Birdie: M.I.A

My cat is missing.  I know it is just a cat, but I am having a taste of what it must feel like to be one of those families who never get more closure then an "Missing In Action" title when someone is lost in active service.  It is not a very nice feeling.  One part of me is in constant hope that she will turn up, a bit spooked and thirsty after being locked somewhere for a week.  Another part of me realises that it has been about a week now since we last saw Birdie, and chances are she is not coming home.  

I have all these stupid thoughts running through my head: "has she been hit by a car or fallen from some height - did she die quickly and painlessly"....and then "maybe she is starving away in some overheated shed where no-one can find my scaredy-cat (she is petrified of people)".  And then there is the guilty feeling of "gosh, i don't actually remember the last time I saw her - that is terrible" and the even worse guilty thought of "well, that is going to save us some money on flea treatments".  I am also terrified that I am going to find her body somewhere one day.  She was not an explorer, and stayed close to home...so chances are she is not far away...wherever she is.   

Birdie is the most scaredy cat ever.  Not many people got a chance to meet her, as she would run a mile when any visitors were in the house.  She even stayed clear of me if she knew I was seeking her out -   I used to have to lock the catflap and all doors to pin her down for a flea treatment - it was a horrible chase for all of us, and when i did finally get her for a flea treatment, she won't come near me for DAYS afterwards.  I learnt over the last few months that the best way to get her was to wait until evening when the kids were all in bed and we are sitting quietly.  She crawls timidly up onto the couch beside me, then gets as close as she can to me and curls up for a cuddle.  If I pat her, she would knead her paws, dribble and purr loudly.  She just adored her evening cuddles with me, it was always so funny since she wouldn't go near anyone any other time! I would then hold her close, whisper to Marty to get the flea treatment and do it while stroking her. Much better.  

Birdie loved to sleep on our bed too, curling up every night right in that annoying spot between my legs or between Marty and I.  She never did get used to our magnetic cat flap either - she would wake us at night pawing at it to try and get it to open, sometimes taking so long to work it out that I would get up and hold it open for her!  

But the thing I will remember the most about Birdie was her funny way with child safety plug covers.  She LOVED them.  If we plugged something in, she would come sniffing around immediately, knowing the cover would be somewhere nearby.  We used to have to change hiding spots when we took them out to plug something in, because she would hunt down the usual spots easily and pick the plug cover up in her mouth and take off with it.  For the next hour or two we would hear her chasing it around the kitchen floor, and eventually find them under the fridge, stove and even in the garden days later.  

Bogey is getting a lot of extra attention at the moment, she is really missing her niece - we rescued them from two semi-wild litters born on a farm as babies, infested with fleas, cat flu and worms, and nursed them back to health.  I wanted to give them fun 'pair' names, we settled for Birdie and Bogey since Marty was teaching me golf when we got them! 

 Our kids and cats have grown up together over the last 3 years and we are all praying that Birdie is alive and well somewhere.  But for us, she is M.I.A and we remember her fondly.  

The Gatsby Picnic 2013

2013 Family Art Deco Photo!

When I moved down to the Hawkes Bay 9 years ago, I had no idea that it was the "Art Deco" capitol of New Zealand, but it didn't take long for me to cotton on and get involved.  Over the last 6 years we have enjoyed putting together our (kind of) 1930s gear and joining the crowds from all over the world for the biggest dress up party I have ever been to.  I have learnt that there are a whole range of people who flock to this week long dress up party:




From the die hard fans.... "feathers and headbands are only for evening and we WILL give you a snobby look if you dare wear a flapper dress to the posh Gatsby Picnic"

to the "hey, look at me doing Art Deco because I bothered to string some beads around my neck (never mind my mini dress)"

and of course the "I just really want to draw lots of attention to our group this year" 1920s swimming costumes, theatre costumes, wartime uniforms, dancers and choirs that make the whole event lots of fun to be at!

Anne Marie, Rach & Me get into the spirit of things!

