A Kiwi Christmas December 27, 2007

One of the funny thing about having Christmas in the Soutrhern Hemisphere is that its summer and so a lot of English traditions that our ancestors brought to NZ don’t really fit.  Having a huge hot lunch on Christmas day when it is so hot outside that all you want to do is laze just doesn’t really work.

This year because we were moving I hadn’t really got into the Christmas spirit and I guess I never really did although I had a wonderful day.  For some reason the Young Man woke at 6am which meant a very long but fun day.  We knew that the Young Man was going to get quite a few presents so the Adman and I broke the bank and went and brought him a…. toothbrush – which strangely enough seems to be his favourite pressie and he wonders everywhere with it in his mouth. 

The most exciting thing about Christmas day was that the Young Man decided it was a good day to truly start walking.  For the last few weeks he was been taking  a few steps here and there but on Christmas day he walked straight across the lounge and after that he has been off – even attempting to run!  Of course crawling is still his fastest mode of transport but mostly now he will attempt to walk before giving up and crawling.

After Christmas lunch ( Cold ham, salads, roast potatoes and feta peas) we all lazed around and then went for a walk.  This seems to be what most families do (or go to the beach for a swim) and  it was nice to catch up  with neighbours and friends who were also out and about. 

Maybe one year will will head overseas and have a ‘white’ Christmas but I have to say I prefer the hot summer sun and relaxed nature of a kiwi christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone  – have a realxing holiday!!

We are here December 27, 2007

the last week has been  probably one of the most stressful in my life.  Not only did we pack up our house and fit it into a truck.  But I also finished in my job ( getting rid of three drawers full of filing was surprising cathartic!!),  dealt with a teething baby and had Christmas.   Everyone said we were mad to move the weekend before Christmas – and we were but now I can sit back and relax.

our move was really an exercise in faith as we moved on 22 Dec and the Adman didn’t have his interview for his new job until 24 Dec.  I was confident that he would get it and thta things would work out but  in hindsight it was a huge risk to take as if he didn’t get the job then we would have had to move back and I would have been out of work until I found another job.  But of course it did work out and here we are beginning our new  life YAY.  The Young Man seems to have settled in really well and is back to sleeping through the night  after a couple of rough ones ( Although he has been teething as well so I don’t blame the little guy!).

I will write about our Christmas another day  – it was quiet and relaxing – just what we needed but we still ate far too much food!

Saturday December 15, 2007

Today is the last saturday we will officially spend in our home….  We have finally got our A’s into Gear and started packing.  I had been absolutely fine until the Adman started talking about all the great things  that had happened in our first home.  I was happily reminiscing until he said…” and we made the Young Man here”.  And that’s all I needed  – I was suddenly in tears  and realising that our lives are about to change big time – and in fact for the next few months or so we won’t even have a home as we will be living  at my Mums. 

 In much more exciting news the Young Man’s vocab  is slowing expanding  -still no mama though – although he can happily name the cat and dog, and say ta and Hiiiiiiii. He has also  started a very strange habit and it wasn’t until I read Holly’s  last post that I suddenly realised why it seemed so familiar.  The Young Man constantly repeats a sound just like Anne screeching  in Little Britain - Its awfully funny  but does get on your nerves when you are stuck in the car and for the whole trip all he is doing is  eh eh eh eh…

Something I can’t live without December 13, 2007

When I was fifteen I ‘borrowed’ my Mum’s car to go and visit a friend.  To cut a long story short I basically crashed the car and stuffed my back up pretty badly.  That’s when my love affair with chiropractors began.

To begin with I used to dread going as I knew he would crunch and manipulate my back and I couldn’t stand hearing the noise coming from within me of my bones cracking.  But soon I began to look forward to going as I knew that  having a treatment would mean a few  pain free days.  After about a year of regular treatment I was able to lie on my back for more than ten minutes – something that had been impossible after the accident.  For about three years I went regularly to the chiropractor and enjoyed being back pain free.  But then I went to University and became a poor student and there was no way I was able to afford to keep it up.

 Skip forward to last year when I was about  five months pregnant. I began to suffer pretty severe back pain, somedays I couldn’t  bend because of the pain.  And so I went back to see a chiropractor and he made things all better.  Throughout my pregnancy I saw my chiropractor usually 3 times a week and I credit him solely with getting me to the end of my pregnancy in one piece.  I also believe that seeing him helped immensely in regards to me managing to have a  normal delivery even though the Young Man was posterior and he got stuck.  One of Adman’s great ‘birthing’ stories is when I was in full labour and the epidural was beginning to wear off.  Apparently  I grabbed Admans hand and looked straight at him and said….”Get me my chiropractor” !! 

