more treats for all the grandparents and aunties and uncles.

Mia turns 3.



Mia enjoys climbing trees.



Josh has a laugh on the couch.



House here today, gone tomorrow.

Fire

Of course we took photos! We had the best seats on the block! The morning started off well enough with the wind behaving brilliantly...but it just took a careless comment about 'how lucky we are about the wind' to switch it to our direction, bringing with it plumes of evil smoke. Our house stood up quite well and didn't smell too smoky...but it was a long day and by the end of it my nerves were shot and I was convinced we'd need professional cleaners to come in and 'de-smoke' our house. I think we need professional cleaners, but they need to clean the outside of our house which is definitely worse for wear after all the smoke, water and ash. The fire service have already offered to send in cleaners, so I'm not too worried, but yes, there were times in the day when I was ranting and raving and venting about this and that to Ben, who was calm and bemused. No wonder he's a bloody paramedic - calm in the face of calamity and chaos. Me? I'm excitable. I'm a designer - I get excited about how a bit of paper is folded! So yes, I did freak out a tad when the smoke was billowing our way. I was the one bounding out of the house demanding the fireman put up more hoses to fend away the smoke. (It works!). I took Josh out just as it got exciting and went for a walk into town to get some random things done. Unfortunately it wasn't all over when I got back. Indeed, they were just beginning on the house directly in front of us (there were 2 houses on the property) (there will be 3 eventually - joy.) The fireman presented me with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates at the end of the day - I think they could tell it was a bit too close for comfort. They were thrilled about their day's work, which was filmed (using our electricity - hence the chocolates, I think) and will be turned into a training video for the fire service.

I think to die in a fire would be terrible. HUNGRY. That's what it is - hungry and fierce. Brutal.

never a dull moment

Where to start? It's been a busy old week! Mia turned 3, Joshka started walking, Ben stopped to assist when a car went off the road, we had a visit from friends from Slovenia and the house next door was burned down.

MIA TURNS 3: I busied myself trying out recipes like chocolate chip cookies (burnt), banana loaf (forgot the vanilla essence) and my new favourite: chocolate brownies (a bit burnt on the bottom). After deliberating about it, I've established that if I move my baking up one shelf in the oven, it won't be prone to burning. Anyhow, I thought it was a gallant attempt at being a 'real' mom and it kept me busy and focused. Luckily Ben's mum made a suitably pink cake to mark the occasion...we all delighted in it's 'cringe factor'! It was a classic!



The day Mia turned 3, she woke up on the wrong side of (my) bed and was decidedly otherwise and generally undeserving of the heap of presents presented to her. No, that's a bit harsh...I guess we're just used to her being FABULOUS! I don't think she had the best nights sleep. The 'Heffalump' DVD present helped for a while, until, of course, it came to switching it off.The next day, however, she was back to her good self and a lovely little girl who enthused about all the presents (books, books, books) she received from everyone present at her birthday party at Ben's parent's place. Luckily there were lots of people willing to 'read it!'. After a bit of careful equipment adjustment, she was happy to cycle around the tennis court on her new BICYCLE (complete with shiny streamers coming out of the handle bars) which the lucky girl received from her proud parents. We just couldn't buy a pink one, I'm afraid...it's light blue and purple...Josh could possibly have a go on it one day, but it's got fairies on it...

JOSH WALKS: Admittedly, he's not exactly striding across the room, but now that he can stand by himself for a bit, he's attempting a few steps before plunging into my arms. Or just plunging. It all kicked off the day he turned 11 months, which incidently is the day next door was burned down.

burning down the house

Mia in the garden. The house next door (behind that fence) is going to be BURNED down on the 22nd February (they're going ahead with it!). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) our property boundary is slightly incorrect so they will redo it and put up a new 2m wooden fence up (all the way to the road). There's a kind of a box against that wall, so we're in the process of pulling it down, replanting the plants that were in it, getting rid of the rubble within it, and redistributing the soil. Some of the garden was paved (Mia standing on some) which we've lifted (see behind her) to find a place for the extra soil. It'll be nice to have grass there instead.


