Opportunities

First of all, Happy Birthday Darryl!!! :) xxx luv ya hun!

Now... Opportunities, they come and go, whether or not you want to take an opportunity thrown your way is completely up to you, but they are part of what shapes your life, you either take this path, or a new one, and where will it lead you? you either find out or you dont i guess!

We have been blessed this year, from today we have 2 opportunites infront of us, one personal, one business, both of them fantastic for the future of our family. we have talked about it, argued about it (as ya do!), thought about it, and decided that both opportunities we will take. Its a very exciting (and stressful and busy!) time for us, i cant talk much about the business thing yet (confidentiality contracts and all that!) but for the personal one, it means that very soon, we will be proud home owners :)

My mother and her partner are applying for a new Mortgage tonight, Darryl and i get to find a house we like, (with potential preferrably) in a certain price bracket, we pay the full Mortgage, insurance, rates etc, with my Mum and her Partner owning the house, but we get to do anything we want to it. (making sense? good!) once we decide to sell the house, Mum and T will get their deposit back, plus half share profit, and we will get anything we put into the house (mortgage payments, renovation money etc) plus half share profit, this gives Mum the opportunity to invest some money like she has always wanted to do, and gives us the opportunity to own our first home without the major hassles (and huge mortgages) that some people have to deal with.

I love my Mum so much for this opportunity, because without it i doubt VERY much if we could ever get into our own home, it is so very hard and we are on quite a high income, i would hate to know how people on low-average incomes make it, because i find it hard enough! i guess you move out of Auckland to own your own home.... but we are SO excited, and totally have our DIY caps on! so great opportunities coming our way, and we are truely blessed :)

We have today, given Kaylees daycare 2 weeks compulsary notice that she will not be going anymore, at $100 a week for 3 half days (inc food) it has been a blessing for me, but its something else unfortunatly that we have just got to cut back on, we have her on the waiting list at our local private kindy, so she will go there soon, at $14 a session its a hell of a lot cheaper!! (Public Kindy doesnt start until age 3.5-3.8 years here, so thats a while away yet).

I took Olivia for her 3 mths immunisations today (shes 4mths old today! can you believe it!!!) she screamed so bad, i nearly cried too!! gave her a feed straight afterwards though and that settled her heaps and heaps, now shes fast asleep, and Kaylee is meant to be fast asleep but is quietly trashing her bedroom!!!

Kaylee is still going great with her toilet training! even the occasional Poo, which rocks!!

You know when your childless, the thought of talking about wees and poos is a bit gross... now its just everyday chatter! lol

theres some REALLY funky new music out at the moment, im loving Hinder, and the Kooks, and My Chemical Romance, and Fall Out Boy and fergie and Gwen Stefani (have always LOVED Gwen Stefani & No Doubt) and so much more, its funky, its basey, its groovey, love it!

I got my hair done on Saturday with the voucher i got for my birthday, if i am to have one vice in my life, i choose getting my hair done regularly, i absolutely LOVE it! i feel SO much better when i have it done, i love going to the salon, having mummy time, letting someone pamper ME! (i LOVE the massage chairs they have at the salon i go to when you get your hair shampooed!) I am no sporting a funky short do (again, lol) with red (BRIGHT) and blondey highlights, its very different and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!! sometimes i just have to get out of the mummy zone and feel like me again, and this does it for me every time!

still no luck selling my damn car.... SUX!! we have dropped the price as far as it can go, and have had a wee bit of interest... but usually nothing comes of it...

we are trying to sell Darryls boat too, no luck there either... dammit!

Olivia is great, Kaylee is great, I am great, Darryl is great (if not getting a little old! haha)

Over and out from the land of Carla :) xxx

How prepared are you?

I have learnt, in my adult life, that people are so hohum when it comes to emergancys, or disasters, they are so "oh it wont happen to me" or "the govt will have a plan, we will be sweet" but WHAT IF something does happen to you?

When the Matata (Bay of Plenty) floods happened, it put me into shock, im from Edgecumbe, a small country town just under 10 minutes away from Matata, i had friends and family affected, and noone was prepared.

