I'm a Wus

Things that have made me cry in the last week or so:
- Glenfield Intermediate School prizegiving, the speeches from the teachers & the college heads Samyson getting the performance cup (even though I knew he was getting it)
- Windy Ridge graduation - right from the karakia welcome to the speeches & seeing all the familiar faces of parents that the kids have gone thru school with knowing that now Siobhan has left that is the end of my involment in the school. Siobhan looked so pretty & grown up = tears, the reading recovery teacher retiring = tears
- Siobhans school report, she is noted as "below expected level"  in maths & reading (although she is now reading at her age). But the best bit was she got "A" in every subject for effort, plus in the other categories were all either "consistantly" or "usually", not one "developing".
- Samysons report, B for effort, above average for all subjects and the comments that are usually not so good relating to his stroppiness etc were almost non existant.
- teling the kids how proud I was of their reports
- watching U Choose 40 & seeing the video to the John Lennon Christmas song (Samyson even got teary at that one)

I am sure there has been more. I think I need a holiday.

Show Week

Another Show Week begins, Seussical is the show and we are in theatre from today.  Busy week for the kids (and me) with dress rehearsals, technical rehearsals and about 8 shows to perform.

Had a great weekend, the kids had rehearsals Saturday & Sunday afternoon so Gary & I managed to get some Christmas shopping done and we FINALLY put in the applications to join the RSA and lay byed Samysons school uniform for next year.

Today I emailed Siobhans birth certificate to the intermediate because we lost her old one & they can't complete her enrolment if they don't have one. I phoned & courts & finally paid my parking fine. During the weekend I will sit down & work out what final bits of Christmas shopping we need to do and hopefully finish it in the next couple of weeks AND get the stuff wrapped.

We have to get all the camping gear out & check it all and make sure it is all OK & pack it into the trailer, need to decide what we are having for Christmas lunch with the Kemps & plan the shopping cooking etc.

Hmm only minor panics, I guess I had better make a nice big list of stuff to get on & attack it.

Gary just phoned to say the vacuum cleaner packed up & he can't fix it - oh crap, I can't afford to buy another one - see above Christmas presents, school uniform & parking fine!!!!!!!

Oh well.

Home Sweet Home

I had a lovely time in Christchurch with Mum & Dad, it was very relaxing (although did seem to involve a lot of food & alcohol).

Had a couple of meals out and I even managed to take Mum to lunch at Sweethearts at Berry fields where I got married, it was a lovely sunny day and we sat outside and had a glass of wine (of course) and a yummy lunch.

Heaps of shopping (I didn't spend TOO much).

I only felt 2 earthquake aftershocks that I know of and was surprised there were probably 20 or so while I was there. I thought I would feel every little movement so I was quite pleased it was not as unnerving as I expected. Mum said a lot of people are still really jumpy which is no surprise.

On Sunday after lunch (before ice cream, afternoon drinks & then dinner) Dad took me on a tiki tour of some of the worst earthquake damaged areas.  It was quite sad to see especially the empty houses. We drove past our old place in New Brighton Rd, Mum said she had seen some cracking on the games room/garage wall but when I looked from the other side, it had been red stickered I think (may have been orange) but either way I think it will end up being pulled down. Part of the house was over 120 years old.

The family coped perfectly fine without me, I did miss Samysons band in the Battle of the Band heats which was a bummer, Gary said he was really good. They took Taryn with them since she had been helping in our garden on Saturday. I can buy the DVD of the heat so I guess I will have to do that. Unfortunately  they did not win although one of their guitarist got most compelling performance. Samyson reckons they actually gave it to the wrong one as both the boys look similar and the one who got it wasn't actually really doing much :-)

Samysons friend from NYTC Sam Verlinden got best vocal - no surprises there he is a fantastic wee singer, plus most of the bands had been together rehearsing for months rather than the 2 or 3 weeks ours had.

Back home & I have been flat out, Friday night we all went to Rocky Horror on stage, it was awesome & the kids loved it (thankfully some of the more salubrious moments went totally over Siobhans head). Saturday they kids had costume fittings for Seussical and then we took them to Waikaraka Park Speedway for the fireworks - awesome awesome display. Ended coming home earlier than anticipated as they had a problem with the lights and had to cancel the rest of the racing.

Sunday Siobhan was in the Glenfield Santa parade so I dropped her off then went & helped out on the school cake stall for a few hours, took Samyson to rehearsal as he had to be there at 1 & then got back to the park for Siobhans aerobics group post parade performance.

Back to work today so it will take a few days (or weeks) to catch up.

Home for a holiday

I am off to Christchurch tomorrow to stay with my parents for a week.

Gary is going to be looking after the kids YAY!!!!

I am looking forward to the break although I don't know why but visiting with Mum & Dad always makes me feel like a kid again. Siobhan has already had tears this morning because she will miss me.

Hopefully I can get a bit of computer time otherwise I am going to have a heap of blogs (and TV shows) to catch up on when I get back.

School Camp

Had a good few days at camp. I must admit, it was a day too long, I was a bit over it by Thursday afternoon but probably due to the weather rather than the kids.