I know lots of people think chiropractors are charlatan’s and don’t actually make a difference.  But I literally can’t survive without seeing my chiro every couple of weeks.  If I don’t I can’t sleep, can’t lift the Young Man and I become a bee-arch to be around.  Luckily I have a regular appointment so that doesn’t happen….. although occasionally I still become a bee-arch – I just can’t blame it on back pain.

My pet hates for today December 11, 2007

Tyre kickers…..  We have had two or three people through out house who have shown real interest and then rang us to make an offer and it has been so ridiculous  – as in “can we buy your house in six months time when we might have some money and  you take it off the market now – oh but we don’t want to pay a deposit or anything”.  Its doing my head in as I get all excited thinking that this hell that we call selling our house may be over only to end up back at square one.

Humidity….. December is all about the humidity in the top half of the North Island of NZ.  Yesterday it was raining but was so humid that steam was actually rising off the ground.  my main gripe with humidity is what it does to my hair.  Typically my hair behaves itself and looks halfway decent.  But add humidity and I end up with a frizzy afro that can’t be tamed.

Packing…… We move in (ohmygod) 11 days and I am yet to start packing.  I am procrastinating because I know what a pain it will be – not only the actual packing of items and and the screeds of newspaper you have to use to wrap breakables in ( and the newsprint hands that follow), but also the boxes that will be everywhere, the lack of kitchen things to use when cooking and also the general dis-array the comes with packing up a house.

Christmas mince (fruit) pies…..  these are a pet hate of mine as I can’t stop eating them.  The rich fruity gooey goodness in the middle and the short sweet pastry is just heaven and seems to be the perfect antidote to reduce my  stress levels.  Unfortunately I have discovered ones with a layer of caramel and it looks like I will be gorging myself on these for at least the next 2 weeks.

Teeth…. yip they are still a pet hate of mine. The Young Man is now in the process of getting his top eye teeth and although they aren’t nearly as bad as when he got his bottom teeth they are still causing him to be a grumpy little man who doesn’t want to eat, doesn’t want snuggles and really just wants it all to go away.

18 Days December 4, 2007

I know that life is meant to be hectic leading up to Christmas but  this has to be a joke.  In less than 18 DAYS we move.  I haven’t giving a thought about how we will pack (let alone when I will get a chance to do it) and to make matters even worse  ( but better too!!) is that we have had an offer on our house.  Its an offer but it full of a lot of buts.  They want a long settlement – as in 1 June next year and they want to rent the house off us until then.  In theory its do-able but we just have to work out how it will work out and make sure that the agreement we sign covers our butts so to speak.   And of course we have to still negotiate on the final price so its still not firm.  I would dearly love to have something sorted out before we move in 18 DAYS!! and fingers crossed that it will happen.

 This time in exactly three weeks in will be Christmas day – and it will all be over (hopefully), we would have moved, settled ourselves into my Mums, and we will be just able to R.E.L.A.X.  and just enjoy being where we have planned and hoped we would be for so long.

But until then I have 18 DAYS of stress and more stress, I not only have to organise packing  up our house and moving it but I also have to finish work and do all the filing that I have been putting off for more than  a year. 

 When I was talking to a friend the other day and telling her about our next few weeks she laughed and said that nothing ever worked out the easy way  when it came to us but it always worked out in the end.  So I guess for the next 18 DAYS I just have to remember that and know that there is light at the end of a very dark tunnel

Six things that have made me a grumpy cow December 2, 2007

1.  The Young Man has been sick – so sick that he has lost his voice.  It is so sad to hear a baby trying to cry and all that comes out is a croak
2. I have had no more than 3 hours sleep each night for most of the week due to the above reason
3. We move in 3 weeks and we still haven’t sold our house and we are both so stressed that when we try to discuss other options it usually ends in an argument
4. I seem to have permanent PMS – so bad that the other day I told Adman to not even think about touching me.
5. I have three weeks of work left and probably about 8 weeks of work to complete before I finish
6. I hate my hair and desperately need a haircut but I have far better things that I have (i.e. bills)  to spend my money on so I just have to live with the inch and half of regrowth.