Crystal and Sam

Snippets of a first summer

2012-02-01T10:42:00.002+13:00

Sandy hands. The beach. Watermelon for the first time. Picnic blankets. Sunglasses. Exploring the back yard. Walks with Nanny and Papa. Meeting daddy for lunch. Swings. Ice blocks. Sunhats. Paddling pools. Little friends. Swims. Togs. Dinner outside.

So far so good.

Whale Bay

2012-01-29T14:43:00.001+13:00

Photos by Sam : )

treats

2012-01-28T22:50:00.001+13:00

if there is one way to make your primary class like you, it’s bringing treats. These are all ready for church tomorrow.

Anniversary number 5

2012-01-22T15:21:00.002+13:00

5 years already since our wedding day. Wow. Sam took the day off and we went on a little family adventure to the zoo (unfortunately we forgot the camera), and then had dinner with our boy at the lake.

You know what I am always going to be annoyed that we don’t have a photo together on our first anniversary, because I really want to have one every year so in 20 years time we have a cool collage to look back on. The only photo I have of our first anniversary is me in a bikini. (If only I could still wear a bikini).

Thanks a lot, Ma!

2012-01-14T14:53:00.000+13:00

Mum and Dad are sadly back in the Philippines. But on their last day, mum came across a chocolate trumpet in the freezer as she was cleaning it out. Next thing you know Preston has a death grip on it and holds onto that thing for a good 20 minutes at least. And screamed at any attempt to prise it from his grubby little hands. He ended up washing off in the sink with grandpa.

Family Reunion 2012

2012-01-09T14:45:00.000+13:00

The last time the 10 Judd children were all together was in 2004 for my cousin Amy’s wedding. Not too long ago really, considering they are spread out all over the world. But the time before was about 1986, at the last Judd family reunion. The family has certainly grown a lot since then, and this was the first time in my life I remember seeing my mum together in the same room with all her brothers and sisters.

Games, beach, waterhole, scavenger hunt, bush walk, pools, movie night, strobe light party, food food food, a blessing, a baptism, and a huge birthday bash for grandmother – the reunion pretty much covered it all. It is so great to be part of such a big family.

There was a lot of planning but it all came together and everyone had a great time.

We took hundreds of photos so I am going to make it easy on myself and only post two. Maybe I will try and post a few more later.

Christmas Day

2011-12-27T18:53:00.005+13:00

Preston's first Christmas has come and gone. Of course he didn't know what was happening, but I loved the look on his face when he sat in his high chair at the end of the long Christmas table, munching on his bread roll - it seemed to say "yeah, these are my people, I'm one of the gang, I belong here, eating my bread roll". He is such a cutie.

After a very rushed Christmas Breakfast with Sam's parents and brother, it was off to church. Then back home for a sleep, (for Preston that is, I was not so lucky) cooking, and presents. Preston was lucky to get new toys and books from aunty's, uncles, and grandparents - oh and us of course too.

The Christmas feast was at Lian's, where she had set a fabulous looking table for all 26 of us.

And just like that the day was over. Now it's a countdown to cousin Jackson's wedding on the 30th, then the big family reunion on the 4th...

Christmas treats vol. 6

2011-12-24T15:51:00.000+13:00

It wouldn’t be Christmas for the Ardern’s without a batch of marshmallow truffles or two. Sam and I struggled to make these for his staff, and then I watched in awe the next day as Lian whipped up a batch no problem. I didn’t think to take photos of the truffles by themselves, only once they were packaged up with some chocolates.

Christmas treats vol. 5

2011-12-23T11:26:00.003+13:00

Home made butterscotch sauce. I should have given it away tied up with a spoon, cause it’s so delicious you could eat it straight from the jar.

recipe

Melt 200 grams butter, 1 cup of cream, and 1 cup of brown sugar in a pot. Bring to the boil, then simmer while stirring for 5 minutes. The sauce will be quite runny, but thickens up as it cools. Delicious over icecream, sticky date pudding, or straight from the jar : )

Christmas treats vol. 4

2011-12-19T21:51:00.000+13:00

Holiday Hot Chocolate = hot chocolate mix, crushed candy cane, miniature marshmallows. Turns out baby food jars are the perfect size for a single serve.

Christmas treats vol. 3

2011-12-18T09:41:00.001+13:00

These Christmas tree brownies were cut, decorated, and packaged late Saturday night to give to our primary class on Sunday. Even though 11 year old boys probably do not care one little bit about decorated christmas tree brownies. But I liked the concept and needed an excuse to make them.

Sleeping beauty

2011-12-10T10:56:00.001+13:00

This is how I have found Preston his last couple of sleeps. He kicks the bars of the cot then falls asleep. Funny boy.

Christmas treats vol. 2

2011-12-09T10:15:00.003+13:00

Christmas puddings made out of mallowpuffs – an oldie but a goodie. So cute, don’t you think?

Awkward family photos (and a little bush walk)

2011-12-07T10:12:00.002+13:00

We kicked off our FHE on Monday with a little game of “who can lift up Paul”. Which resulted in numerous awkward family photos.

Followed by a bush walk and Christmas carolling (to ourselves) at Pirongia.

Rounded out with some roasted marshmallows over the gas cooker.

Good times Family!

after a few days of rain, the garden is looking good

2011-12-05T11:18:00.002+13:00

Labour weekend is the traditional time to plant your garden in New Zealand. We didn’t actually get plants in till a few weekends later – but hey they are in now and I am happy! Of course I keep forgetting about it so there has been a few midnight trips out to water the garden, or put down some slug slam because that’s what time I remember. I wonder if anyone has seen me out there in mum’s red crocs, pj pants, a big coat, and a headlamp, looking like a crazy person??

Our plants are still pretty small – but looking good. A few snaps below of the garden which currently has red cabbage, lettuce, spring onion, red onion, capsicum, cherry tomato, snow peas, cucumber, basil, and beans. I also have some sugar snap peas (so good in stir-fry) that I germinated and have just broken through the soil in their little containers. So I will transfer those to the garden soon.

Still quite a bit of room in there, so in a few more weeks I’ll plant some more lettuces etc so we have a bit of a rotation going on, and I don’t have 12 lettuces ready at once like I did a couple years ago.

Christmas treats vol. 1

2011-12-04T23:01:00.001+13:00

I saw this idea on pinterest and thought it was pretty cute, so I made some for our primary class on Sunday (seeing as Christmas is only 20 days away!) A giant jaffa for Rudolph's nose, and maltesers for the rest of the reindeer.

We also got our tree up over the weekend, visited the Tamahere market, and have been dancing around the lounge to Christmas carols with Preston. I love seeing his little face light up with joy. He has also been building up the courage to touch the pine needles - what a brave boy! All in all a pretty good weekend!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T14:21:00.002+13:00

Thanksgiving is of course an American holiday, so I have not been pigging out on Turkey, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. Or watching football for that matter. But you know, it kind of seems like a nice holiday. How could it not be when the theme of the whole thing is giving thanks and being grateful?? Oh, and eating.

So while I have not just participated in a giant feast, I still thought it would be nice to do a little thanksgiving post. I am grateful for many things in my life, but what I am most thankful for is my baby boy. He makes me truly happy and I absolutely adore him. Adore. He is the best baby in the entire world, and the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I finally get what all those people meant when they said motherhood is the best job.

These pics were taken about 6.5-7 months old, in his new elmo jammies from Aunty Lian. I love that little face. Preston’s face that is, not Elmo’s.

perspective

2011-11-21T09:28:00.002+13:00

I posted this pic on facebook and loved the two different perspectives that came back. One person said it looks like Sam was putting his hands up catching a baby falling from Heaven. Another person said it looked like Sam was reaching up because Preston was floating away.

