Halloween Downer

Man, the older my kids get the more ripped off I feel about holidays here. Yeah yeah yeah, I'm American and of course we do everything big there but just a little excitement around this country would be nice. I think many in New Zealand have the wrong idea of Halloween and what it represents. It's not a devil's day or something to do with the occult. It's fun. I grew up with it being a fun time to dress up and go and knock on people's doors for candy. We also went to costume parties or local get togethers where best costume got a treat out of each age category. We had hay rides and haunted houses too. And as I got older, it was more about the scare which was awesome. I remember one year, we went around and hit like 5 haunted houses in one night. It was the best!!! For me it's just pure fun. Nothing satanic about it.

In New Zealand (or well here where I am at) there is nothing organized about it. Kids wander the streets at different times throughout the day. No porch lights on to let trick-or-treaters know they have candy to give. Nothing big at all. This year Kamryn has been asking to go and I feel gut-wrenching horrible at the thought of her knocking on someone's door and them saying 'sorry, dear, we don't have candy', or 'sorry, dear, you don't do Halloween' or 'sorry, dear, we don't celebrate the devil but here's some literature from the Bible'. Ok, this hasn't happened to her but I know of people that have done this. So wouldn't it just be easy and save disappointment by just putting on a bloody light??? And set the time for it from 7-9PM or something??? I remember our streets being abuzz with all the excitement. Kamryn will get to witness this all next year. Lauryn may not quite want to do it at that age but I'm sure she will jump on board with Kamryn. Kamryn is going to love it!!! I know. She has been asking all day to go. All we did was go to the library for storytime but they didn't do anything special either. They got one lolly at the end! Woooooohooooo!!! Whoopty doo! Hugh is out there right now with her cause I just came home and cried. This sucks. It sooooooooo sucks! Next year she will love it so much and will want to do it when it comes around again in New Zealand and it's just not even going to compare on any kind of level. Sometimes I wish this country wasn't such a drag :(

Unexpected News!

So I have some unexpected news to share. OH, and before you all start wondering, no I am not pregnant and it's not my news lol. My mom rang today to say she is getting married!!! Can you believe that?!?? This is a woman that said she wouldn't get married again lol. She reckons they've been together for 10 years so it's time lol. I reckon she's been with Doug for 10 years so why make it official??? It supposedly doesn't change the outcome of my inheritance anyway ;) Supposedly Doug asked her to marry him while they were on vacation at Punta Cana (Caribbean) earlier in the year and I'm only just finding out about it cause she got her engagement ring. But yet my brother was privy to such top secret info. I'm pretty shocked by the news but it's cool too. And now mom and Doug and Shaun and Dawn can celebrate their anniversaries together lol. Ahhhhhhh, bliss! Best of luck guys and congrats *hugs and smoochies*!

Here's My Entry

Now that everything is over and done, I'll share my DT entry for Meg's DT call. I was pretty pleased with myself on what I did. I don't do altered projects well but then I was hit with a ton of bricks for this one. I had it done in 3 days but I absolutely love it!!! And I liked the perspective of my double. And my single, is well, my single lol. I really put a lot of focus and hard work into this entry so I'm pretty pleased with it. Thanks for looking! (Click the photos to enlarge. The 12 month one has playing cards that correspond with the months, ie: 1st month, ace and so on. I used the suit of hearts for them all. I did newborn and her first birthday to cover the whole year.)

It's All Over

Meg's DT was announced last night. I had an epiphany yesterday that I wasn't making the team. I kinda figured that once it had been announced that I made Lisa's DT that I would be out of the running for Meg's. Fair enough. I guess there is always next year. Congrats to the girls who have made it! Two of the ladies haven't been active long and I don't even think I've seen Jo on the board. So this could all be interesting. It would have been nice to see my buddy Ann make it or Ilka. Heads up, girls!!! There will be more to try for. I was rooting for you both ;)

My stint on Embellished Idol has come to an end. Pretty pathetic really. The only vote I got this round was my own lol. But I thought my layout was pretty good. That's what happens when you journal too much, I reckon. People immediately look away and they just want to see the cute photo and something light and 'over the top'. I am the only one that took the dream ('in your dreams') literally and nearly everyone else went along the lines of 'never in my dreams did I'. And then it was something mushy. I'm not generally a mushy person so that wasn't going to be the route I took. I have to say I was pretty shocked by the final numbers of the round though. Makes ya wonder. Oh well, another thing to mark off my list of 'no longer a worry'.

