What I Love....

I'm a summer lover through and through, but i have just recently remembered that I have a little love affair on the side with Autumn. One of the things I love about Autumn is the stillness of the air (that is starting to cool) and the heat of the sun still going strong.

Needing to remind myself to 'stop and sniff the daisies' we popped out to Raglan (or Ragland as my LJ calls it) to take a deep breath of the sea air, run around on the beach, splash in some tepid pools left by the tide and eat fish n chips as the sun set. This little excursion out in creation did good things for the soul.

I need to remember in the hurry of life to stop and do more of this.

Time to get this Party Re-Started!

I feel a little shamed.

It has almost been a year(!!) since I last posted anything here.

WOW! how time flies....much too fast for my liking.

One of my new years resolutions is to post a little more regularly this year.

SO.....keep your eye out.....something new will be here soon.

Baby Thoughts

I was just having a little meander through the photos on our computer and came across a file named "LJ's Birth". They brought back lots of memories of that first day and week, along with the reality of having to do the whole labour thing again.
I felt quite tearful looking at the photos as LJ and I were seperated for 3 hours following his birth as I was transfered to the main hospital from the birthing unit.... he had made a bit of a mess. I still remember being in theatre and thinking....'damn this is just wrong, I should be bonding with my new bubba not lying here in this most dignified (NOT) position listening to the theatre stuff discuss family and work'. ( I know it could've been a hang of a lot worse....but still). I have a wishlist for this labour....if God will just cover 2 of the bases, I'll be stoked.
LJ bonded with his Daddy for those 3 hours, a bond which continues on even now. They have something a little extra special going on between them.
As most parents we did wonder how our the 2 and half year old JK would handle going from an only child to sharing his world with a little brother. Well we needn't have worried.....look at the photo I found ...............................

Update to List

Why am I blogging when I should be sewing binding on to the quilt????
Very good question.....on which shows I either have a short attention span or I have a serious issue with multi-tasking!!
Anyway.......

Things done off my list......

#2 - Finish knitting JK's hat (I just pulled back about 10 lines as I found a stitch round the wrong way and it just annoyed me!)
#10 - Organise JK's birthday ON TIME to avoid stress


Things that nearly done:


#1 -FINISH JK's Quilt....very urgent

Oh and I had a divergent moment on the way through my list of to-do's and made a Kete Pikau (Maori for Woven backpack) for my hubby. I dyed it black and wine in colour and it was my first unsupervised (by the expert, Tia) effort at making one.

Pictures to come!

Lists Lovely Lists

I like lists! Small ones, big ones, official ones, lists on scrap pieces of paper, lists in my head, lists everywhere. They help me to keep all the stuff floating in my head in order AND are useful for ensuring I achieve something concrete in my day.
So in following my fav blogging Mum's I thought it may very well be time to publish a list

Here's what I NEED (and want) to achieve in the next little while!

1. FINISH JK's Quilt....very urgent
2. Finish knitting JK's hat (I just pulled back about 10 lines as I found a stitch round the wrong way and it just annoyed me!)
3. Finish knitting little Bubba cardigan (to add to my little collection of 'new' baby clothes)
4. Finish knitting my poncho
5. Add buttons to LJ's knitted jacket
6. Learn to knit longies and socks (Karen is my source of knowledge)
7. Sew two fabric bags as pressies for my twin sisters' birthdays in June
8. Sew some little baby nappies with scrummy material from Sarah @ Greenbeans
9. Knit another little Bubba cardigan for a friend's bubba due in July
10. Organise JK's birthday ON TIME to avoid stress
11. Finish reading 2 books that are in progress
12. Learn to crochet (mummy help!!.....maybe start a blanket of blocks so it's attainable)
13. Clean my oven....ICK! (I dislike this job with great intensity.....maybe get hubby to do it while I supervise)t
14. Organise a box of interesting activities for the kiddos on rainy days
15. Sort through the multitudes of photos on our computer and delete the bung ones

I think my list could go on for a little longer but 15 things will keep me busy for a bit. Will report back as things are done just for the satisfaction of seeing the progress for myself.