We probably sit somewhere in the middle.  I do make an effort to find something that is past the knee, and the girls are always in traditional long dresses and straw hats - there were no feathers and sequins for little girls in the 1920's as far as I know!  But really, we just don't have the money to hire outfits or buy the really good accessories, so its all a bit hodge-podge really.

We do have a blast though at the free Gatsby picnic each year.  This year i FINALLY managed to convince the girls to go for a ride on the old steam traction engine down the main street.  It was so much fun, but we all joked that you really wouldn't be able to get anywhere very far or fast with one of these...the poor man turning the handle to make the engine work must have been exhausted!

waiting for the traction engine

waving from the ride!

Luke loved the planes: "WOW!" he pointed at them saying.

Although we find it too tricky to lug out the real china, platters and tablecloths with our 3 kids to juggle, we love the atmosphere that comes from hundreds of dressed up people all sharing a picnic lunch together, strolling down the "promenade" and being entertained by different air shows right in front of us on the beach front.

Thank you again Napier...we will be back...and with a trip to the UK where I hope to find some awesome accessories, I plan on being even more "die hard" in 2014!

Picnic with friends: always fun

Seth, Jaimee and Ella play traditional style - in trees!

Clever Girl!

Late last week the Principal of the girl's school asked to meet with me regarding Kate and "some of the data feedback we have been getting from her".  He told me that (just as I had warned him would happen) she was  doing very well at school.

We had a few days to mull this over at home, and lots of thoughts ran through our heads.  Would she be moved up a class on only her second week of school?  Was she being naughty in class because she was bored? Marty was keen to come along to this meeting today too.

We were both SO happy with the school's observations, questions and feedback.  They had recognised that Kate is "screeds ahead" with her learning in all areas, especially text and computer based learning.  The school had put some thought into options around this, and had already recognised that moving her up a class would not solve the issue of challenging her academically as she was actually at a level ABOVE even the next class up - she would be more suited to be in Jaimee's class, but nobody wants that to happen (our school only has 6 classrooms for Y1-8).

So we felt really happy with the decision to keep her in her current class, to keep her with her age group and to help her adjust to all the new school routines as a new 5 year old.  The teacher has been giving this a lot of thought and is going to do some special extension work one-on-one with her, challenging her  in different ways.  The school did not want to have a "ceiling" placed on her learning (one of my concerns was that she would be ignored as they don't like the kids to jump too far ahead of the class and she already is there!).
The school had had even considered giving a teacher aide time in the classroom to allow this to happen.

We will re-assess the situation at the end of term 1 and term 2 - in fact, he even considered the possibility that at the end of the year she may just skip a class altogether, we will just see what happens with her learning (it could just plateau eventually).

In terms of her attitude in the classroom, we were reassured that Kate is an "neat kid" with a great attitude and willingness to learn - she just laps up everything that she is given to do.  So proud of my little girl today.

I was also impressed that the school had considered Jaimee in all this.  Has she showed any signs of unhappiness with Kate being "on her heels" with learning (no).  How is she coping with Kate being at school - and the fact that Kate is clearly adored by all Jaimee's friends (fine, but please keep an eye on it)?  Mr Anderson even talked about possibilities of giving Jaimee a special sports team or some area to be involved with at her age level (that Kate would not be doing) to help her feel special and individual.  They are also redirecting Kate gently to make her own friends at school.  Perfect.  

There were lots more discussions that really put us at ease that the school has been really thinking about the well-being and education of both my children here.  I am a happy mummy today, feeling proud of St Matthews Primary and all they are doing.

I join the Gymnastics Team!

When the girls signed up to Gymnastics a year ago, I was a little bit jealous.  Anne Marie and I both watched our girls jumping around and exchanged a secret desire to have a go. I really really wanted to do a cartwheel across that awesome springy board.  But I am an adult, and adults don't do gymnastics.  I missed my chance as a kid.  

