December Update

Oh boy - I am not good at keeping this updated! Oh well, I am sure no-one is reading anyway lol!

On 1 November Erin turned 6. She has now been at school for over a year. She absolutely adores school and has learnt so much - more than I could ever teach her (I would never have the patience!). She got an excellent end of year report - I am so proud of her.

On 15 December Lauren turned 3. I must admit I have some severe "baby pangs" a few weeks before her birthday. I think it was due to my "baby" turning 3 and when Erin turned 3 I wasn't too far from delivering Lauren but this time around there was no new baby to look forward to. Thankfully the baby pangs have gone and even if they hadn't there would not be anything I could do about it seeing as Dean has been fixed - lol! I am very happy and content with my 2 girls now - I always wanted 2 children and 2 girls if I could so I have been very blessed. Lauren will be starting kindergarten on 8 February next year.

The past few months have gone by so fast. We are now only a week away from Christmas. I am looking forward to it a lot and can't wait for the girls to open all their presents. The next big event after that will be my mother-in-law's 80th birthday in January. We are hosting the party for that so that will keep me busy!

I probably won't be on again before Christmas so Merry Christmas to anyone who happens to read this.

Take care.

Love Christine

A much needed break!

Dean and I went away to Martinborough this past weekend. It was the first time we had been away on our own since our honeymoon back in February 2000 and I got pregnant that time! No worries about that happening again thanks to Dean's vasectomy hahaha! As much as I love my girls I also love my husband very much and it was fantastic to spend some time together like that. It also helped to know that the girls were with their Nan who they love so much. It is so easy as a mother to devote all of your time to your children and while that is not a bad thing you do need to remember you are also a wife/partner and owe it to yourself and your partner to put being a mother on the backburner for a while.

If you are heading over to the Wairarapa I can recommend staying at the Pinot Villas in Martinborough and dining at Saluté in Greytown.

Remembering Sept 11 2001 and Capt. Thomas Moody

It was actually the morning of September 12th in New Zealand when the world seemed to change. Dean and I woke up and on the radio they were talking about the deaths of JFK and Princess Diana and various other sad moments in history. We immediately wondered what on earth had happened and turned on the television to see the most shocking thing we have ever seen - planes crashing in to the World Trade Center towers. Erin was less than a year old at the time and I was glad she was not old enough to understand or ask me questions - how could you explain that?

This year 2996 bloggers are each remembering one victim from this awful day in history.

I wish to remember Capt. Thomas Moody. A man I never met or knew of until a few weeks ago but whose face will now never leave my mind. Capt. Moody lived in Stony Brook, NY and was 45 years old. He was a fire fighter and died in the World Trade Center doing his job. Here is a tribute someone gave about him:

Captain Thomas Moody loved to give people "the elbow." He would be telling a joke, kidding someone, and if they didn't get it right away, "he would give you the elbow in the ribs," said his wife, Maureen. "He loved to tease."Captain Moody also had a certain way with names. His daughter Deirdre's first-grade teacher, Mrs. Fear, became Mrs. Afraid. Mr. McDonald became Mr. Arby's. And when he was growing up in Brentwood, on Long Island, his younger sister, Lorraine, became "the secret helper.'' "Whenever he wanted to get my sister to do something, he'd call her his secret helper, and he would con her into doing these little favors for him," recalled Frank Moody, an older brother.But for all his teasing, and (literal) ribbing, Captain Moody, 45, was quiet at heart. An 18-year veteran of the Fire Department, he was working to be transferred to the hazardous materials team, so he could make full use of his degree in chemical engineering; he started his career as a chemical engineer. He still got consulting work as an engineer, but his adventurous side was most fulfilled working in the Fire Department. "He was in probie school when we met," said Mrs. Moody. "He was so excited about it, so content."

Spring Has Sprung!

Okay the experts say technically spring isn't until 23 September but as far as I am concerned it is the 1st of September today, it hasn't rained for 5 whole days and it is warm enough not to have the heater on and to have a window open so it IS spring! I love spring probably even more than summer. It is nice to see flowers starting to bloom and it is warm enough to sit in the sun but not get too hot.

Erin was very excited today when I told her it was September as it means her birthday is getting ever closer (2 months to be exact). Of course Lauren had to pipe up "And then me!!!". My kids are growing up too fast. Erin will be 6 soon and then Lauren will be 3 not long after that. Both girls already have big plans for their birthdays - how can a 2 year old be old enough to plan a birthday I ask you??!! Thankfully being the bargain shopper that I am I have already bought a lot of the presents so the wallet won't be hit too hard.

