The best thing...

• about being pregnant is having Ben give my bump kisses ands hugs goodnight!!! So cute!! He is such a great big brother - most of the time!! :-)
  

• about explaining why sharing is important to Caitlin is seeing her teach her big brother about sharing - and seeing him give her hugs and kisses to make her happy again after he didn't share his sweets with her.
  

• about already being a mum is getting to help a friend with all her first baby needs/issues/problems/concerns/joys etc and also remembering all those things from my own first-time experiences....and second time....and third time.....and looking forward to fourth time!!!!

• about winter time and our not-so-recent house renovations (see old posts for more on this) is my fire!! I love it and how my whole house is warm almost 24 hours a day. Everyone coming through the door mentions how warm it is here and I love that! 22 degrees is good for me!

• about going to church and teaching my Relief Society lessons are the things I relearn all the time! Like counting my blessings....I need reminding now and then....and how to really try harder to live a life following the example of the Saviour. We are very blessed in all aspects of our lives and i am so grateful for all the many small blessings I enjoy on a daily basis. 
  

There really are too many things that I could add to this list so I'll stop...maybe there might be some more in the future! Start your own - I dare ya to get positive! :-)

I miss Nana

I really am the luckiest daughter-in-law that ever lived!!

The old saying that goes "you never really appreciate something until it's gone" is SO true. I know that whenever she goes away I think to myself that things will be fine, Phill will step up to the plate, the kids will be angels and I will be able to handle three kids, two cats, three guinea pigs and a husband with grace, charm and elegance; but lets be real here!!!! 

Doing all that is hard!!! 

Especially when it's been raining pretty much constantly for two weeks (ever since she left - coincidence?!!!!) and a lot of things have happened in between times (the Jenkins family arrived the day after her departure; District Conference (say no more!); two boy birthdays; a baptism (actually took place the day before she left but did cause a little stress!); a confirmation; Ang had her baby (yippeee); Phill wanted the bookwork done for the tax return time of year (aaaaaaaaargh); etc etc etc (I will bore you no more with the list that has been this month!).......suffice it to say that I appreciate Nana more and more with each time she goes away. 

I get a little bombarded with being the only one who does washing, folding and putting away...although the boys are pretty good at helping with that....and dishes breakfast, lunch and tea...although Lissa does sometimes help with that....and cooking those breakfasts, lunches and teas seven days a week....although on Sunday Phill did a fine job of roast chicken, roast potatoes and veges (loved him so much for that one!! Yay for you honey!)....it really is hard work all this household stuff. And when you try to fit in homework for the boys, funtime with all the kids, a little one on one with each of them and hubby as well.....alone time for me or doing what I really like is a bit thin on the ground!!

This is not a whinge - please don't take it as such - it is simply an appreciation of how much I miss and appreciate Nana. She helps keep me sane and stable and not constantly running round in circles.

Look forward to August!! But then a whole new chapter begins............mmmm enough said!

My claps go out to all mums out there - especially the ones doing it on their own! The ones who manage to stay youthful and fun and have their homes organised by ten each day get extra claps! 

I might get there one day - and pigs might fly - I'll enjoy the ride!!!! teeheeehehehhehe

The day the Guinea Pig died...

And I was singing Bye Bye Miss American Pie".....

No not really!

I was out and about for the morning and got home sometime to a wee note from Melissa saying "bla blah blah etc and you may want to check the guinea pig". "Mmm", I thought, "curious".

So I checked the guinea pig. Poor Lazer. Sitting on the grass all puffy looking. She is usually the first one to scamper away from you so for her not to move at all was VERY out of character. Oh dear...

I reached in to grab her to put her in a box to take to the vet. She had no strength in her legs to stand up. Not good...

In the box beside the fire to keep warm (I thought maybe she might have some kind of guinea pig flu or something). Checking on her now and then. Still breathing. Not moving much though. Doing the usual stuff around home. Checked her again - eyes glazed, no movement, oh dear...not good...poor Lazer.

Jared came home from school - gotta break the news sometime. So I said quietly to him " Jared Lazer died today". Little face dropped. "What was wrong" he asked in a small voice. "I think she ate something that made her sick" (She was looking a bit bloated). Face lifts a little "Can we cut her open to see?" Oh Jared! The hard facts of life are no problem for you to deal with!! And "no, we can't cut her open! Yuck!"

