed to be safe and secure in those freaking letter boxes.

After sorting out the post, we had a wander, had lunch and came home in time of Dante's next feed.

I just had a chat with a lady from NZPost, apparently the NZPost people in the shop should have rung and requested an early pick up from that Letterbox as soon as they were informed it was full to capacity.  They didn't.  So for the past two hours people have probably been trying to shove their letters in that box! 
At least I did my bit ... I feel good about that.


BTW... got no sewing done today after all.  I had hoped to get some of my fabric out of storage on Sunday too... but according to Bex the suitcase holding my fabric is right at the back of the store box.  Dammit.  I may have to work on UFO's! 

Another stinking hot day here... even the kids stay inside all day!  

End of Day:  I just found out that our Daughter Amanda and her husband Andrew welcomed their son Liam Joseph Harrison O'Beirne into the world tonight.  Welcome to our world wee Liam.  
nite nite.