Oh dear dear dear!

Have I told you lately that I think you’ve been running yourself ragged….?! You young things just won’t listen!

Slowwwww Dowwwwwwwwwn ! Or Stop!

I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been so ill.

You do sound miserable, and in need of some good, old fashioned TLC!

Dr. Ange (lotsa letters after her name, attesting to her incredible medical expertise!) thinks you need a jolly good holiday.....in the sun. A warm sun. No housework, no chauffeuring, no meetings, no obligations, no stress. Feet up, cuppa tea, good book, plenty of fresh air. Administer as often as required. If symptoms persist, refill cup, change book, adjust horizontal position, request massage and some tasty edibles.

And a further suggestion - you may need some more days off work to knock the lurgy properly on the head, lest it returneth to bug you (s'cuse pun)….but that is only my learned suggestion.
And forget the housework. It’ll still be there tomorrow.
Listen to the voice of experience!
Really hope you feel a whole lot better soon, my friend...

Woe is me...

The Silent One finally speaks... or croaks.
I have spent a most frustrating week being sick. I took two sick days from school, and yesterday I even called off a scrapbooking workshop. Pretty extreme. And now, as we prepare to enter a new week tomorrow, I don't know what I'm going to do. My throat is still sore, my voice is still croaky (and I know what will happen to it after a full day of teaching!), and I don't want to even tell you the horrible things that go on in my nose and throat every morning. I tried to have breakfast at White Spot yesterday - my favorite Monty Mushroom Benny that they've taken off the menu, but I still order anyway. I couldn't eat more than a couple of bites!
Today I got up at noon and looked around at the house. I'm telling you, Big Bear and Little Joe are pathetic at keeping a house clean. Even more pathetic than I am. So I went on a little cleaning rampage, and ended up in my red chair with the computer. Feeling done in.
So how am I going to do school tomorrow?
Boy, it sure is a good thing I had the flu shot this year!

Goldilocks and her wee piglets

I am absolutely ASTOUNDED at how much my two wee lads can pack away. And they’re not even teenagers yet!
K is going to have to do something about working harder when they get to that age….just to keep food on our table!
The boys had, had a good breakfast (a sizeable bowl of cereal filled to the brim for E; FIVE pieces of toast for L!).
We had some chocolate brownie for morning tea.
And then the boys went to swim training.
E did 15 laps of the pool in addition to his class, whilst L complained of having a ‘burst heart’ with all the extra laps he did this morning!
We had a second morning tea on our return home. Yoghurt. Banana.
And some chocolate. Just because.
I decided to make some sushi for lunch.
Chilli tuna, egg, cucumber, capsicum, avocado, and carrot.
The boys LOVE sushi. It shows.
Usually with K home, we struggle to finish 40 large sushi.
Today, the boys polished off 40 (like...FORTY!!!) by themselves, with minimal help from me!
AND all the extra egg, carrot, capsicum etc as well…..
Should I be worried????!

And I am further AMAZED by how my boys have rallied around me this week, as if they are somehow aware that they are pulling together to fill the gap left by K being in Miami. It is as if the family unit has had to draw closer together to maintain its strength.

I have been contemplating this interesting observation.
All week, the boys have woken before 6am.

They have turned on the computer, and then dutifully gone about their chores and breakfasting and morning routine, whilst waiting for K’s Skype call to come through at about 6.30am.
They have cheerfully been there for each other; given me lots of hugs, encouragement, and help; and gone about their necessary practices and routines without any grumbling. They have talked and shared about all manner of things in their day, and we have laughed and told each other how much we miss K.

And it has been so nice to be able to see and chat with K

several times each day.

We are all looking forward to his imminent arrival home.

But I noticed this phenomena most today.

The boys were extraordinarily helpful and gave up their entire Saturday to tidy and clean the house for me. In fact, whilst I was struggling to get out of bed this morning, I overheard them discussing their self-imposed division of jobs, in order to get the house in order for mum, and as a surprise for daddy’s return!

As it turns out, 'twas no idle chat either!
After doing their usual Sat chores and practices (and in amongst the swimming and the eating!), E closed the door to the boys’
bedroom, and declared it a bombsite! Eventually, at about 5pm, he emerged triumphant – he had TOTALLY revamped their room and it was the most spick and span arrangement I believe I have EVER seen in there!

L and I stood at the doorway and just said, “WOW!”.

E had even tidied all of L’s stuff and had sorted through old toys to give away, throw away, or rearrange.