Falling or Floating, what do you reckon??

the tree has been chosen

2011-11-09T15:46:00.001+13:00

Monday night we headed out to the Christmas tree farm at Tamahere so that we could tag our perfect tree before anyone else snaffled it up. (Did I just use the word snaffled? It just kind of came out subconsciously like it was the most appropriate word in that sentence). We had the whole place to ourselves and as per usual, Sam was patient as I wandered around and around judging the merits of each tree. (Although I do believe he is getting more ‘into’ it, as he told me a couple of times “no that tree is ugly”).

Of course I was also excited that it was our first family-choosing-the-tree outing, and little Preston was (hopefully) enjoying his time out amongst all the trees, and looking at some cows in yonder fields also. He was a little apprehensive of all those pine needles, but was a very good boy considering he would usually be going to bed.

We found ourselves a 7.5 footer, and we’ll be back to collect it in early December. Even though I always feel a bit mean when they get cut down.

(Just had a look at the post about choosing our tree last year - my pregnant belly was really popping out!)

a great quote

2011-11-07T13:39:00.003+13:00

I saw this quote on Pinterest a while ago and I liked it immediately. It is such a short, simple statement, but to me it speaks volumes and they are certainly words to live by.

I have a tendancy to compare, and that's something my mother has always told me off for. Because comparing can not only affect your self worth, but I think sometimes comparing can also lead to complaining. But with such blessed life, what do I have to complain about?

Nothing at all.

Anyway I decided to post this as I was happy to come across a free printable of the quote in 6 different colours. Follow the link if you would like to print one out for your wall too! So there's a thought for your Monday - don't let your happiness be taken away by comparing yourself to others.

The Help

2011-11-03T10:08:00.001+13:00

Last summer Lian and I read "The Help” and both really enjoyed it, so we were pretty excited when we found out it was being turned into a movie. We had grand plans to see it in the ‘La Premiere’ seats at the new Hoyts over at The Base, but the movie gods conspired against as and time after time our plans were foiled. Last night was our last chance – it was now only playing at the Lido Cinema (still lovely) and it was the last night show, so we had to make it happen.

The movie was enjoyable – but as in almost all cases of book-turned-movie, I am glad I read the book. A movie just can’t capture the amount of detail that is put down on pages.

In saying that, the screen writer did a great job of capturing the essence of the story. And what a story. It’s unthinkable, unimaginable, unbelievable, that the cruel Mississippi world portrayed in the movie was a reality only 50 years ago. I will never quite understand that it was against the law for blacks and whites to use the same library books, or that there were separate drinking fountains, but they let black women raise their children.

(and speaking of children, I am so overly sensitive these days. The little white girl crying when her black maid ‘her real mama’ had to leave just about had me crying).

There were a few funny moments (the terrible awful anyone??!), and fabulous clothes, but overall I was still left a little overwhelmed with how crazy us humans can get.

It was fun to be out of the house with my sis – especially since last time I went to the movies I was still pregnant.

Hmmm what have these fire engines got to do with anything you ask?? The fire alarm went off with 10 minutes to go, and we were all evacuated. But after waiting on the street for 10 minutes or so, we were given the all clear and headed back in to see the last minutes of the film.

On the move

2011-11-01T14:19:00.004+13:00

What happened to my tiny little baby? Sitting up, solids, teeth...and now this. He's got his commando army crawl on. My clever little boy. This was taken 4 or 5 days ago now, on the first day we really saw him move. He has become more efficient since then, but still sticking to the army crawl over trying to get up on his knees. Baby development is truly amazing.

p.s this is my 300th post. 300!! My very first post was about Christmas in Fiji before I got married. (A post which nobody commented on, had very small photos because we only had dial up internet, and also shows me looking about 10 kgs lighter in a bikini I will probably never wear again...bummer)

Friday night

2011-10-29T22:24:00.001+13:00

Boy in bed. Homemade burgers + shakes. X Factor.

How good is that Melanie girl??

I'm absolutely shagged

2011-10-27T09:38:00.006+13:00

When Sir Edmund Hillary became the first person to conquer Mount Everest, his response was typical kiwi bloke: "We knocked the bastard off". His words, of course, went down in history. It seems we have another all to kiwi phrase that will similarly be part of the history books. "I'm absolutely shagged". Those were the words uttered by All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw after a very close match against France, that ultimately saw New Zealand win by just one point, and become Rugby World Cup champions for the first time in 24 years.

The six week Rugby World Cup tournament has come to an end, and although I am not a die hard rugby fan, it has been fun to get caught up in the hype a little; flags fluttering from cars, hung up in windows, peoples faces painted, collective grief at the loss of Dan Carter, collective hate of Quade Cooper, and a palpable tension as we neared the end, desperately wanting to reclaim the cup.

New Zealand really got behind the tournament, and it was great to see whole towns 'adopt' a visiting team - usually the minnows like Georgia, Russia, and Canada. We also got behind any team that was playing Australia or SA, so Wales for example had a huge amount of support in their final matches.

I watched the All Blacks games (and a few others here and there) with Sam, who was very patient with my questions. (Was he supposed to kick it like that? Did he do that on purpose? Why are they trying to run with it? Why are they starting the scrum again). But even I picked up a few bits and peices here and there - I even caught myself saying at one game "Hey wasn't that a knock on!?) and I was right!

I can't imagine what would have happened to the nation if we had lost against our foes the French. But luckily we don't have to dwell on that for too long, because Richie and they boys brought the Cup home!

- So what about you? Did you watch the games? Who was your favourite visiting team? Best moment? Do you think we went overboard on Quade Cooper? Think we hosted a good tournament?

milestones.

2011-10-23T12:51:00.004+13:00

It has been an exciting two weeks for in our house as we have watched Preston hit some milestones.

As of 2 weeks ago exactly, our little boy can sit up all by himself. I thought it was interesting that he didn’t gradually get better at this. It was more a case of on Saturday, couldn’t sit up, on Sunday, I can sit up! It has opened up a whole new world of playing opportunities too. He likes to sit and bang his drum (formula tin) or sit with shakers in his hand watching himself in the mirror. It must be nice to be vertical for a bit after all that time lying down!

5 days ago tooth number one (bottom left) cut through. And some time since then, bottom right came up too. It is hard to tell when exactly, as it is nearly impossible to have a look in that boys mouth. But they are certainly sharp little teethies! For some reason I feel the need to keep sticking my finger in there to have a feel and letting him bite me.

On Thursday our boy clapped his hands. I have been doing this with him for a couple weeks now, and then he did it by himself. We probably have about a 70% hit rate when we tell him to clap his hands…the other 30% of the time he just ignores us. But sometimes he even does it without us clapping ourselves. We can just say “clap hands” and he will do it, which I think is a clear sign that he is a genius. The video below isn’t he best example, but he does not like to perform for the camera. Also, if anyone knows how to rotate the video, let me know!

Also in the last couple weeks we are getting a few kisses when we ask - you know the open mouth slobber kind, and he can make the “mum-mum-mum” sound. Oh and two other firsts: First time tasting egg, first time spewing up egg.

All in all pretty exciting stuff for us as parents. Of course pretty boring stuff for anyone else, who may now be asking, why did I read all this!

p.s – this isn’t a milestone, except perhaps a milestone in coolness. Shark hat + Elmo jammies from aunty lian = ready to roll.

Making some friends

2011-10-19T13:22:00.002+13:00

Dee was up last week to introduce her new baby girl Luana to her family. Which also meant she finally got to meet Preston. Julie and AJ came along to for a bit of a baby show and tell session. We took some photos of the kids lined up on the blanket, but what I really wish is that someone had been able to take a photo of us lined up taking photos of our kids.

Preston is 6.5 months, Luana 7 weeks and AJ just 3 weeks. Which goes someway to explaining why Preston looks like he has a giant noggin.