BUT a few months ago, Jaimee and Kate's Gymnastics coach mentioned they were thinking of starting up an adults class.  I told him to count me in!  When we got the email last week to say it was definitely happening, I started practicing my handstands.  I'm getting pretty good.  I can stay straight upside down for about 4-5 seconds now! My shoulders were killing me after a couple of days of that carry on.  But it seems that the more I get upside down, the more addictive it is to BE upside down.  Try it.  I was browsing the internet for hints and tips about adults doing gymnastics, and I love one quote: "we should all be upside down at least once a day".  It really is quite fun!  

I had gone out and purchased some workout clothes because I didn't really have anything "gym-ish", but when it came to actually getting on those SHORT running shorts, I almost chickened out and wore my faded pilates trousers.  But I swallowed my doubts and told myself that if this is what the shop sells, this must be deemed ok.  At least I had the club colours on: purple and black!  

I didn't have time to get nervous before class, it was one of those days in my house where Luke was an absolute mess (having missed a day sleep yesterday), dinner was un-organised (too busy playing with new breadmaker...oops!) and the girls decided to do craft activity and water slide after school - requiring a clean up.  I even forgot to grab my water bottle when my fellow gym buddy, Anne Marie, picked me up.  

When we got there, the competitive class was just finishing, and it took a while to work out who was a mum picking up kids and who was staying.  There were 10 of us parents and coaches in the end, all of us giggling and joking but all of us super keen to get going.  Craig (he is now coaching THREE Trowbridge girls) soon had us stretching and jogging around the mat together to his crackling Enya CD.  It was like Follow the Leader as we changed our running style each lap.  I was quite out of breath by the end - cardio is not my thing!  However, then we moved to conditioning exercises...now THAT is my thing.  Give me sit ups and planks over running any day.  I loved it.  

Finally, we got to do some gymnastics.  I was impressed that I could hold an L shape on the parallel bars and manage a chin up too.  Walking my arms along the parallel bar while keeping my legs steady was quite a feat though, I laughed at myself as my legs flew everywhere.  This is not as easy as it looks! 

When it was time to do forward rolls and handstands, I demonstrated my current level to Craig when he asked.  I secretly was jumping up and down inside when I did a perfect steady handstand, I was sure I would fail on demand!  My next few were not so great, but not terrible.  We all had some great discussions about how to stay up, and I admitted to watching a youtube tutorial which suggested trying to look at your toes.  We all laughed together but actually, on trial it proved to be a useful tip!  hehehe.  I told one of the coaches that that was the extent of my knowledge though, so don't expect any more tips!  

I groaned when Craig suggested we have a go at the vault.  There is so much to remember all at the same time - arms here, then here, legs like this, then like this.  Run, stretch, jump, land...we were all groaning actually!  Now I know why this is not Jaimee's strongest event. At least now we can practice together.  I did get better, and by the third jump was starting to enjoy it, but felt much encouraged when Craig told us "over the next FEW YEARS you will be able to do this really well".  YES! That means he is planning on continuing with us Adults. 

As we warmed down and stretched, I realised that actually I was a bit sore and sweaty - I had definitely had a workout session tonight.  But it didn't feel like a workout...it was pure FUN.  We had a great time, and everybody agreed that we would be back (but we also all told each other we hoped we wouldn't have to perform at the end of year prizegiving - I said that as long as we were first up before any of the kiddies, we would look good! hehehe) 

When I got home, the girls came rushing at me from the bedroom to ask about it.  They thought it was so funny when I told them that their coach told me off for not saluting properly after my handstand, and that I really needed to practice my vaulting form.  Jaimee assured me that sometimes she forgets to salute too.  Kate showed me a "handstand".  It was special to have this shared experience with them...and I can't wait for next Monday!  

Now I am off to have a hot shower and soak my muscles which seems to be a bit sore already...