If you had 5 minutes to get as much as you could and leave, do you have things prepared to grab? do you have torches, Candles and Matches, blankets, first aid kits in a place to grab very quickly? do you have a small supply of food? water? if you were stuck in your house for a week without power or water, would you survive? do you have enough supplies to last you?

Or do you expect everyone else to provide for you?

As an adult, as a parent, as a mother, i have to look after, provide and care for my children, in an emergancy this is just as important. it doesnt matter about myself and Darryl not eating heaps, but our children still need to be fed, they still need to have water.

We have animals, they need caring for, do you have supplies of pet food?

im not saying you have a whole shed dedicated to "just in case" thats just a bit silly, (and expensive!) but a few bottles of water, some batteries, torches, radio, tins of food, being stored away in a plastic box (or backpacks as some people i know do) doesnt hurt. It doesnt cost much to set up, we started by purchasing a couple of things a week, our local supermarket a few months ago had tins of soup for 25c a tin, so i got heaps of them, beans, spagetti, tins of fish, rice. all these things can feed your family.

i will be honest, i had the shits put up me last night with the Earthquakes we had in Auckland, i went into survival mode, i got my emergancy kit by the door, i double checked all torches, i got blankets and clothing ready, i got water prepared. so if for any reason we had to leave in a hurry, we could, WITH supplies.

I think to be honest i put the shits up some of my friends and family too... but it got them thinking, and i make no apologys for that :)

I am not a sook, or a pussy, or a pedantic freak, i come from a town where Earthquakes are very common, but i also come from a town that has had their share of natural disasters (a huge Earthquake being one of them) but when we have an earthquake in Auckland, a VERY shallow earthquake only 30km off the Orewa coast and 6KM down. It does scare the bejesus out of me, and it does get me even more ready than when i was before.

ok SURE you dont have to be scared shitless and stay home 'just in case' thats just dumb, you dont have to worry every 5 minutes where your kids are, or your husband/wife.

But for goodness sakes, get prepared.

http://www.getthru.govt.nz/Emergency-Survival-Kit.57.0.html

http://www.survive-it.co.nz/

http://www.mcdem.govt.nz/memwebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Being-Prepared-What-to-do-Index?OpenDocument

Just stuff...

I was undecided for the last week whether or not to post, hence no entries on my part, i havent been in the best mood, and didnt want to come across as "poor me" because thats not what i am feeling at all, it has however been like a mini rollercoaster this week of emotions, due to tiredness and exhaustion amongst other things. not to mention the amount of damn "hawkers" coming to my door lately, its driving me crazy! ive had Kirby (vacuum cleaners) 3 times in the last fortnight, tree trimming guys, landscapers, roof restorers, Jehouver wittnesses, Mormons, foot people (cant remember the name for them) its pretty crazy how many i get, i kind of want the mormons back, they were pretty hot... :) and they offered to do my gardening! haha

Olivia is getting pretty terrible with her sleeping, we are taking 1 step foward and 2 steps back at the moment with this bub, i do realise and understand that she is not quite 4 months old yet, and that babies do take time to settle in, but take last night for example, she was awake from 6pm-2.30am, when she (and I!) finally crashed, she was then awake at 5.30am and back asleep at 7am, when of course i had to get up and shower to try and keep awake to be a mummy to Kaylee! (who by the way is on the couch eating muesli bars watching Barney the Dinosaur... its lazy day today and i dont really care!) this has been however the worst night by far, so im hoping that tonight is so much better! but Olivia has been a wee bit unsettled for a good couple of weeks, we got her sleeping right through the night (from 7pm - 6.30am) and it was BLISS! how i wish for that now! but all we can do is keep on truckin!

Olivia was weighed and measured last week (16 weeks) and was 6.1kg and 60cm which is heaps smaller than Kaylee when she was weighed at just before 3 months! its great that Olivia still fits into her teeny clothes, im definitely getting my moneys worth out of them!!! Olivia also rolled for the first time last week, so that was cool, i got pics nearly identical (under the same change mat, both in the nudeys) to when Kaylee first rolled (however Kaylee rolled at 9 weeks, Olivia at 15)

Kaylee however is being brilliant with her toilet training, apart from #2s she hasnt had an accident for over a week now, its just happened so quickly and she is VERY independant with it all, its great! my little bubba isnt a bubba anymore! *sob* her speech is amazing too, very little gabble now, unless she is talking on the phone, and she has beautiful manners compared to other children (some) that i know, always uses please and thank you, sometimes needs a wee reminder, but is generally pretty good at it, just have to teach her "excuse me" because she is constantly butting in, one step at a time!!!