28 Years Ago..........

.................on the 3rd of August I came into this world a few weeks earlier than expected..........
My first language was Dutch as my Mama and Papa had only arrived in NZ 6 months earlier from The Netherlands.
We lived in Auckland in a little street named Onedin Place. Now it just so happens that this is the same street that my friend Jess' husband Javi was bought up in. In fact we were bought up with a few other kids that I still keep a finger on where they are at in life.

I have lived in many places in the upper half of the North Island and now 28 years on I am married to my darling Ken, I have 2 beautiful boys, JK and LJ. I live in Hamilton, 20 -30 minutes away from the rest of my direct family. Life is great and God is good.

On my actual Birth Day my hubby took me out for dinner which was FUN! It took us a large walk around the resturant block in Hamilton to finally make a choice! I have no dislikes (except for BAD QUALITY FOOD) so making a choice is rather difficult. Ken had never tried Thai so we stopped in at the Thai Village Restaurant. We had fun just chatting and enjoying our meal.

I had some lovely texts and emails from my dear friends from NZ and other destinations in world. I just had to SMILE (even though my kids had been sick all week and I had for half the week).

On Sunday my family came to celebrate my birthday. My Mum and one of my sister's organised lunch so that I wouldn't have to do anything. My Mum made me an Apple Tart which is a bit of a family tradition.
My Family gave me cards with special heart warming words.



My Hubby and kids bought me a pair of new sneakers/runners which is FAB as I have a bad back and need good cushioning when out and about on Concrete. The rest of the family put together so that I could buy a watch.........LOL I may actually turn up to something on time!!!
It was lovely just to hang out with them for a few hours over lunch. It's always an interesting mix as I am the eldest and the youngest are twins who are 9 years old. I have a total of 5 siblings. But I do so love having them all around and my kids just love their Oma and Opa, Aunties and Uncles.

So here's photo to finish it of............... Me, my new shoes, JK and my big little brother JJ

Comparisons and other such murmurings

I was just pondering today upon the way we, as parents and as a society, seem to be in a constant state of comparing ourselves, our children, our lifestyles, our skills etc etc with others.
I considered the fact that comparing oneself to another can be quite damaging to one's stability as a 'whole person' because whose 'ideals' are we comparing ourselves (or others) to?

I remember reading a portion of Brendan Manning's book "Abba's Child", he explained how our need to compare ourselves to some arbitrary worldly standard (basically being far to worried what everyone else thinks of us) causes us much grieve and insecurity. He goes on to say that if we were only worried about whether we are right in the sight of God and concerned about what he thinks and where we belong than so much of this insecurity will be a thing of the past.

Now there is a point to all this :-) .................
I often have people say to me, "oh your boys look so alike" OR "he's just like his brother". And then I have my own self-talk where i compare my child to someone else's child or some standard that isn't really founded in much. AND then there's the "baby olympics" that goes on amongst friends and acquaintances.........

So as I was pondering these things I went back through some photos and found some "similar age" photos of our boys to see whether they really look alike. This is what I found................. (JK (born 2004) on Left, LJ (born 2006) on Right)


On Their Birth Day




3 Months Old





8 Months Old




And I concede they are similar!!
But I work hard not to fall into the trap of comparing them (not saying that I won't!), they are their own little people with their own God given talents and gifts and personality. And I have been inspired by Rach from Intricate Simplicity to foster my children's interests and provide them opportunities to explore their little groove in life.

I think I might have written this blog for my own benefit :-)
But feel free to join in with my rambling thoughts.

Celebrate the uniqueness in your own life and then in those around you. Together we bring different colour, texture and depth to the painting of life. OH how bland it would be if we were all the same or too similar.