I FINALLY DID IT

Stew and I need a break.


Away.


On our own.


So, I finally did it... I booked us a weekend away ... in an area we both love so much.
Matakana/Omaha Beach.


We are going to stay in the country, at the cutest little cottage on a farm....

ABOVE: how cute does this little cottage look?  I am going to love staying here, I just know it... COS... it's got COWS over the fence!  I really like cows.  And the smell of a farm... takes me back to when I was a little kid visiting my Grandmother on her farm.  Lots of lovely memories.

ABOVE: the interior.  Looks comfy.  There is a seperate bedroom too.  And this place is DEAD CHEAP!  Like, I could have booked us a place at Omaha Beach, but it would have cost DOUBLE ...  and I don't need to be right beside the beach to have a nice break away.  


I just want to be able to lie in bed for as long as I want!  And have some silence... and just be with Stew on my own. 
 And eat grapes in bed.  
And maybe a chocolate too.


I'm going to make up a basket of goodies for us... lovely fruit, crackers, cheeses.... maybe wine... BLISS.  Any other ideas for me basket of goodies????


I can't wait.
We are going on Friday 11th May, coming back on the Sunday.   BLISS.   That Sunday is MOTHER'S DAY here in New Zealand, quite possibly this will be the first Mother's Day I get to sleep in!
Yeah!!!.


TODAY:  going to pop out and do a bit of banking.. pay a bill or two... maybe buy some fabric!  I don't think I've bought very much this year at all... and I feel the NEED to buy some.
And pay for our little weekend away too.


ONWARD...

ABOVE:  and the day has started off SO WELL.


So. The girls and I went shopping.
It was actually FUN!
lol
Like when is shopping NOT fun?  Derrrr.

ABOVE:  I bought two identical teddy's for Miss Muppet.... so she can have one and one can be in the wash... I did the same thing for Brylee and Griffin.  

ABOVE:  went to Spotlight:  got lots of orange fabrics cos I want to make a couple more Giraffe wall hangings.   
I can feel me creative juices flowing again... I want to SEW!   
Bex and I also got some Smiggle stuff... cos we wanted to!  No other reason.  hee hee.


The girls and I also had a lovely lunch at Sylvia Park mall, then we stopped in to say 'Hi' to my Aunt Ethel, who lives just around the corner from me.  We haven't seen her in a while.  Too busy.


I'll say!


Feeling quite happy today.   Maybe cos I can see a nice relaxing weekend ahead for me and Stew... some time out!  Countdown .... 10 days!
I am almost twitching with glee... weird... I know!   Jeezzz I'm a sad tart.

TRACY:  here is the link to Matakana Meadows.


End of Day:  a really nice day!  Any day spent buying fabric has to be!
ON TRACK:  yes... I'm being a good girl.
nite nite.

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CRIKEY DICK, LOOK WHAT YOU STARTED KELLY!

Kelly visited on the weekend... and made Feijoa Cake... TWICE!


So anyways ... last night Steve asked me if we had any Cocoa.... I said yep..... and THEN he intimated to Bex where he would like her to put it..... SHEESH..... better not go into details... (grotty boy) 
ANYWAY..... I thought nothing more of it... 


Until I got up to have a piddle after dinner... only to find them in MY kitchen:

ABOVE:  they were cooking Chocolate muffins no less!  Ya gotta love their cookbook too.   It feels weird having other people cooking in my kitchen... can't complain though.... they do clean up the mess afterwards.


Now we have chocolate muffins for the kids lunchbox's.  Yaaaa.


TODAY: Can you believe it?  NO PLANS.
Except do the housework.... and try to get Lacy to come out of her room.


I might try and tempt her with some sewing... I doubt she has ever sewn before... maybe she would like to learn?  I've got two sewing machines after all.... she might like to make a sleeping bag for Miss Muppet?  
I hope so.... cos it bothers me that she is not coming out of her room at all.


ONWARD...


LEIGH:  nah...  she's just in a shitty cos no one will prescribe the pills SHE WANTS.  So she's all pissed off, and does not have any tolerance for ANYONE right now.  


I have decided it ain't MY PROBLEM... and am going to just leave her in her room.   


well... we went down to Spotlight in Manukau so I could buy some polar fleece so I can finally finish Emily's quilt... ended up finding some silicone baking sheets too... and Bex got me a blue silicone spatula... cos she reckons my old one sucks.  Why ta!  Got a pretty new one now.


Then the girls and I popped into Animates to check out the puppies (cos dey so cute)...