I unfortunatly had one of my cats put to sleep on Monday, it was heart wrenching for me to make that decision, and i hated the idea of it (still do) but she had been ill for a while, the vets was costing a small fortune, and she just wasnt getting any better, had even stopped grooming herself, she was so vulnerable to all the other neighbourhood cats, but hated being inside all the time, the last straw for me was when she was attacked by a neighbours cat and scratched right on her eye, it got infected (esp with this heat!) very very quickly and she was in a lot of pain, that and everything else that was wrong with her, basically made the decision for me. but i hate the feeling that i had, i hate that i made the decision to effectively kill one of my beloved family members, it really hurts me that i couldnt do anything more for her. sux.

ive eaten nothing but shit for the past week, pizza twice, loads of white starchy carbs, chocolate, chips, lollies, ive been very silly, and regretted every bit i have put in my mouth, but havent been able to stop myself, however i went food shopping yesterday, did not buy lollies, or chocolate, or chips, god fruit and veggies and salad, healthy muesli bars, yoghurts, lean meat (apart from chicken wings) and basmati rice. $102 was my shopping bill for the week, at a more expensive supermarket too (countdown) as pak n save was blocked by an accident. i feel bloated i feel gross, my skin is disgusting, my hair is horrid (however i have an appt on Sunday - cant wait! pamper session!!!)

so yes, im hoping for a much easier and better week from today, im hoping to be back in a couple of days with a more positive and upbeat post.

xxx

Happy Anniversary Hun!!! xxx

Yep, its our first Wedding Anniversary today, also its 6 years to the very day we met. So a very special occasion!

Its been a year full of ups and downs, (that i do not blog about, i keep my relationship private) but we have worked together and im happy that this year brings a fresh new start, and we just cannot wait to get on with life and build a future for ourselves and our children.

I cannot believe (looking back at photos of our wedding, and talking to people) how much i have changed in just one short year, I am a lot healthier in mind and body, im 10 kg lighter at the moment than i was on the day of my wedding, i think differently, i act differently, and i find all of this a very positive thing. it means with everything i learn, i grow mentally, i take on the things i am taught and i act on them. i find it healing.

We had a lovely weekend, my SIL & BIL arrived yesterday morning to take their children back, and they offered to have Kaylee for the afternoon too, which i gratefully accepted, so Darryl, Olivia and I went to a friends wedding overlooking the Manukau Harbour, was just stunning, the rain held out too, the ceremony was beautiful, it was an Indian/NZ wedding, and the Sari's were devine!

Unfortunatly Olivia started playing up a bit once the Ceremony was over (had a VERY unsettled day with her yesterday) so waiting around at the hall for an hour before the bride and groom arrived just wasnt going to happen unfortunatly, so we went for a drive to settle her and arrived up to the spot where we got married (North Head reserve in Devonport) where we watched a guy jump off the cliff parachuting and kids sliding down the hill on strips of cardboard and familys having picnics and people relaxing, was just lovely.

Then we decided to make the most of Kaylee being looked after and we went to Lonestar in Takapuna for dinner, i had my favourite Apache fish and salad, and Darryl had the lovely looking (but i wont try because i dont eat mushrooms!) Jonny Cash Stash (i can see Emily drooling from here!) i got my meal small portioned and Darryl should of! haha it was HUGE! he brought heaps of it home with him for lunch today! then of course as it was our Anniversary dinner we couldnt go past desert (which we both couldnt finish!) and i got an amazing Jack Daniels hot choc fudge pudding and Darryl got the compulsary Kahlua and Moro bar cheesecake! seemed a shame leaving half of it behind, but we just couldnt do it! haha

From our wedding ceremony...

