Granny Deanna

Granny Deanna's arrival was much anticipated last Saturday and a couple hours before she and her cousin's were due to arrive, David came to me and said, "Mommy, I am shy..." - I think he was just forewarning us that he might be a bit hesitant with his affections on her arrival.... which happened while I was still in the shower (bad timing on my part and good timing for those who drove up north) ! So this is all heresay but apparently David clutched onto Deon's legs when he saw his granny for the first time in nearly 5 months, climbed into his Dad's arms and held onto him for a couple seconds but then launched himself on the ground and swiftly into his granny's arms and flung his little arms around her neck and would not let go !!!
As he would say "i member you now ganny"
Deon had prepared a feast for lunch and we all sat down to roast chicken and vegetables after David had warmed up to the guests and was on top form.

David opening his present from Aunty Gen - a monkey he promptly named Lewis

Sunday morning, in bed with Granny reading the new book from Cousin Jean

Sunday at Ocean Beach - showing Granny the beauty of Northland

more sunday - and more beautiful spots

Granny has fitted right into our weekly schedule, starting with swimming lessons on Monday, shopping Tuesday, Playcentre Wednesday, shopping Thursday and Playcentre Friday !

Me and The Noodle in the Pool at swimming lessons and Granny and The Noodle at Playcentre, blowing bubbles

It is really wonderful to have her here with us, she is spoiling us rotten and David is loving having his Granny here !!! We are so grateful and thankful to Jean & Quinton Dace who made this happen and can't thank them enough !

David's talking has also escalated recently and here are a few of the beauts we have had this week (some of the humour is "lost in translation" but anyway):

• he was sitting on the couch with no nappy on (potting training) with his hands near his rear end and he suddenly looked at me and said "mommy, air come out mine bum"
• his granny was showing him pictures of some African animals and he points to a snake and says "no snakes in Nu Zea-and"
• I told him we needed to leave Playcentre and go home and he answered back with "no go home, never ever !"
  
• and the best - his granny was feeding him some avo and suddenly he stops dead, looks at her and says "member, ganny, house in Ape Town, me younger" I kid you not, he's 2 years old, for goodness sake, how the hell does he know he was younger !!!!!!!

Today (Friday 6 March) is Deanna's birthday so she is taking us out for supper ;)
more soon
love to all

Waitangi Weekend

it's sunday night and we are all glowing with happiness because we have had the most wonderful weekend ! Friday was a holiday in NZ - Waitangi Day - go to this link to read all about it

Click here for information about Waitangi Day.

Deon's American friend, Ted, who working in Iraq at the moment, arrived on Friday morning to stay for a week so we decided to introduce him to all our friends here (and we owed everybody & ourselves a good party). We also got another visitor from Auckland, Sean Mayock, who is "my brother and sister's brother but not my brother" - for those who can't work it out, don't worry about it.... Sean and I have not really seen each for nearly 20 years after growing up together in PE, so i was really looking forward to connecting with him again after all this time.

So Deon marinated 4.5kgs of ribs, borrowed the big braai from Duane, Ted went booze shopping and the party was on !!
Our guests were Ted, Sean, Duane & Karyn with 6 year old Brent and 18month old Casey, Pieter & Renette with 1 year old Ryan (Jordan was with his grandparents for the night), Stephen & Lisa with 9 year old Sara-Lee & 6 year old Amber, and our Kiwi friends Dave & Katherine with 9 year old Ashleigh and 6 year old Logan !!! Yup - lots of kids which of course David loved, especially all the girls !

some of the girls hanging out in David's room

Katherine & Renette & the Men - early evening at the braai

Everybody brought a salad and lots more meat and as usual Deon did a brilliant braai so the food was superb, the drinks flowed steadily and we had the most wonderful party !

me & sean

The welcome but very short-lived rain sent some indoors (around midnight) and because of the stupid layout of our house, the deck is off the main bedroom, the festivities carried on in there for a bit but it did not stop some of us (no names mentioned, ok - me) from sliding on the kids' slippy slide at 1am - yes, i hang my head in shame and ache in places i did not know i had muscles but hell, it was fun !! and, thank goodness, there are no foto's...

the men the bedroom

yes, i know the focus is soft but I didn't actually take the pics and there was a smudge on the lens.....

i think everybody left around 2am but we are not really sure - IT WAS A GREAT PARTY !