So in many ways all this news has been a relief and I'm not stressing over an announcement or the next challenge. I can focus on more of my work and the Scrapbooking by Design DT. Now I'm anxiously awaiting Lisa's kit for the month!!! Can't wait to get started!

Tonight's the Night

Well we have managed to cut out a night time video for Kamryn for about 4 days now. It seems to be going ok. She doesn't pitch a fit when we tell her no. There's just a few rule changes happening at the moment. And this happens to be one of them.

Also tonight was the night I decided it was time for her to sleep in her actual bed in Lauryn's room. So this proved interesting. After she had her dessert on the couch, she headed to bed. Not until I had a wee talk with her first. We decided that on the days that she doesn't go to kindy, she can have a special video in mommy and daddy's room if she is good in her bed the other times. So once I put Kamryn into bed she was fine. Didn't budge. It was Lauryn that got up 10 times and played and came to the door. I figure it will be like this. I also figure there will be nights when they keep each other up. But I know they will sleep even if it ends up being on the floor lol. They can't go all night without it. I'm not sure about the mornings though. Lauryn gets up and plays just before 7 or there after (doesn't make me happy but I can hear her through the monitor). Kamryn generally sleeps until 8. So I'm thinking Kamryn might have some early mornings to look forward to! It's good getting her out of our room but I have to admit that I quite like having her just within an arms length as their room is on the opposite side of ours. It's the paranoia in me lol.

Tonight also has me thinking about a banner. I tried figuring out how to do it but my head just can't sort it out. Anyone want to do one for me lol?!?!? I had a hard enough time putting in Jo's blinkie lol. Ok, off to bed without a child in the room!

It's Announced!!!

Ok, so I have been trying since 9Am to post on here that I got on Lisa's DT!!!! I actually got a phone call on Tuesday like 2 minutes after getting off the phone with Melissa and just thought it was her ringing to add something. But nope, it was Lisa! I couldn't believe it! I was floored! And I surely wasn't expecting her to decide so quickly either. So I've had to be mum since Tuesday which has been hard. I didn't even tell my mom, just sent her the link ;) Thanks for all the congrats I have received already. It was great opening my e-mail and seeing so many posts and e-mails. I have wanted to be on a DT for a long time and just now that I found the confidence to go for it. I'm glad I did. I don't know many of the others on the team. I know Andrea but that's about it. I am in the Embellished Idol comp with Jacqui and her entry on Lisa's blog is actually one she did for the comp. Now I'm sooooooooo anxious to see who Meg picks! I told her I would be more than happy to help her in her selection but I don't think she will take me up on it ;)

Getting Anxious!!!

I'm sitting on pins and needles to know what is going on! So Lisa's DT deadline was Friday. I made sure to send mine in Friday morning before heading out for the weekend. Then when I returned home on Monday, I read her blog to discovered that my entry hadn't actually made it to her. So I resent it which she e-mailed back to let me know it went through that time. Relief! I was a bit worried I missed out. So now it's a waiting game! I can't stand the suspense!

Miss Meggy-Poo's DT deadline is Thursday which I am completely anxious about as well. It's a scary thought putting your work forward to be considered for such an awesome thing! I think Meg is taking the time to make a decision over the weekend. So I'll be waiting it out hoping for word next week.

I have to say though I am completely relieved I got both turned in and on time. Besides the wee mess up with Lisa's. I was stress-free for a while. Now I will just continue on my Embellished Idol journey which appears to have turned into Big Brother with allowing 3 evictees to come back aboard. So there are many things going on and crossing fingers I am lucky ;)

The Loooooooooong Weekend!

