Kintaro Walks Japan

I love the Amazing Race! I try to watch every time it's on. This season was great! As it finished with BJ and Tyler as the winners, I wondered a bit more about these hippies. I did a search on google and found some obscene pics of them with the Frat Boys which I'm sure were all in fun. But I digress! After a little more searching, I came across Tyler's girlfriend's blog and his website and myspace. I was interested to read that Tyler did a doco in Japan on a walk he did from the southern tip of Japan to the northern tip of Japan on a search for his father's birthplace. I watched the movie in it's entirety here. It was fabulous! Japan looked so beautiful! Japan isn't on my top list of places to visit but after seeing the doco I am more intrigued. People seemed extra friendly and I loved the sights. I have a cousin stationed in Japan and it would be nice to go and see him. Tyler and BJ had the most wonderful personalities of anyone on the Amazing Race this season. I loved their overall attitudes about life. I'm thinking of becoming a hippy ;) Can ya all see that???? These are guys I would LOVE to hang out with. Such a good time! This is how I imagined Hugh to be before I met him and while he was living in Germany. He tells me this is wrong lol. Oh well, a girl can dream. Have a watch of the movie and let me know what you think. There needs to be more people like these two in the world, especially here in New Zealand. I feel this country could use a bit more 'fun' in it!

Birthday Calculator

My FIL, Nick, sent me this link for the Birthday Calculator. It's pretty cool! Definitely scrapbook worthy! One thing I found funny was that my girls were born on the same day there were conceived! That's pretty freaky! Obviously the conception date can be out for various reasons yet I still thought it odd. And my Chinese year is wrong. It said I was a snake but after looking it appears I am a horse just like I thought all along. Hugh and Lauryn are monkeys and Kamryn and I are horses. Also at the bottom of the page there is a place to click to find out what your name name says about you. All very cool info. I'm even thinking about making a small cd for the girls with the top songs of their year. Check it out and let me know what you think ;)

Butterfly Creek

Obviously I have been living under a rock! Having young kids, I am always keen to do things with them that we wouldn't normally do. But I have to admit that I find it hard to 'know' things to do. Or I don't know of things. And that aggrevates me more. Cause really, how many times can ya go to Auckland zoo??? Ok, for kids probably many, but I would also like to take them to see other things and enjoy other experiences.

Well looking at blogs last night, I came across Lesley's. In her blog was a stunning photo for a blue butterfly on her sons arm. Her blog mentioned that she took her kids to Butterfly Creek. I wasn't sure where Lesley lived only that she lived in New Zealand and she didn't mention where it was in NZ. So I figured, like most things, it was on the South Island somewhere. Well how happy was I to get a message on my blog saying that Butterfly Creek is by Auckland Airport!!!! HOW COOL!!! This is something Kamryn will thoroughly enjoy. And the fact that just maybe a butterfly will come and land on her as her all ready to go and see them. I'm even just as excited. So we are planning to go in 3 weeks time. We are hoping the in-laws can meet us there as we are sure they will enjoy it as well. So check out the website and if you can think of other things this small family could enjoy with their 4 and nearly 2 year old daughters, then please let me know! I don't have many ideas ;)

Weighty Issues

So I've taken the step towards losing weight by changing doctors and working on a weight program through the practice. This hasn't been an easy decision for me. Since being diagnosed with my thyroid condition in 2003, my weight has just sky-rocketed. But all my old doctor could tell me was 'it's not your thyroid, eat less and exercise more'. Whatever. I would do that with little to no effect in losing weight. I felt this was it. This is my life. I sensibly know that I can't have another baby being the weight I am. I don't want to get pregnant at this weight. So after talking with the doctor that Hugh and the girls see, I realized I needed a change. I now see Dr. Hall along with the rest of my family. He filled me in on a few things. He let me know that my thyroid isn't the problem. He did let me know that my metobolism is such that it makes it near impossible to lose weight and that anything that causes me to gain (ie: pregnancy) is likely to stay on. Which is true. After both of my pregnancies, I never lost the weight I gained. So I couldn't handle another one now knowing this info. He did mention that some people just can't lose weight and I could be one of those but he would certainly do what he could to help me. And as a medical professional it was his job to try. Those were words I had been waiting to hear for nearly 3 years. No one has wanted to help. No referrals or programs. I literally felt stuck and that always leads to eating more. So the options available to me are an in-house program they do or a dietician. I'm starting with the in-house one and seeing if we can pin point where my problems lay.

