Catch-Up

This is Tombliboo, Princess and our friend Z5 at the Dora Live Show which Princess won us free tickets to go to.

And here is our little fellow- who very proudly pulled out my sole (and teeny) broccoli plant...then started to eat the florette, before pronuncing it "Yuck" and taking the plant to the rubbish.

We’ve had a busy week! Princess was a way in Kerikeri with Grandma and Poppy for 5 days! She has only ever stayed away from home for one night once. It was a big thing for her, and she was terribly excited.

By all accounts it went very well- she had a blast. She missed us of course, and she had some moments when she was keen to get home. She slotted back in at home far better than J-Man had- possibly because she was really keen to get home, whereas he would have been happy to stay another day or more.

While Princess was gone, I tried to spend as much time as possible doing what J-Man loves to do- gaming. We were playing alongside each other, and doing jobs, and being with Tombliboo in-between times. I’m one recipe away from finishing all the current sets in Packrat. It is a giant waste of time, and yet it has been a tonne of fun for me ;0)

Tombliboo must have watched Finding Nemo 15 times this week…he loves it. I’m amazed he can sit through a full-length film. He turned 20 months on Friday. We all sang “Happy Month Day” to him, which is our custom, and J-Man made him a lovely sign out of Lego.

When Princess arrived home on Friday night, Tombliboo held her for a very long time. He is not overly-cuddly, and in many ways is actually quite prickly- but he just held on, and it was very, very beautiful.

J-Man stayed the night with his friend J11- its’ the first time they’ve pulled it off. They have been trying to organise a sleepover for at least 2 years, but never quite accomplish it- both boys preferring to host the event, and neither boy particularly keen to leave his family. They had a fabulous time, then we got to see them for a good part of the next day and evening as well.

So, for the first time *ever* dh and I had only Tombliboo one night. It was so nice- the little fellow loved it, and it was great to be able to hang-out and just talk. Well, mostly we were nattering whilst cleaning the lounge, but it was fun. It seems a long time since we have been able to just discuss things and have fun together without constant interruptions. We were interrupted, but mainly for piggy-back rides.

We went to visit our friends J and M, and baby (I probably should stop saying “Baby”) J 18 months. We arrived to late to play Singstar as planned, so watched episodes of The IT Crew instead, which we all find rather hilarious.

Yesterday, we met up with Auntie A, and our cousins H8 and P9 at the museum. That was a lot of fun for all. Daddy and J-Man went to a cool sop in town where they have loads of x-boxes and PS3’s etc, and all the games you can think of. You pay a set amount and can play what you like for an hour…heaven for little (and bigger) boys.

We had no internet for 2 days, and I thought last night would be hellish with boring rugby on tv and no computer. But, I enjoyed doing a Killer Sudoku, writing in Tombliboo’s baby book, and reading a little of my own current book, Chocolat. It was a very nice evening, followed by an horrible night with Tombliboo (just like the one before), with him up every half hour. Not entirely sure of the reasoning, but guessing I’ve had far too much chocolate in the last couple of days.

Today has been a happy mixture of being with he children, and getting jobs done. Princess and I went for a wander to the shops, and later for a drive up the roads to the carwash place. We cleaned the car as well as it’s been done since we first got it, and I cleaned the outside windows, and caught up on a mound of washing- didn’t do any yesterday, and it was also about time the sheets got washed.

Dh cleaned our mouldy bedroom ceiling- it looks incredible. I can’t imagine how bad it must have been for us breathing it in…there is a gap between the house and the (badly-made) garage. The wall is constantly wet, and we have lost boxes of books as a result of having them in the garage…but that is not as terrible as the mould growing on the (bubbly) wall paper, and ceiling.

I've started to think about Princess' exemption. In NZ, a child is legally required to be in school from age 6 (though most go at age 5). We need to get an exemption from school for her form the Ministry of Education. It is a bit of a process, and one I'd rather not bother with again. I think it probably should be enough that we had one approved (for J-Man) and have been favourably reviewed by the Education Review Office (who also review NZ schools). I plan to make it as short as possible. I have begun a mind-map of all the learning she is doing. It;s impossible to write everything down, because it's happening all the time, and I forget stuff as well. But it does look impressive. I might just send the mindmap in with a cover letter and see what happens :0)