We went away for Labour weekend to Hugh's parents in Hamilton. We don't usually go away that weekend because every nutto is on the road. But I needed to get away. With Hugh working 52-54 hours a week and my one work night a week, I was dying to get away even if it was to the in-laws! Well here is a run down of my weekend, which was a bit intense with Lauryn constantly crying for any and every reason!

Friday:
*Met Hugh in Kingsland at 4:10. No worries getting into the city.
*Sat in traffic for about an hour and 10 minutes just trying to get out of Auckland and we got back on the motor way at Greenlane!! Traffic didn't clear until Papakura! Pathetic.
*Melissa arrived as soon as we did.
*Chinese takeaways for dinner. YUM!
*Melissa and I stay up until 5AM talking ;)

Saturday:
*Melissa and I out shopping. I acutally bought some much needed clothing for myself.
*Hugh took the girls to buy Pawpaw two new fish for his new cleaned pond. Kamryn enjoyed picking them out.
*Melissa left just after 3PM to head back to Tokoroa.
*Wanted to take some photos but it was windy and cold.
*Relaxed most of the day with kids in bed at 8PM.

Sunday:
*Got up and started getting ready for photos which were at 11AM.
*Took two hours to get everyone ready.
*Impossible photo shoot. Kamryn was sick so didn't smile and Lauryn was the biggest grouch ever!!! I was fed up after 10 minutes and completely fed up by the time we left about 30-40 minutes later. And was pretty pissed once I seen the price list. She took photos if her digital SLR and a 4x6 costs $50 and they go up about $50-75 when you go up a size! All the effort for nothing!
*Got to have a two hour nap while Hugh's mom watched the girls.
*Dinner was miserable. Since it was late the girls just ate something before bed. All weekend Lauryn kept saying 'done' but not actually eating anything and Kamryn was just hovering over her food without eating. A few threats and they finally finished!

Monday:
*Pack everything up to head out. Lauryn woke up at 6 or something ridiculous. So was completely exhausted when we left at noon.
*Stopped in at KMart for Hugh to get some much needed pants. Lauryn complained, cried and screamed the whole time we were there.
*Left KMart and Lauryn fell out.
*Lauryn woke at Pokeno as we stopped for a BIG ice cream.
*From there the girls carried on annoying each other and being loud.
*Had to stop in Auckland to get Hugh's car. He took Lauryn with him.
*Home just after 4.

It was a decent weekend away. Kamryn started getting sick on the way down. Sneezing and scratching her throat. She was sick all weekend and not feeling good. Lauryn was a complete BRAT! I had enough of her all weekend. I got tired of her complaining and saying 'done' or 'more' or 'hungry' but all she wanted was junk. And having both of them in the car even for a 2 hour car ride was horrible. And getting stuck in traffic on the way down was the worst! I'm kinda glad to be home but wish I could be home without Lauryn lol. Shame I couldn't have left her somewhere. She's just rattling every last nerve I have!

Soooooooooooo Tired!

Yes, that's right, it's 10:30 and I'm heading to bed. This is probably a record for me. Most nights it's midnight lol. I was going to update on my weekend tonight but I'm just too dang tired to even type or recall most of my weekend. It was, um, interesting and it was nice being away but I was soooooo relieved to be pulling into our drive this afternoon. So off to bed for me and hopefully an update tomorrow ;)

Tagged!!!

Man, I haven't been tagged in many aspects of the word but lovely Hannah has done just that. So here is my list. Figured I better get it done before the loooooooong Labour weekend lol!

1.Things that scare me:
- someone taking my children (kidnappers/perves)
- dying before I'm ready
- being alone

2. People who make me laugh:
- Melissa
- Kamryn and Lauryn
- The girls of Friday night ;)

3. Things I hate the most:
- back talk (can you see this is about Kamryn lol)
- Hugh's work scedule at the mo
- my weight :(