(A job which had lingered on my 'too hard' pile!).
And whilst E was busy in the bedroom, L had taken apart 95% of his Lego (believe me, there was A LOT of it cluttering our lounge!)
and had sorted it all into various drawers. No mean feat! As he resignedly stated (whilst looking at his mountain of pieces before him),
“I’ve got MILLIONS of pieces of Lego to put away!!!”

Anyway, I just thank God for the wonderful family I have.

I am so grateful for them.

But they DO still eat a LOT !

On Jellyfish and Santas

The lad in Miami caught a sunrise at the beach this morning...

And met new and wonderful specimens...

Whilst back at the Homeland,

we are working hard to produce our own exotic specimens !

(May have to drop the facial hair this weekend if the weather forecast is correct - huge high over the whole country!

Hot, dry, sunny forecast all weekend...
Ange of the North, I suggest we swap countries for the weekend

since I prefer the cooler climes. and you love the hot ones!)

Speaking of hip(s)...

...look what's going on mine!!!

It's late and I really should be in bed.

But it has been the sort of night when one has a fancy that a warm chocolate-and-cranberry-brownie, straight outta the oven, might go dowwwwwn well...

Too, too well...straight onto dem hips!

(By the way, these are fresh farm eggs, kindly given to us by a very, very kind friend! I was just thinking, that the colour of our egg yolk Down Under, is quite different to the colour of the egg yolk we used to see when we were in the Great White North... Or did we just get our eggs from the wrong place when we were up there?)

What is Hip?

We did the proud parent thing last night.
All the music students at Little Bear's college performed in a recital, presenting pieces that ranged from Joan Baez and John Mayer to Pink Floyd, Hillsongs United, and all manner of original compositions. Some were downright painful (two in particular), while others were awesome, with everything in between. I had to keep in mind that some of these students were performing on new instruments that they had taken up only in September!

Little Bear sang with two ensembles, accompanied a few other students, and performed What is Hip - an old 70s song by Tower of Power. You can listen to the album version on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9t_rkKetbI&NR=1 His version had no brass, and featured a fabulous female vocalist; it was meant to showcase his base and another guy on electric guitar. Actually, having just watched the original, I preferred last night's version! I think that Little Bear enjoyed the whole thing, and he had every reason to be proud of his performance - his fingers flew! His number was the last one of the evening; a great way to finish.

It was lots of fun. But I think I need a faster lens for shooting in these low-light situations.

What is hip? Little Bear is hip!

Touchdown

So. After more than 20 hrs of travel, the lad has arrived at his destination. Long trip! But what a wonderful invention Skype is! And the webcam too. Just great! We got to see the lad's new digs and even check out his pillows and bedding....Looked comfy. I hope the lad didn't make too much noise for his neighbouring hoteliers, chatting to us....since it was well after 1 am over yonder.

Sigh. We miss him.

But I've been well looked after by friends and family. Certainly can't complain!

~*~

And E organised a photo competition for his class....endorsed by his teacher, and judged by the Principal and the Art teacher. The class was put into groups of 2's and 3's, and the kids were given 2 periods at school to go and take creative photos.
These were E's two entries:

Not bad, huh ?!

I think he's got his father's ability!

To dream

"If you have only two pennies left in the world, with the first penny, you should buy rice to feed your family. With the second penny, say the wise Japanese, you should buy a lily. The Japanese understand the importance of dreaming..."

- Japanese Proverb : from "Lilies" by Annie Walker, Oct 1999.

Weekend? What Weekend?

While our American neighbours ate turkey, watched football, and relaxed with friends and family (unless they were wandering the wretched malls) and my friends Down Under enjoyed the summer weather at Santa Claus parades, I have spent my weekend doing two things: I worked at Monika's house (almost ready to sell!!) and I wrote report cards. I even spent six lonely hours yesterday at school. And I've been in my red chair most of today with my laptop, listening to chill music and trying to sum up my darling cherubs in a couple of paragraphs. Many of them are easy to describe (though I need to be precise regarding their progress); I can choose from a multitude of adjectives as I rant about their many virtues and talents. There are a couple, however, who leave me stumped (OK, just one). There must be at least one good thing I could say about the child who disobeys, does little work, scrawls all over his page, shows no self control, and who really doesn't seem to care. Aaaaggghhh!

On the up side, I watched a great sunset about half an hour ago. Very dramatic in its technicolour intensity! Here it is at the tail end. Drat those telephone lines!

Another perfect day in Aotearoa

Yesterday, was another perfect day, weather-wise.

26degs C, those clear blue skies I love, and plenty of sunshine.

We lathered up with layers of sunblock (which seems to do diddlysquat with my family's skin - we still went 3 shades darker than hoped for, but hopefully it would've helped reduce those nasty melanoma things!).

