Just managed to get both babies off to sleep after a coffee group, and Tareka is out fishing with a mate from the UK, so I have a couple of minutes to catch up.
Things are slowly getting back to normal after all the excitement of Christmas and Mapera is back into her normal routine without too much trouble. She is also almost toilet trained! We've been out with no nappy on a couple of times and she is learning to tell me when she needs to go, or taking herself to the loo if she knows where it is. I reckon we'll have it cracked before the end of the month!
Monday we did a big day trip to Miranda Hot Springs and I forgot to top up my sunscreen, so I am a bit burned. I've been slathering on the cold cream, and I don't seem to be peeling yet, so I think I've rescued it. I'm not taking any chances again though, so it's shirts with collars and long sleeves til I've completely healed.
Tuesday my boxing training started up again, but our trainer couldn't make it, so I opened the gym up for him and managed to do a solid 30 minutes of tai-bo style cardio before I collapsed! Ah well, I've been lazy for a month, so I reckon I can do an hour tonight. Weight seems to be slowly decreasing, and I am trying to watch the food intake. It does help being hot, so I'm not feeling hungry, I'm drinking a lot more water and I'm out and about more.
My projects are ticking over, and I've just had another batch of arty photos printed, so I'm going to try framing them ready for the stall. The woolly hats are also still being made, just taking a bit longer about it.
I really should be writing thank you letters for the girls' Christmas presents, but I keep getting distracted when I sit down at the computer! At least it means I've managed a new blog post for those of you interested enough to read it!
Kaitereo continues to develop very quickly, she had learned how to roll from her back to her front already and she's kicking her legs trying to move. She's started going round in circles on her tummy, so I reckon she may crawl sooner than Mapera did. Mapera is a little angel, she is getting very good at patiently explaining what she wants, instead of having a tantrum, but tiredness or hunger seems to override that.
I was intending to get onto starting my website this month, in order to sell stock in between markets, but my friend Liz is going back to work for a few months, and I've agreed to look after her 2 boys full time, so I will have even less time during the day to do anything. I'm also waiting to hear from Black Magic Tackle about doing piece work for them, which I will need to do training for, so it looks like the website will get put back again!
We're also expecting another influx of visitors at the end of the month, so I can't see me getting anything extra done for a long time!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Party time!
Over a month since the last post, and we've just been spending the time preparing for the arrival of family. My brother Tom arrived on the 8th Dec, and Uncle Rowland arrived on 9th; Mum and Dad arrived on 10th December and it's been all go ever since.
Uncle Rowland was only here for a few days, so we all got together at my in-laws for a family meal on Dad's
birthday. I've not seen Uncle Rowland for 27 years, so it was lovely to catch up and spend time with him. He is technically only Dad's half-brother, but he's so like all the Kohn boys, you wouldn't think it! We played the guitar and sang, and Uncle Rowland told lots of cool stories about him and Dad and their antics as boys and young men. Dad really enjoyed having him here, and we plan to head over to Taz to stay with him in a couple of years, when both the girls are old enough to appreciate it a bit more.
After we saw Uncle Rowland off, we had to prepare for Dad's big party on Saturday 15th. We were having a Hangi, so the meat had to be bought, the veg collected, the cake ordered. Friday was a frantic day with the men-folk digging the pit and laying the fire til late into the night.
Saturday morning it was a hive of activity, but we had the food in the ground by 1pm and could relax. I'd
made steamed pudding for the first time, and I was a bit worried ab0ut how they would turn out, as the recipe was a bit mental:
40 oz plain flour
20 oz butter
29 oz golden syrup
8 eggs
40g baking soda
30g vanilla essence
12oz hot water
Rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the rest of the ingredients and beat til smooth. Pour into 2 large tins which have been greased and lined with baking paper, then cover with baking paper and a foil lid and pop into the Hangi basket!
The recipe was to serve 50 people, so it's not as bad as it looks!!!
The food was perfect, we had a good turn out, and this morning we've managed to clean up pretty well, so there is only general house tidying to do. My brother is heading back to Hong Kong tonight (flying at midnight and getting back just in time to go to work! Crazy lad that he is.)
Once Tom's gone I think we can get on with the business of leaving Mum and Dad to babysit, and getting out of the house for a few trips out!
Roll on Christmas, I can handle anything now!
Uncle Rowland was only here for a few days, so we all got together at my in-laws for a family meal on Dad's
birthday. I've not seen Uncle Rowland for 27 years, so it was lovely to catch up and spend time with him. He is technically only Dad's half-brother, but he's so like all the Kohn boys, you wouldn't think it! We played the guitar and sang, and Uncle Rowland told lots of cool stories about him and Dad and their antics as boys and young men. Dad really enjoyed having him here, and we plan to head over to Taz to stay with him in a couple of years, when both the girls are old enough to appreciate it a bit more.