First Day at School

 Well, yesterday Kate was off to school - FINALLY.  She has been waiting for this moment since she was 3 and her big sister started school.  She was up, dressed and ready to go by 8am with her brand new lunchbox all packed into her brand new school bag.

We got to school bright and early and sorted out her stationary.  Big sister proudly told every teacher she saw that it was Kate's first day.  Luke went and sat down on the mat with her when the bell rang, placing one hand securely on her lap, as if to reassure her it was going to be ok.  Cute!  When I left, she waved goodbye happily.  It was as easy as that!

At the end of the day, the teacher told me that she had tested Kate and wasn't going to bother giving her flash cards to do for homework as she already can read and spell all the words on them!  So Kate came home with a spelling list - something Jaimee didn't get at all in the new entrant class.

Kate was so excited to have homework.  She read her book beautifully to me (it was a bit easy at level 6), using expression for each character.  After doing the spelling words (the only one that tripped her up was "here"....she wrote "hear") and cutting out pictures that start with "C" I told her she was done.  "No! More mummy" she replied.  So we did the rest of the weeks homework as well - counting backwards from 20 (easy), writing 1-20 (easy), and practicing the letter's "n" and "u" which the teacher had recognised as needing adjusting (got it!).  She still wanted more, but I made her stop there.

Kate, it is great that you are loving school so much and had such a wonderful first day.  We are so proud of you, you just love learning so much.  Even Mrs Ferris laughed at the end of the first day, saying that she knows you would love more work, you just tackle everything she gives you!  Keep up this great work ethic, and keep that cheeky happy grin and personality shining in the playground...you will do well.

For Sus - THIS is a pillow pet (its a pillow that does up with a bit of velcro to form a "pet"!)

Our Party Princess turns 5

Yesterday our Katie-boo turned the big FIVE.  We celebrated in true Trowbridge style, with a crazy amount of kids and adults invading our place.  Thank you God for turning the weather on this year, the pool and waterslide were well used, and my neighbour commented later how lovely it was listening to all the happy children play.  Our Kate got showered with a ridiculous number of presents, including the much desired and long awaited Unicorn Pillow Pet that she has carried everywhere she goes this weekend.  

Daddy did a great job behind the scenes, cooking the sausage rolls and cherrios and filming the important occasion to be watched over and over again for years to come, until mummy can't stand the sound of her voice telling kids not to jump into the small pool.  

Pass the Parcel was a grand success, once we reassured the girls over and over again that they would not miss out.  Things really got exciting though when we got down to the last rounds and mummy DIDN'T rig the game.  It's a tricky concept to learn when some get more then others.  Luke just had fun dancing to the music, sitting in the middle of a group of adoring fans.  Check out the headband he managed to sneak on while the owner swam...he really does love headbands!

 It was hot, and we had fans going OUTSIDE, but everyone seemed to have a good time, despite a few jealous tears from big sister when Kate got showered with presents!

 Kate adored her Strawberry Shortcake Cake - thank goodness for mummy, who gives all credit to Betty Crocker's Strawberry & Cream cake mix, with a smacking of fresh strawberries and whipped cream in the middle.  A few special flowers provided by the Cake Shop and a couple of dolls on top.  I am not that keen on spending hours and hours on a cake, and my girl loved it so whew.  Grandad had asked her a few days earlier to make sure he got a corner piece, and as soon as she had blown out the candles she yelled out to him "Grandad! Come and get your corner!".  He gave her a big kiss for remembering!

  

Another big party done and dusted.  The rule is that we have smaller parties once we pass 5, so I am looking forward to a couple of years grace before Luke turns 4 and has this many little friends to invite along to his!  

(Great) Nana with Kate, and three sets of adoring grandparents!

Farewell, Rascals (for 15 months anyway)

Today Kate graduated from daycare.

It was a big deal for an almost 5 year old, and one we were not going to miss.  Kate made me promise to come to her ceremony, and I was happy to oblige.  For the first half hour I got to taste the celebrity life as all her little friends flocked around me, begging me to hold their hand and dragging me from toy to toy.  They kept calling out to me "Kate's mum, come and see this...".  I reminded them with a laugh that I was Nikki, and I used to be their teacher when they were under 2s!