It was organised differently this time, each adult was given a specific activity which was rotated so we had one in the morning & one in the afternoon, the groups of kids then came to our activity. The plus side was that if you got a group with some of the more um - "challenging" kids, you only had to put up with them for an hour or so at a time.

Generally the kids were fantastic, there were a couple of little shits but what do you expect with 160 odd 12 & 13 year olds?

Lowlights:
- a bit rushed & disorganised especially on day 1
- no camp staff on some activities which I think should have had them as the parents had to teach the kids & if we didn't know then they were not getting the best out of the experience.
- the weather was a bit crap (raining on & off Wednesday & Thursday)
- MatthewM breaking him arm on the BMX bikes whilst I was the parent in charge (believe me there were a couple of other kids who I would quite happily have injured)

Highlights
- meeting the kids & getting to know them
- seeing  how some of them had changed & matured since year 7 camp or in some cases primary school was the last time I saw them
- Being pleasantly surprised by some of the kids I was expecting to be a pain turning out to actually be some of my favourites.
- the overall good manners from all the kids when doing the activities and also when dishing up their meals to them (still a few who need to learn to say Thank You but generally only ever needed one reminder)
- the parents accommodation was great (Carolann & I shared a room), we had our own showers & loos so did not have to share with the kids, plus we actually had a full kitchen (wish we knew that before we went)
- the camp food was actually pretty tasty and plenty of it, the kitchen staff were lovely (usually the people who run these kitchens make the dinner lady on Jamie Olivers school food show seem sweet & kind)
- Carol Ann & my detour to Tirau for some shopping & a stop in Cambridge for Gelato (Thanks to Mike for agreeing to pick the kids up from school so we could do that).

The biggest & best part of it all was when I got home & Siobhan came flying down the drive and flung herself at me and gave me the biggest hug ever and told me all night how much she had missed me AWWWW :-)

Oh - and wine!!!!! Not allowed alcohol at school camps these days so was glad to come home to a nice bottle.

On the Thursday night one of the teachers managed to get hold of a TV set so we got to watch the final of the netball - what a nail biter!!! It was a good way to finish the night but I think most of us were so would up after such a nailbiting final we took a bit of time to get to sleep.

Back to School

The second week of the holidays was all good, Monday Gary had the day off work so he took them out for lunch & to MOTAT.

Tuesday to Saturday was the NYTC All Stars so that took up heaps of time. It is a week of singing, dancing & acting culminating in a show on the Friday night, Saturday afternoon & Saturday night. It never ceases to amaze me how much these kids can learn in 4 days.

Gary & I went to the Friday night show & Sue & I went to Saturday nights. Both shows were great. Samyson just blew us away, he had one solo song (Hey there Delilah) plus a duet with Gabe (What you Own) and he was just awesome. Even his dancing in the group numbers was the best I have seen him do.

Siobhan did a duet with another girl Jade and she did really well, Friday night she was clearly really nervous but by Saturdays show show she performed much better, we could hear her voice when she sang & she did not look at Jade for direction the whole time.

All excited to get back to the normal school week routine - until I remembered that Samyson has school camp from tomorrow and I am going as a parent helper. I hope the weather is good and it is not as cold as it was this morning.

 

School Holidays - week 1

Well it is into week 2 so I had better record what happened in the first week so I can recall.

Monday & Tuesday the kids were at Carolanns camp. They came home Tuesday night with cookies they had made & iced and stone sculptures. Both tired & cranky as they had little sleep.

I had Wednesday off work as I had a Dr appointment so figured I could spend the rest of the day with the kids. We went shopping at Save Mart, I got a jacket, Siobhan got a really pretty dress, a Hannah Montana T shirt & a pr of pink trousers, she has pretty much lived in the t-shirt & trousers since. Samysons friend Gabe came over for a couple of hours & he & Samyson practiced the duet they are going to do for All Stars this week, it sounded really good, I love listening to the kids practice, especially when they don't go all shy & silly.

Thursday they came to work with me in the morning, I dropped them off at Sylvia park & they went to the movies after which they had lunch at the food hall. I was most disturbed to find out the next day that an hour before I left them at the mall there had been an armed robbery!!

Friday, both at work with me for the day, chilled out & watched DVD's, one of Ian & Geraldines neighbours kids, Andrew was here also so he & Samyson played chess & watched a DVD.

Weekend pretty quiet, Saturday I told Siobhan she needed to practice her audition piece for All Stars and she packed a monumental wobbly. Later Gary & I went out & did some shopping, the kids were at home, supposed to be practicing. I had 2 texts from Samyson asking where were we & when would we be home, when I rang he said Siobhan was in a shitty mood and could I bring him something deep fried & covered in chocolate to compensate.

I arrived home to find peace had been restored but in the middle of the lounge was a dining room chair & on the chair was a desk lamp, Siobhans balloon poodle wrapped in electrical wires, a steak knife, a shot glass & a note, the note read;
" Next time you leave me with her - the poodle gets it.
PS The vodka bottle is now empty"

Obviously Siobhan was particularly difficult, still she had her audition piece and was learning it, somewhat fittingly the song is "pieces of me".