anyway, david and saturday dawned bright and too early for us with hangovers but we managed to pull ourselves out of bed and spent the morning chatting and catching up - it was super hot !a we had an early lunch on the deck of leftovers - sean then spent the afternoon educating ted on the nuances of 7's rugby while me, deon & the noodle took a much needed nap !
Deon never re-surfaced so me and the noodle, Sean & Ted spent the evening in front of the telly watching the rugby 7's tournament that was being played in Wellington and yes, Sean of course was overjoyed with England's final seconds' victory !!
Sunday morning, Deon & Ted went fishing with Dave on his boat - very early - 6am and were home by 11am with 4 big snappers

it was another magnificent day here in Whangarei - hot & humid ! Sean left soon after the guys got back as he had a long drive back to auckland and then Deon took Ted to town to do some shopping.
the day just got hotter and hotter and after lunch and a sleep, we all went down to the beach for a swim - it was after 4pm and still stinking hot !! but the pacific ocean did it's job and we cooled down - Thank Goodness !
we got home and deon made a fire to cook the fish which were magnificent - nothing better than fresh fish on the braai ! While sitting on the deck as the air eventually cooled ted could not stop telling us what a wonderful life we have here and yes, we do !
It is a priviledge for us to be here, in this beautiful country, where our lives have changed beyond imagination and expectation, where our child is happy and safe and his future is limitless, where we can spend weekends like this one with good friends and family, where deon can go fishing whenever the urge takes him, where i have time for myself and my family and where we now call home.

Guilty as Charged

Ok, ok, i know it has been an age since I last updated the blog, but it's been BUSY !

• first there was Xmas - we spent a lovely day with the Marnitz's and another SA family
• then New Years' - had a fish braai with the Lamprechts - a quite one - home by 10.30 - i know, boring !
• deon was off work for 2 weeks over that time - it was great to have him home and we spent alot of time on the beach, diving, fishing and just enjoying the Northland summer
  
• then january - which has been busy with trying to keep the noodle and Renette's kids occupied and stimulated - no playcentre or school until 2 Feb .... so we spent days going for walks thru forests, playing in parks, at streams, and rivers with ducks, going to the library, playing on the slippy slide (yes, they still make them), kids making home made pizza and eating it and so forth and so on.....
• Ryan's (Renette's youngest) 1st birthday also happened in Jan
  
• and deon has been feeding the neighbourhood stray cats so now they came visit - much to david's pleasure
• we also have had a real kiwi bbq - a guy deon works with invited us to his house and david enjoyed the sausages and hamburger patties that were offered and then he helped Catherine decorate the pavlova for pudding :)
• deon has caught some great fish over the last few days, Monday was a holiday here - so he fished Saturday all day, Sunday in the morning and all day Monday with Pieter (renette's husband) - lots of fishing and he is loving it !!

I will really try keep you updated more regularly but the next few months are going to be even more busy, Deon's american friend, Ted arrives next week for a quick 2 week visit and then Deon's mom arrives just after that and is staying for 6 weeks - Yipppeee - i am so excited for her arrival and am so looking forward to having her here and showing her all the wonderful things that are now part and parcel of our lives and of course, the Noodle is thrilled Granny Deanny is coming soon !!
Hope you are all well - please send news back
Cheers

Stuff & Nonsense

so in case you haven't all read it on Renette's blog suppose i better let you know that our container arrived last week thursday, ok, so it was not actually the container but a truck with all our worldy possessions in it - with only 2 guys to carry it all in to our little house, which is way too small for everything - WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF !! it is mostly all unpacked for which i am very proud of myself. practically nothing was damaged other than deon's remote control plane (ag shame) and the wooden leg on my mirror - so suitably impressed with Stuttafords.

The Noodle opening his favourite car and then riding it again after 3 months
it is really great to have everything here - to sleep on a BED with our pillows and to sit on our COUCH - to dry the dishes on a drying rack - dishwasher not yet installed - anybody know a plumber ;) and to have some more shoes and clothes is also great - deon is thrilled to have all his stuff and has kitted out the garage as a fishing/hunting/camping/remote car,plane,chopper/tool shed and spends LOTS of time in there .....
the noodle is still overwhelmed with all his toys and his room is definately not big enough for them all so a purge is necessary some time in the not too distant future.....



XMAS/HANNUKAH 2008
so in the true tradition of a bipolar family, no wait that's not what we are, a bi-cultural family - ok, that's better, we did the xmas tree and menorah thingy this week - much to david's delight :)
but i must tell you that i think his jewish genes might be slightly stronger as he was petrified of Father Xmas who arrived at Playcentre today and insisted on going outside and playing instead of staying in to get a present from the Big Man - i dunno, you decide ....
anyway, Merry Xmas, Happy Hannukah and Great New Year to you All
much love all of us here

What a Weekend !!

Last weekend was a great one !! it started for deon on friday night when he had his work xmas function - he was home late and had a great time !
Saturday morning i made him fight thru the babbalas and join The Noodle and I at the Onerahi (suburb we live in) Xmas market and parade - much fun was had by all - David got to sit in a fire engine and Dad got to buy water pistols and homemade pickles.