For a week I had to write down what I eat. Well, me being me, I felt like it was my last supper of good things lol so I binged. Then yesterday was my appointment with the nurse. Obviously she knew and I knew that the sweets/candy/chocolate had to go. I wasn't silly, I knew it would. Overall she was pretty happy with what I had eaten. So for the next two weeks I have to work on cutting portions and no junk. And she isn't making me cut breads just yet. YIPPEE! So I'm up for the challenge. She was also happy that I was exercising. Which I have for about 6 or more weeks now. We are being reasonable with this program. I am ultra stoked I am getting proper help now and that someone can work with me on this. And I know it's a long trek, I'm not silly. So we have set my goal at 1kg a month. Which is comfortable for me. Of course I would like to lose a bit more than that per month but I would rather lose more than my goal than be under my goal. And I've been so disappointed in the past about things not moving that I didn't want to put false expectations on myself. Dr. Hall told me it would take 2 years to lose the weight. I figured as much. That is why I said I want to get pregnant again in 2 years. And no I won't be stating my weight here but when I start losing the weight I'll be posting how much I lose so I'm sure ya all can add that up ;)

Oh Things!

So here's a new layout. I haven't done much in probably nearly 3 months but I'm hoping to change that. I've signed on for some challenges and a circle journal so I'm hoping things get better for me. Here's a link to my online gallery too if anyone is interest ------> C's gallery.

I often get these great pics of the kids that I never know what to do with. Looking through a mag, the other night I saw some pages with conversations and things kids have said. I've never done something like this. I record them because I do want to scrapbook them but sometimes I forget it's there and get caught up in the 'oh how sweet my daughter is' philosophy on my pages. So I worked on this yesterday and finished it last night. Everything on the page was written one time or another in my blog. So it's great having that as a reference. I even came across some of Lauryn's baby babble that I want to do and some conversations Kamryn has had. So now it's good to know I can scrapbook these photos like this without having to come up with some enlightening sentiment to go along with them. OH, I made the paint chips but how cool would it be to be able to get 'cheeky', 'princess', 'one-of-a-kind' and 'beautiful' in paint colors???

Guilty Pleasure

There's this blog called No8 Wired - NZ Dare Blog where they put up a new dare every other week (was once a week). I've looked at the layouts that have been put up and thought it would be nice to participate but with Hugh working 52 hours a week or more, I just don't get the time to finish them as the deadline is on a Wednesday with the new dare being announced on a Friday. But the last dare was posted with a two week deadline which has made it easier for me to complete it. So here is my 'Guilty Pleasure' layout! I had fun doing this even though it was a 'bit' hard confessing a few things ;)

PS: There is HEAPS of journaling! My guilty pleasure is kids clothing lol. I love shopping for my girls and I've admitted a few secrets that I don't know that some people even know lol. So I'm not going to post the journaling here, sorry.

So Who Got One???

The all elusive NZ 2004 five cent piece??? Wow, can you believe all the hype for one little 5 cent coin??? Well I don't have one. Kinda pissed. I had one in my possession and walked out of the house a couple of weeks back and spent it. Not on purpose, just forgot I set them aside for a reason. I wanted one for Kamryn's birth year (2002) and one for Lauryn's birth year (2004). Well I have Kamryn's but not Lauryn's. Looked on TradeMe. HA!!! It's over $50 for that wee little 5 cent coin! We called a coin collectors and we can get the entire 2004 coin set for $155! Seems better than paying $75 for one coin lol. So I have a few people on the hunt but have a feeling anyone that finds one will be hording it for themselves.