Date Night

With the kids away for the night at camp, gary & I decided we would go to a movie & out for dinner. I can't remember the last time we went to the movies.

After searching through the Entertainment Book, we decided to go to the Backyard Bar in Northcote for dinner. We shared a plate of Salt & Pepper squid which was really lovely & tender and then we both had lamb cutlets, again lovely food, perfectly cooked.

After dinner we went to see Grown Ups, it is a comedy with Adam Sandler, Chris Rock etc, a fair few laughs and just what we felt like, nothing too heavy.

Off home, a couple of drinks & off to bed, it was a really nice evening, Gary even won me a soft toy in one of those claw machines at teh movie theatre - just like a real date :-)

Nice afternoon with my girl

The kids had rehearsal yesterday and Samyson wasn't finishing until 7pm so I picked Siobhan up and we went to MOTAT, we were hoping for a ride on the new double decker tram but we kept missing it. We did get a ride on the steam train & a trip from MOTAT 2 to MOTAT 1 on 2 of the other trams. It was fun just to hang out for a couple of hours. She comes out with some of the funniest things and has a big grin on her face.

When we got home she had to pack her bag for camp. About half way through she got all stroppy because she decided she could not fit everything. Khan from next door came over in the middle of her meltdown, he asked what was wrong and I told him, he just said "I can help with that" and proceeded to help her get all her stuff together & pack her suitcase - what a cool kid. They then spent about an hour playing with the fallen tree (including erecting some sort of stick art in the corner) and then played a couple of board games before Khan had to go home.

They are at Carolanns kids holiday overnight camp for the next 2 days, Samyson & Taryn are team leaders. They were late for camp because I forgot to change the time on the DVD player in my room, I was an hour out and it was not until I was sitting smugly in the lounge thinking that it was 8am & we should be leaving in a few minutes and we were all ready that I looked up and saw it was 9am - mad panic to get them out of the house & into the car.

Gary & I are going out, hopefully to a movie & dinner if we can find something we both want to see. The kids are back tomorrow & I have Wednesday off to spend with them, not sure what we will do, it depends on the weather but if it is a nice day I think we will go somewhere for a bit of a hike.

Lady gaga is in the house!!

Last night was the Glenfield Intermediate School talent contest.

Samyson was in a lyp sync group with 3 others. They were doing the Lady gaga/Beyonce song Telephone.

I know he put a fair bit of effort into it especially his costume because it was an expensive trip to Save Mart.

He was also MC for the night with 2 other girls. so his act was last.

Anyway, cue music and then onstage comes my son dressed in platform boots, leopard skin tights a fur top & hat completed with a blond wig. It was a fantastic performance he worked the stage & the room (even going off the stage and playing up to the judges) everyone cheered when they finished.

He stayed in character for the final MC part then the judges came back with their decision - HE WON!!!!! You should have seen the look on his face, talk about shock, he did not think he could because he was also MC and only entered as a bit of a laugh.

Unfortunately I do not have any photos so I have asked him to get some of his friends to email some to him.

Earthquake

Well today has been interesting.

I woke up at just before 7am hearing a text on my phone - seriously who the hell sends me a tect at that time on a Saturday. Turns out it was Ian, my boss - telling me there was an earthquake in Christchurch & that Rosinsa place was a mess. I jumped onto the internet & realised it was not good.

Tried to call Mum & Dad, Dad's cell went to answerphone, tried Mum (don't know why she never has it on), sent a text. No reply.

The bloody earthquake was reported as a 7.4 - I work in insurance - that is NOT GOOD!!!!!

Finally had a text from Dad, they are OK, no damage except a bit of porcelain. Suggested he not go to golf & Mum not go to work - the reply ... "get real".

Phoned them and sounds like they were really lucky. They have power & phone, a couple of minor ornaments broken, Don & Sancho & King Tut are all OK (they are the expensive ones). Told Mum NOT to go to work, Civil Defence were telling people to stay home & the people she works for treat the staff like crap at the best of times and she is too old to be going in there picking stock up off the floor & resiting shelving.

Watching the news on TV and it was completely devastating. Ian managed to get hold of the Ovendens (cracks in walls & chimney destroyed in Tai Tapu) and the Prestidges in Darfield - they live at the epi centre but all Bruce had was a few cracked tiles!! We have let the EQC & the insurance companies know & convinced Rosina to stay at home & keep it secure.

Texted Stephan & Paul, both OK, Gary rang Stephan later & all they had was a couple of pictures down, Paul had no damage.

Watching it all unfold over the day our families were so lucky, I am so grateful but really feel for those who have suffered so much loss and destruction. Watching the news the property damage I can cope with but I get a bit teary watching the personal stories.

End of day - Mum did not go to work (and her Boss actually phoned to check they were OK & will get his son to make sure shop all OK before she has to go back to work), Dad played golf - had to go to the local pub for the after match drink because the clubhouse was closed - can't keep a good golfer down.

The kids are taking it OK, Siobhan wants to ring Bayley & Michaela tomorrow to make sure they are OK, as far as I know they are with Kim over the weekend so I will give Paul a call tomorrow to see when the kids can talk to them.