Check out this giraffe we saw at Wellington Zoo last week. Have you ever been so close to an amazing animal like this! Lauren loved it and was trying to feed it a leaf (that's the top of her head you can see on the bottom right of the photo). Of course the giraffe made me think of wee Allie Scott who passed away almost 2 years ago. She loved giraffes. She should be the same age as Lauren now. This pic is for you Allie!

Lauren

Well of course no blog would be complete without a special blog about my other lovely daughter - Lauren. Lauren was our "surprise baby" in a few ways. We were planning on having a second child but not quite as soon as she came along and also when I did the home pregnancy test I thought the test and not worked properly. I did the usual pee thing and put it on the bathroom vanity and after a few minutes there were no lines at all so I thought I had a dud test - grrr!!! I really didn't think I was pregnant anyway but to get no result was really annoying. I picked up the test to throw it away and glimpsed 2 lines on the other side - I had the test upside down! I was so excited and ran down the hall letting out a rather loud expletive only to be told to "shush" by Dean as someone was at the door so I had to spend a minute or two jumping around the hall until Dean was free. I was so happy. Once again the pregnancy started off a little bumpy but everything soon settled down and it was a normal pregnancy which was such a relief. The only downside was 9 months of morning sickness again and Lauren was breech so it was another c-sect. She was delivered on 15 December 2003 and weighed 6 lb 3 oz - another small but perfect girl. I think the breech position was a warning of her future stubborness. Oddly enough her strong personality and "terror streak" are something I really love about her. Sure it can be hard at times but she is just an amazing wee kid and I wouldn't change a thing. I worried when I thought about having another child if I could ever love another child as much as I loved my first. Of course as any mother of more than one child will tell you this is not something you need to worry about. The minute I held Lauren in my arms I fell totally in love with her and now the love in my heart had multiplied for my 2 beautiful daughters. Today Lauren had her first visit to the emergency department as she had dislocated her arm. I cried for her - it broke my heart. Here we were with a pretty minor thing but it made me think of my friends who had been through so much with their children - my friend Diane who had to see her child through open heart surgery at the age of 5 months and my friend Amber who gave birth prematurely to her twin sons and had to watch one of them die and worry about her surviving son as well. I am glad to say Diane's son and Amber's surviving son are doing well. How hard it is to watch your child sick or in pain - no matter how minor it may be. Lauren, I love you very, very much and my biggest wish for you is a long and happy and healthy life. I can't wait to see the amazing person I am sure you are going to be. Love Mummy. XXXX

Corrina

I don't want to light another candle. I followed wee Allison Soctt's story almost from day one and still read Jenny's posts almost 2 years after Allie became an angel. Now another young child here in New Zealand is about to lose her life - this time to a tumour. Corrina is not even 2 years old. I look at my girls and I don't know what to think. Why do young children have to experience pain and die? I just don't get it. I don't know what to think and I don't know what to type. I am too, too sad. I don't want to light another candle.

http://corrinastepheni.piczo.com/?cr=3&rfm=y

A sad update - on 16 July young Corrina got her angel wings. Rest in peace sweet girl.

Erin

Erin is my 5 year old daughter (or 5 and a half as she always reminds me - that extra half is very important!). Tonight when the house was quiet and I was the only one awake I heard her crying. She was in bed and had sore legs (over tired no doubt). I gave her some medicine and rubbed her legs and then she came down to the lounge with me and lay in my arms. My little girl has gotten big! I had a difficult pregnancy with her. I was lucky enough to get pregnant on our honeymoon with her. I was over the moon and totally ignorant about being pregnant when I got that faint positive line on the home pregnancy test in March 2000. A few weeks later I came crashing back to reality when I started to bleed and was told I was going to miscarry this little beating sac I saw on the screen. I was devastated and scared - scared of waiting to miscarry. What would it be like? Would it hurt? Thankfully the doctors were wrong and I did not miscarry. I had more scary moments throughout that pregnancy and was diagnosed later on with placenta previa. Erin was born on 1 Nov 2000 by planned c-section and weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. She was so tiny and so perfect. I couldn't believe that Dean and I had created this little miracle. Now here we are 5 and a half years later. She is an amazing child. So outgoing and happy. She can also be a little madam at times but what 5 year old girl isn't! Holding her in my arms tonight brought a lot of memories rushing back. While in some ways I long for it all to slow down and for her to stop growing up so fast I also can't wait to see what the future will bring for her - good things I hope. I hope she will always know how much I love her and how I will always be here for her. I love you Erin and no matter how big you get you will always be my little girl. Love Mummy. XXXXXXXXXX