I did a dumb thing...

We had this wonderfully ripe pineapple you see and we are all mad on the stuff so two days running Bax and Izzie and I sat in the kitchen and ate and ate pineapple for about an hour. Except the second day we o.d. and Bax had to call it quits (pussy!) But Izzie and I just kept going. Well from then on Izzie started refusing her bottle, she was eating okay but when we offered her the bottle or the dummie she didn't want it at all and in fact cried everytime it touched her mouth. I have to admit it took us a while to catch on . What had happened was I had burnt her mouth and probly her tongue too by giving her so much pineapple.

We are well educated on pineapple because Granny heard about a new book that's out on the history of pineapple (I'd like to own this book by the way if anyone's asking). Anyway, apparently pineapple eats flesh. And you can die if you eat too much (too much is probly a truck load though - so no concerns for Izzie).

So we rang Nana Anna and Granny Di who are in London and they said savlon. Which we did. And it worked. But now Izzie is still refusing the bottle and I wonder if she is off milk all together thinking that it's the milk that makes her mouth hurt and not the pineapple.

On another hurting matter. I was itching my toe yesterday thanks to a kiss from a mossie and Bax said "Toes alright Mummy?" That's almost a full sentence and a caring one at that.

Just one thing to add...

Bax thinks birthdays and Christmas are one and the same or at least synergetically aligned. He is talking a lot about Santa at the moment (for obvious reasons) but in the same breath he will ask me to sing "Happy to you" which is Happy BIRTHDAY to you but Bax never says the Birthday bit. Then he'll start talking about candles and parpels (parcels remember) and cake "Little cakes" (Luddle Cay-kiss).

And one more thing too...there is nothing on earth that makes one happier and more joyful than having someone tell you how beautiful your children are - is there? So thank you to Auntie L for making my day.

Izzie eats biscuits

Bax on the horse at the gym Christmas Party

Doing it our own way.

We are making Christmas up as we go along. I'm happy to admit it. First, we couldn't decide what to call the old jolly man, we settled on Santa and now Bax is an expert. When I tried to sit on his knee tonight in a silly "who's going to read the story to whom?" game he said that he was Santa. A couple of days ago we were in the mall and he was pointing and shouting Santa Santa and I turned around and there was a elderly Muslim man wearing a long tunic and a very white beard - who see we're making it up as we go along.

Our Christmas tree is not even a tree, it's one of those green wire cones who get from the garden centre to grow vines up - and we've used wire twisty ties to cover it in decorations. At the base is the wax nativity Bax made at kindy and the "three wise santas" a santa babushka Gran picked up years ago in some dusty Eastern European market.

Bax and Izzie went to a Christmas Party at the Gym and had a terrific time - Bax rode a horse, Izzie ate bikkies.

And instead of driving up Franklin Road to look at lights we drove around to Skilgate Ave in Kelston where the predominantly Indian community have helped turn the entire (and I mean every single house) subdivision into a city of lights. I presume it started as a Diwali thing back in November but every one has got into it and the houses are covered in lights with Santas on roofs and reindeer with moving parts on the lawn.

For Christmas day we are going to Granny Rob Rob's sister's house and the guests of honour are a japanese couple. So of course we are having sushi - for Christmas dinner - as well as an array of Pacific inspired desserts from a cook book that Granny Rob and I both have and adore the contents of.

Speaking of Granny Rob and Sushi she tells a marvellous story of taking a japanese professor out for Sushi in Auckland and the guest said how much she loved it "Oooo I love that California sushi, so good - nothing like in japan - but very very good". So we are having the californian kind rather than the japanese kind.

For Christmas Eve we are having a few people here and I think I'll do tapas - can't see any reason why not.

Christmas is coming.

My first Christmas without being pregnant or breastfeeding since 2002!

I just thought of that.

Today is my last week of work for three weeks so from now the blog entries may get shorter but with more pictures!

We are going to do some camping, lots of eating, take the kids to the pool and maybe to snow planet to play in the fake snow (well it's real but a machine makes it rather than god!) We are going to have a nice grown up Christmas with Bax and Izzie being the only kids and then a fun fun crazy build up to New Years and New Years itself with heaps of kiddlets.

Both kids are having stockings. With lots of little things in them. Granny and Poppa and Auntie Pat are coming on Christmas Eve to help stuff them and to eat the carrots left out for the reindeer.

if i go off line for the next week Have a happy Festive Whatjimmicallit and Love Love Love to you all.

Hey and thanks for reading! We'll be back in a bit. (or as they say in media land Picture at 10)

I know it sounds like I've been into the Mulled Wine already but really I haven't!

Kiss.

Hearts: broken and bursting

This morning i had my heart broken. Bax is going through a tough time. He is very potty conscious (that's all I'm saying), he is not sleeping weel, he has a cough, he gets worked up, he has a lot to say, it is hot and humid. He woke up at 3 and slept with us the rest of the night.

I lay beside him at 7.30 and watched him as he slowly woke up. When he was almost fully awake he looked at me and said "Work?" i said yes i had to go to work today and he said in a very sharp but still drowsy voice "Bye bye!" i said that he and Daddy were taking me in the truck to work and then he would go off to Yvonne and kindy "Bon?" he said "Come?" he said putting his hand on mine. I had to say no i couldn't i had to go to work "Bye bye " he said again.

When they dropped me at work an hour later he said bye bye again, a little happier. then 'telephone? talk?" Then off he went to Yvonne's.

