Happy new year, and happy easter

In case I don't get around to sending Easter greetings, I am adopting the most efficient method and sending out my best wishes now. Those on the Christmas card list may receive the card I wrote in December sometime around April so please backdate any information as pertaining to the 2010 year. As for those who kindly gave us a Congratulations on your new daughter present (Dec 2009), your Thank you note is included in your Christmas card that may or may not,as I said, arrive. In Easter.
So much for all the resolutions. The main resolution I made this year is To Blog. Weekly.
There was also a few other half hashed resolves - No purchasing without premeditation, Wear more dresses (and Peta Mathias says a woman over thirty should NOT leave the house without lipstick), Get all tax returns in on time, and one rash Christmas day decision to only ever drink Moet. Sadly for the champagne/lipstick industry, those have faded like the fizzy from an open bottle of Lindauer.
There is something about a New Year that makes you want to up your game. And read self improvement books. As a very-happy-to-be-at-home-mother, I am resolving to enjoy my blessed life and revel in the chaos and challenge.
(Something about reading self improvement books that make you suddenly start spouting conversation like 'I'm resolving to embrace the now')

Top books read this New Year
You Sexy Mother, by Jodie Hedley-Ward
Don't sweat the small stuff, and its all small stuff, by Richard Carlson
Crucial Confrontations, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler
Rework - change the way you work forever, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
and next I'm working myself up for Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (The byline is very enticing : "what the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not")

Meanwhile my babies are delightful and well, not really babies any more.

Lots of anecdotes!

The boys were discussing Father Christmas the other day in the car, after the Man in Red had visited Play Centre. Little Brother told Big Brother ' Actually, there are two Father Christmases'
BB 'Yes, actually, there are 2 Father Christmases. I know that. There is a real Father Christmas and a (pre)tend one.'
Me. 'How can you tell?'
BB. 'Because (pause) their eyes are different.'
LB. 'Yeah.'
BB. 'And they have different beards. The pretend Father Christmas has a pretend beard and the real Father Christmas has a real one.'
LB. ' Yeah. I know that.'

We are right in the christmas spirit, with a beautiful Advent calendar, and many discussions on what the real man might bring. BB wants a bakugan toy. LB wants some chocolate money. My money is on new undies.

Big Brother school nativity play was the highlight of last week. He practised the christmas carols for weeks, then was casted - to his absolute delight - as that core Nativity character - the stable bunny.
'I put my hand up , and no-one else wanted to be the bunny!' he told me in disbelief - 'they all wanted to be sheep!'
And what a cute bunny he was in his all-in-one white bunny costume with pink floppy ears and cottontail. He was in character the whole time, his little bunny paws cocked as he sang 'Jesus, our lord and Saber'. (I'm not sure if thats as in sabre tooth tiger, or light saber!)

LB continues to impress me as a true thinking man of the world. While visiting the public swimming pool, I stressed the need to visit the bathrooms before getting into the water. As we got in, 6 hulky teenage boys got out, having being banished from playing rugby in the kiddies pool. ' I hope those boys didn't pee in this pool!' Little Brother told me.

And Little Miss 1 year old - is very pleased with her latest skill - walking. Shes all around the house, investigating the temptations - pulling magnets off the fridge, starting and stopping the dishwasher, unpacking the drawers and cupboards. She has also found the computer mouse and often is found under the desk with the wireless mouse, probably trying to work out how it works.

These days are so busy I don't know where the time goes. But I wouldnt change a minute for all the presents in the real santa's sack. Merry Christmas, and thanks for sharing this year and these sporadic blogs with me.

Mother of the Week

I got a polite note in Big brothers lunch box last week - 'He is eating all or most of his lunch at morning tea time. Perhaps he needs more for Lunch' How embarrasing!! Sending my child to school with not enough food. But then I checked the lunch box which was crammed, as suspected, with crusts. So we had a little chat about crusts and now he has food for morning tea and food for lunch. Yesterday he reported 'I ate all my crusts today, Mum!'
'Great' I said.
'And I ate all my sandwiches too!'
'Really great' I replied.
Little Brother wasn't quite so easy to convince. I heard him mutter from the back seat 'I'd like to see your lunchbox'.

Oh, the joys of summer uniform. Big Brother didnt need to bring home most of his winter uniform as he's conveniently lost most of it somewhere. He jumped into his short sleeved shirts and shorts happily, but the sandals have been a trial.
First I took him shopping 'for a good pair to last' and baulked at the $100 price tag.
Then we were given a pair 5th hand which sadly decided to break on the first day. I traced his foot and took it to the big red shed for a bargain fix. I grew up with hand-me-downs that always had a bit of room for growth, but I over estimated. He could fit both feet into one. So I returned and exhanged for a smaller size. But still no joy. After he tried them on and flapped around in them a bit he solemnly suggested 'Perhaps we could get some the SAME size as my foot?'
Good idea. Wished I'd thought of it.

Little brother has started planning his birthday cake. Only 7 months to go but it's obviously been on his mind. Yesterday driving he said 'Mum - can I have a Crayfish on my cake? A Dead one.' BB said -' You really want a dead crayfish on your birthday cake?'
LB -thinking, thinking - ' Yeah, I want a crayfish thats a candle on my cake. A dead one.'