After we saw Uncle Rowland off, we had to prepare for Dad's big party on Saturday 15th. We were having a Hangi, so the meat had to be bought, the veg collected, the cake ordered. Friday was a frantic day with the men-folk digging the pit and laying the fire til late into the night.
Saturday morning it was a hive of activity, but we had the food in the ground by 1pm and could relax. I'd
made steamed pudding for the first time, and I was a bit worried ab0ut how they would turn out, as the recipe was a bit mental:40 oz plain flour
20 oz butter
29 oz golden syrup
8 eggs
40g baking soda
30g vanilla essence
12oz hot water
Rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the rest of the ingredients and beat til smooth. Pour into 2 large tins which have been greased and lined with baking paper, then cover with baking paper and a foil lid and pop into the Hangi basket!
The recipe was to serve 50 people, so it's not as bad as it looks!!!
The food was perfect, we had a good turn out, and this morning we've managed to clean up pretty well, so there is only general house tidying to do. My brother is heading back to Hong Kong tonight (flying at midnight and getting back just in time to go to work! Crazy lad that he is.)
Once Tom's gone I think we can get on with the business of leaving Mum and Dad to babysit, and getting out of the house for a few trips out!
Roll on Christmas, I can handle anything now!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tempus Fugit
November already, and not long til my parents arrive from the UK for a 3 week stay. Dad turns 60 this year, so he'll be here for a big party, along with his brother from Tasmania and my brother from Hong Kong - what an international family we are!
We're going to put down a Hangi for him, which is pretty cool, as Tareka hasn't done it before, so it's a bit of a "coming of age" thing for him to learn how.
Liz and I did our first market stall, and although it wasn't a great success financially, it was good to see how it all works and how we can improve things for the December stall. This one was in Waiuku, and very small so we didn't expect to do very well. Next one is in Pukekohe (bigger town) and has been going a lot longer, so there will definitely be more people there. I've been knitting up a storm, and now have my knitting machine set up so I'll have a decent amount of stock by then too.
The girls are both fine, Mapera is growing up so fast, she's a right little chatterbox (yes, yes just like her mother!), and Kaitereo has started smiling and cooing at us most of the time.
The garden continues to thrive, I'll be adding pictures to the Great Garden Adventure soon.
We're going to put down a Hangi for him, which is pretty cool, as Tareka hasn't done it before, so it's a bit of a "coming of age" thing for him to learn how.
Liz and I did our first market stall, and although it wasn't a great success financially, it was good to see how it all works and how we can improve things for the December stall. This one was in Waiuku, and very small so we didn't expect to do very well. Next one is in Pukekohe (bigger town) and has been going a lot longer, so there will definitely be more people there. I've been knitting up a storm, and now have my knitting machine set up so I'll have a decent amount of stock by then too.
The girls are both fine, Mapera is growing up so fast, she's a right little chatterbox (yes, yes just like her mother!), and Kaitereo has started smiling and cooing at us most of the time.
The garden continues to thrive, I'll be adding pictures to the Great Garden Adventure soon.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Project List
I just read back over my old posts, and I think I need to make another project list:
- Knitting - still on the Pixie Hoods as I have loads of wool! My midwife gave me some tougher carpet wool, so that may get made into slippers instead.
- Sewing - Reusable gift wrap is the main focus ready for selling on the stall. I've cut up all the spare fabric I had that was big enough, and now need to iron it and sew it up. I'll try and get that done before the first stall, so I think I'll be getting the old sewing machine out tonight.
- Greetings cards - I've made a big batch of Christmas cards, and have envelopes and plastic bags for all of them, just need to finish off the Christmas tree ones with a little star and I'm all set. Once these are sold, I'll get more materials for another batch.
- Scrapping - I've been given some lovely girly papers and embellishments by a fellow scrapper for my birthday, so I'm going to print out a big copy of this picture of the girls and put that in their scrapbook.
- Mainly Music - this term's theme is Body and Beat and I'm using an old program so everyone knows it! It's designed to get everyone up and moving a bit more.
- Toy Library - I am no longer on the committee, but I haven't been down to hire toys or do a voluntary duty for ages, so I'm popping in on Saturday to rectify this.
Life with 4 children?
Yesterday my darling friend Jude was sick, so I looked after her 2 kids for the morning. Cheyenne is 3, and Kiowa is 1, so with my two being 2 and 7 weeks, I had quite a brood! I borrowed Jude's van as there was no way they would all fit in my car, and bless them, they were little angels. We went to music (where I danced around at the front as usual), then went home and played in the garden til lunch time.
I learned a lot about negotiation, and as long as Mapera was copying Cheyenne she was happy. Kiowa had a great time just pushing a trolley around the garden, and he danced all the way through lunch! I don't think I could cope with 4 so close together in age, but it got me thinking about the idea of having another 2 later on. Maybe once Mapera is at Kindy. I think I'd cope, but it means I'd have to go through childbirth twice more...argh! Anyone got any tips on increasing the chance of having twins? If I had twins, I could have a c-section and get Tareka to stay home while I recover from the operation - woo!
