It seems at the moment there is no time to rest, one or other of the kids seem to have to be picked up and/or dropped off somewhere, shopping, housework, washing etc etc.
The week before last we had a pick up or drop off or something to attend every night. In all fairness it was the year 13 play for which Samyson was on the lighting team so a couple of the pick ups were just to get him after school as they had rehearsals and it was dark so I didn't want him walking home.
This weekend:
- Friday Gary drops Samyson at the mall where he will catch a bus to town with Alika, they will grab some dinner & then head to the Stage Challenge (luckily Alikas mum is bringing them home), Siobhan has a hair appointment at 4.15 which Gary will drop her at then pick her up when she is finished.
- Saturday I get to drop Siobhan at school at 7.30, she is going to a Chinese Cultural festival, I will go the the 8am yoga class (may as well make the most of being up so stupidly early), then I will go to the gym. Home, showered & changed Gary & I are going out for lunch (thanks to Montieths $ 50 voucher), shopping in the afternoon, pick Siobhan up from school then off to friends for dinner.
- Sunday I intend not to do a damn thing, I would like to try & read for a few hours and will probably end up doing insurance policy analysis for a couple of hours woo hoo.
I have been checking on the Landcheck website for Christchurch, every house I grew up in is in the red zone, they will all be demolished. I just read today that one of the hotels I spent many (way too many) evenings at listening to bands will be demolished. Because I grew up in the Eastern suburbs and spent most weekends in the city it is really weird to think pretty much none of it is going to be there. It is not just the places I lived but friends houses, my Godmothers house, the house I baby sat 4 kids in almost every Saturday night for 18 months or so when I was 15. I am supposed to be going down there in a couple of months for a week or so but to be honest I am not looking forward to it. I will go though because I know Mum is finding it hard, the 13 June quake seems to be the straw that broke the camels back. I wonder if Mum & Dad would like to spend a couple of days in Timaru or Hamner - can relive some childhood memories there instead.
Having one of those can't be arsed working days today, I think after spending several hours yesterday writing Financial Advisor disclosure documents my brain is just over it. Still heaps to do so I should stop procrastinating and get on with it.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
My beautiful daughter
Today as I took Siobhan to netball she was in tears because she is being teased at school, apparantly her hair sticks up & she has pimples! She daid she is ugly & funny looking. It was really hard not to cry myself, she is the sweetest most caring wee thing and she is beautiful.
It looks like I have some self esteem issues to deal with, it breaks my heart to hear her think she is anything less than fantastic.
On the positive side, she had a great game at netball & got player of the day, that went some way to making her feel a bit happier.
It looks like I have some self esteem issues to deal with, it breaks my heart to hear her think she is anything less than fantastic.
On the positive side, she had a great game at netball & got player of the day, that went some way to making her feel a bit happier.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
About time to updat
I have not really been the most committed blogger (I read everyone elses then forget to write my own).
Anyway:
SIOBHAN
- Doing great at school, is making friends & the work I have seen her produce is definately improving.
- Got her her first bra a couple of weeks ago Yikes! She is only 11!!
- She is captain of her netball team, she was so excited and very very proud of herself, we are also very proud, she tries really hard, does not miss a practice or a game.
- She is becoming more & more independent, she loves to help in the kitchen & often kicks me out insisting she can do stuff herself.
SAMYSON
- Constantly getting excellent results at school.
- Auditioned & got accepted into Variety Voices which is the new youth choir associated with Variety Club. They are aligned with Cadbury's at the moment as a part of the "Sounds of Joy" campaign. Samyson & 6 others have been selected to be in the studio on Friday to record some of the sounds for the final cut of the song then the 13-18 year olds are performing at Sylvia Park Mall form 12-1, he has a lead part in the song.
OTHER:
- Gary went to Christchurch the weekend before last. He came home on the Monday & by all accounts was lucky he did get home, firstly there was the ash cloud from Chile which grounded all but Air NZ flights - usually we fly Jetstar but he manage to get cheaper Air NZ ones when he booked. Then, there were 2 more earthquakes on the Monday a few hours after he left. I had actually considered extending his stay by a few days but a large credit card bill changed my mind - thank goodness.