Dee had to head back to her mums to take care of her other kids, but Julie and AJ stuck around, so then I made us an awesome sammy. So awesome, I took a photo of it.

you know you love your present when you take it to bed with you

2011-10-07T22:01:00.007+13:00

Here's my nephew Jack. Asleep. With his new All Blacks lunchbox from Aunty Crystal.

Only way this could be cuter is if he was cuddling it.

shark attack

2011-09-30T13:36:00.002+13:00

this ball of knitted goodness arrived in the mail on Wednesday, all the way from New York! It is hands down the coolest baby hat ever. I bought it for next winter, so it’s a little big now, but I had to try it on my boy.

p.s – how cute are those cheeks?

baby food

2011-09-28T14:51:00.003+13:00

Preston now has a little stock of potato and kumara puree, and apple puree in the freezer. Not that the stuff in the jar isn’t good, but this is a heck of a lot cheaper. Plus it makes me feel all home-makery and virtuous. Of course the fact my house is a mess 80% of the time probably tips the home maker scale in the opposite direction.

six months old already

2011-09-26T06:45:00.000+13:00

My baby boy is 6 months old today. Those early days seem like such a haze now, and it is true what everyone says, the time goes so fast. He was such a tiny little thing, with skinny chicken legs, and now he is rolling around, eating solids, laughing, and loves being thrown up in the air. The early development really is incredible.

He is taking bigger bottles finally (with considerable coercion), which means we have been able to cut out his 10.30 dream feed. He is doing pretty well with solids too over the last few days. He still loves his jolly jumper, and can roll around all over the place now. There have been a few attempts to get up on the knees but nothing has come of it yet. Likes to scream, has started to really babble, listens to his books before sleepy time, and is generally a lovely little boy. With a few moments of crazy thrown in.

Preston is certainly the best thing to ever happen to me.

And with that I can’t help but post a few pics of my darling baby taken over the last week or two. Now, to start planning his birthday??

a baby shower

2011-09-11T09:27:00.001+12:00

My old work mate Sacha is pregnant with a baby girl, and since she is moving to Dunedin before bubba is due, we decided she needed to have a baby shower here in Hamilton before she left!

People came from Hamilton…but also Waikanae, Gisborne, Auckland and Dunedin! Gee no pressure to make it a good one! But I think it went pretty well - she got lots of cute presents, we played a few games, and then there was the food:

It was a lovely afternoon, and it was great to celebrate Sacha’s impending arrival. She is going to be a wonderful mum. Special thanks to Lian and Elle for all their help setting up and tidying up! Somehow I got a bit behind schedule.

Father’s day

2011-09-07T20:40:00.001+12:00

Breakfast in bed, lots of treats, a prezzy or two, and a roast dinner – must be father’s day!

Here are some pics of my darling boy with his daddy celebrating his first father’s day. How ultra-cute is he in that shirt and vest?! It was a lovely baby shower gift and I’m excited he fits it now.

We also had a skype-date at Lian’s with my dad – wishing him a Happy Father’s day in Manila. Best dad you could ask for in my opinion.

Happy 80th Grandmother

2011-08-30T22:16:00.002+12:00

80, what a milestone.

Happy 80th Birthday to my Grandmother (no, not nana, grandma, nanny..Grandmother and Grandmother only) who is synonymous with the organ and fridge magnets, and has:

10 children
37 grandchildren
17 great-grandchildren, and one on the way.

Do you see those numbers??? 10 kids, that means she was pregnant for 7.5 years!

52 of those family members will be here in Temple View in January for a reunion - what an event that will be. Looking forward to food, fun, and hey, probably a few fights.

Quite pleased…

2011-08-26T12:00:00.001+12:00

with how these turned out:

These headed out the door with Sam this morning to sell at the bank’s bake sale. Since it was in support of the cancer society’s annual Daffodil Day appeal, I went with yellow icing.

I’m pretty happy with my effort, considering the ziplock bag I was using to pipe the icing on kept splitting. They’re not up to Lian’s standards of course. But hopefully they all sell, and don’t end up ‘reduced to clear’ at the end of the day.

the question is...

2011-08-25T09:34:00.003+12:00

Bear, Shark or Fox??? Totally getting one of these for my boy...cast your vote! Seriously, leave me a comment about this knitted goodness!!

I saw the shark hat over at rockstar diaries...oh so cute. I must have one!

(Designs by NYRika. Images from her fabulous shop)

Oh no the big three-oh

2011-08-22T15:50:00.001+12:00

Sam is THIRTY. My goodness that sounds OLD. And I can’t believe it is my turn next. Oh dear.

Well it was a birthday weekend round these ways. Paul turned 24 on Friday and we celebrated with a family party at the Warwick's. Because Paul is such a foodie Lian and I got him a cooking torch for making crème brulee with some ramekins. Looking forward to you making us some for dessert Paul. If you are interested in Paul’s birthday you should click here, but I doubt any of you are because Sam’s bday is way more important…so just carry on reading.

Saturday was the day…Sam was no longer in his twenties. His birthday got off to a good start for 3 reasons: 1) He must have had a great sleep because Preston and I ended up sleeping at Lian’s due the late night festivities celebrating Paul’s birth. 2) I returned with a McDonalds breakfast for him. 3) Sammy the cat brought Sam a birthday present of this…..

A great big dirty rat. Eww is all I can say.

He also go a less gross bday present from moi, which was a Holga camera and some 120 film. I think he liked it. Preston had a great time playing with the wrapping paper.

Well the rest of the day was pretty uneventful and I feel a little bad I didn’t make more of an effort for his big day. But I think he was happy enough to eat some junk and play xbox before we went out to dinner that night with some family and friends, while little Preston slept soundly in his bed. (thank-you grandparents for babysitting).

I tried to make Sam an amazing looking cake but was rather disappointed. The ganache was not nearly thick enough, lesson learned for next time.

Happy Birthday Samuel Justin Mann!!

Childhood dream come true

2011-08-15T21:50:00.004+12:00

Here's a sentence I never thought I would be able to say...it snowed in Temple View today!! It was a tiny, tiny amount of little flakes coming down, and it lasted just a couple of minutes, but it was real snow! Well the childhood dream was actually to wake up to a blanket of snow and have school cancelled....but I'll take what I can get.

The whole country is being affected by an artic blast and man is it cold. There has been snow dumps all over the show, with snow even falling in the Auckland CBD, the first time since 1939!! Everyone is pretty excited about our little snow experience. And I think we're all secretly hoping to wake up and have snow all over the lawn. It is supposed to get down to minus 2 tonight, brrrr.

Mt Pirongia got a dusting...unfortunately I couldn't get out and about to get some pics but Lian's sister in law got a couple so I have stolen one of hers from Facebook.

Maybe he didn't like the pink spoon??

2011-08-13T14:48:00.003+12:00

I am really digging this dress...

2011-08-10T15:31:00.002+12:00

Someone tell me where I can buy it.

A little self evaluation on a Tuesday...

2011-08-09T13:08:00.003+12:00

Before I had kids, I was quite the expert on them. Lian has been saying for the last 10 years "oh I can't wait till you have kids" every time I told off one of hers for being noisy. Now Preston squeals and I think it's hilarious. But anyway, Preston is 4.5 months old now, and it got me thinking about all the things I was so sure about before I had a baby:

As you can see, a total failure. The only thing I don't do is watch TV all day...but I guess I make up for that at night time.

(I forgot to add to that list "leave a dirty nappy at someone elses house". Sorry Elle, that was Uncle Sam who left that nappy on your bedroom floor. Lucky it was only wees. ha ha)

And since Paul has been complaining my blog is boring and I should round up with a question: What did you vow and declare you would never do as a parent? Did you stick to it? Or for those of you with no kiddies yet, what will be on your list??