It's Spring

Today is the first day of spring.

- the sun is shining

- I just had yoga with a lovely group of ladies

- Listened to Neil Diamonds "song sung blue' on the way to work. This song always reminds me of singing it at the top of my voice on our backyard swing when I was a child - happy memories.

- the kids are happy & healthy

- life is good.

Weekend Highlight

On Saturday afternoon on the way home from doing the grocery shopping (just Siobhan & I), she turns to me and says " Mum, I like it when we do stuff together".

How sweet is that?? I then ended up playing Pictionary for 2 hours - how could I not.

Samyson has now gone off to ski camp for a week, he was so excited he got out of bed as soon as I asked him this morning, usually it is a 15 minute battle. Even Khan is all excited, he turned up at 7.30 this morning toting his backpack checking I was still taking him to school. The weird thing is, the boys did not actually have to be at school until about 11 if they didn't want to as the bus was leaving at 11.30 to take them to the mountain but they both wanted to go early!

Dinner at tribeca

Fridays dinner was, as usual for Tribeca, absolutely divine.

We arrived and had pre dinner drinks, a beautiful chardonnay for me & a beer for Gary. Next came bread & dips (and some more of the chardonnay). Mark the owner has picked a few wines he thought Ian would like but he did not include a merlot so when Gary said he would like a merlot, Mojo the waiter went & got one which was absolutely fantastic, so much so, Ian & Paul swapped to that also. Poor Gary nearly fell off his seat when Ian asked how much it was & was told $ 70!!!! We went through at least 2 of them.

The food was great, we all played a bit of swapsies so we got to try each others meals. I was so full I actually could not finish my desert (chocolate fondant). One of the highlights was the cauliflower soup which was give an an amuse bouche between the entree and main, it was like velvet.

All in all a fantastic "family" meal out and it was nice that Martins son Adam came along too.

For a special night out this is the place to go. Great food, great wine (not all at $ 70 per bottle I hasten to add), and great service and atmosphere.

When will it stop

The last few weeks seem to have been a constant round of drama (orientation, rehearsals & audition) plus School (parent info nights, visits, enrolments parent teacher interviews x2).

Samyson is going to Glenfield College next year, we had pretty much decided he would anyway but he was making noises at one stage about Westlake even though we are out of zone. As it turns out, the week we were in Paihia we missed the info nights for Westlake & one of the others he was considering, however once we went to Glenfield he seemed keen and moreso after the school tour.

Samyson was sick yesterday, he came to work with me but after throwing up twice I took him home, I don't know what caused it but he was a s good as gold this morning, in fact he was a fair bit better by last night.

Siobhan had netball on Tuesday, because it was a 5pm game I could not go and according to Gary she was brilliant, best game he saw her play. A few of the parents also commented to him - typical when I go to watch she doesn't play that well. She now thinks that she wants to do the netball program in the school holidays instead of All Stars. Having said that, the way the funds are at the moment, they will be doing the 2 day Caz Camp & nothing else, All Stars is $ 200 each & netball $ 150 plus the $ 170 for the 2 of them to camp. - none of which I have at the moment. Plus the $ 400 I need to finish paying for Ski Camp for Samyson. In my next life I am having cats not kids - they have to be cheaper.

Tonight we are off to Tibeca for dinner, Martin is organising it to celebrate the acceptance of the financial proposal to creditors being accepted. Good excuse for a flash meal out anyway.

A weekend of rehearsals & housework, will the fun never end.

Food Show

Gary & I went to the Food Show yesterday, I love going to the preview day, there are less people there so we get to try everything without getting pushed & shoved & the Exhibitors have more time to talk to individual people.

As usual we spent too much money but we got some yummy cheeses, dips, chilli sauce for africa including one with the rather disturbing name "Bhutt Burner", definately not one I will be trying.

Friends for dinner tomorrow so we will be able to sample the wares, Gary is going to spit roast but I am not sure how that will work because it is orientation for Seussical from about 1-4 and he wants to go to the swap meet at Waikaraka Park plus Samyson wants to go to the college for a look around, also from 1-4, not sure how that is all going to work.

We had Siobhans teacher parent interview last night, she is doing really well at school and they are confident she will be ready for intermediate next year (I wasn't). We have some stuff to work on at home so I will make sure I do some with her each night.

Samysons interview next week, that will be interesting because a bit of the old attitude had started to slip in last time so hopefully he has knocked that on the head.

Prawn curry for tea tonight, I have been looking forward to this for ages, I don't care what everyone else wants, if they don't like it they can have a sandwich as far as I am concerned.

What I learnt this weekend

1) When you decide to let your 10 & 13 year old have some responsibility & let them go to McDonalds and the supermarket by themselves - do not then sit down & watch a documentary on the Crime channel about a woman who sent her kids to the beach and they never returned & no bodies have been found. This is NOT comforting.

2) When you decide to have something to eat to take your mind of 1 above, do not sit in front of the next thrilling programme on the Crime channel - crime scene clean up - first job off the blocks a "trash" house. Just in case you could not clearly SEE the disgusting putrid mess, they describe it all for you as well - good for the diet that one.