- Mum & Dad felt the earthquakes, Mums nerves are a bit shattered & I think she feels a bit guilty that they have really had no damage yet others are living in appalling conditions & having to shovel liquefaction from their homes for the umpteenth time. Dad is a taxi driver & it is pretty dire for them, not much work at all, then chuck in a bloody ash cloud and hardly any flights in or out (he is one of the airport drivers & they pay a fortune to be allowed to do this).
- I am supposed to be going to visit them for a week later in the year, unless the earthquake lessen significantly I don't know if I will be going, Siobhan is already telling me she doesn't want me to go.
Anyway:
SIOBHAN
- Doing great at school, is making friends & the work I have seen her produce is definately improving.
- Got her her first bra a couple of weeks ago Yikes! She is only 11!!
- She is captain of her netball team, she was so excited and very very proud of herself, we are also very proud, she tries really hard, does not miss a practice or a game.
- She is becoming more & more independent, she loves to help in the kitchen & often kicks me out insisting she can do stuff herself.
SAMYSON
- Constantly getting excellent results at school.
- Auditioned & got accepted into Variety Voices which is the new youth choir associated with Variety Club. They are aligned with Cadbury's at the moment as a part of the "Sounds of Joy" campaign. Samyson & 6 others have been selected to be in the studio on Friday to record some of the sounds for the final cut of the song then the 13-18 year olds are performing at Sylvia Park Mall form 12-1, he has a lead part in the song.
OTHER:
- Gary went to Christchurch the weekend before last. He came home on the Monday & by all accounts was lucky he did get home, firstly there was the ash cloud from Chile which grounded all but Air NZ flights - usually we fly Jetstar but he manage to get cheaper Air NZ ones when he booked. Then, there were 2 more earthquakes on the Monday a few hours after he left. I had actually considered extending his stay by a few days but a large credit card bill changed my mind - thank goodness.
- Mum & Dad felt the earthquakes, Mums nerves are a bit shattered & I think she feels a bit guilty that they have really had no damage yet others are living in appalling conditions & having to shovel liquefaction from their homes for the umpteenth time. Dad is a taxi driver & it is pretty dire for them, not much work at all, then chuck in a bloody ash cloud and hardly any flights in or out (he is one of the airport drivers & they pay a fortune to be allowed to do this).
- I am supposed to be going to visit them for a week later in the year, unless the earthquake lessen significantly I don't know if I will be going, Siobhan is already telling me she doesn't want me to go.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Nice weekend away
Last Saturday we had our annual work lunch (it was supposed to be dinner but we left the booking too late) at Tribeca in Parnell. We use it as an excuse to celebrate all our birthdays & Christmas in one hit rather than a whole lot of cheap meals during the year. It was as usual a fantastic meal & there were 8 of us we all had a ball & lots of laughs. If you ever want a special meal out I totally recommend this place, it is fine dining & not cheap but always fantastic food & service.
The food is divine and we had a great time, Sue very kindly picked the kids up from home & got them to Allstars then picked them up after the show and took them home, she stayed the night at our place so Gary & I could stay the night in a motel (got to love wotif.com). We were not really very hungry & decided to have dinner at the motel were staying at, it was not too bad but was much better when we didn't get charged for it :-).
On the Friday we went to the Allstars show which is the show the kids put on after a week long NYTC school holiday programme of musical theatre training. It is always a good laugh and some of the kids are so talented. This time Samyson got his solo song in (they all do an audition piece either a solo or in a group which they work on during the week & perform in the show), he also had several speaking parts & featured as lead in a few of the group numbers, he was wrapt and performed really well. Conversely Siobhan did not want to do an audition piece (it is not compulsory) and she got 2 singing lines and about 4 speaking lines - she was also wrapt - talk about chalk & cheese, those 2 are so different. In the group numbers Siobhan was much more confident than she usually was and her dancing had improved heaps.