Lunch date with daddy

2011-08-05T10:32:00.001+12:00

On Wednesday I decided to stop being a hermit and packed up our boy to go and see his daddy for lunch in Cambridge. It is quite the process getting ready to go anywhere these days. But we made it out the door at 1pm, and with a plate of brownies for the office ladies in hand as well!

Unfortunately, my current weight on the scales is “fat piglet” so no nice cafe lunch for us…we went to subway. But it was good all the same. (Vege delite with honey mustard mmmm) And since Sam is the boss, he had no one to answer to for a 2 hour lunch which included some bargains from briscoes – hooray!

Of course everyone went on and on and on about how adorable Preston is, and they are so right. Especially his plump little cheeks at the moment. Which got very red as he screamed and cried on the ride home.

It’s going to be great in the summer to go out and have some lunch time picnics with our boy.

1 week down, 625 to go?

2011-08-04T13:00:00.001+12:00

It’s been one week since mum and dad exchanged tiny Temple View for megalopolis Manila. Yeah, my parents have moved to the Philippines – there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. It’s dad’s first assignment as a General Authority for the Church – which is a pretty big deal. But amidst the congratulations of everyone, I have to say that all I felt was sadness. Probably because I’ve always been the bad one. I did not want them to leave, and I feel sad my little boy to miss out on his grandparents for 13 years. But such is life, and there is nothing I can do about it.

They are settling into their new life now, but don’t know how long it will be for – could be 18 months, could be 5 years. And then it will be on to the next place until dad’s calling ends at the age of 70. That means Preston will be 13 when they get home, and I’ll be 42. It’s so strange to project that far into the future.

At least they will be home for Christmas.

Mum and Dad with Preston on their last day…

Mooloo Ole Ole Ole

2011-07-22T21:56:00.001+12:00

Sam and I went to the opening of the new rugby themed exhibition at the Museum tonight - “Red Yellow (All) Black: A local look at our national game”. I was working on this show before I went on maternity leave, so it was quite a strange feeling for me to go along and see how much of my concept they had changed, or how things had turned out that I had planned.

I left the team with quite a clear concept, and a number of interactive and design briefs – but they still had quite a bit of work to do. No doubt they last couple months at the Museum were very stressful – as always before an exhibition opens. And this was a big one too – the biggest gallery, the WRU involved, HCC expecting big things as it is on during the world cup…it had to be good.

It was quite exciting to go up to the gallery as a visitor and see the show for the first time as a finished product. Usually I am so involved in all the small details, and would have been in the gallery during install etc. So it was a different experience for me.

The show looks great – really modern and fresh. I think all of my ideas are in there, plus a few extras they were able to add to fill the space. I had divided the show into 3 sections – People, Passion and Play. There are some great physical interactives, and it was cool to see the Waikato rugby boys competing with each other on the scrum machine I had ordered!

Caught up with lots of work mates too - it was good to see everyone.

It was nice to get dressed up (seeing as I pretty much live in trackies these days) and go out for a while! Thanks to Lian, Elle, Mum and Dad for looking after our boy : )

p.s you should head along and check out the show. Some of my fave things:

see how your thigh compares to nathan white, or your bicep to Liam Messam! You can pull a ring up over your arm for example and see how it compares
Try out the one man scrum machine
The smells of rugby: I had scents ordered from Demeter in the US that are associated with rugby. Push a button and a whiff of the smell comes up, then you slide the label to reveal what it is. They smell so real – especially the mud and linament.
1950s mooloo pics and memorabilia
Footage from the 81 Springbok tour
The retro lounge, where you can select great rugby moments on the remote and sit back and enjoy on the couches
Lots of physical interactives and tests in the turfed up play area

The Waikato Museum website is here and the info on the show is here.

p.p.s – who knew a rugby player could sweat 6 litres during a game!!!!

Hands down my favourite thing in the world…

2011-07-13T14:38:00.001+12:00

Is when I creep toward Preston’s bassinet (or cot, as of the last two days!! What a big boy!!) as he is waking, quietly say his name, and then have him look at me, take a few seconds to register I’m there, and then give me a huge, toothless smile. His little body starts moving about all excited, as if to say “hooray! You’re here! Get me up! Let’s go!”. His legs start kicking and the joy on his face is so contagious. I can’t believe someone is so happy to see me – it’s my favourite thing in the world.

Last night Preston had his first successful night in his cot. He had been having day time sleeps in there for two days, and I finally thought I better give it another go, as he really is getting just too big for his bassinet. (We had one failed attempt a week ago). We put him to bed about 7.30, and after watching his mobile for a while he was asleep by 8pm. I did a ‘dream feed’ at 10.30, and the first I heard from him (via the baby monitor) was 4am when he decided he wanted his dummy. (then again at 4.20am, and again at 5.50am). Then it was 6.55 and he was ready to have breakfast! All in all that’s pretty good I’d say – 11 hours with just a few interruptions.

(In case you are wondering, a dream feed is where they actually feed in their sleep and you put them straight back down without waking them. He drank about 120 mls in his sleep : )

Isn’t he so beautiful/cute/clever/handsome/delicious???

In other news….

2 days left in Paeroa for Sam…yessss
Just over 2 weeks left in the country for ma and pa….nooo

Do you need a loan?

2011-07-03T16:58:00.004+12:00

Cause I know a bank manager who might be able to help you out…. Congratulations to Sammy who landed a new job with ANZ on Friday! He is now the branch manager of the ANZ Cambridge Branch – woohoo!

He had his interview on Tuesday then had the long wait till Friday to find out if the job was his. He called me Friday morning to say he DIDN’T have the job…I thought he might have been tricking but when he actually hung up the phone I thought it must have been true. But he called me straight back and then I knew he was a big fat liar.

We had a little surprise ‘congratulations’ party for him at mum and dad’s that night. Hooray – his 1 hour and 10 minute commute to Paeroa is now down to 25 minutes. Maybe one day he’ll actually get a job in Hamilton! Now that would be crazy, to live and work in the same place ; ) See you later L&P!

Latest read...

2011-06-28T12:40:00.004+12:00

I've just finished 'Mao's Last Dancer' - (thanks for the loan cousin Kim). It was a pretty good read, and I found myself ignoring all the housework just so I could find out what was happening to little Li!

The first half of the book was quite sobering, with detailed descriptions of what his childhood was like as a peasant in communist China. It is hard to imagine living through such poverty. I also found all the details about Mao's regime peppered throughout the book really interesting. I loved Li's reaction to the Western wealth and prosperity on his first visit to America - considering he had been told all his life China was the richest nation and America the poorest!

I'm looking forward to watching the movie now. I guess now that I've finished I really should do some tidying up!

Chinese chicken coleslaw

2011-06-27T22:12:00.002+12:00

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe from our best bites for a while now, and finally tonight I made this. Ok granted I was a few ingredients short – so my version did not have the sugar snap peas, and I had to substitute the rice wine vinegar for cider vinegar because I didn’t have any of that hanging around. But my friend Google tells me it is a good substitute anyway. Oh yeah and no cucumber either. So mine doesn’t look nearly as good as the original but hey it still tasted good.

Sam liked it, and said the dressing was nice and not too overpowering. And I flippin love toasted almonds and sesame seeds in salad stuff.

If you want to give it a try you can find the recipe here. Lian introduced me to the website and now I'm pretty much obsessed with it - everything looks soooooo good.

Sunday afternoon walk…

2011-06-20T22:30:00.001+12:00

that turned into a sprint when it started pelting down with rain. But before all that I got some pics of my boy with his daddy.

Everyone says Preston looks like Sam. Maybe I’m too close to the situation – I don’t really see it. He just looks like Preston.

a good movie

2011-06-18T22:04:00.003+12:00

This came out a couple of years ago now, but I've only just watched it on DVD. (As an unimportant side note, I watched it wearing headphones, because all the voices seemed to be very quiet, and then music parts were very loud, and I didn't want to wake up Preston who is asleep in the lounge).