Hush Your Mouth!

Well Miss Rachel had to mention the fact that bad things happen in threes lol. So first it was the repairs to our car and then our washer dying. Now it appears we owe the electric company $400! We got a bill in the mail yesterday that said we were in credit to them for like $1000. Hugh was like sweet, we don't need to call them they'll sort it out. Today we got a bill saying we owed them $500 and something. After one very loooooooooooong phone call, it seems that someone came out and replaced our meter back in January :O What the heck!!! So for months they've been estimating our account due to the last meter number only to have a man come out here last week and realize the the numbers don't match. So we have under paid them. Great! We never authorized a meter change nor could we since we rent. So right away we got pissy with the landlords wondering why they never notified us of a meter change. After talking to the landlords they said they never authorized such a thing either. So now we are stumped as to why the meter was changed. At any rate we owe them $400 for under paying them for 7 months. Just lovely! Not only that, after talking to the landlord tonight Hugh found out that if we don't sign another 1 year lease then our rent goes up $30 a week!!!!!!!! What the hell! So right now we are unsure on what we are doing.

Living at the Doctor's

Wow, I feel like Hannah did just before she left for Canada!!!

Tuesday - Kamryn missed kindy because she had a cough and had thrown up that morning. Figured it wasn't anything major.
Wednesday - Took her in to the doctor because she was snotty, coughing and had stuff coming out of her eyes. He said it was viral but if her condition worsened to bring her back. The stuff coming out of her eyes was just the cold because it wasn't coming out her nosy real easily and it didn't have anywhere else to go. And kids this age don't spit it out, YUCK!
Friday - I had an appointment with him. I switched doctors and had a few things to talk to him about plus needed my thyroxine refilled.
Saturday - Kamryn's eyes seemed to be getting worse so off to the doctors again. Now she has an ear infection. And antibiotics are prescribed! Yippee! She is totally different the next day.
Sunday - Lauryn wakes up around midnight crying. Go in to calm her. Seems ok. Wakes a few minutes later and throws up everywhere!!! After a bath and another bottle, she's down.
Monday - Kamryn is fine for kindy but Lauryn has the thickest and greenest snot I've ever seen coming out her nose. Off to the doctor again. I figure it is another ear infection hence the snot, the vomiting the night before, and she's been waking at night for the last 5 nights. Doctor confirms. No playing around this time. She prescribes the same antibiotic that cured her last one.
Tuesday - Lauryn still has thick green snot coming out but she slept through the night. Let's hope it doesn't take too long to go away.

So yes, I am over sick kids! More than over it. To top everything off I've got a bit of a sore throat, waking each morning hacking away! So I've not felt the best either. And I have been feeling like we live at the doctor's office. It's just a good thing that the girls visits are free and so are the prescriptions.

When It Rains.........

It never fails! I have a HUGE trip coming up next year. Ok, admittedly not until October 2007 but we still need all those months to get the money together for me to go. And what happens that always happens???? Our car went in for a oil change and check to other various parts that help make a car run lol ;) and then were told we needed $500 worth of repairs. Lovely! After a few phone calls Hugh found he could get it all done at two different places and save us $100. Plus he got to drive a flash 2006 Tiida last week which was ultra awesome! We *almost* pushed for more repair work just to drive this thing around lol. Then Saturday, the washing machine died! Of course it dies on the day that EVERY item of clothing in Kamryn's dresser is dirty lol. Luckily we bought a new one the very day it died on TradeMe (only used 10 times) for $320. Called around and a brand new one was going to run us $600 anyway. Well we don't have a van or truck to get this washer. Hugh called a 'friend' who said they don't lend their vehicles. Fair enough but whatever! So Hugh asks if he would help him go and pick it up and he said no they had church. Again fine but he didn't volunteer to help him later either. Pisses me off that people are like this. Can't help a friend but I'm sure if the church called and needed it then it would be ok. So I no longer consider this person a friend. It's not like we were going hotrodding in his van, we are a family who needs a washer. Just aggrevates me that people are like this. Can't help because it doesn't benefit them in some way! So Hugh will hopefully get the work van tomorrow (Monday) and pick the washer up late for me to use on Tuesday. Nothing like 4 days of laundry piled up. And that's 'if' he can get the van. So the money has been going out just as fast as it's coming in. But we are just happy it's happening now when there is the extra money instead of when we don't have it.