4. Things I don't understand:
- some friends
- my husband lol
- why I never feel good enough

5. Things I'm doing right now:
- thinking of answers to these lol
- looking at the screen
- listening to the dryer

6. Things I want to do before I die:
- watch my girls grow to the age of 75 ;)
- travel more to the States
- own a house

7. Things I can do:
- scrapbook
- find a bargain lol
- bake

8. Ways to describe my personality:
- fun
- conversational (is that a word?)
- open

9. Things I can't do:
- ski
- curl my tongue
- come up with a list of likes and dislikes lol

10. Things I think you should listen to:
- the laughs and giggles of children
- your heart
- white noise

11. Things you should never listen to:
- bad mouthing
- complainers
- one opinion

12. Things I'd like to learn:
- kite surfing
- how to be a better mother
- how to mother effectively without Kamryn catching the brunt

13. Favorite foods:
- chocolate
- ice cream
- Mexican

14. Beverages I drink regularly:
- water (all day, every day)
- coke zero (once a day)
- cocktails (once every two months lol)

15. Shows I watched as a kid:
- Sesame Street
- Saved by the Bell
- The Jetsons

16. Persons I'm tagging:
- Meg
- Ilka
- Michelle

Have fun ;)

Body Spray

Yes, second post already today and it's not even 11:30 lol. I may have another one before the day is out. Afterall Hannah tagged me yesterday ;)

So you know your mom loves you when she sends you 8 bottles of body spray lol. Ok, or it was just me looking at the Bath & Body Works website and e-mailing her my order lol. But she still didn't have to send all 7 bottles I requested with one surprise scent lol. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing like this stuff in New Zealand. This is amazing stuff! When I came to New Zealand six years ago, I brought with me kiwi and raspberry. And they were gone over a year ago now. I didn't use them often since I had a thing for Tommy Girl for a loooooooooong time! But when I ran out I was devastated! These bottles are 8in (20.5cm) tall and 6in (15cm) of it is liquid. Sweet smelling delicious liquid. Liquid that I would probably be tempted to lick off anyone's body, that's how good it smells lol. And here is what I got:

*Black Raspberry Vanilla
*Coconut Lime Verbena
*Tropical Passionfruit
*Coco Cabana
*Mango Mandarin
*Pomegranate Martini x 2
*Plumeria (my surprise one)

I picked all those summery scents and I've sprayed every one of them to see how they smelled lol. HMMMMMMM, YUMMY!!! I might just have to give one of the Martini ones away ;) So this is what is making my day today. OH and the fact that all of mom's 3 boxes have arrived safely lol. Yes, she is on top of things this year. She has sent Halloween costumes, Lauryn's birthday items and some Christmas for both girls. But what is important here is that I will no longer stink ROFL!!!

Wicked Dreams

This morning (early morning) I was dreaming that I was in labor. Now, folks, I'm not even trying to get pregnant so I'm not sure where this dream came from. But everything was happening and it felt real. I could feel the contractions and the pressure from baby's head. I was at the hospital. And walking into the hospital was the first time I got to meet my midwife. And she was Asian and pregnant. Not as pregnant as me but noticably pregnant. I can remember her giving me an internal exam and pushing her fingers further inside to feel the baby's head. I could feel how painful it was and her saying 'nope, baby is still high'. I then asked her for an ultrasound to see if the baby was breech since Lauryn was. She did the ultrasound and the baby was fine. We did not know the sex of it but during one contraction I can remember her saying 'come on, let's get this boy out'. And I lost it. I just cried and cried and cried saying 'I don't want a boy'. It was shortly after that, that the dream stopped. I don't remember giving birth to the baby. It all felt extremely real though and I could feel the pain in my stomach as I was having this dream. It just makes me think about another baby and if I want to go through the pain again. I was strong with my two girls but I think the older I am getting the weaker and wimpier I'm getting lol. So who knows what this all means???? Jamie might ;)

Things

Well there's a few things I want to mention here today. So I'll just get into it!

1. Sooooooooo I have made it to round 4 of the Embellished Idol comp and the gallery can be viewed here. Contests rules stop me from publishing my layouts here on my blog. Just click on the round you want to see and I'm nzmommy. I was sad to see Kelly go as I think we were the only NZers in it. *hugs* Kelly!!! I was pretty impressed with my minimalistic layout and I'm just happy it was enough to get me through to the next round. This next one should be easy enough for me to do which is a minimum of 3 photos and 2 pattern paper. Deadline is Friday, so need to get on it! However, I don't think I will win. You can soooooooooo tell it's a popularity contest and since I don't know anyone on the board, I doubt I have a chance. But it is fun each week seeing the new challenges and getting some pages scrapped!