From now on - it is the Food Channel for me.

In other news, Allstars went really well, Samyson sung well & Siobhans poem about socks was included so she got to do her first ever complete solo on stage, I was so proud of her, especially since the day before the auditions she was in tears because she couldn't do the poem and use the socks she had for props right (I have no idea what the issue was but it stressed her out). Both shows she managed to pull it altogether props and all.

Samyson got his school report, I am not that pleased, too many c's for my liking particularly in the effort, he is at expected level for most of his subjects but if he puts in more effort, he can do better. Being in the accelerant class the level expected is higher than other year 8's but he knew that. He of course does not think it is that bad, because C is satisfactory. That's not good enough in my book so I forsee some battles.

Siobhan had a math test yesterday & said she found it really hard so off to practice times tables each night before bed.

Finally, my spectacular parenting: Put the kids to bed last night at 8 & said they could read for half an hour or in Samysons case, watch a DVD. At 9.30 he came out & asked if I had forgotten them as Siobhan was still reading & his movie had finished - oops. Talk about out of sight out of mind.

I have a teenager

Last Thursday Samyson turned 13 - how the hell did that happen. I now have an official teenager!! I am sure I am waaay to young.

First week of the school holidays (although it was week 2 for us since they had an extra week when we were in Paihia). Monday & Tuesday both kids were at Camp Maynard with Carolann, a friend who runs a kids holiday camp there. They get dropped off 9am on Monday & picked up again 6pm on Tuesday. Samyson and Carolanns daughter Taryn are team leaders since they are year 8's. If they keep it up, in a year or so they will be able to actually take some of the activities.

Siobhan had a ball, apparantly lost the plot a bit on day 2 as she does when she is sleep deprived. Wednesday to Friday they were at work with me so they got to watch DVD's and stuff envelopes.

Today Samyson is at home & Siobhan next door at Laura's hanging out with Khan. Apparantly he was a bit bored last week at home so was happy to have some company.

Khan came over yesterday & hung out for a while then Taryn & Jayden came down while Mike went to pick Carolann up from scrapbook camp (she runs this a couple of days after the kids camp). There were 5 kids running around outside playing some sort of game that involved shooting each other & yelling - a lot. Probably drove the neighbours nuts but at least they were outside in the fresh air. When Mike & Carolann got home we went to their place for a drink & ended up staying for dinner of leftover roast lamb, veges & cheesecake from camp, fantastic, I didn't have to cook.

The rest of the week the kids are at NYTC All Stars Holiday programme so they have been practicing their audition pieces, Siobhan in particular has put a lot of time & effort into hers. Hopefully it will make the final cut into the show.

Having spent the last 3 or 4 hours trying to fix the friggin computer at work & download my upgrades, I have had enough & am going to knock off early.

Good night.

back to the rea; world

We are back from Paihia - what a week. We have been parasailing 1200ft in the air - what a feeling especially considering the 4 of us hate heights. A dolphin cruise where they guarantee if you do not see dolphins you get a voucher to redo the trip - we didn't see any so we can go back again.

Last night we went on Darryls Dinner Cruise - fantastic fun & a good feed.

I love our family holidays, it provides an opportunity for us to all spend some time together & have a great time, I don't think I have laughed so much in ages, we struck a balance of doing stuff & just chilling.

We did a couple of big walks, Wairere Boulders & then the next day a 10k trip arund the Hururu Falls, that was a doozy, Gary's knee was killing him & my left calf & right hip are suffering but we all felt great after it.

Back to work on Monday, plus it is school holidays so it is full on for a couple of weeks.

So Wrong

What is wrong with this picture ...

Sitting in bed watching Biggest Loser eating a box of chocolates.

What was I thinking?????

NYTC Showcase

What a fantastic show!!!

It blows my mind how talented these kids are. Even heavy metal loving - showtune hating Gary loved it!!

Although Samyson did not have a full solo the bit he did have in one song he did really well but every single act was just fantastic.

There is a musical called 13 which the one of the songs Samyson did is out of, he bought the album off i-tunes yesterday & played it non stop, he is hoping NYTC will do t his show (which Joe the CEO suggested they might). Not sure how it will translate from 13 13 year olds in New York using a cast of 200 from 7-21.

Next show is Seussical & I really hope Samyson get a lead in this one, the first time he did an NYTC show it was this one so it will be nice to have a bigger role this time. Siobhan is also looking forward to it and hopefully we can resurrect lots of the props so not too much to recreate for us in props :-)

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, managed to get to Yoga yesterday so felt heaps better but am sore today. We go to Paihia on Saturday for a week so I have a million things to do to get ready.

Pizza IS dinner

One of my favourite things is homemade pizza but whenever I suggest it for dinner Gary reckons it is not "proper" dinner. A couple of weeks ago another blogger wrote about how she loves homemade pizza and posted pictures & so I was dying to have one myself (hmm the power of suggestion, is it any wonder I am fat??).