Hello November

I admit it, Blog, I've been avoiding you.
Don't take it personally , though, you are too closely related to Email, whom I am also avoiding. (You are actually much cooler than Email to hang out with, but don't tell her. She'd have a complete Spam)
It's just being around Email means being constantly reminded of what I have yet to do (and I don't need a computer to do that, all I need to do is open my eyes inside my house).
And as for Facebook, he just reminds me of all the people I should be in contact with.
I wonder in 5 or 20 years time what our kids will be doing while avoiding what they should be doing?

Life is a Drama

As the school term draws to a close, a few details of Big Brothers school life are starting to dribble down. Its production week next week, and they are doing Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.
We asked who he was in the show.
'I'm a fruit seller'
'And do you have any lines?'
Pause. Pained look of concentration. Inspiration hits:
'CARPETS, CARPETS, COME AND GET YOUR CARPETS'
'So you are a fruit seller?' I asked a little confused
Pause.
'No, those are Hamish's lines!'
I can't wait to see him on stage. I hope he remembers what he's selling and doing, but one thing is for sure, it will be hilarious.

Meanwhile baby girl is pulling herself up to stand at the furniture. She is also standing independently for a couple of seconds (until she realises how clever she is). I have forgotten how fast this 6 months goes - from a baby in arms, to sitting, then crawling, standing and soon, running away from me. She is less a baby and more one of the kids everyday. The other day the boys raced off into their room and closed the door, not realising she was following at stop quadripedal speed. As the door closed she let rip with a howl that nearly flattened the house. I opened the door and Flick, off went the noise and into the room she trip-tropped. She will not be ignored or left behind. She has truely claimed her place in this family and it will not be at the bottom of the pecking order.

Working Theories

Little Brother at 3 is making sense of the world. In three short years a lot of information has been downloaded into that fizzing brain, and it's only now that he can tell us all his working theories on How It All Works. He's a little scientist, proposing If/Then hypotheses and putting them through the most rigorous testing process that he can possibly think of - asking his Mum.
'Mum, If a house is broken Then you have to leave it.'
(Impressive, I thought, he's been picking up on a bit of current affairs, earthquakes....)
'Really! ' I replied 'And what do you think could break a house? '
'Oh, if some-one blows it over'.
(...or he's been reading Three Little Pigs).

Friday nights have become Pizza and Movie Night - I make bases and the boys experiment with different combinations - tuna, corn, cheese, sauce. Mostly ingredient islands piled high in the middle of a pizza continent. Then they have to agree on a movie to watch. Its a tense time of lengthy negotiations and international trading. Little Brother has a strong sense of justice and a long career in Peace Keeping ahead of him. 'If we watch Piglets movie tonight then we can watch Thunderbirds tomorrow night'. Big brother has a strong bent to drama - 'But (stomp) I NEVER get to watch Thunderbirds (run into room and slam door)!!!' and understands the power of emotional blackmail 'If we cant watch it then I wont be your friend'.
Through the flour dust and frantic rolling (not to mention shovelling mash in the direction of Little Girl) I am trying to encourage one boy be more assertive and the other to consider other peoples feelings. So much for an easy tea once a week.
Little Brother came to me with a brilliant idea the other night - 'Hey, Mum, If we had TWO pizza and movie nights a week then we could have TWO pizza and movie nights!'

Learning Curves

Little Miss 8 months has, after 2 weeks practising, perfected the crawl. She can spot a small discarded scrap of flotsam or jetsom or pasta on the carpet across the other side of the room, and she's off. As long as there are no obstacles- bean bags, brothers, or a super-annoying knee catching nightie - to conquer, she is a free baby. She is a mouth on four legs, leaving her snail trail of dribble as she goes. Favourite spot - under the table while we eat dinner - dribble tickling all our toes, and feasting.
She had her first morning in the sandpit today - and to my surprise 99.9% of the sand was still there when she had finished. She loved being amongst the other play centre kids and tolerated being sprayed with water, sand and tackle hugs. She sat in the circle at morning tea and listened to the story. Where has our baby gone?
Next step in her development agenda is pulling up to stand and she's already working on that one.

Mr 3 is learning to get along all day without his brother. He's worked out there are plus sides to being the big kid at home - play dates and treats with mum. Total control of the after lunch reading list. But it is hard work being both Kungfu Meerkats doing Kungfu in his imaginary games. He puts on his odd shoes and finds a cricket glove to wear while playing. His new best friends are a plastic guinea pig and a small knitted finger puppet that is a grey possum. At 2.45pm he climbs into the car eagerly. He loves to bowl into his brother's classroom and read their stories. The school bathrooms he told me are 'so jool'.(Cool).

Mr 5 is learning loads. So much he can hardly tell us what happens every day. When a friend asked what he did at school he replied. 'I do maths.' (Pause.) (Sigh.) ' I've got a LOT to learn'.
One evening last week he wore a Air New Zealand eye mask on his forehead because his 'brain hurt'. He has developed a number of allergies - 'I'm allergic to salad', he told us at dinner. He has learnt a number of new songs - a rousting top-of-the-lungs hymn called 'You Raise Me Up' (complete with arm actions), and a rap-style Grace which he rapped solidly all weekend. (He is going to a Catholic School). He must have learnt some pretty special other skills too, because the other night I overheard him playing with his toy phone: It rang. ' Hello?' he answered 'Is that you, Jesus?'