2. I breathed a BIG sigh of relief last night when it was announced that Matt and Indira will be going through to the final NZ Idol next week. I'm soooooooo happy! For weeks upon weeks we have been waiting for Aroha to go. I CANNOT stand her! She has HEAPS of growing to do and needs to get over herself. And honestly, I just love when Indira sings! I love how she dances and really gets into a song. I love Matt's voice as well but I find it hard imagining him as the NZ Idol. We shall see!

3. Well I have one DT entry done! I sent everything to Meg last week in the hopes of relinquishing the stress involved and the pleasure of knowing it's complete. I'm very happy with what I turned in!!! And I know the very few who have seen my altered project were quite impressed with it which makes me happy as I just don't do altered items lol. Now I just have to submit to Lisa's which I have to do by Friday.

So that's about it! Nothing else at the moment. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Hugs

Cool video here -------------> FREE HUGS COMPAIGN

What a cool message! At the beginning I felt sad that he wasn't getting hugs. Then it became contagious! I'm a huggy person. I would probably hug everyone I met if I didn't think some people thought it 'weird' or 'odd'. I also like long hugs. Well not real long but longer that just getting your arms around the other person and then letting go. I think many people I hug here think it's 'uncalled for' lol. Oh well, too bad, I like hugs so if I see you next be forewarned ;)

Kite Surfers

There are many reasons why I love living on the coast. There are a few reasons why I don't but now having a few good friends is starting to turn that around. But one of the coolest reasons for living here is kite surfers!!! This is the coolest thing ever!! Since you can see down onto the beach/water from our house, you can see the kites. At dinner on Monday night, the girls and I watched the kites out our dining room windows. So I thought as a treat we would drive down to the beach for a closer look. I've never seen them up close before but it was sooooooooo cool to watch! I love it when they come out of the water or when they lose their boards lol. One guy even did a somersault flip! It's totally cool! I took photos too and at one point I had to 'pretend' to be taking photos of the scenery so they didn't come asking me questions lol. The girls loved it! Kamryn didn't want to leave and Lauryn kept saying 'kites'. I know in Orewa they also have the ones where the kites are attached to little go-carts. I think they are called blow carts but I can't be certain. And they are cool too watching them drive up and down the beach and getting up in the air. If I were brave enough I might give it a try lol.

What a Mission!!!

Wowser!! So I spent my entire day on Sunday reorginizing and decluttering my scrap room. I just had enough of not being able to put things in places or that every time I got around to doing a page there was never any room. I knew what the problem was though. I needed another shelf. And more containers!!! So off to the Big Red Shed!!! We spent a while looking at containers. What I really wanted was a spice rack with glass bottles but they no longer had that style. So I bought 2 small glass jars, about 5 small-size containers and 6 film size containers. OH and I can't forget the gorgeous suede boxes I found too!!! I love 'em! I got stuck in and pulled EVERYTHING out. And I mean everything! I felt like everything was cluttered or stashed somewhere but I didn't have it organized real well. Hugh's mom gave me this portable file box which I hadn't managed to get in until yesterday. And it's awesome! I can hang all my files in it (before I just set them in a basket) but since it has a lid, that means I can also put things on top. I reorganized my rolly cart with just stamps and packaged alphas. And just overall decluttered, filling one trash bag completely up!!! I threw away heaps! And I'm getting rid of some old stuff that I haven't used in 3 years lol. And here's the finished product! It's sooooooo nice being in her now ;) (It probably still looks a little bit messy to some but trust me, it's not lol.)