Oh Wow!

So once again I had my heart break in a thousand pieces today. When you are a mother, this seems to happy probably more frequently than you like. But last week I decided on spur of the moment that I was going to put Lauryn in daycare this week.

Here's a bit of side info that is kinda pertinent to the situation:
Kamryn started kindy on the 17th of July. She goes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We were keeping Kamryn still in daycare one day a week (full day on Friday) until she was adjusted to kindy. We just wanted something to still be familiar without dropping her in the deep end. Last week I went to drop Kamryn off and noticed there was maybe 10 kids. They can have up to 20. Now this particular daycare has kids from newborn to 4 (generally) all in one area. Which is fine with me and I think it has helped Kamryn learn to react and play well with kids of all ages. But when I walked in last week to drop her off I noticed that there was only one girl around her age and she is 3. So not even real closely in age. That sealed it for me. I didn't see any more reason to leave her there. She jumped right in with kindy and hasn't looked back so it was time for daycare to come to a halt. But instead of just taking Kamryn out, I wanted to put Lauryn in but two mornings a week. After looking at the schedule they said it was fine and she started today. Now that everyone is caught up lol I'll get on with today!

I have thought about Lauryn attending daycare. Sure Hugh and I have gone over it again and again and again but I don't think I ever really thought it would happen. So once everything was confirmed, I just left it. I didn't overthink it, I didn't get upset, I didn't contemplate withdrawing her. Then the day came, today. MAN! I rushed around getting everyone ready this morning and out the door. I showed up at daycare and left Kamryn in the car and got out Lauryn. Once inside two staff members greeted us reassuring me that she would be fine. I didn't think she would be but was struggling to let go myself. As I stood there I could feel Lauryn shying into me. As I was confirming my mobile number with them, Cheryl took her too to do an activity. No screaming or crying. As I go to leave, I give her a hug, kiss and say goodbye and still no reaction. As I am leaving I just start crying. Ange says 'she'll be fine, Christi'. I know this but it doesn't stop my heart breaking in a million pieces.

When I get to the car, I just let it loose. Kamryn says 'why are you crying, mommy? cause you will miss Lauryn?' And I said 'yes, I will miss Lauryn'. Then she said 'but she will have fun, mommy!'. This coming from the wee girl who has been to the same place so I knew Kamryn was right but it still hurt. I know this is something that will help her to grow as a child. She doesn't have much interaction with kids her age nor other adults. It's just us. And being the outgoing child she is, I figured she would jump in. I think my problem is that she is our youngest, my baby. She's no longer under my wing as such and is now going to be influenced by a great number of people not just her mommy. When I went to pick her up, they were outside playing. She isn't used to some of the equipment there so I stood and watched without her knowing I was there. She climbed around with ease and made little cheerful noises as she did so. Man, I bawled again!!!! This time seeing her in a new light. Seeing her as Lauryn, the little confident girl that is ok without mommy and can have fun all her own without her big sister. She is growing up. No matter how much I want her to stay my baby, I know she can't. And that hurts. As I walked through the gate, she didn't see me. When she did she came over to me and gave me a hug and kiss and I said 'did you have fun?' and she said 'have fun' and then wanted down.