But anyway, I enjoyed the film - especially the love story between Victoria and Albert. How sad he died so young and she had to live all those years alone. (Of course that is not spoiling a plot, because that's just history). The costumes and sets must have taken thousands of hours - amazing detail. If you haven't seen this it's worth a watch.

me and bubba

2011-06-15T22:06:00.005+12:00

Mark came to visit today. Of course I demanded he bring his camera. So after feeding him up on some toasted sammies, a hot choc and caramel slice, he (begrudingly) got his camera out - which is probably bigger than Preston's head - and took a few shots. He just emailed this one to me. Hopefully there are some more goodies to come. Preston wasn't in a smiling mood but that's ok, he's cute no matter what. Thanks Mark!!

a date

2011-06-13T23:00:00.001+12:00

Saturday night Preston turned 11 weeks old (can you ‘turn’ 11 weeks, or is that term only for years??) – anyway, Preston was 11 weeks and Sam and I headed out for our first post baby date. It was a horrible evening pouring down with rain, but the babysitter was already organised (thanks Lian) so out the door we went.

We headed to Iguana for dessert and it was delish. Sam had the chocolate overload (designed for two, but he had it to himself fat piggy) and I decided to branch out and had the yoghurt and lemon cake with vanilla custard instead of the dessert pizza I always get.

It was fun to go out – but we did spend a good amount of time talking about our boy, and looking at photos and videos of him on the camera.

We must be fat pigs because dessert was over pretty quick. So we popped into Browsers, a fab second hand bookstore, for well, a browse, before heading home to our deliciously cute babe.

Sometimes I am a very boring person.

2011-06-11T12:36:00.006+12:00

Preston is asleep. Sam and I are sitting here talking about 'bucket lists'. How is it that I am so boring I can't even think up a cool list?? We had a column for joint things (like eating a hot dog in NYC, climbing the Great Wall of China, and going Skinny Dipping), a column for Sam (like Skydiving, patting a tiger, going to a State of O game) and a column for me.

It would be very easy to just start listing a bunch of countries or monuments I want to see. But somehow that didn't seem very meaningful. My small, very random list was:

- Have a short story published
- Make a perfect beef wellington
- See a play on broadway
- Hike the Tongariro Crossing
- Take a dance class
- Go to a Day Spa

Seriously? That's all I can think of? I am so boring. I know everyone usually includes 'run a marathon' - but I am so not interested in that! I will have to keep thinking and adding to my list. Cousin Kim did a list a while back which included working in a soup kitchen, which I thought was cool.

So what's on your list of things to do in this life before you kick the bucket?? Maybe you can help inspire me.

p.s - I believe Lian has a culinary bucket list - Lian I think you should do a post!

thirty, flirty, and thriving*

2011-06-05T16:42:00.001+12:00

It finally came. After years of teasing about her being ‘almost’ 30, Julie actually turned 30. I have tormented her for a few years now about being older than me, and have even taken advantage of her bad memory, tricking her into thinking she was older than she was.

Julie was the victim of surprise party Friday night to celebrate the big three-oh. It was an 80s theme, and Lian and I went to town in some ugly outfits, complete with hair and make up. I still maintain that Lian’s outfit was ugly-cool, and I was just plain ole ugly-ugly. We did feel a little awkward as the rest of the guests were somewhat less outrageous, but oh well, when you’re wearing lace up to your neck and tulle in your big sleeves, you just have to rock it. My inspiration was 80s bridesmaid/off to the ball. Lian will have to comment on the vibe she was channelling.

Some photos from the night:

Happy Birthday Julie! I hope you had a fabulous day, and enjoy being thirty, flirty and thriving!! Love ya!

I should be doing housework, but I've discovered Gifs

2011-06-01T15:54:00.002+12:00

hip hip hooray

2011-05-31T22:21:00.001+12:00

It’s the last day of the month – my last chance to post a happy birthday to these family members: (forgive the old photos)

First up, Miss Elle turned 12. Next year she’ll be at high school. Holy cow. She is a stunning young thing.

Next was Ryan aka Boub-boy. He is now officially into double digits – 10 years old. 10 years ago Lian popped him out on the floor at home, eww.

Next it was Wade’s turn. Big brother no doubt got to indulge in some fabulous cake creation courtesy of his wife.

Happy Birthday!

cheeky boy

2011-05-30T13:48:00.002+12:00

The boy all ready for church

2011-05-15T13:31:00.003+12:00

Thanks Aunty Lian for dressing me up.

(The below would have been a nice photo, if not for the unfortunate placement of Lian's finger...)

Sometimes I cannot get over how cute my son is

2011-05-11T12:56:00.002+12:00

Sometimes looking after a baby seems really hard – mainly when he won’t go to sleep, when I’m tired, or when I get poo on me. Actually the poo isn’t even that bad, it’s the sleep that is the problem. But sometimes the faces and expressions this boy makes just make me truly, genuinely smile. And for a brief pause I am completely caught up in the moment and totally enraptured with how cute and lovely this boy is.

He smiles in his sleep but not really at me…hope that changes soon.

(the poor boy has lost his hair on the top - but still has lots at the back).

Baby Blessings and Banana Boxes

2011-05-05T22:40:00.001+12:00

Preston had his baby blessing at church on Sunday. I had every intention of having a lovely family photo afterward – I even made an effort with make up which is a rarity these days. But somehow the day slipped away and before I knew it Sam was out of his suit and into PJs, my hair had fallen out, and it was dark outside.

So instead of a lovely family photo to mark the occasion, I have this:

A photo of Preston asleep in a Banana Box Bed. We went to Lian’s after church for a family feed and for some reason Sam insisted on making a bed for our boy in a box. The only photos of him we have of his blessing day are in a box like he is a homeless child.

(Yes, we have succumbed to a dummy. And all I can say is praise be the man who invented them).

One last photo: Preston and Ma. I love the hair on the back of his head, it is so cute, and his little head is so warm when you hold him up by your shoulder and he cuddles in to you.

(Unfortunately he has gone bald up top, which adds to his old man look at times, but hopefully it will grow back quickly).

Wedding of the Century

2011-04-30T21:29:00.001+12:00

Finally the day had come! Kate looked absolutely stunning (as she always does) and the whole thing was fabulous. She looked every bit a princess and I can definitely imagine her as the Queen. Imagine growing up ordinary, and then having 2 billion people watch you get married. The couple looked in love and it was fab that there was a double kiss on the famous balcony.

I must have said 50 times how beautiful she was. Wow – what a fairy tale wedding. And her sister is just as pretty and had an amazing dress as well – I think lots of people will copy Pippa’s dress too.

Our little party was a lot of fun – my favourite moment was the spontaneous cheers and clapping when we caught our first glimpse of Wills and Harry in the car – it was so exciting – we all waved our Union Jacks with enthusiasm!

Kate Middleton is the perfect girl and I hope there is a little royal bambino soon.

We had everything from glam gowns to PJs and fluffy tiaras – and of course lots of food and teacups!! No jellied eel or spotted dick, but we did have cucumber sammies, scones with cream and jam, butterfly cakes and sausage rolls : )

One final image however that will forever be part of this wedding:

There’s nothing I can really say.

Dessert Slamdown

2011-04-29T12:01:00.001+12:00

On Easter Sunday we had a dessert-fest. We each had to make a new dessert we’d never tried before. Thought I would post the pics now because tomorrow I’ll be going BUCK WILD with a ROYAL WEDDING POST. There will be wedding cake people. And teacups. And a replica engagement ring, which may or may not be on my hand as I type this.