Anyway, after the school disco the other night Gary & the kids had fish & chips, I came home & made my pizza & despite not getting to eat it until 9.30pm, it was delicious. Earlier this week they all wanted sausages which I hate, so I made another pizza.

This morning, Gary suggests we have homemade pizza for tea - umm hello, why is it not considered "dinner" when I suggest it but it is when you do?? Anyway, I went this morning before work & got pizza bases & toppings before he could change his mind.

Now all I have to do is convince him that toasted sandwiches or soup are in fact meals and are acceptable for dinner.

Anyway, busy weekend, NYTC Showcase tomorrow so Samyson off to rehearsal 7.30 to 9.30 tonight, dress rehearsal sometime tomorrow morning then a show at 1.30 & another at 7.30.

Thankfully it is at the Pumphouse in Takapuna so not far to go.

Sunday I am going to Yoga & bugger anyone else.

Soccer World Cup

I don't like soccer and I have zero interest in the current World Cup.

So, why this morning when I was watching the news and saw the footage of our last minute goal (which gave us a draw, not even an out & out victory), did I find myself grinning like an idiot & then feeling a bit teary when they were interviewing the guys who got the goals father & other actual fans?!?!?!

On the positive side, if I ever get a trivia question asking what a vuvuzela is I now know it is a traditional South African horn which makes a buzzing sound.

Where does the time go

Our long weekend away was really nice, the weather was crap but we managed to survive.

We stayed at the camping ground at Orewa, unfortunately the one we used to stay at was bought by a developer who closed it down, got partway through building some, what now turns out to be leaky homes, and then went bust. The remaining campground is OK but small & cramped. We booked a kitchen cabin, apparantly "kitchen" means a sink, microwave and an electric frypan!!! There was no oven or even an element.

With the weather being so crap we got to spend time together as a family just hanging out, we played board games & watched a bit of TV, went for walks when the weather picked up. The kids got on really well with very little arguing. Only one meltdown from Siobhan & one hissyfit from Samyson.

The Tuesday after we got back Samyson was off school sick so I stayed home with him which meant I was even further behind at work but these things happen.

This last weekend, Gary was sick!!! He has the flu (actually I suspect it is just a cold but what would I know), consequently he spent the weekend in bed & is off work today. I on the other hand ran around like a blue arsed fly all weekend I needed to come to work for a rest.

I did manage to get to the gym on Saturday but slept in on Sunday so missed Yoga, no problem I thought, I will do some at home - it kind of loses that whole relaxing, spiritual side when you are accompanied by a 10 year old who is either giggling or going "ow ow ow" all the way through and when I did catch a glimpse of her trying really hard to concentrate with her eyes closed I just cracked up laughing.

I gave up & made cauliflower, coriander & coconut soup instead YUM!!!

A busy couple of weeks, we are off to the Bay of Islands the week before school holidays so I have a heap to get done at work so I can relax on holiday. Samyson has NYTC Showcase this Saturday which means Thursday night rehearsal, Friday night rehearsal (presumably at the theatre) 2 shows on Saturday from which I will have to get him to & from, at least it is only in Takapuna and we are going to the afternoon show anyway. Siobhan has netball on Wednesday so hopefully it is a 6pm game & I can go & watch her play.

I thought my life was busy

As much as it drives me nuts all the running around to practices etc, I have it easier than some.

When I went to pick Samyson up from rehearsal last night, one of the Mums mentioned that they were thrown into a big panic because of a fire at one of the schools as it threw their whole routine out. She then proceeded to list the schedule which included, dance, soccer, drive thru McDonalds, NYTC rehearsal and something else I can't recall. She had it down to 10 minutes blocks. A couple of the other parents were standing there nodding in agreement saying they have the same problem that they have to pick the kid/s up from school then spend the next 3 or 4 hours ferrying them from one activity to the next - and this happens 4 -5 days a week for some of them!!!

I know a lot of these NYTC kids are extremely talented but seriously, when do they get time to do homework or just relax. One of the boys mentioned his Mum is going to talk to his teachers about reducing his homework load as he finds it too much with his other activities (not only does he do NYTC but gets involved in other shows as well, he is currently doing Macbeth with Stage 2 - he is 11!!!)

We always said that the kids can get involved in 1 sport & one artistic (music drama) activity each, no more. That was more than enough practices and rehearsals for a kid.

Sometimes I wonder if we are restricting them too much but apart from the costs, we are 2 full time working parents, it is difficult enough to get them where they have to be especially if it is on the other side of Auckland or if two have to be at different places at the same time. In my opinion they need time to themselves just to relax & do their own thing and time to do their homework at a reasonable time instead of late at night after several activities or first thing in the morning while trying to get ready for school.

Anyway I am looking forward to a weekend that has no time constraints all, we eat when we get around to it, go where we want & do what we want when it suits - Bliss.

Bring on the long weekend

I am looking forward to Queens Birthday Weekend, we decided to go away for a couple of days. Our first choice of Awhitu down south of Waiuku did not happen due to their website being down when we tried to book so Gary suggested Orewa. It is close to Auckland so we will not get caught in the worst of the traffic which coming in & out of Auckland on a long weekend is horrendous.