This is hard. What an emotional rollercoaster. I was reassured she was fine and there weren't any worries. She happily played and chatted away. Never cried or whinged. And cow and blanket sat peacefully on a foam chair inside where she put them. And as I picked her up to go, she threw a fit and arched her back not wanting to go. So obviously she likes it ;)

Writing Her Name

Well after seeing Michelle's post about her daughter's faces and Hannah's post about Ethan's name and his face drawing, I thought I would see what Kamryn can do. Now I don't think hers are as spectacular as theirs but it is something to behold, that's for sure. I wrote her name on the paper so she could see how it was done. Then she did her best to write what she could. She has some difficult letters in her full name like 'K', 'y' and 'N'. We think it's the slant that is hard. Hugh said to do the slant they have to control two moves at once which is very hard. Then the other tricky letters were the 's' and 'e'. This is the first time she ever did an upside down 'e' which Hugh said is pretty common. Then I asked her to draw people so that could be why she didn't do faces lol. But she had a good time drawing and told me what and who everything and everyone was. It's nice to look at them. Her people don't have noses or mouths and she only added hair when I asked if anyone had hair lol. I'm really impressed with her effort. After her people drawing she did a caterpillar all her own. Complete with what it had eaten lol. She drew cherries, apples and leaves amongst others. We talked about what caterpillars eat. They even eat marshmallows lol.

Then yesterday she took me by surprise. She said she wanted to draw and write her name again with the markers. So I gave her markers and went off to do my own thing. I figured there was no way she could do her name on her own without seeing it somewhere. But when she finished I went to look at her picture and she wrote her name!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I was floored! There in yellow marker was her name. She put an 'm' on the end cause she gets confused on the sounds of 'm' and 'n'. But none the less, she still did it without even seeing it in print. VERY VERY COOL! So I do know she is at least learning. And again she did another caterpillar and some faces and dots lol. So she may not be 'as good' as the others but give her three months and let's see where she is. I'm happy for this and I love them and she is thinking.

World Breastfeeding Week

I feel pretty strongly about breastfeeding. I was able to breastfeed both girls, Kamryn until 6 weeks and Lauryn until 6 months. I'm glad I had the experience and even with a third child I will still attempt to the do the same. Well before I had children I knew I wanted to breastfeed. Living in the States though I got many negative comments about it and only knew of maybe a handful of people who breastfed and I lived there for 22 years. So coming to New Zealand was pretty liberating and I didn't feel the need to 'hide' breastfeeding. It was a big 'odd' with Kamryn only because she was my first. But by the time Lauryn arrived, I wasn't shy lol. And it was great to not have to worry about where I was going to heat up a bottle when we were out or that we had to rush to get her back home for a bottle. I didn't have a diaper bag with Lauryn. We had a diaper and wipes in the car, no need for a bag. With each experience I learned more. Which kinda sucks cause ya wish you knew it all to begin with so you could persevere knowing it got better. I think Lauryn and I are closer because of the breastfeeding and she hardly gets sick. I really don't have anything negative to say about it. It's not easy for some and I know. My large breasts were a mission in themselves to make sure I wasn't going to suffocate the baby lol. There is discomfort from some of the first initial latching ons but then you reach a wonderful feeling about the whole thing. I remember doing a scrapbooking page about breastfeeding Kamryn. At the time (even though she was nearly a year old) it was still an emotional part for me. Six weeks wasn't when I wanted to stop, the milk wasn't there. I took numerous photos to the shop with me and my friend Jennifer said 'now remember there will be other people looking at your book so keep that in mind'. LOL, that didn't bother me. If someone was bothered by it then they could move on. It was an important time in my life.

So in honor of World Breastfeeding Week the Celebrity Baby Blog has put together a gallery of readers who have submitted their breastfeeding photos. It was very nice looking through the gallery. These are candid shots. So you aren't getting the professional pics that some mag does where you see a bit of breast and most of the baby's head. I loved looking through the gallery. Many shots almost brought me to tears, many I thought 'look at that positioning' and I really realized that a all shapes and sizes can do this. I am impressed at the women that continue past the age of one. I took mine monthly and six months was right with Lauryn. I remember breastfeeding in Kmart while walking around. I remember when mom was here and we were having ice cream at a cafe and she quickly went to shield me lol. I quickly told her that if someone had a problem with what I was doing then it was their problem, not mine. So have a wee gander at the gallery. It's very nice. And here's one that I want to share, enjoy!