Anyway: Below is my attempt at dark chocolate mousse, in milk chocolate cups. The consistency was not the best but the taste was good – very very rich. (Mousse is sam’s fave so that’s why I decided to try it)

Apple Streusel and custard by mum:

White chocolate cones, filled with pistachio and nougat semi-fredo by Paul:

Some kind of caramel/choc/nut tart by Lian (I can’t remember the real name) And that is why I am fat.

meanwhile, is this the best photo ever taken??

mail from London

2011-04-27T12:25:00.001+12:00

Thanks Uncle David! Souvenirs for the Royal Wedding arrived yesterday – in time for our tea party Friday night. This is going to be the wedding of the decade. I can’t wait to see what her dress is like! It said on the news this morning people are already camping out on the footpath around Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace to guarantee a good view. If only I had a Charles and Di teacup to drink out of Friday night – then it would be perfect. Though mum has promised to make butterfly cakes which is exciting.

The photos aren’t very good but I was home alone, and had no one to hold the flag and tea towel up. Well Preston was there but he is not much help:

big yawns, little toes, funny fingers

2011-04-24T22:46:00.001+12:00

Easter bake off

2011-04-22T16:40:00.003+12:00

Good Friday = Hot Cross Buns. We all arrived at Lian’s around lunch time for the (recently) traditional Easter bun bake off. There were a lot of buns – I only ate one and a half. Others (DAD) had four or five. Lian’s custard raspberry buns were the crowd fave. Elle’s Heart Cross Buns (or are they Hot Cross Bums?? – see below and you decide) were best looking we think.

For your viewing pleasure:

Happy Easter. Keep an eye out on Sunday – we all are making a dessert we have never made before… So no Lemon Meringue Pies, Brownies, Apple Crumbles or Cheesecakes…it has to be something new. Paul’s is sounding pretty fancy so I’m looking forward to it – though I’m yet to decide what to make.

p.s Preston is 4 weeks old today and now weighs 4kg...still not as much as sammy the cat

Behold, the Skookie

2011-04-19T12:58:00.001+12:00

Skillet + Cookie = Skookie.

Wade and Jess sent Lian and I a set of these Skookies, and they are my new favourite thing. Press cookie dough into the small skillet, bake for 10 minutes, top with ice-cream, and devour.

It says to have one skookie between two, but I could have eaten it all myself. Pure deliciousness.

there were 3 in the bed and the little one said…

2011-04-19T11:15:00.001+12:00

If only this really did happen...

2011-04-17T17:15:00.000+12:00

2 weeks to go! Hopefully the kate and wills tea towel and/or apron I've asked uncle david to send me arrives in time for the big day.

Bath time + Preston’s first friend

2011-04-15T22:17:00.002+12:00

You know, I always said I didn’t want to be one of those people who only blogged about their kids. But turns out I have barely left the house, don’t always manage to shower, and in short – have nothing else to blog about. But when your kid is this cute, it doesn’t really matter ; )

Here is a pic of Preston’s first bath at the hospital. Sam and a nurse bathed him because, well, I couldn’t actually walk.

And here is his first bath at home. It is pretty scary bathing babies because I tell you what, they become quite slippery little suckers, and sometimes they are screaming and it all becomes a bit scary. Preston totally looks like an old man in this photo. Maybe you need a close up to see what I mean:

See, that is totally an old man face with a bald head. Hopefully I get better at bath time soon, and as he gets older he might enjoy it more.

In other news, Sam’s best friend Keola is now a dad too. They have been friends since they were born, living across the road from each other. His wife Ari and I were due 4 days apart. Their little girl Keahi arrived safe and sound and was only a few ounces heavier then the Pres-Mann. They are 16 days apart (I think – I am too tired to work out such details)

Here they are having a riotous play date:

Sam had to stay the night in Auckland last night for work, so I flew solo for the first time. Preston was pretty good luckily. I am so glad it is the weekend and Sam will be around. Tonight we have been looking at him and laughing at his hilarious facials and smiling at how cute he is. He is a bit 3 weeks tomorrow – wow.

p.s - 2 weeks till the wedding - what will kate wear?!?!

Baby gets a name and I finally make it out of the house for a walk…

2011-04-11T12:15:00.001+12:00

Our first official family walk on Saturday. It was only down Foster Rd to mum and dad’s house, but we had little visits with 5 people along the way. It was tempting to sleep instead of go for the walk, but it was good to get out.

Yesterday we finally named our little boy. Preston Samuel Mann.

And mum and dad arrived home from the States to meet grandchild number six.

40 weeks

2011-04-05T20:20:00.001+12:00

Here I am on baby’s due date, 4 April.

And here is our first attempt at a family photo:

Geez I’m fat.

We are surviving our first week at home. Largely due to all the help from Lian. I am still quite sore but getting better – feeling quite sick at times due to meds I think. Tired as hell.

Our little boy is still having some feeding problems, and I am not making much milk because of all the blood I lost. We are on standby for an appointment with a lactation consultant tomorrow morning – so hopefully we get the appointment and she can help.

Our boy has the longest fingers – he hates them being wrapped up and they are always moving around grabbing everything. He is so cute, and his little hands and fingers crack me up.

His favourite way to sleep – on someone’s chest. Sam has been great – although the sleep deprivation must be getting to him as he asked if he should take the boy for a walk in his wheelchair. He meant the pram.

He’s here

2011-04-02T09:23:00.001+13:00

Our boy arrived at 5.25pm, Saturday March 26th. 6 pounds 12 ounces. He is the cutest baby in the world. Caused his mother a few problems but I am on the mend now. If only we had a name for our little boy! My favourite thing so far is when he goes to sleep on my chest while I’m lying down.

oh no

2011-03-23T21:27:00.001+13:00

Lila is obsessed with the baby blanket Lian made. She got a taste of its cosiness once, and keeps wanting more. We have been keeping the baby’s door shut, but she often sits at the door, hoping like hell you will open it. If you leave it open for just a minute she is in there and up in the cot so fast. Tonight we had the room open to do a few things and then when I went to shut the door I noticed a suspicious lump in the cot.

This time she had gone a step further. She wasn’t just on top of the blanket, she had burrowed her way underneath and made herself all cosy.

We are going to have to be so freaking vigilant about keeping the baby’s door shut because the damn cats just love sleeping and being cosy, and cats in cots are not a good thing. It’s a bit of a worry.

Maybe Aunty Lian could make Lila a special blanket? ; )

Meanwhile, I washed all the baby’s clothes a week or so ago – this was the blue load : )

giant-ness all round

2011-03-21T08:00:00.000+13:00

Giant pumpkins were on show at the Hamilton Gardens yesterday, including the 400kg whopper I’m leaning on.

Also on show at the gardens yesterday, giant crystal, only slightly less than 400kg.

38 weeks today. Not long to go.

Koromatua triathlon

2011-03-20T17:20:00.001+13:00

So it was just a primary school triathlon, but hell, I couldn’t have done that course. Well done Elle who completed the whole triathlon by herself, and well done Ryan who completed the swim leg for his team who came first. I’ll leave it up to Lian to post some more shots.

If only I knew how to sew, knit, and crochet…

2011-03-17T11:56:00.001+13:00

There are all featured on this blog which has links to tutorials on how to make. But I am pretty sure I failed my ‘sewing license’ at form one manual.

things I’m looking forward to in about 3 weeks – give or take

2011-03-12T23:06:00.001+13:00

yes, yes, the baby. Of course. But apart from that, I’m looking forward to:

Sushi. oh how I have missed you. I would hit Sushi-ya at least once a week pre-pregnancy. But like so many other things, sushi is on the no-no list while one is with child, so I have faithfully abstained. Once I went and got Sushi for dad and it was torture. I can’t wait to have me some teriyaki chicken and salmon goodness. Sushi-ya is my fave spot and it is within walking distance of Waterford birthing centre so Sam will be going for a little stroll after the baby is born me-thinks.

Speaking of going for a little stroll, just a bit further up the street is burger fuel. He can come back with some fries and aioli – which has also been on the list of cannot eat, due of course to the raw egg component.