Joshka in action on the tennis court (at the in-laws- no, we don't have a tennis court in our back garden!). We no longer have to weight down the trolley with blocks and books, he is managing to keep up with it quite nicely.

a pain in the neck

I seem to have been bitten on the neck by one of these beauties... but to be fair, it's all speculation, since I never actually felt the initial bite, or saw the culprit. I thought perhaps the necklace I was wearing had somehow pinched me, and then I felt a big bump. And then I looked in the mirror and saw what looked like a big red welt on my neck. Naturally I showed my paramedic husband and he thought I'd scratched myself (on purpose probably, tsk tsk). I felt in relatively safe hands since my sister-in-law was here too - and she's a nurse. But as is the way with these medical types, there wasn't much interest shown, and besides, it wasn't actually that painful. So I continued with whatever it was I was doing and tried not to feel it too much...and to wait until the next day to see how it felt. All the glands in my neck started swelling up and were tender - all the way up to my left ear. I went to bed hoping it would all be ok by the morning. Anyhow, after 2 days it still wasn't getting better so I went to a (very nice and duly concerned at the size of my swollen glands) doctor and am now on antibiotics. My left ear is slightly blocked, along with my left nostril and my left eye feels sleepy and warm. I feel lethargic and sleepy and slightly sorry for myself although I know I'm being ridiculous. I am fine, really. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing.

So, I am now aware of the White Tailed Spider, which is one of a handful of spiders that actually bite in NZ, and is often attributed to mystery bites, where no suspect is noticed.

So, big scary insects and arachnids aside, I cannot express enough, how grateful I am that there are no snakes in New Zealand.

BOSHK!

An update on the little boy.

Any day now little Boshk is going to take his first step. I've stood him up (and let go) and counted to 8 before he sat down...He's been pulling himself up on everything for more than 3 months now, and is getting more and more confident. The little wooden cart/trolley he got for Christmas is a favourite now. It's great to be surprised by a little Joshka walking past our line of vision behind a trolley which seems to be moving a little too fast... In the beginning he could only do straight lines before crashing and moaning/whining/crying to get someone to move trolley so he can walk again. But now he can turn and steer a bit. We think he'll surf/skate/waterski/snowboard/wakeboard left foot forward, based on the big turns he pulls at the moment.

Unfortunately he does use his teeth for more than just eating. Four sharp little teeth on the top and four on the bottom - nifty self defence tools against robust older sisters, or innocent mothers and fathers who make good obstacle courses. It can be very nerve wracking...

I need to apply for a passport (or 2) for Josh, but have been stalling because I have to fill in on the forms what colour his eyes are... a small dilemma. They're really hard to describe in one colour! The outside of the iris is a dark blue, and the inside goes from green to brown (amber?)(honey?). I remember Mia's changing from a saphire blue (dark) to the sky blue she has now, and was hoping that by now I could tell what his were going to do. I doubt anyone would believe me, or process the applicaton if I fill in BLUE GREEN BROWN, under 'eye colour'. I noticed today that the greeny blue seems to be disolving the brown somewhat. I'll wait a little longer.

After spending the day with Mia today, leaving Ben and Joshka at home, what a wonderful response I got when we returned home! Little Joshk was DELIGHTED to see both Mia and myself and I enjoyed a full-on cling hug. His cheek pressed against mine as he grinned in Ben's direction and pulled me closer- true love! And he can definitely say 'mama' now. Awesome.

He's also discovered his willy in the bath. Who needs bath toys?

mmmm for Mia

Mia can recognise her name and pick out 'mmm' for Mia everywhere. She can spell her name with fridge magnets and bath toys...although more often that not it's 'AIM', but still, it's pretty awesome. We went to the park the other day for a swing and 2 of the swings were padlocked together - Mia pointed out to me that they made a 'mmm' for Mia. I remember a photography project I was asigned in art school where we had to find letters of the alphabet in architecture or nature -not sure I would have spotted that 'M', but it's there if you look at it! She's a very observant and bright little girl - even if I say so myself!

Last week we had a sudden onset of big words: she described a lovely necklace as 'delicate', and put away some of Joshka's clothes 'for safe-keeping'. 'Disaster', 'wonderful', 'scurry', 'clambered' and (fan)'tastic' are just a few I can recall, but neither Ben nor I will be surprised if she writes a novel or something one day. Mia is a total glutton for books. It's quite unreal. She still assumes characters and narrates her story all day long ('Hello! shouted Noddy to Big Ears, who was sitting at the door' etc). It started when she was still only 1, when she was 'Goldilocks', but we've experienced (extensively) Pooh Bear, Piglet, Micky Mouse, Minnie Mouse and now Noddy. Of course, if Mia is Noddy, then I am Tessie Bear, Joshka is Big Ears and Ben is Mr Plod. If Mia is Piglet, I am Kanga, Joshka is Roo and Ben is Christopher Robin. If, however, Mia is Pooh, I am TIgger. Joshka and Ben stay Roo and Christopher Robin respectively. If Mia is Minnie Mouse, I am Daisy Duck, Ben is Donald and Joshka is Mickey. It's a tricky game knowing who you'll be at any given moment. Needless to say, I'm seldom 'Mommy'. I cherish it when I am!