Back to school this week & the tornado was the talk of the day on Tuesday, Samyson goes to Glenfield College which is one of the places it hit and Siobhans school bus goes past there so she got caught up in it all as well. Luckily no one was hurt but I was so pleased when they both got home as I was at work on the other side of town & could not get there. There was talk of the Harbour Bridge being shut but they didn't. Our friend Mike was waiting outside the school to pick his daughter up & when it hit, he reversed his truck as far back as he could because the pine cones were raining down onto his windscreen, he no sooner moved & a large tree came down right where he had been parked!!
Hoping for a quiet weekend this time, friends for dinner on Saturday, yoga on Sunday morning & I really need to do some housework, the place is a mess.
The food is divine and we had a great time, Sue very kindly picked the kids up from home & got them to Allstars then picked them up after the show and took them home, she stayed the night at our place so Gary & I could stay the night in a motel (got to love wotif.com). We were not really very hungry & decided to have dinner at the motel were staying at, it was not too bad but was much better when we didn't get charged for it :-).
On the Friday we went to the Allstars show which is the show the kids put on after a week long NYTC school holiday programme of musical theatre training. It is always a good laugh and some of the kids are so talented. This time Samyson got his solo song in (they all do an audition piece either a solo or in a group which they work on during the week & perform in the show), he also had several speaking parts & featured as lead in a few of the group numbers, he was wrapt and performed really well. Conversely Siobhan did not want to do an audition piece (it is not compulsory) and she got 2 singing lines and about 4 speaking lines - she was also wrapt - talk about chalk & cheese, those 2 are so different. In the group numbers Siobhan was much more confident than she usually was and her dancing had improved heaps.
Back to school this week & the tornado was the talk of the day on Tuesday, Samyson goes to Glenfield College which is one of the places it hit and Siobhans school bus goes past there so she got caught up in it all as well. Luckily no one was hurt but I was so pleased when they both got home as I was at work on the other side of town & could not get there. There was talk of the Harbour Bridge being shut but they didn't. Our friend Mike was waiting outside the school to pick his daughter up & when it hit, he reversed his truck as far back as he could because the pine cones were raining down onto his windscreen, he no sooner moved & a large tree came down right where he had been parked!!
Hoping for a quiet weekend this time, friends for dinner on Saturday, yoga on Sunday morning & I really need to do some housework, the place is a mess.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Siobhans first proper sleepover...
Lasted 3 nights! I had a call at work from Siobhan asking if she could go to the movies & have a sleepover that night. After a few calls back & forth it was agreed so her Dad handed over his last $ 20 and Jasmines Dad picked her up. The next day they were going to Parakai & since they were staying til closing her friends Dad suggested she stayed again so I popped in to drop off some money. Sunday morning she called while I was at yoga & when I phoned back she wanted to stay for a third night so eventually I agreed & it was all organised. Needless to say she was a tired wee thing on Monday but she had a ball.
For her first ever sleepover at a friends it was a pretty marathon effort.
School holidays have been good, having Easter in the middle is great because I got to have a few days off also, not that we ended up doing much. This week the kids are at Allstars, Samyson got his solo song in the final show plus the "seasons of love" from Rent that a group of them put together at the last minute. Siobhan didn't want to do a solo piece this time but is having a ball regardless (she prefers to be in the background sometimes). Off to the show tomorrow so am looking forward to it. They have a Saturday matinee & a Saturday night show as well
For her first ever sleepover at a friends it was a pretty marathon effort.
School holidays have been good, having Easter in the middle is great because I got to have a few days off also, not that we ended up doing much. This week the kids are at Allstars, Samyson got his solo song in the final show plus the "seasons of love" from Rent that a group of them put together at the last minute. Siobhan didn't want to do a solo piece this time but is having a ball regardless (she prefers to be in the background sometimes). Off to the show tomorrow so am looking forward to it. They have a Saturday matinee & a Saturday night show as well
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
hair today Gone tomorrow
Today at approximately 2.15pm Samyson went from this:
To this:
It was part of a fund raising through the school for the Sweet Louise Foundation which supports women with secondary breast cancer.
He is a bit gobsmacked I think at the moment, it will take some getting used to, he had more hair when he was born. He raised a couple of hundred dollars. Gary & I were there to see it & even Siobhan came along.