Not getting up to pee ALLTHEFRIGGINTIME. Of course, this will be counteracted by having to get up for the baby. So maybe I shouldn’t complain about that one. But man oh man have we gone through some toilet paper in the last 30 odd weeks.

Being able to sleep on my stomach.

Being able to bend over properly.

Oh look, we’re back at food. Can’t wait to have me a ham sandwich. Ok I’ll be a bit more specific. Baguette. Mayo, lettuce, cheese, shaved ham, capsicum, dijonnaise.

I would say I’m looking forward to fitting my old clothes. But I don’t actually think that is going to happen so that’s nothing to look forward to. Neither is my diet.

Wills and Kate

2011-03-09T18:16:00.001+13:00

Well the big day is fast approaching. Speculation is rife over who is designing Kate’s dress. The procession route has been announced on the official wedding website. It’s all very exciting.

Because I am clearly uncool I even emailed TVNZ to see if they would be broadcasting the wedding. (Of course when Charles and Di got married I think the whole country watched, but times have changed and NZers tend to just throw eggs at the Royal family these days. So I was not sure it would be screened).

I got an email back though that said:

“Andrew Shaw is still trying to finalise the deal to broadcast this. It will play some time on Friday night 29/4/11 - we're still waiting on the correct title, duration and start time.

Kind regards

Christine Wilton
Communications Executive”

So it’s a Friday night – good timing. Start picking out your hat and gloves, and I’ll work on my Devonshire tea skills. And who do you think will be making the dress? Hair up or down? It’s gotta be up I reckon. I think Princess Mary did a pretty good job of satisfying tradition and still looking fab…?

(Imagine if Kate wore Diana’s dress??!? oh the horror.)

Baby Shower

2011-03-06T16:19:00.001+13:00

Yesterday we had my baby shower, and it was awesome. Lian and her fellow organisers the Farthings did a great job and I think everyone had fun hanging out, playing a few games, and munching. But they probably didn’t have as much fun as me, because I was the only one there that got a tonne of awesome presents. Evidence below:

Friends and family who came were very kind and gave me lots of lovely gifts for the baby. I really loved them all and can’t wait for our little boy to be using them all. Blankets, toys, books, clothes – he is a very lucky boy.

Now to put it all away in his room : ) 4 weeks to go….

35 weeks

2011-03-01T21:12:00.001+13:00

I wonder if this boy will be early or late?

birthdays = food

2011-03-01T21:09:00.001+13:00

Somewhere along the way birthdays became less about presents and all about food? Maybe that’s just my family. Who knows. But I turned 29 on Friday and there was a lot of food involved. Then Dad turned 57 yesterday which involved more gluttony.

My birthday coincided with my first day off work – am I smart or what. So after Sam woke me at 7.15 with pancakes and ice cream for breakfast, I went back to sleep. But not for too long, because a donut was waiting for me at mum and dad’s.

I had a pedicure in town which was awesome, despite my fat toes.

Then it was a family dinner with enchiladas, Spanish rice, and carrot cake. Oh so tasty.

On Sunday we headed to Morrinsville to be with Uncle Ross and family for a birthday BBQ. It was the first time Louise has been home from England in 5 years.

Yesterday was Dad’s actual birthday. Lian and I took him his favourite – deep fried oysters – for lunch. He was a happy boy.

Then it was home made pizzas for tea, including some delicious dessert pizza creations. One photo below, but click here to see more of the goodness.

last day at work

2011-02-24T20:46:00.001+13:00

BEFORE

AFTER

No work for me tomorrow. Or on Monday. Or the next Monday. You get the point. After 6.5 years of going to the museum everyday I’m officially on leave until April 2012. When I first got pregnant I was excited at the thought of leaving work, but these last few weeks I’ve been quite sad really and didn’t want to go. I’m in the middle of a pretty cool project, work with some great people, and have had some amazing opportunities over the last few years. I know I often complain, and hell knows I’m always late, but I still felt sad at the thought of leaving.

Had myself a little cry but now that I’ve actually left I’m feeling ok.

I had a fantastic afternoon tea, all my friends had put in heaps of effort and I’m pretty confident that was very high up on the list of great farewells at the museum. Not to mention there were giant photos of me everywhere!

The presents for the baby were fantastic I love everything, and it’s all stuff I don’t have.

One of the coolest things was that Steph our 3d designer bought up her Mac to the staffroom and had organised a slideshow of install images of all the projects I had been involved in over the last 6.5 years. Some were really small cabinet displays, some were major projects with budgets of hundreds of thousands of dollars. I know I was really lucky to have my job at such a young age, and to have some really cool opportunities. I’ve presented at 3 conferences, been invited to be part of panel discussions at the NZ diversity forum and Race relations day, had a regular column in the Waikato Times for 4 years, been on TV and radio, and developed some really great award winning shows – with the help of many talented people of course.

Some images from my favourite shows – even though there have been about 30 of them I’ve limited it to a few – well as few as I could:

Rare View: A glimpse into Hamilton’s Somali Community won a creative places award from Creative NZ. Photo by Mark Hamilton.

Postscript: Letters from the permanent collection

Keeping Faith was the recipient of a $20,000 grant, and won an award from the Human Rights Commission.

The whole world is watching looked at the events surrounding the 1981 Springbok Tour

Mrs Brown’s Big Day Out won Gold at the BeST NZ Design Awards

And Never a Dull Moment: Hamilton Stories won Bronze

Well that’s a pretty long and self indulgent post. But it does feel like I have stepped away from a big part of my life. (And after all it is my blog). And now I guess it is time to get ready for the next big part of life.

Lake Taupo relay race

2011-02-20T13:33:00.002+13:00

Man am I tired. Sure, I didn’t actually run in the race but found the day quite exhausting all the same. It takes a lot of hard work filling up water bottles, cheering loudly, and driving around in a van all day. But I suppose it wasn’t as tiring for me as it was for these crazy people:

Together after only about 6 weeks or so of training they ran the entire distance around Lake Taupo – 156km in 15 hours.

Some special mentions for family members:

SAM: Completed two legs. The first had a killer hill that did not seem to end.

PAUL: the instigator. Did a massive 14km run at 2am, while NAKITA did two legs, including one with a 3km hill.

UNCLE NIGEL: Did a great run, especially since he had not run for a few weeks due to an injury, and rejoined the team at the last minute.

LIAN: powered through her leg, and everyone in the van commented on her good pace. Special congratulations as her leg was a whole 1.3km longer than expected!

JOFF: powered through almost 11km in the heat of the day, including some tough steep down hills.

It was a really great day and it was nice to be down there supporting the family. Poor dad ended up as a driver starting at 2am! Everyone did a fantastic job. Keep an eye out over at Lian's blog as no doubt she will do a post from her perspective (i.e. an actual runner) and will put up some good pics. Lian, i like the one of you with only one shoe on... ; )

cheap date

2011-02-16T21:45:00.001+13:00

At $16 a ticket, going to the movies isn’t really that cheap. If only we had dollar theatres here like they do in the States. In fact I remember getting a half price ticket at a dollar theatre with a student ID – can’t beat a 50 cent movie.

So given the ordinary price of a movie ticket, I took advantage of an email I got yesterday that let me buy a ticket to a preview session of ‘Unknown’ tonight for $8 bucks…including a drink and popcorn. Even better was that I got the second ticket for 5 bucks with my student ID that’s still valid. Score. $13 dollars for 2 tickets, 2 drinks, 2 popcorns.

We both liked the movie too - Sam is Liam Nesson fan. Guess in a few weeks we won’t be able to just drop everything and go to the movies, so had to take advantage of it while we still can!

p.s – 6 days left at work – holy crap.