 ABOVE:  Bex holding an 8 week old Shih Tzu, you could buy him for $1,500 !!! OMG, I sold mine for $550!  Pet shops and their mark ups eh?   He made me all clucky.

ABOVE:  Lacy holding a litte Spaniel.... when I held him he started licking me cleavage... AND WOULD NOT STOP!  It was so cute!  


Then the girls and I had lunch at Manukau Mall and came home.  


I'm really happy with my day so far.  
I got the garage all sorted out.
I got fabric to finally finish Em's quilt.
AND I GOT LACY OUT OF HER ROOM.... SCORE!


Had a quick nana nap after getting home... I think Lacy did too.
Did not do much else this afternoon... made a lovely beef/bacon/mushroom stew to have for dinner with veges.  Was YUM.


End of Day:  well it wasn't smooth sailing all day.. some rough water here and there.  But all good... I am used to sailing rough waters!
ON TRACK:  WELL... some good points, some not so good points.  But no PIGGING OUT... this is good.
nite nite.

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MORE FAMILY SNAPS: AND WHAT IS A FEIJOA?

I took rather a lot of photos yesterday... so here's a few more :

ABOVE:  no room ... dogs cramping your style Amanda ?   lol

ABOVE:  my Granddad looks silly.... 'catching flies' comes to mind...

ABOVE: now that's a nice one...

I cooked Spaghetti Bologniese for dinner, had to grate some cheese... Emily LOVES cheese ... so I have her some:

ABOVE:  she gave it a good go!  


Then I took some cute photos of Rena:

ABOVE: yeah, yeah... I will smile for you Grandma...

ABOVE:  hmmmm..... 

ABOVE:  you know, I DID have some nail polish on me fingers.... where's it gone?

ABOVE:  I'm getting tired of this now Grandma....

I caught Griffin in one of his 'signature' poses:

ABOVE: YEAH..... he's playing on his PSP.... at least he's actually sitting on his bum!  And keeping still.


TODAY: Steve and Bex are going to Hamilton for the day... Stew and I need to do the grocery shopping, so Lacy can stay at home and look after Brylee and Griffin while we do that.


It's going to be a much quieter day.... so I might actually get a bit of housework done too.


FEIJOA:  
The feijoa is from the Myrtaceae plant family and is native to Brazil and Uruguay. Feijoas can be considered as either warm climate or subtropical. First introduced into New Zealand in the early 1900's the fruit was small and it was not for another 20 years before new cultivars were imported that were larger with improved flavour.
The uses for Feijoas are numerous from simply eating fresh through to bottling the tasty bottle of wine. They can be added to fresh fruit salads cooked in puddings and are scrumptious in cakes. The fruit is not the only delicacy of this plant - the showy bright red flowers add life to salads or chocolate log.

There is no way to describe how they taste, you are going to either love them, or hate them.  They are not 'comparable' to any other fruit, they have their own distinctive taste... and I can't get enough of them!
  
ONWARD...


Grocery shopping.... well we ended up taking Brylee and Griffin.  Lacy had a headache.


Home now, got all the shopping put away... and peace reigns.  Time to just relax for a little while before tackling the garage... MY GOD it's a mess!  Major dumping ground for anything and everything.  
Boys 'live' in it ...need I say more?


We weren't expecting Steve and Bex back until late tonight... but the temptation of Cottage Pie for dinner got  the best of them...Oh and Bex's car decided to go.... so they came back early.   Made me smile.

ABOVE:  cute new update advertiser!


Very much looking forward to tomorrow.  The kids have been kinda ANNOYING today.  
I'm starting to think of a way Stew and I can take a weekend off from EVERYONE.... and just spend a little time on our own.   Must go look around at some options...


ALSO: it will have to be (at the earliest) in two weeks time,  as Steve doesn't have a weekend off again till then.... because we would want the kids to be at home, and not leave Lacy alone either.


End of Day:  it's been a fairly good day on a whole.  
ON TRACK:  Why yes!  
nite nite.

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FEIJOA'S!

I seriously LOVE feijoas... and Bex bought a big bag of them up with her yesterday.

ABOVE: Kelly made a feijoa cake last night too.  YUM.  We ate it HOT.. OMG it was delicious.

I've actually got two feijoa trees out the back, but they are just baby's... so don't have much fruit at all... and they are piddly little ones.

MINI RANT:  I was getting all wound up yesterday, feeling very cross about the amount of running around I'm having to do for Lacy.  Feeling very put upon and wondering where the hell MY LIFE went.

I need a bloody BIG slap!