...Marriage is the ultimate in sharing for two souls whose parallel presence walks beside them, sharing their passions, their enjoyment of each other, supporting them in their individual pursuits as well as their joint ones. It is being a friend, encouraging and assisting one another if necessary, along a journey of love; with the happiness and strength of a true, loyal and committed partner. Marriage is two, who compliment one another well, mingling and sharing; both having the dedication to stay open to one another, revealing more of your inner selves and learning still more of each other's finer points along the way. It is an intimate adventure with this most special person....

Summer Lovin'

Wow its a scorcher here in Auckland! our inside temp gauge is reading 30 outside (in the shade) and 33 inside! thats with all the doors and windows open and the fan going full tit!

You know the poo story from the other day? had another incident the day before yesterday, you think it couldnt get any worse than before? well think again.... nuff said!

Kaylee however, apart from the poo incidents is doing SOOOO well at Toilet Training, she was even dry in her over night nappy this morning! after a 12 hour sleep! we were much impressed!

I have a busy weekend ahead, we are looking after our Neice and Nephew (aged 2 and 4 respectively) for the weekend while their parents are away at a wedding, so its a bit different for them having never stayed away from Mum and Dad before, and its a little bit full on having a couple more kids in the house i tell you! cant say im too keen on having 4 kids myself at any time soon.... dont think i could cope!!! but trying to keep the kids occupied/covered in sunscreen/hats on/drinking water/eating fruit/staying in the shade/not running away is a full time job almost! whew!

When the kids parents arrive back in the morning they are taking Kaylee home with them and Darryl, Olivia and I are off to a wedding in the afternoon/evening, so that should be nice, its in a park, so i hope there will be a fair amount of shade and a little cooler! im sure i will sweat like buggery in whatever i will be wearing though.... its pretty stiffling out there!

still havent sold my car which is a bugger... but the new car we have is now warranted so i can drive that around and we can more actively promote my car for sale.

Now im about to dive into a nice watermelon that is sitting in my fridge.... ohhh yummm!!!

Toilet Training....

Oh My GODDDDDD shes got it!! we have success! only 1 accident today. It has all been her own doing, she doesnt even tell us that she is going, she just goes!!! (we can tell by the dribble on the seat afterwards.... i will teach her to clean up after herself later on down the track.... shes doing WEEEEES on the toilet!)

Very exciting times in our house i tell you!

but nothing else is really going on.... just been trying to keep cool, its damn hot!

Nectarines are my fave food of the month, they are just SO nice at the moment! ive gone through so much in the last couple of weeks, they are so cheap!

2 year olds!!

They are a unique creature are they not? haha

if you have an aversion (is that the right word?) to poo, i suggest you skip a couple of paragraphs!)

Friday saw success with Kaylee doing a poo on the toilet!! Very exciting time it was for us, especially since she did it all by herself without me knowing, she was of course, very proud of herself too.

Today however was another story... picture Mummy walking into Kaylees bedroom to put Kaylee back into bed (she plays up a little at nap time) picture Kaylee sitting there, big grin on her face, no clothes on, no nappy on, room smells funny... Kaylee tells Mummy shes done a poo in her nappy so she took the nappy off... Mummy then sees poos on the carpet, poos on the bed, poos on the wall, poos on the door.... Mummy isnt really too happy... so Mummy runs a bath, puts Kaylee into bath, Mummy rings Daddy to get Daddy to calm Mummy down a bit, tells Mummy that she can do this and be strong, Mummy cleans up bedroom, washes Kaylee, Kaylee escape bath, runs around wet and nudey, Mummy doesnt really care, Mummy is chatting to Kate on the internet, needs to cool down a bit! Mummy comes off the computer, finds dog toys in the toilet, Mummy rescues dog toys, cleans them then throws them outside with the dog, Mummy settles Olivia who is now crying, finds tennis balls in the toilet, rescues, cleans and throws tennis balls outside, back to settle Olivia, now finds toilet rolls in the toilet, ewww plastic bag and rubber gloves come in handy here, Mummy then dresses Kaylee, puts both girls back to bed...

now there is finally silence....

Moral of the story?

Dont do food shopping when you have your period and are all hormonal, hungry and pissed off (last night) because you spend way too much, you forget a lot, and you end up with chocolate, icecream and toffee pops, which i have to say, are all coming in very handy right now. :)