Lisa and Kate go for a trip down memory lane

Soon it was time for the special mat time that all 5 year olds have at Nurtured.  Lisa, you do an AMAZING job making these kids feel like they are the most special 5 year old in the whole world.  Kate got to wear the birthday hat (which lasted only for the photo as she preferred her tiara) and then sat on the chair of honour as Lisa showed everyone her Rascals profile book.  They talked about how far her artwork had come in 2 years, giggled at photos of PJ days and pointed out various special memories to the group of listening children. The grin did not leave Kate's face.

After a rousing chorus of "Happy School Days to You", Kate graduated with a certificate and a handshake from Lisa.  The birthday girl got to choose who washed their hands through a hearty sing-song that had us all giggling.  At the table, there were trick candles in the cupcakes that we had made to share - Kate tried SO hard the sweetie.

I soon had to leave and go to work, but not without a beautiful new storybook for Kate from Rascals (we gave them one too) and her precious profile book tucked under my arm - complete with a heartfelt goodbye letter that Lisa personally writes for each child as they 'graduate' that made me shed just a wee tear.  You captured her personality completely in that letter Lisa, it just reminds me that you and the team really do take the time to get to know our precious children.  THAT is why I love Nurtured.

I really do love the Nurtured family - Lisa, Dave and Leanne treat the children like they are truly family and the centre has such a wonderful feeling.  I have even mentioned that I would be keen to come back and do some relief work this year for Rascals, who are just the best.  I miss working there!   As I hugged them goodbye, I promised to come visit with Kate in her school uniform in a few weeks time (Dave was on holiday so missed a goodbye!) and made them all promise not to go anywhere before Luke turns 3 and we get to come back for another wonderful 2 years.

 And Later on we had a really nice barbeque dinner (once we refilled the gas bottle half way through cooking!) in the sunshine with Poppa and Oma who have come down for the occasion, finishing off with yummy plum crumble.  The girls delighted in reading Poppa and Oma books before they settled down for the night.  Its a big day tomorrow as Kate turns 5 and has her party...so I am off to make a cake now.  Its been a lovely day.  

Dishes Duty

The girls are finally old enough to get in there and do the dishes!  They have been in charge of feeding the animals and setting the table for a while, but this one is really helpful for me...here I sit, blogging away, as my family do the chores after dinner.  Blissful!  They LOVE helping with the dishes, and long may the novelty last...they stand there chatting away, getting excited about choosing a glass cup - what responsibility! It  makes them giddy with joy.  So cute.

Luke is not to be left out, he LOVES to stand at the sink with daddy.  Whenever one of us stands at the sink for more then 2 seconds in sight of our youngest, he runs and gets the stool and brings it over to the sink area.  Then he grunts and points up and looks at us desperately until we give in and lift him up to "help" (AKA "get soaking wet").  If we weren't doing the dishes, he gets very annoyed at us!  Marty tried hard to keep him dry tonight with one of the kids aprons.  Its not waterproof, but good try darling.

Now if only the girls would grow a little...I wouldn't have to go and put all the dry dishes away now!

Celebrating 10 years

On the 1st of February, we celebrated 10 years of marriage together.  Over a year ago, we had decided (ok...I had decided, and Marty went with it) that it would be really fun to renew our vows and celebrate with our family and friends.  To be honest, half the reason I wanted to do this is that I realised we hadn't been invited to a wedding for a while - most of our friends are all married now...and I wanted a good fun party with everyone we love at!  The other reasons I really wanted to renew our vows is that nine of our 10 years of marriage have been in the Hawke's Bay, with some different people in our lives now.  I wanted them to share our 'wedding' love with us, to be part of our celebration of us....oh, and I was looking for an excuse to add an eternity ring to my collection on that left hand! hehe.