There were about 15 of them altogether including 4 teachers (2 went as far as a number 1) and 4 girls all of who had quite long hair.
He is a bit gobsmacked I think at the moment, it will take some getting used to, he had more hair when he was born. He raised a couple of hundred dollars. Gary & I were there to see it & even Siobhan came along.
There were about 15 of them altogether including 4 teachers (2 went as far as a number 1) and 4 girls all of who had quite long hair.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Something Trivial
Pinched from Lynda & Kate because I am bored.
A. Age: 40 mumble (not because I am embarassed but because I always forget
B. Bed size: king
C. Chore you hate: most of them
D. Dogs: I am a cat person, not that we have one since the last one disappeared.
E. Essential start to your day: watching the 7am news
F. Favorite colour: purple
G. Gold or silver: silver usually
H. Height: 5'2"
I. Instruments you play: none, apart from the recorder in standard 2 (which from memory I was not very good)
J. Job title: Company Director, Office manager, broker
K. Kids: 2, an amazingly talented son and an absolutely beautiful daughter
L. Live: Auckland - originally from Christchurch
M. Mum's name: Margaret
N. Nicknames: Tray (parents, husband & 2 best friends only) or Trace and the most important "Mum".
O. Overnight hospital stays: two for childbirth,
P. Pet peeve: Loads, I am trying to be more tolerant
Q. Quote from a movie: "You can't handle the truth" No idea why. Poor husband gets that one every time he asks me to buy him the Truth newspaper.
R. Righty or Lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: 1 brother (also have 2 half brothers on my birth mothers side)
T. Time you wake up: at 7.00 am (to watch the news), or 6am to go for a walk with my son.
U. Underwear: of course
V. Vegetables you dislike: I can't think of a vegetable I don't like.
W. What makes you run late: Nothing - I am so on time all the time. Can't help it, always been that way. Funny though I have lots of nightmares about things holding me up and making me late. I'm sure I could pay a psychiatrist a lot of money to figure that one out. (pinching this one word for word from Lynda, I HATE being late).
X. X-rays you've had: Apart from dental (and that was a loooooong time ago).
Y. Yummy food you make: most things are pretty good.
Z. Zoo animal favorite: depends on my mood. I love the cheetahs & the tigers.
A. Age: 40 mumble (not because I am embarassed but because I always forget
B. Bed size: king
C. Chore you hate: most of them
D. Dogs: I am a cat person, not that we have one since the last one disappeared.
E. Essential start to your day: watching the 7am news
F. Favorite colour: purple
G. Gold or silver: silver usually
H. Height: 5'2"
I. Instruments you play: none, apart from the recorder in standard 2 (which from memory I was not very good)
J. Job title: Company Director, Office manager, broker
K. Kids: 2, an amazingly talented son and an absolutely beautiful daughter
L. Live: Auckland - originally from Christchurch
M. Mum's name: Margaret
N. Nicknames: Tray (parents, husband & 2 best friends only) or Trace and the most important "Mum".
O. Overnight hospital stays: two for childbirth,
P. Pet peeve: Loads, I am trying to be more tolerant
Q. Quote from a movie: "You can't handle the truth" No idea why. Poor husband gets that one every time he asks me to buy him the Truth newspaper.
R. Righty or Lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: 1 brother (also have 2 half brothers on my birth mothers side)
T. Time you wake up: at 7.00 am (to watch the news), or 6am to go for a walk with my son.
U. Underwear: of course
V. Vegetables you dislike: I can't think of a vegetable I don't like.
W. What makes you run late: Nothing - I am so on time all the time. Can't help it, always been that way. Funny though I have lots of nightmares about things holding me up and making me late. I'm sure I could pay a psychiatrist a lot of money to figure that one out. (pinching this one word for word from Lynda, I HATE being late).
X. X-rays you've had: Apart from dental (and that was a loooooong time ago).
Y. Yummy food you make: most things are pretty good.
Z. Zoo animal favorite: depends on my mood. I love the cheetahs & the tigers.
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