We can just relax, go for walks, play board games etc which is what we all need.

Siobhan is home sick today, she still is suffering with the cold she had before show week and woke up this morning completely miserable. I was going to bring her to work but Gary kindly offered to stay home with her. I dosed her up with paracetamol, echineccea, breathe easy in the burner, cough medicine & Vicks on her feet. Samyson remade her bed for her and she was asleep again within minutes. Unbelievably she woke up about 8.45 again & phoned me to say she felt better & wanted to go to school, she still sounded like crap so I told her she wasn't going, she kept arguing that she felt much better and she wanted to go to school!! Finally convinced her that if she still felt fine at lunchtime she could go then - talk about role reversal, usually the parents are telling the kids they have to go to school & the kids saying they don't want to.

In other news, Samyson has been selected in the chorus for the NYTC Showcase. He auditioned for a solo but missed out so was really happy to get the chorus. He has rehearsals Thursdays 6.30-8.30 for the next 3 weeks, plus Sat & Sun 11 & 12 June all afternoon from 1pm & then in theatre Friday 18th & 2 shows on Sat 19th. Just when I thought I might get a break from all this running around, no such luck, this will be over & it will be onto the next show I am sure.

Roll on the weekend!!!

I'm knackered

As always post show week I am buggered. I have spent the week trying to catch up on all the work (home & work) that fell by the wayside last week.

Samyson wants to go to the set burning bonfire tonight but I really can't be bothered, consequently he is going to be pissed off because apparantly EVERYONE is going & he will be the only one not there etc etc etc. Sometimes drama kids can be so - well - dramatic!!

Anyway I am going home, having a glass of wine & pasta for tea (the others are having American hot dogs). I am not going to help reorganise the store room & I am not going to the bonfire.

A nice quiet relaxing weekend is on the cards :-)

Show Week

Well the last week & a bit has been flat out. It is what we call "show week". The kids are involved in NYTC which is the National Youth Theatre Company. They perform 2 kids musical shows a year (along with holiday programmes). Basically the week of the shows, they have rehearsals & are in theatre for a week and as a parent helper in the props department, that also means me.

The week went something like this:

Sat 15 May

Kids at rehearsal from 1-6.30 so Gary & I did some shopping & went out for lunch. That night we had a work dinner at TriBeCa in Parnell. Sue played driver (dropped us off, picked kids up then picked us up later).

Sun 16 May

Kids at rehearsal 1-4.30, more housework & shopping. had an egg sandwich at about 4pm for lunch (yes this is important).

Mon 17 May

I was SICK!!!! Bloody egg sandwich. I will spare the gory details, suffice to say both ends going & serious stomach cramps. Gary ended up taking the day off work to look after me (awwww). He got the kids to school & then to theatre at 3.30 for rehearsal, he then had to pick them up at 8.45.

Tues 18 May

Still felt like crap but went to work since I am already having a heap of time off for the show. Left early & took Samyson to Bruce Mason Theatre for Glenfields Got Talent Show then Siobhan & I went to Portofino in Takapuna for dinner. It is nowhere near as nice as Devonport, we shared the most boring Maguerita pizza. Anyway the GHT show was pretty good, Samyson was great in the play they did. I was really disappointed that he did not sing in the band, he was one of the dancers (he was good but I don't get to hear him sing very often).

Wed 19 May

Work for a couple of hours in the morning then to theatre by 12.30 with the kids. Get there to find that as usual, no one has a clue. Supposed to do a full run thru without stopping (minimal stopping anyway) - did not happen and then because they had to let the younger group go they changed the order of the scenes so we have no idea what the cues are for the scene changes or if we are missing any props etc. Got home about 8, hoping that they do a second run thru with the leads & the older groups - people are actually paying to come to the show at 9.45 Thursday. Everyone stressed & Jan who is the props manager feeling sick.

Thurs 20 May

Arrive at theatre at 8.30am (not bad considering it is raining & peak hour traffic). We run thru our pre set list & other notes & hope like hell we don't completely cock up. They did a better run thru last night but still a couple of scenes not run & we have no idea of our cues.

We ran the first show & we ROCKED. It was really good for a first show better than some where everyone was better organised. Second show went well. I was supposed to go into work but Siobhan not well (I have been dosing her with cough meds, panadol, breath easy etc so much so one of the dressing room Mums thought I was the nurse). Home to relax, the last early night for a while.

Fri 21 May

Theatre at 8.30 again (I don't do mornings!!). 2 school shows, again went really well. No time to go home in between shows as planned since they have decided to call them back early!!! I was supposed to Pick Gary up & get a change of clothes as we are going to Avenue Q & I am dressed in manky black & running shoes. He ends up not coming because when he got home the front door was wide open, it looks like someone tried to break in so he had to fix that. Fed the kids at the food hall & dropped them at theatre and hit the shops. farmers for a new top, eyeliner, mascara, deoderant and some silver bracelets & Hannahs for a pair of boots, a quick change in the loo at McDonalds and just in time to meet the others for dinner at Eliot Stables.

Avenue Q finished in time to pick the kids up from Aotea after their show & off home & to bed.