It was the 75th annual Santa Parade down in Auckland city. 250,000 people were expected to line the streets around the CBD, and at my last count, I think they easily got that number.

The good weather helped. People all seemed to be having a great time and were very responsive to the floats and parade participants. It was really nice to be able to walk into town with some friends. We also "communicated" with other friends dotted around the streets, but unfortunately, didn't manage to meet up in person, due to the sheer numbers of people around.

I included this photo, because it is so 'kiwi' - Fred Dagg was a NZ icon who epitomised the "regular Kiwi bloke" ... black shearing singlet, shorts, and gumboots. Those guys are also swinging around some pavlova - NZ's claim to that delicious dessert (disputed by the Ozzies, the Russians, and probably a few other nationalities as well).

And the rugby ball, and buzzy bee are also all recognised NZ icons. In fact, we have some claim to the buzzy bee because K's great-someone-or-other-descendant invented it. Unfortunately, he sold off all his rights to it before it became a famous iconic symbol in NZ....and before his future descendants could cash in on the vast sums of money generated by consumerism. But all the kids born into the family get a buzzy bee...

A lovely day.

Pity about the distinct lack of decent Christmas music and meaningful Christmas floats, but if you think of it as just a nice parade, then it fitted the bill very well!

And it was nice to get roasted with friends...

Summer is here!

After reading about your Frenetic Friday, I feel a tad guilty about my posting today.....the one consolation being, that it is Saturday here, and so that might make the essential difference...?! Saturdays aren't meant to be frenetic or have bad weather....

I think the preceding weekends of fine weather, have been the foretaste of summer to come.....but today, it truly felt like summer is here! I just adore these days of sun and clear blue skies. If only it stayed a balmy (but tolerable) 23 degs and didn't get any warmer!!! I'd be a happy camper!!

But it looks like it the weather forecasters may have it right, and it's going to be another scorcher of a summer. My boys are already turning into little brown berries....with their sandal strap and short sleeved marks....

Sigh. And the empty bottle of sun block lotion.

Enjoy your weekend.

I hope it is less frantic and the outlook is sunnier all round!

Frenetic Friday

It was a crazy day at school. Just like most days!


Here's what stands out in my memory:

Got to school in time to set up a couple of work areas for parents leading Christmas activities

Just as the bell rang, got stuck in the office (where was that secretary??) with about 6 parents all asking questions. Worried in the back of my mind about just what my students would be doing

Answered the phone (still no secretary) to find out that one of my students, Little N, may have leukemia and would not be at school. Mum was trying not to cry on the phone as she told me. How do I go through the day with this on my mind??

Cruised around the school putting out fires - the biggest one was that most of the kindies ended up in the wrong rooms! As I attempted to figure out where a couple of them were supposed to be, they drifted away and reappeared in another wrong location!

21 different activities and 40 parent helpers to check on throughout the morning

Pouring rain, so all the children had to stay inside at recess and lunch

Back to the regular routine for the afternoon - what a relief!

Long drive home on the crowded, rainy, dark freeway.

Now the real job begins: time to write report cards. Should be a rockin' weekend!

It's in the Air!

Christmas is coming - I recognize the signs!
First, Big Bear has started playing piano at home, preparing for the church Christmas choir. It's always lots of work for him, but I enjoy hearing him practice. The same phrases over and over again. Looking forward to when he has all the songs perfected and I can hear them in their entirety! Second, tomorrow is Christmas Activities Day at school. We have all the elementary students signed up for a couple of different crafts and a whole whack of parents coming in to help. It's when I pull out all my tacky Christmas jewelry and jingle all day!

Third, it's report card time! This is the time when everyone else starts asking if I've done my Christmas shopping yet, and all I can think of is getting those report cards finished. Shopping??? It will have to wait till Dec. 19 when school lets out!

Speaking of shopping, I know a few people who will be doing some hard-core shopping tomorrow. For all you Down Underites, today was American Thanksgiving. This means that tomorrow signals the beginning of the Christmas season there, and is the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. People there line up for crazy sales and stores open early - I mean 4 or 5 a.m. I think I prefer Thanksgiving in October, the way we do it here in Canada. Not connected with consumerism frenzy! Little Bear crossed the border yesterday with a group of student friends to stay with someone in Seattle. I'm assuming that he ate turkey today, although I have no idea whose poor mother he's sponging off of!

A trip to the Sky Tower

Today’s blog is dedicated to a wonderful sister-in-law who graciously shared her birthday with us yesterday!

Hope the journey is exciting this year.....

the view amazing.....

and the company, fun !