During the parade, Father Christmas arrived on the same said fire engine much to David's delight and was followed by some fancy cars, some fancy motorbikes and a couple of floats featuring the local Young Mariners, kids soccer team and local circus - well I think it was a circus..... you can watch a 2.5 mins of the parade of you like : or not, i don't really mind




Saturday night we went to the Marnitz's for a regte Suid Afrikaanse Braai - wiff lots off ovver Souf Efrikens dere - what a jol ! lots of laughter, eating and drinking !!


the party vibe.... Me with Lisa (Durban) & Karyn (Kokstad) and The SA Kids

Sunday I had to fight my babblas - and we decided to go the annual Summer Show - which is billed as "Where the Country Meets the Town" - it was an agricultural fair + Playland + flea market + Rand Easter Show (mini version) - it was really great fun - David go to see cows and sheep and goats and chickens and alpacas and tractors and stunt guys on motorbikes and dodgem cars and ferris wheels and and and


the picture below is the barrier that stopped people from just walking into the showgrounds without paying - look, see you CAN just walk thru it but NOBODY did - they just don't do things like that here !!

Diary of Happy People

so everybody keeps asking me "WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY" so here is what i did last week:

monday - went to fetch renette (Ex Neigbour) and ryan from their new house in kensington - did a few chores including me joining the library and then went we shopping, back to renette for coffee. david had lunch there. got home at 1pm - david went to sleep - i cleaned house and washed morning's dishes. david woke up at 2.30 - it was raining & pouring so went to get thomas the tank engine dvd (his new favourite). deon came home and then it was time to start cooking supper. had supper at 6pm, bathed david and then time for bed. deon attempted to stay awake to watch another installment of our james bond project, octorpussy.... he failed miserably so i had a chance to finish watching my chick flick, atonement - very good - was in bed at 11pm
tuesday - renette and ryan came to our house and then we went to Karyn Marnitz for coffee - a few other woman and children were there - had a lovely morning, chatting, eating cake and drinking good coffee, home at 12.00 - Noodle lunch and looong sleep - whilst i prepared supper and caught up on emails. when he woke at 3pm it was a lovely afternoon so we took a blanket, some books and toys out on to the front lawn and read and played with Xavier (little girl from next door) deon was home by 4.30 and they played in the garden, fixed the car and hung out together till supper time. bath and bed for noodle a bit late tonite so i only got to wash dishes and make deon's "school" lunch after 10pm so was a late one for me :)
wednesday is playcentre day - decided to walk there today - good 20 minute walk up 2 BIG hills - really enjoyed the exercise - playcentre till 11h45 and then walk (ran down hills) back home - lunch and sleep for the noodle - swept and cleaned again - ja, i know :) - then we went to town to do some shopping and then went for a visit to Renette - home just after 5pm - Deon was home from work so we all sat/played in the garden as it had been a scorching hot day and enjoyed the evening together catching up on our days'. supper, wash dishes, sandwiches made and david asleep all before 8.30 as my Wednesday nite TV programs start then - season 3 of Heroes and Prison Break
thursday morning and with nothing definate planned i really had to think out the box - remembered that the library did kids' mornings on a Thursday so we rushed there but david decided he did not like it - i think too many strangers in too small a space singing Rudolf The Red Nosed Rhindeer was just not his thing... so we decided to go the park instead at which we stayed till 12h00 - swinging, sliding and climbing - that is definately his thing... back home for lunch and sleep after hearing brilliant news from the doctor that all was well with my bloodtests so my Work Permit application can go in now - Yippee !!
after sleep we read some books and then had to go back to doctor's rooms for him to sign off paperwork and then home and deon called to say he needed to be fetched from work so back in the car...
deon and david played in the garden for a couple hours in the evening, supper, bath and a nice skype chat to sue and grampa moi and it was bed time. Deon actually washed the dishes tonight while i made his steak sandwiches for work and then we settled down to watch a DVD - another late night :)
Friday is Playcentre day - TG - David wanted to walk again, but alas it was raining so an indoor day at Playcentre - home for lunch and sleep and then to Renette to do 2 loads of washing. Then home to Deon who was getting ready to go out to his work Xmas Party, back in the car to drive him to town. On the way home David I decided we deserved some fish & chips for supper which we then eat sitting on the deck - it was a lovely evening. Deon had a great time and was home laaaate via a lift from a designated driver - NOBODY even thinks about driving drunk here !
Ok, that was a our week - we had a fantastic weekend which will be next week's blog
hoping with all hope that our container arrives this week !!

Home Movies

our washing is still being done at my neighbour's house, even tho' she moved last weekend, hence the suitcase in which it is carted across town, anyway - so after hanging it up david decided to get inside and i could not resist, so we made some movies for your viewing pleasure - enjoy