Because the biggest reason why I NEED to be doing all the running around is to make sure Lacy does not go into PREMATURE LABOUR and deliver her baby too soon!

This is a very real possibility due to her medical history.

Talking to Lacy's Midwife yesterday reminded me how this is very real... and the LAST thing we all want is for Miss Muppet to come too early and have to spend a long time in Neonatal Care.   So... I've just got to suck it up and stop getting cross.

I just wish I wasn't so tired all the time.  My cough is still present... comes and goes all the time... but the periods of extreme coughing are getting less and less, so I must be on the mend.

Just as well... Mother's should not get ill eh?


Amanda and Emily are visiting today... going to be fun with all the girls here.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  breakfast time...

ABOVE:  Granddad makes a nice milo....

ABOVE:  girls, girls, girls... they flock to this Dude...

ABOVE: Let me do your hair Uncle Steve...

ABOVE:  and your's Granddad...

ABOVE:  11am... time to get up you tart...

ABOVE:  Aunty Lacy stole my Teddy... OMG!  Then she cuddled me and it was OK again... until she opened her window... 

ABOVE:  then Rena said "Don't throw me out there!" ... lol

ABOVE:  OMG!!!   *screams of terror*  NO I REALLY DON'T LIKE DEM FROGS!!!!

ABOVE:  Grandma taught me a new way to have me milk...

ABOVE:  Yeah.. I like it like dat! 

ABOVE:  Rena's thinking... now why didn't I think of that?

ABOVE:  ***SHARE ! ***... nummy.


Stew decided to walk to our nearest Hot Bread Shop for lunch bread buns... he ended up taking Bry, Griffin, Rena and Emily.

ABOVE: he looks rather happy eh?
Well... he wasn't really, and that's why he's on the phone right NOW, to the Local Police Station!


The story:  He was walking with the kids, came up to the intersection controlled by lights, pressed the button and waited for the "Go Now"... when it buzzed for them to cross, he did.
He was only half way across when a red Holden car came barrelling up to the intersection in front of them... the driver stopped and screamed at Stew that he was going across the road on a RED light!
Stew said to him... NO, WE ARE CROSSING ON A 'GO NOW' green light for pedestrians.


The guy didn't listen.. just tried to gun his car through the intersection, in front of Stew and the kids. He came so close to them that Stew put his hand out and hit the car on the window!


The guy jumped out of his car and threatened to punch Stew in the face!  
Stew said 'Bring it on then', but of course the guy just backed off, swearing profusely at Stew,  got in his car and took off!


There was a lady across the road watching all this unfold, and she took the guys number plate and told Stew she was a witness to that... and she had been really scared for our kids.


So, it's been reported, Stew has a witness... and I hope the Police fine his sorry arse.


End of Day:  well it's been an INTERESTING day to say the least.  Good deal of 'non verbal' avoidance tactics displayed by a few.  At least everyone played nice.
ON TRACK:  well... probably not.... that Feijoa Cake is just so delicious, Kelly had to make another one!
nite nite.

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FRIDAY... I LIKE FRIDAYS

Apparently the weather is going to take a dive and turn nasty.
OH yaaa... I hope we get thunder and lightening! We don't get enough stormy weather here.  I love a good storm.


Am I the only one I wonder?


We meet Lacy's new midwife this morning.  Lyn (friend) recommended her, so did my Dr.... so it will be interesting to meet her.  She is YOUNG, like 25!!!  I wonder if she has had a baby herself?


After that meeting, I think we will come home, as I'm expecting Bex sometime today too.

ABOVE:  sad we only get to see Mike now and then.... I nicked this photo off Joyce's Facebook last night.  He's a damn gorgeous boy is our Mike.. oh and Joyce scrubs up nice too!  lol
Wish I could convice them to move up here.  I'm sure I could squeeze them in SOMEWHERE.


ONWARD...


And... the weather forecast was CORRECT... it's pissing down and blowing something rotten...  and for the first morning in well over a week, I've woken up without having a coughing fit!
I am getting better... excellent!


The rain didn't last long ... now it's fine again and humid as hell.
The midwife visit went well... she has made an appointment for Lacy to see our
Doctor and Maternal Mental Health this afternoon with a view to getting her some meds to help her sleep.


All is is going well with the pregnancy which is great.


Ended up having to take her to the Dr's this afternoon for some sleeping pills... AND now she has an appointment next week with Maternal Mental health to get her more.  
Just call me 'The Taxi'... NOT that happy with that, but what can I do?
She has to get to these appointments.  