It was interesting in the huge variety of responses we got to this idea.  Some people were just so excited for us, proud that we are making marriage a valued and celebrated thing.  Others scratched their heads and looked at us a bit funny but were keen on a chance to dress up and dance the night away.  A few made passing comments that dampened the spirit of things and a few said nothing at all...but the majority of our loved ones were positive about this fairly uncommon ceremony.  Hey, we have 'growing older' parties yearly, let's take time to have a 'growing together' party and remember the promise of lifelong love we made each other was my stand!

Anyway, we had a blast on the night.  With Granma and Grandad on children duty for the weekend (THANK YOU!!!), we could concentrate on setting the hall up with candles, tables and getting my hair done by a great friend. The girls have been talking about being 'flower girls' for over a year now, and were SO excited to be part of things.  They begged us to let them walk up an aisle, but we wanted things less formal then that, so they settled happily for doing an opening "fairy dance" to the song I walked the aisle to all those years ago!

You can watch the ceremony here on YouTube...(it was too big for my blog) - it is 20 minutes long so feel free to skip bits if you don't have time!

I love my Marty.  Isn't he fantastic?  We really have grown up together and been through a heck of a lot together.  It was easy to declare my love to him again that night....with even more honesty, wisdom, love and conviction then I did 10 years ago.

We made this event potluck dessert, so that was easy...and there was HEAPS of food.  With 80-100 guests, we perhaps should have let people know they were allowed to bring food back to their tables though - or maybe everyone just preferred to stand around the food tables in the foyer.  Either way, dessert was yummo (although i didn't eat much as I was busy playing hostess).

Later on, it was time to kick off the dancing - not quite so easy now that everyone had vacated into the foyer!  We got the ball rolling with a slow dance to "our" song (Now and Forever by Richard Marx) - which I had totally forgotten to practice for...leading to a repeat of our wedding day with a bit of shuffling around the dance floor.  Once the dance music kicked in, I didn't leave that dance floor until the end of the night.  On the way home, I felt terrible that I hadn't talked to some of our guests actually as many didn't come back through to the dance area, but I do hope they enjoyed themselves as much as I was! Those who did get up and dance looked like they had as much fun as I was having.  By the end of the night my feet were bruised and sore, but I was happy.

At Granma and Grandads

One of the most lovely things about our anniversary is that Marty's parents had agreed to take our children for the WHOLE WEEKEND....the first time we had left Luke and about 2 years since our last night without the kids.  It was just blissful.  There is something super special about having no agenda, no nappies, no kids to feed and dress and sunscreen and clean up after.  Being able to walk out the door so quickly was odd, leaving me feeling like I had forgotten something (or someone)!  We enjoyed our weekend so much, just taking the time to chill out together, stroll through the shops hand in hand (without telling kids off for running away or touching things), enjoy a few meals out in peace and watch movies uninterrupted.  As I said to Marty, this could actually be our normal state in another 20 years.  Something to look forward to!

We even hit the driving range (and agreed it is time for me to get back on that golf course one afternoon soon) and I hopped on MY BIKE for a wee impromptu ride!  Yes, me.  On a bike.  Seriously, first golf, now cycling.  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  It was rather pathetic, wobbling along unsteadily on the mountain bike I last rode at 17 years, I had to laugh at myself.  We would love to take the girls out on a ride now that I have made this first step, but need to find a way to do this with little Luke...anyone got a toddler bike trailer gathering dust we can borrow?

During a leisurely brunch before picking the kiddies up, we agreed that this was perhaps our best anniversary weekend ever, even nicer then going out of town, as we could enjoy our own home and city  and didn't spend half the weekend travelling and packing.  So a HUGE thank you to Granma and Grandad (the kids didn't even want to come home) for keeping the kids happy and allowing us time to recharge as a couple before the busy year kicks in.  We hope to be able to do this a little bit more often then every 2 years now.....babysitter dependent of course! (hehehe)