For lunch G and Ms Izz came and met myself and my friend Trinket. We went to the Grove which is a very posh and delicious restaurant across the road owned by a Samoan Chef and his American wife. Ms Izz sat in her backpack (she rides around on G's back like a proud little mahut). She hate expensive wafers and hot rolls and then duck. She loved chewing the drumbstick. She had two little bited of berry and cointreau gelato for dessert. She loved it all, the people and the noise and the food and having mummy and daddy and Trinket who for some reason she loves to bits, all together smiling at her. She really got the game that Trinket played with her - throwing the large linen napkin over her heard and waiting for her to pull it off. Everytime she reappeared she was giggling and cocking her head to one side (which is her trade mark - and I have checked her ears for invections which was my first tought as to why she does it - but they're fine).

Tomorrow is my last day at work until Jan 9 and we are all in need of a break. I can't wait to throw buckets of love at my son. Ms Izz too but Bax misses Mummy and i miss him.

Attack!!

Picture this: G with a fort of duvets, blankets, pillows etc in the middle of the lounge and a cushion in each hand, and Bax running at him only to be knocked back by the cushions, the two of them giggling and rolling around. Then Bax, all shaky cause he's so hyped up, goes running into the kitchen. We can't see him because he's behind the breakfast bar. There's silence for a good three minutes. Then he comes bolting out of the kitchen screaming like a crazed warrior with the oven glove across his body, one hand in each mitt and his arms outstreatched. He runs full tilt from the kitchen right at G.

It was the funniest thing because he'd obviously been hiding round there looking desprately for something he could use to get back at Daddy.

Also, his new word is Ummm. in respose to "Are you playing?" on the phone to me this morning he let out a long "Ummmmmmmmmm - um - yeah"

And as for Izzie, she is pulling herself up and holding herself there with one hand. She moves beautifully, just like she's read all the books on child development.

advent photos

Have you ever heard THIS part of the Christmas Story?

Little bits of the lovely advent festival are still floating around at home. We have a little candle (i bought it from the CATHOLIC shop which a treasure trove of odd things) with a fir wreath around the bottom. And we still have our St Nic bag of lollies, having one or two each night before teeth. And Bax keeps singing bits of the little song that goes with the Christmas Story and involves the regular managerie; oxen, donkey, dove, mouse, hippo. Hippo?! Yes you heard right Hippo!!

Every time we sing the little song he does the actions for each animal, ears for a donky, horns for an oxen and then he says "Hippo?" He is convinced that if there isn't a hippo in the Chirtmas story there should be.

Flowers!

We are in the middle of the era of the potty - with some success I should say - but Bax has discovered it is an excellent ruse to get out of going to bed.

Yesterday G bought Christmas lights and hung them all over the front of the house, with a big bunch of brightly coloured ones draped over the bush outside Bax' bedroom.

When Bax pulled the Potty ruse last night I got him out of bed and put the potty on the patio at the front of the house for him to sit on. When he saw the lights over the front of the house he couldn't believe his eyes - "Lights!" he cried. But when he saw the coloured ones on the bush he said "Flowers!"

We sat out there for a long time until the mossies forced us inside. Then we gave up on the potty (after a pee) and kneeled up on the couch together for ages looking at the "Flowers' twinkling on the bush outside the window.

Advent

Warning, this will be a story in two parts, words first as i am at work and wide awake (it is the middle of the day so i should hope so!0 and then pictures which i have to put on at home because that's where the technology is but i am always too tired to write by the time i get there!

This weekend was Bax' kindy Advent Festival (for those of you who are not Steiner-rites, we have festivals for EVERYTHING and celebrate Adventmore than Christmas, best not to ask why)

So off we went with our smartest clothes on and our basket of honey and banana muffins (with pneapple and coconut in too). All the children played in yvonne's lovely little kindy garden for a while at first while all the adults chatted. it was such a lovely blue day and all the little girls were wearing pink and white with lots of frill and tuile. Then the children were welcomed one by one into the front room where the tree was with all its red and gold decorations (the steiner community cover their trees with early Christian signs which look a bit pagan/egyptian - very striking).

The room was very quite and there were lots of candles and one of those silhouette lanterns with images of mary and joseph and the donkey. then Yvonne told the story of Mary and Joseph buying a vain and silly donkey and going to the long journey to Bethlehem to pay their taxes and of Jesus being born in the stable and all the children sang songs at various intervals thoughout the story with actions - one song about the donkey, then one about the ox and then one about the mouse who helped clean up the stable.

When the story was finished Yvonne gave each parent their childs work from the term including a little tableau made of wax opf Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus.

then all the children went on a procession singing Christmas carols, out of the house and around the garden adn in through the back door where there was a table laid out with a veritable corucopia of goodies, massive strawberries, cakes, biscuits, buns, grapes, pinapple, juice - it was heaving under the wait.

All the children sat around the table and all the adults stood around the outside serving them.

Bax did the procession with daddy in tow but happily sat next to the oldest girl at kindy (G says she's a bossy Princess) and ate and ate (including six choclate santa's - he can now get the tin foil wrapping off by himself which is a concern).

After the meal the children went back into the garden and all the way up the path a line of shoes had appeared. (Another bit of Steiner, You put your shoes out and if you have been good St Nicholas puts choclates and dried fruit in them, if you have been naughty Black peter puts coal in instead!). Each pair of shoes had been made by each child to match their feet and each pair was now filled with chocolates tied in bright red cellophane. Most of the kids including Bax put their shoes on and danced around the garden. G lay on the little hill in the middle and gave Izzie a bottle.

Then we all said good bye to Yvonne and went off to dinner with friends.

I wish you could all have been there to see such a wonderful celebration - a real Christmas with no commercial muck infecting it.

Child sized and gentle.