Sat 22 May

Ahhh, a bit of a sleep in, we don't have to be at theatre until 12.30. Let the kids relax & phoned Samyson at 11.15 to double check it was 12.30 & not 12 call time - it was 11.30 call time!!!!!! rushed home, sent a text to say we are running late & rushed off to theatre. Luckily the kids threw together their food and were ready when I got home.

Show did not go so well, my pirates got their cue but the person they got their cue off was too early so the whole scene was a bit of a mess, then I could not unplug the dresser (Sam had been doing that & I did not realise there was a button!!!!), my fault I should have checked before the show to make sure I could do it.

Picture this, the show was Peter Pan the musical, we have the nursery. Peter Pan, Wendy, John & Michael are about to depart for Neverland by flying, the maid Eliza enters just in time to see them flying away, she faints, spotlights on the flying while the Nursery scene is changed to Neverland with the help of some pirates (I assume to give a hint of what's to come). Unfortunately, the flyers were slow taking off so Peter Pan etc are still on the ground, Eliza instead of winging it still gives her line "Oh My" & faints which is the cue for the pirates to come in & start he scene change & the Nursery walls to start moving - what we ended up with was Eliza fainting for no apparant reason (since no one was flying, Peter Pan et al were still standing in the Nursery) & the nursery being invaded by pirates who then had to stand there like lemmings until the nursery walls moved so they could get the beds out. Then, because I cocked up my bit, we have neverland with a Dolls house & a dresser sitting it it until they get wheeled into the wings - Epic fail!!!

Gala night then the final show which went fantastic & the kids stayed & helped pack up the props so we got home about 12.30am. My feet & my back were killing me.

Sun 22 May

Everyone just blobbed today, kids grumpy. Gary & I went fruit & vege shopping - that was it.

So this week back to some sort of normality and catching up with everything at work. Samyson off school yesterday and thankfully Carolann looked after him so I was not distracted at work.

Introducing Me

Firstly, Thank You Lynda & Anne for your comments.

I thought I started reading blogs a couple of years ago but then I read a comment on one I read regularly who mentioned her daughter as being almost 6 - I was reading her blog well before she got pregnant!!

Anyway, about me.

I originally hail from Christchurch, I moved to Auckland for work for a couple of year, that was about 20 years ago :-).

I am married to Gary who moved to Auckland to be with me, we met when I was 12 (we have not been together all that time). We have 2 fantastic kids, Samyson who is 12 going on 18 and Siobhan who is 10. They are involved in kids musical theatre which takes a heap of time. Siobhan also plays netball at school.

I work for an insurance broker, I started there about 10 years ago and now own 5% of the company, I love it, the people I work with are fantastic & most of our clients are pretty cool - some of them are a little more challenging than others :-).

Well, I am not sure what else to say, I am not used to talking about mememe. I guess as I post (which I will try to do regularly) you will all get to know more about me. I am hoping this blog will serve as something I can refer back to to remind me of good times, bad times & generally what is going on. When I work out how I will post some photos.

Have a great day.

Mothers Day 2010

I guess usually a first blog entry would be the "who am I" sort of thing but I want to get this one down before I forget it all.

Sunday was a fantastic Mothers Day! I knew the kids were up to something when they were locked in Siobhans room for hours on Saturday, appearing only to grab recipe books or other mysterious things.

I had to write a list for Siobhan so she knew what I wanted, so I wrote a massage voucher, bubble bath, hugs, kisses & lunch after Yoga.

The morning started with breakfast in bed consisting of baked eggs (2), hash browns (8!!!), muffins (2) and a smoothie. Gary was despatched to the supermarket - without having his morning coffee - to get the rest of the ingredients for the day.

My presents were the requested massage voucher and the bubble bath plus they had made me a trophy which read "Best Mum" that was so cool and the final present was a tin with "20 hug coupon, 20 kiss coupon & 1 special coupon". The special coupon read "Leave me the F*#@ Alone" - priceless they know me so well, apparantly I am only allowed to use it once and the hugs & kisses coupons can only be used on them - I had such plans too :-).

As I rushed out the door to Yoga I was handed a homemade "croissant"' .

Lunch was homemade tomato soup (they forgot to make the toast bit never mind :-)

Did I mention the kids also tidied up the kitchen & washed the dishes!

After rehearsals I cooked roast pork & veges for dinner. The kids ran me a bubble bath (not sure if they actually used any cold water) complete with candles, essential oils, bubble bath, radio and a glass of wine - total bliss once I could actually get in there without 3rd degree burns.

After the bath it was an ice cream Sundae made by the kids of course - I think I packed on about 2 kilos with all the food I was fed.

The final surprise, and the bit they were the most excited about - candles in the lounge, they put on the song the "Joys of Motherhood" from Honk & handed me an envelope with a whole lot of their baby photos in.

I was so touched at how much effort they had put into the whole day for me, completely unprompted in fact I tell them not to make too much fuss or spend too much money.

It is days like that I need to remember on those days when I want to wring their necks.

Well my first post is a bit of a ramble but it was such a special day I wanted to capture it. In the next few days I will try and do a post more about who I am.