End of Day:  I'm over today.  Bex's car packed a hissy and wouldn't go after spending all day in the garage getting fixed.  So Kelly drove her up here... so we have Bex, Kelly and Rena here to add to the mix.
I've got kids on air beds, on couches, on mattresses on the floor.... *sigh*.
ON TRACK:  can I even remember?  
NITE NITE.  Bring on another day.

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BACK TO SPELD

The kids are back at school today, blokes are back to work.... so it's just Lacy and I here for the moment.


A bit later on we will pick up Griffin and take him to his Speld lesson, his first for the school term.


As we have had two really lovely offers of baby stuff from me girlfriends Lynise and Lyn, we are  holding back on buying much for Lacy's baby right now, but while out the other day I just couldn't resist this little 'sleeping bag':

ABOVE:  it's so cute!  
This morning I'm taking Lacy over to an internet 'shop' in Mt Wellington to check out a pram she's found online.  She's rather taken with it, and it's a very good price.  So, we'll go check it out before we pick up Griffin.


That's about 'it' for right now... so until we get home again....


ONWARD...


We got the pram.

ABOVE:  she's like a kid in a lollie store...

ABOVE:  The Pram.  Clearly... baby is a girl!  It's a nifty little buggy if I do say so myself.  Now all she had to do is A. Pay me for it,  and B. produce a baby to put in it!


Lacy is staying home while I take Griffin to his Speld lesson... she has her Probation Officer visiting to check out her 'living conditions'.  Somehow I don't think he's going to find fault with MY home!


The Probation Officer arrived early... so I got to speak to him about Lacy's 'living arrangements' and to point out rather FORCEFULLY how having her living in my house was doing my head in... and how she's only being allowed here due to her being pregnant... all true I might add!  
He has written a letter to Housing New Zealand to support Lacy's application for State Housing. Fingers crossed.
Can't do much else really.


Morning is nearly over, almost time for me to go and get Griffin. 


The rest of the day has gone to plan...  I feel like a Zombie though.   Just not getting enough sleep due to coughing so much when I go to bed.
Constant headache too.  Luckily for the family, I'm not TOO crabby though.
I'm trying to be nice, and not jump down everyone's throats.  
IT. CAN. BE. DONE.  lol


I cough... and get a hot flush... which makes me cough again... and get another hot flush... and on and on it goes.
SO TIRED.  And hot and sticky.  NOT a nice combination. Nope, not at all.


End of Day:  some good points in the day, some not so good points.
ON TRACK:  well I do believe... yes!
nite nite.... tis just me and the couch again tonight.

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ANZAC DAY, AND THE CAKE

Today is ANZAC DAY ... here and in Australia.  It's the day we honour our fallen soldiers and Vets.

 As it's a public holiday, safe travels to all on the roads.

ABOVE: our darling Sienna... enjoying ice cream.  She has the cutest little button nose! And my eyes. (yeah, yeah Russell, they are your eyes too)

NEXT:  a few photos from last night, with Steve and his Birthday Cake:

ABOVE: the cake, it was a really moist, rich chocolate cake.  Worth having a wee bit.

ABOVE:  no words for that 'pose'.... he's a right dick.  Notice the 'Mini Steve' on the right?

ABOVE:  it's funny watching his face, but Brylee's is worth a look too.  *smiles*  I loved this series of photos... even though the lighting/setting on me camera was crap.

ABOVE:  finally, a nice one!  He's holding two glasses I got him...silver 'holders' and blue glass.  The holders have naked women as the handles and dragons all around the outside, and the blue glass comes out for washing.  He loved them.  He also got gift vouchers for clothes and a bottle of Vodka.  He likes vodka.


Next:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece Shelley in Australia.  Must be nice knowing your birthday is ALWAYS a holiday!


As for the rest of today.... I hope we can go out for a nice walk on a beach.  I miss the beach.  We didn't go nearly enough this summer.


ONWARD...


The shops open after lunch, so we are going out... to look at prams.


AND... just want to clear this up ... Steve is Griffin and Brylee's UNCLE... not brother.   


It's been a fairly quiet day here, we went out and priced prams for Lacy, but that's about all!
I had a 'nana nap' this afternoon, it's hard trying to manage on about 4 hours sleep a night.. which had dragged on for about a week now.
The cough is getting better, but I still have really gorgeous coughing fits at odd times.  


End of Day:  I started listening to my newest favourite singer (Nick Pitera) on Youtube late this afternoon and I'm still listening! 
ON TRACK:  yeah!  
nite nite.

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