Sam’s pics

2011-02-09T21:39:00.001+13:00

A few weeks ago we got photoshop elements….basically a scaled down version of the super expensive photo shop – but still enough to play with. I’m yet to learn to do anything but Sam has been mucking around and I thought I would share a few of his pics.

We took this photo in Cairo on our point and shoot two years ago. I like whatever he has done to it as it gives the effect of being a kind of miniature town, don’t you think? I mean look at that bus and the cars. You might need to click on it to make it bigger and get the real effect.

Hong Kong Harbour with the Star Ferry in the front

Farmland near Temple View. Again, you might have to click on this and make it bigger to see the layers he has experimented with.

my baby boy’s foot

2011-02-08T21:51:00.001+13:00

I had a scan yesterday at 32 weeks. All signs are pointing to my boy being a bit of a fatty puff. Heaven help me – I have to push him out. Check out his foot – pretty clear shot with his big toe.

Meanwhile, check out the other fatty puff in this story.

do not disturb

2011-02-08T21:39:00.001+13:00

baby dreams

2011-02-04T11:46:00.002+13:00

I dreamt about the baby for the first time last night. I have had other baby related dreams, but this was the first time I was picking up the baby, and seeing his face.

He had a really little nose, blue eyes and brown hair. In my dream I was relieved he was cute. Not sure about the blue eyes though - I don’t think that’s possible.

After that though he just kept pooing and pooing and pooing on me until I was covered in poo and I was trying not to spew up. Hmmm.

After almost 32 weeks of pregnancy, it seems that the due date is oh so far away still, but at the same time rather close. I’m pretty scared about labour.

Meanwhile, I fair dinkum love this little outfit Aunty Judith bought the baby in America. Those shoes with the 3 claws are completely rad. As are the stripy woollen pants. If only the pants had a tail to match the claws.

Got this a couple days ago too. It will be snuggly as we go into winter, and I love the green.

fudge

2011-01-31T14:29:00.001+13:00

I had a piece of someone’s russian fudge at work on Friday. And I wanted more from that moment on. So Lian and I set about making some Sunday afternoon. Complete and utter failure.

Luckily Brooke and Jay know a thing or two about fudge. They saw my devastated post on FB and kindly invited us round for a master class.

Then we played a few games, including this cool game called Bananagrams. My one and only win below…though now I look at it I’m not convinced Jib is a word?

This morning I had fudge for breakfast. Thanks Brooke!

And Jay!

I'm pretty keen to get one of these.

2011-01-27T19:43:00.003+13:00

Natures Sway baby hammock. You can set it up on the stand, have it attached to the ceiling, or use the travel adaptor and it hangs over doorways. Like the idea of the portability, and apparently babies like the snug feeling.

Seriously, could NZ be any prettier?

2011-01-22T12:12:00.001+13:00

**beware, numerous giant belly shots in togs below. May scare young children.

Well we are home from our wee jaunt and all in all it was a pretty good time. The first two days were horrible weather as predicted but we managed to fill our time. We went to see Tangled at the movies on Tuesday and lucky we booked ahead because both sessions ended up being sold out. Once we were in the theatre we realised why – there were only about 7 rows and the theatre held about 60 people.

We got a break in the weather on Wednesday and headed over to Hot Water Beach. I have vague memories of going there as a child, but I didn’t remember there are only two certain spots that you can dig for hot water, and there were heaps of people all vying for the best places. But after a while we ended up with a nice spot.

We headed down the road a few km’s to Hahei and man is that place beautiful or what. The beach was gorgeous – I went for a walk and Sam had a nap. We both wished we were staying there instead but lesson learned for next time.

Instead of driving the 40 minutes back around to Whitianga, we left our car in the car park and caught the 2 minute ferry back to Whitianga. The next morning we did the same and picked up the car and headed back to Hahei so we could go to Cathedral Cove, of Narnia fame and of course general NZ fame.

We hired snorkel gear in Hahei but regretted the decision a little as a) we had to carry it along with the rest of our crap and b) when we got to gemstone bay, the water was bloody cold, and we didn’t really see much of anything. We did however snorkel right over a stingray, and yes thoughts of Steve Irwin’s untimely death went through my mind. He was about 1.5 metres below us.

Being as soft as we are, we abandoned the cold water pretty quick and began the trek to Cathedral Cove which is probably not that taxing for most but being 7 months pregnant I found the hills and stairs a bit hard. Though as Sam liked to point out “you were unfit before you got pregnant”.

Cathedral Cove was truly beautiful. I like that you can only access it by foot or by sea – it stops it being over run with too many people. We stayed there for a few hours and it was a nice way to spend our 4th wedding anniversary.

(Didn’t Sam do a nice job of those photos??)

Finally we packed up and began the walk back to the car, and good grief it damn near killed me. But we rewarded ourselves with Cyclones from the Hahei general store – man those ice blocks are the best. Additionally, I love places that have a ‘general store’. (Although I noticed 2L of ice-cream was $8.80 so I would not like to do my general shopping there).

We went out to dinner, but made sure we were home in time for Vampire Diaries of course. Anniversary or not, we don’t miss that show ha ha ha ha ha. Friday the weather was overcast again so it wasn’t sad to pack up and head home. We stopped at the Te Aroha hot pools on the way home as I love floating around in all my rotundness at the moment. And then it was over – back to work Monday. A final few shots because they are pretty.

A little break

2011-01-16T21:01:00.001+13:00

Sam and I are heading to Whitianga for a few days tomorrow…our last holiday with just the two of us for presumably a very long time. We have been looking forward to it – especially Sam who only got the stat days off over Christmas and New Years. We’ll also have our 4th wedding anniversary over there.

I am less than impressed however with the weather forecast. It’s looking like cloud and rain the whole time we are there. (Of course it has been lovely and sunny right up until today). I am trying not to let it bother me, but that isn’t working out too well. Hard not to be a bit gutted when you are heading to the beach! C’est la vie – at least we won’t be at work.

It has been so hot the last few days. I’m sure I don’t usually feel the heat this much, so it must be my central heating system aka the baby that is making it feel extra warm. Thank goodness for the fan.

And chocolate milkshakes like this.

(We had ourselves a little lunchtime Burger Fuel date yesterday. Damn it was good).

afternoon tea

2011-01-13T16:01:00.003+13:00

seems like i'm all about the food lately.

probably because I am.

Met Mark for afternoon tea. Iced chocolate for me, Iced coffee for him.

Could do with another one really.

sometimes it doesn’t get much better…

2011-01-11T22:03:00.001+13:00

than corn on the cob for dinner – smothered with butter of course

Followed up with cold watermelon.

They have got to be two of the best things about summer. Already looking forward to corn again tomorrow.

summer reading so far

2011-01-11T21:49:00.001+13:00

Sam got me the new John Grisham book for Christmas. Usually I quite enjoy Grisham, though I know some people think he is a bit formulaic (is that a word?) This book was a bit different to the others I’ve read, and I’m still not sure if I really liked it. It was good in the sense I had to keep reading, but it didn’t seem to have the same twists as his other novels. It is about an innocent black guy on death row in Texas – funnily enough just a couple days after I finished the book a guy in Texas was freed after spending 30 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Can you even imagine 30 years of your life gone, for something you didn’t do?? What really gets me is that the sentence was for 75 years, for aggravated robbery. 75 years?? That’s insane. NZ sometimes is on the other end of the spectrum, with sentences that are far too light. I’m not sure which is worse. But I digress – the book is perhaps a good read, but not a great one.

I just finished this book by Kathryn Stockett. It’s set in Mississippi in the 1960s, at a time where “black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver”. The story is told through the eyes of 3 women, 2 black and 1 white, and I thought it was a great read. There are a few really funny lines, but also moments where you can’t quite believe what you are reading. Because though the novel is fiction, the attitudes portrayed were very real, as were some of the events touched on. Some of the writing is very nice indeed.

Anyone read a good book lately? Recommendations?