She was buried and the plot was decorated. Her headstone is a brick and a paua shell and she is sprinkled with lovely white sunflower seed husks. Not sure how long they'll stay lovely and white but it does look quite pretty against the brown, freshly dug soil.

So here is Lazer as we remember her... Talk about cheesy grin eh! He was so proud of her and she had the cutest babies! Bye Bye Lazer. XX

Easter as was...

I warned you I had some things I needed to tell about - so here I go.....

Well the Easter break was fairly low key for us this year. No treasure hunt for chocolate eggs (I don't believe in them personally, plus it saves the kids teeth and Phill's waistline!!), no trips away before the "summer" ends (although the weather this year was glorious and certainly trip worthy!). It was just me and the kids at home - Phill was working (flying in a plane I think) and Nana was doing her thing (can't remember what) - passing the time in whatever way we thought fun at the time.

I decided we should decorate eggs!

So 4 eggs were boiled in a pot.

While we waited for those to cook and cool, Ben decided he wanted to make a little man-egg in an eggbox house. Luckily an empty one was handy (a box that is). Emptying the egg was not so straightforward!!! Oh my goodness!!! I just about burst something crucial blowing the innards out of that egg!!!! If you've never tried it be warned...it is not for the weak lunged or weak bladdered. I seriously nearly popped a blood vessel or three...even after enlarging the pin hole a couple of times!!

Phew - said egg was finally blown out (into a cup for later use - waste not, want not) amidst cries of "He's doing poos!" and "yuck, that's gross" from eagerly watching kiddies - never having seen this incredible thing done before.

A little vivid marker created little man-egg, and a "little" cellotape and cutting transformed former empty eggbox into luxury man-egg home: complete with bed, table and chairs and a loo. House and Garden eat your heart out!!

Unfortunately no photographic evidence remains of his life - which was incidentally a lot longer than this mummy anticipated!!

By now the originally planned, hard-boiled eggs were cooked and cooled, ready to be painted. (I thought about using actual paint but decided that feltpens would be a better idea.)

Jared dropped two (I had to cook more so he could try again!), Caitlin easily gave up on hers and ended up eating it instead, but Ben persevered.

It took a couple of wipes down with baby wipes and a few colour suggestions from mum but he finally created a masterpiece in hard-boiled egg design which was definitely photo worthy.

So here is a proud Ben and his beautiful egg!

 

I have just noticed something VERY strange!!! My computer clock and my "Blogger" clock are out of sync by quite a few hours!!!

I'll prove it! I took the above photo at the time stated which was, I noted, the same time as stated by my mobile network (and they are never wrong!!). It took me a couple of minutes to get it onto the computer and uploaded but I will be interested to see the time listed at the bottom of this blog! Anyone else struck this or can answer my mystery time loss - or gain - or loop in the space/time continuum or whatever!!!

Two little girls...

    In a way I kind of hope this new baby is a girl! Not just for selfish reasons I must add...it's for Caitlin! 

She just loves having other little girls around her...whenever anyone comes to play she is so happy and excited and she is a true entertainer.

We have Tori over this morning and they have been playing with no help or intervention from me for the whole time!

We did have some trampoline time and swing time that needed my assistance and supervision but aside from that they have played in the playhouse, put out a blanket on the grass in the sun and read books together, watched a little of Barbie's Swan Lake whilst playing with other toys etc in the mean time.

They are so cute and fun to watch!

So I kind of hope this baby is a little girl too so Caitlin can have her own built-in little playmate and person to love....the way she loves Carys, Tori, Summer, Jashia and all the other little girls in her life.

By the way these photos are a little old but they just serve to illustrate what I mean!!!

I've been a Stranger

I know - I know - I know ....it's been ages!!!

Like months!

But I found a couple of hours today to actually check my emails and thought I'd add a blog post to the equation! To amaze and astound those who actually are interested... :-)

Um now what to say?

The last four months have been interesting I guess...busy obviously...and lots of changes have been taking place....most of all physically for me at least! Baby number four is on its way and will make an arrival sometime in early August. The news at first was received with mixed emotion but the feeling that this little person will complete our family is now over-ruling any thoughts of "Aaaaargh - how will I cope with another one!!!" I always have that thought and then can't imagine life without them once they arrive! Funny eh.

So stay posted for updates on me and bumpy. 

I have also kept a mental list of a few things that I feel the need to blog about so I'm hoping to get them on soon. Wait with baited breath all you readers! :-)