In all ways, we hope your year is just “spot on” !

And at year's end, you are able to say, "Woohoo! What a ride!"

Bless ya!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Birthday greetings to K from Canada - we would have loved to be at the party! Especially a summer party!

What is it about grade two that draws kids to puddles?

I decided today that seven-year-olds are really, really good at recycling.. And at finding great uses for all kinds of things. Today, they were reusing plastic bags to create rivers. It was very serious work.

First, fill a small bag with water from one puddle.

Empty the water in your small bag into a larger bag that your friend is holding. Don't get her wet!

The friend then pours all the water from the larger bag into the river that flows into another puddle.

These kids were reminding each other that water always flows from higher ground towards the lower ground. They must have a really, really good teacher (see the Travelholic Teacher for evidence of this)!

It was an informative day on playground duty. And the sun shone, too!

I also spied a jaguar and a snake having a pencil fight.

Life is never dull around here...

Celebrating

Last night I had my first 8-hr sleep for months! I’ll admit it - I was shattered! This year has been one of the busiest years in memory, and the last 3 months have been unbelievably full on. However, it is a tiredness laced with much satisfaction. This past weekend, we celebrated K’s birthday. It was a wonderful, wonderful day…..

The day began with our ‘decision’ to go for a family walk up the road. It was a beautifully sunny Saturday and the streets were full of people arriving for an annual festival and also a notable flower show. E suggested that he would like to take a photo of the church up the road. K, who was engrossed in an article in his favourite magazine, decided that perhaps E and I could go on ahead, and he and L would follow behind a few minutes later! However, this drew much protestation from E, L, and I, who argued that it wasn’t much of a ‘family walk’ if the whole family wasn’t participating together in it! Anyway, we managed to draw K away from his interesting article and he lolloped along beside us. Gradually, unbeknownst to K, the rest of us fell back a little and K ended up being ahead by a whisker.

As we went past the prearranged point, there was a sudden surge of activity as water blasters and hollering men burst out on an unsuspecting K and bundled him up. It was a perfect ambush! Well done guys!!! K was then (forcibly) dressed in a white sheet which had targets painted onto it. It meant that he became somewhat of a liability for whichever laser strike team he was on, due to his ‘reflectivity’ in the dark!

The Boys (Men!) ate and played and ate and played at the Laser strike venue, and had a lot of fun charging around in the dark, implementing questionable team tactics, and shooting other team members and bases. I heard of one poor Dude whose team members had disappeared into the dark, leaving him as the sole defender of their team’s base. As the enemy teams approached, he cleverly feigned that there were lots of his team defending the base, yelling out, “OK, you take the right, so-and-so you take the left….etc”. Desperation breeds ingenuity – the NZ army could do with someone like him!

~*~
I won’t bore you with all the in-between details, except to move on to the fact that everyone made it out to our picnic lunch at the Park without getting horribly lost…the “Boys” even managed to transport K over there in one piece, and on time, to be welcomed with a barrage of ‘poppers’. Later on, when K and I were reflecting about our day, we both commented about how touched we were, that our friends had made SUCH an effort to be there for K’s birthday, and to help him celebrate. For many, it required a great deal of effort, organisation, and sacrifice just to be there. But everyone was there to enjoy the day and to share in K’s happiness in having friends and family around him. For many weeks, friends and family from around the world had also sent in special quotes and messages and photos, and we were able to present K with a specially bound photobook containing all these well wishes.

Various renditions of the “Happy Birthday” song were performed, and we were truly blessed with song, dance, speech, revelations, and sheer talent! The entertainment was indeed special!

And another one of our talented friends had made the birthday cake and what a birthday cake it was! I do believe, I have tasted The Most Wonderful Cake on earth now. A sumptuous chocolate sponge, layered with a heavenly creamy filling of strawberry and boysenberry mousse, and with the most delicious fresh strawberries and boysenberries on top, and rich dark chocolate twigs all around. Unbelievably delicious.

Anyway, here are a few photos to give you a taste of our day. The children had unlimited space to run around together; trees to climb; kites to fly; others to play ball with. The sun shone gloriously, and even though I spent most of my time under the shade of the tree, I came home burnt! I was somewhat put out by that! However, it was just wonderful to see 70+ friends and family mingling, relaxing, and enjoying each other and the beautiful day. As we continue to muse about this special time, we acknowledge the privilege it is to have friends and family who will go to such an extent to share our happy occasions with us. And though you and others couldn’t be with us in person on the day, we knew we were being thought of and cherished from all around the world. A wonderful, wonderful day! Thank you!