Another thing that makes me smile and thank my lucky stars, is her appetite for food! (Real food). A few nights ago I asked her what she'd like for dinner..."Um, broccoli and noodles and carrots and kamato (tomato) and feta" -her 'FAVOURITE'! All credit for this dish goes to my friend, Susie, who made something like it for my Mom and me, one day in London. Steamed broccoli, carrots and capsicum, with tri colour pasta twirls, diced tomato (uncooked) and feta cheese all swirled together. It's actually a family favourite - you feel so healthy, and it's truly delicious! Easy too. It's now a favourite for Josh too. You can find Mickey Mouse shapes in the diced broccoli stalks... Other tried and tested goodies: brie cheese, olives, mussels, even raw tuatua (like white mussels), smoked tuatua, crayfish, sushi, thai green curry, butter chicken, stir fry, ... lots and lots of things not every 2 year old would eat.

I had to laugh the other day when we went to an 'indoor playground' at a place that has a yellow 'mmm' for Mia; we had our 50cent ice cream on our way out (a good way to encourage going home) but Mia burst into tears when she got her cone. "It's too big!" she wailed. Luckily I could easily fix that problem.

What did I hear?

Mia: What did you hear?, asked Noddy suspiciously.
Me: What!? Suspiciously!?
Mia: Was it a fart? (giggle giggle)

Today we started reading 'James and the Giant Peach' and I'm sure we would have finished it, had a big parcel not arrived! A lovely big parcel containing lots of fun surprises and beautiful books and clothes and photographs - the last of the boxes my Mom sent from home. (It was inadvertantly left behind when all the others were sent, so they couriered it to our front door - great!). We had such fun opening all the presents sent to us from friends and family, it was a real treat. All the clothes sent to Mia and Josh will still fit and the books are all already a hit (read them all 3 times already). The best treat for me was all the photographs included. I need to devote a wall or 2 to them, one day.

Joshka can now climb onto the couch and happily dart/crawl from side to side. When all is quiet, you can be sure he is sneakily climbing onto the table next to the couch. He's still being a bit stupid when it comes to climbing off and is not learning from my coaxing of coming off legs first, preferring to explore the floor nose first. He's tumbled off a few times too. But I am grateful for carpeted floors - it's a bit bouncier.

I managed to find a record (LP) player the other day (one that worked) so that I could make a recording of my old 'NODDY' record (that was shipped to me by my Mom a while ago). I had to find an old cassette too! Anyway, it's a hit, as I knew it would be, and it's been a favourite over the last week. It does free me up from my story-telling duties to get the kitchen tidy or hang up the washing, or whatever. It's a bit un-PC with lots of smacking going on - Noddy smacking the wobbly man as hard as he can, but he never falls over. or chasing the naughty monkey who didn't pay a sixpence for the taxi ride... which is a bit of a no-no since we're trying not to encourage any more beating up of Joshka than is absolutely neccessary! Poor Josh, most of the time we hear (as he approaches Mia and her blocks/books/toys) 'No! NO! Not for you Bosh, for me. You're not allowed, no! NO!'

We call him 'Bosh'. Joshka bo boshka...Joshky boshky pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry... I imagine his name to look like one of those Pop art paintings (Whaaam!): -!BOSH!- Anyhow, you know how cats, and dogs, sometimes get in those CRAZY moods where they just run up and down the passage, chase their tails and pounce on things, frantically biting them and scraping with their paws...well, Bosh gets in those moods too. It's funny...and a bit scary if you're on the receiving end of the biting frenzy. When he's not in a crazy state, he's stil pretty adorable and copies the sounds you make. My favourite is to make kissing sounds and hear him go 'mpa mpa' like he's blowing kisses (or offering them). Sometimes I get lucky and manoevre a 'kiss' to land on my face. Great. He can say MA MA...(I knew he would!!!!), but hasn't started using it with intent...just copying my prompts. And he can clap hands and loves splashing wildly about in the water. I marvel at the 'boyness' about him as he pushes the toy cars along the carpet and over my face (yes, as I lie on the floor being an obstacle course) going 'brm brm'. Ben and I can't remember telling him cars go 'brm'? He loves all things mechanical. I was cursing the next door neighbours as they mowed their lawns between 7.30pm amd 8pm as I tried to get Joshka to sleep - his head was up, looking around to see where the noise was coming from. Very interested. Not interested in going to sleep. GRR.