Mind you, while Mapera still has an afternoon sleep, I do get a few hours a day when they are both sleeping, so that probably wouldn't happen if I had more kids!
Ask me again in about 12 months...
Projects:
Christmas cards are just about done, I just have to add a star to the ones with Christmas trees on. I have a few Pixie hoods to sell, but I don't have enough fabric to make bonnets yet, and to be honest the patterns look a bit confusing, so I may rope Mum into helping me with the first one to see how hard they are.
Liz has a load of stuff to sell, apparently. We still have more re-usable gift wrap to make, and I need to print out some posters and price lists with our new logo on! Will probably post again once we've done our first market, wish me luck!
I learned a lot about negotiation, and as long as Mapera was copying Cheyenne she was happy. Kiowa had a great time just pushing a trolley around the garden, and he danced all the way through lunch! I don't think I could cope with 4 so close together in age, but it got me thinking about the idea of having another 2 later on. Maybe once Mapera is at Kindy. I think I'd cope, but it means I'd have to go through childbirth twice more...argh! Anyone got any tips on increasing the chance of having twins? If I had twins, I could have a c-section and get Tareka to stay home while I recover from the operation - woo!
Mind you, while Mapera still has an afternoon sleep, I do get a few hours a day when they are both sleeping, so that probably wouldn't happen if I had more kids!
Ask me again in about 12 months...
Projects:
Christmas cards are just about done, I just have to add a star to the ones with Christmas trees on. I have a few Pixie hoods to sell, but I don't have enough fabric to make bonnets yet, and to be honest the patterns look a bit confusing, so I may rope Mum into helping me with the first one to see how hard they are.
Liz has a load of stuff to sell, apparently. We still have more re-usable gift wrap to make, and I need to print out some posters and price lists with our new logo on! Will probably post again once we've done our first market, wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Up and at 'em
Well it's been a fairly productive week. Liz and I got together over the weekend and made a start on the reusable gift wrap for our first stall. We're booked into a local market on the first Saturday in November, so I need to get on with finishing my Christmas cards, and Pixie hoods. I also got a letter published in the local paper! I'll copy and paste it at the end of this post for anyone wanting to read it.
Finally, I joined a boxing club in an effort to get fit. A local fella has opened a free boxing club just literally at the end of my street, so I've joined to do the training twice a week. I'm not going to be sparring, but he's keen for people to join up for fitness reasons, so me and my buddy Jude are going on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for an hour. We went for the first time this week, and we're both suffering now!! We did skipping, crunches, squats and lunges, cardio-boxing and various other "shadow-boxing" techniques. I surprised myself with how much I COULD do, but man I'm sore today, and it's on again tonight!
We're also going to make the effort to get the kids out to a local park on a Saturday or Sunday (depending on the weather) to have a game of footy or frisbee.
Roll on weight loss!
Here's the letter I wrote in response to an article about the little estate I live on:
Finally, I joined a boxing club in an effort to get fit. A local fella has opened a free boxing club just literally at the end of my street, so I've joined to do the training twice a week. I'm not going to be sparring, but he's keen for people to join up for fitness reasons, so me and my buddy Jude are going on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for an hour. We went for the first time this week, and we're both suffering now!! We did skipping, crunches, squats and lunges, cardio-boxing and various other "shadow-boxing" techniques. I surprised myself with how much I COULD do, but man I'm sore today, and it's on again tonight!
We're also going to make the effort to get the kids out to a local park on a Saturday or Sunday (depending on the weather) to have a game of footy or frisbee.
Roll on weight loss!
Here's the letter I wrote in response to an article about the little estate I live on:
Dear Sir/Madam
Not, as you may think, to applaud Mr. Davis on his fantastic commitment to youth (which I do), but to voice my objection to the first 2 paragraphs describing Hamilton Estate as
“…a gang hang-out…an area where kids ape the American slums.
The streets are covered in litter and graffiti dots every available surface – fences, power boxes, even homes.”
I object most strongly to the area being compared to “American slums”, the area is green and bright, and dotted with small reserves, the houses still have decent sized gardens and the residents tend them most proudly.
The kids I have met have been polite, friendly and happy. I know all my neighbors well, and our children play together regularly. I have always been greeted by friendly faces when I walk around the area, and even given a few bags of peaches by one lovely lady.
I have seen graffiti I admit, but it has only ever been on unoccupied buildings, and is quickly painted over by owners as soon as it is noticed. The local rugby club building that Mr. Davis is making use of was only vandalized as no one was using it, and I honestly believe this will now change.
As for the “streets covered in litter” I have seen more litter in the stretch of
In short, labeling Hamilton Estate as the “bad area” of town will only make the people who live there feel undervalued as citizens of Waiuku, and serve to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. This little slice of heaven won awards as a model village when it was first built by the steel mill, and I for one am proud to be a resident of Hamilton Estate.
Yours faithfully
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