So Sick

I still feel like shit! So I have decided to visit the doctor this afternoon. It's been a week now. I remember being this sick with Lauryn and that was 2 years ago. And I remember not seeing the doctor because I didn't think he could do anything for me. It took 3 weeks to come right! I'm just drained. Tired, sneezing, coughing, hacking, irritated eyes. You name it! I haven't done much this week at all. The girls have probably watched entirely too much TV but I'm spent. I have Lisa's DT to still sort out. I know I just need the single layouts as I have an awesome altered item but I can't even manage a decent single! Meg's DT is nearly finished. I have the harder ones done and out of the way. I just need to do my single. The way I'm feeling right now, I think I am going to blow my chance on Lisa's. With my hip hurting, I can not sit for long periods of time so that doesn't help when you are trying to scrapbook. Maybe after seeing the doctor, he will give me something to help me feel instantly better lol. I'm tempted to cancel work tonight but I'm taking off in two weeks so I'm trying to soldier on!

Another Weigh-In

So today was my bi-weekly appointment with the nurse. I have been dreading this appointment. With my last weigh-in I was soooooooo stoked to jump into another 2 weeks but my body had other plans! Shortly after the appointment, I started my period. And we all know how we feel about exercise then! And now I've been sick since last Thursday, so nearly a week and I just can't muster any energy. I've also got this hip/back pain that has been killing me for 5 weeks now. The nurse said today that if it was a muscle it shouldn't hurt this long so if it's not better by Monday, I'm suppose to go in. But last night it was so bad I couldn't even sit down. So I've been dealing with all of this for 2 weeks and I know I had a BAD two weeks. She weighed me first thing and I gained 600g, just over a pound. (Sorry, Hannah, thought it was a kg lol.) But she said it could just be hormonal so hopefully two weeks will prove more weight loss. But she did a waist measurement and I was blown away!! I lost another 4cm from my waist in 2 weeks!!! I couldn't believe it! That's where it's at for me! I know the kgs are going to go slow but it's nice to know the cms are just dropping. So that's 15.5cm since I started back on August 11. I'm pretty happy about that.

Now onto my baby! So Lauryn is FINALLY cutting her top eye teeth!! Man, I don't think I know any other kid that has taken this long to get them! I wasn't even sure she ever would. But it explains heaps; the drool, the snotty nose, the screaming. And there is no sign of 2 year molars either. But if we are lucky she'll teeth with them for a year before they break through lol. And once again she has asked for a bottle today. Whoever said she would forget was lying! It's been over a month now since we stopped the bottles and every now and again she still asks for one. I feel bad for her. She still isn't drinking milk, she's a feather-weight. I weighed her yesterday and she only weighs 11kg (24lb) so she falls under the 25% mark in the Plunket book. She's just small. She can still wear 12-18 month stuff and some 2s are just too big. She'll be 2 in a month! I do want her to get back on the milk. I don't care what anyone says, it is healthy for them especially at these growing times.

Tacos

Finally the Mexican food as come full circle! I've never been one of those mothers that caters to their child's wants with food. I remember my ex-SIL making her two girls completely different dinners to what they were having cause they didn't like it. I swore I would never have kids like that. It's good I live in New Zealand then because there is such an array of foods to eat here. So mine have tried everything we eat.

We tried tacos when Kamryn was little but she never really took to them. And from my small mention in another post, we had them a few days ago and Kamryn loved them and so did Lauryn. Friday night I asked Kamryn what she wanted for dinner and said tacos lol. And I think she has asked every night since although she was pretty happy with corned beef on Saturday night as it's her favorite lol. So last night we had tacos and man, you would have thought this was the girls last supper lol!!!

We did bigger tortillas last night and Kamryn still ate 1 1/2. We made them with chicken which she isn't too keen on but she liked it. Hugh made Lauryn's and then cut it up. Which she always unrolls and picks the stuff out then eats the tortilla. But when Kamryn was on her half, Lauryn wanted more. So Hugh made her the other half and didn't cut it this time. He went to hand it to her and she snatched it from his hand and took a BIG bite out of it!!! I went to get the camera and she said 'I like tacos!' lol. Too funny! And she ate the whole thing and didn't take it apart. I just can't believe how well they eat when we have them. Lauryn will eat some of the meat with spice but Kamryn won't. Likewise, Lauryn will eat salsa but Kamryn won't. So here's some photos.