WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ ETC :PART 6!!!

[AngryBeaver]

Wow! Part 6...got to be a record.

MN Towers, where's our prize?!

Well, another 280km done! Not including the ferry ride over obvs. Holy shitoli but this place is beautiful. I mean, genuinely jaw dropping, exhilaratingly, mind blowingly stunning. We are staying the night in kaikoura and hoping to catch some whale sightseeing tomorrow morning, then on to Christchurch and then on to timaru. We are having a really lovely time just the three of us together :-)

No news at all from my friend. Actually I haven't had direct contact with her in over a month. I write to her every day though and have done so since her diagnosis. I know she hasn't seen anyone other than her kids and her mom and doctors in over a month too. I think she is just slowly withdrawing from the world. Although her mom says she avidly listens to all my mails and asks to see the photos too. Oh fuck. Now I'm crying again. Got to go.

wss...no is a complete sentence
Worra fackin' liberty! Seriously, the gall of some people!
"I wish we could get married in some far flung land darling...wait a miute, I have a brilliant plan!"

lolly woo, go the dh, nice work. Enjoy your meal. I find it always tastes better when it's free

frick I hope you are loving the SI. What's the weather like? (God, I am soo British!)
I hope you get to talk to your friend I really do

justa early night for you!

I am still trying to get ds2 to sleep, he isn't so good and climbed onto my knee at 4 pm and promptly went to sleep. So now, of course, he won't!

Our last night in this house. Boxes all around. Chaos reigns. Still loads to do.
But have been really touched by the friends I have made here. I have had visitors all pm yesterday and today coming for last minute goodbyes and cuddles! And offers of help with childcare and cleaning.

One friend held each of my childrens faces and said "I love you"...I thought that was so sweet.

Apparently various other people who've been invited think the Mexico plan is crazy too what a surprise so hopefully they'll reconsider.

It's not like NZ is lacking in gorgeous locations to get married in!

frik glad you are enjoying the SI, it really is stunning. We had a holiday there last year and I stared at the views A LOT..

Mexico - very crazy as in what planet are they on?

crap day working with a crap half wit who has just managed to negotiate a contract for 3x my salary (nearly) and I am sorting out their crap. very bitter and twisted today am hoping that putting it in writing where they won't see it will help......

the word crap crap crap seems to be helping

over and out

Ah Sibble, that sucks. Nothing worse than a moron who gets paid more than you. Time to ask for a pay rise?

WSS - my DB got married abroad in a place where there was only 1 flight a week from where my parents lived and no direct flights from where I was living. I nearly ended up with an official reprimand at work over the whole mess I'll say no more on a public forum, but get a beer or two into me....

Does anyone have any suggestions (other than the Warehouse, which will be our first port of call) for a cheap basic desk? We are turning the walk in wardrobe into my study nook as I may have had a complete meltdown expressed some concern at not having any dedicated space of my own. It's at times like this that I miss Ikea.

Thinking of you and your friend frik xx

AB - my brain is mush & I can't scroll back, are you moved???

We got a computer desk off Trade Me (an IKEA one too!) for $20.

Vvviola- I've often bought a small table to use as a desk. You could try trademe for the Ikea import shops if Justabouts doesn't fit?

Hello all, tales from the South Island continues! We went on a HELICOPTER to do whale watching in kaikoura and it was frikken mind blowing! We saw two whales and about a thousand dolphins. Totally and amazingly awesome. Was at the damage in Christchurch city centre, and its two years of reconstruction already, can only imagine what it was like at the time. We are in timaru at the moment, spent the last two days visiting with friends, went up to lake pukeko and took some fantastic photos (if I do say so myself). And now We are getting organized to start the trip back up the South Island towards home :-)

Am not sure why that is a royal We.........lol. AB are you moved in yet? Lolly where did you go on your free dinner? Whatshesaid, how's the saving for Mexico going (tongue firmly in cheek)

Haha no saving for Mexico in my house!

I swam with the dolphins at Kaikoura many moons ago, it was amazing.

I think AB moved yesterday, she probably won't have the Internet for a while.

Dd1 and her year 1 class did 2 songs and dances in front of the whole school at assembly yesterday, she even got to say one line by herself. I was, of course, inordinately proud of my firstborn .

Is is not cheaper to fly, justabout? By the time you've paid petrol/accommodation/ferry? Though then I guess you wouldn't have a car while in Chch.

Thanks for the advice on desks - and the lovely offer justa. However DH was feeling efficient this morning. By 10am we were at the Warehouse (fab new shopping area up in Silverdale) and got a basic desk reduced to $50 from $100

Now to rearrange the wardrobe so I can fit it in!

(Justa - I was surprised at how relatively inexpensive the interislander was considering we had 3 adults, 2 children & car - I think there are some decent advance deals)

It cost us $250 one way.

Kaikoura is fanbloodytastic. I could so live there......

I have a desk, in a wardrobe. I even have a desk light, our old filing cabinet and a chair.

Thankfully it isn't under the stairs (seriously, we do have an understair cupboard, and it was briefly considered...), but even so, it does feel a little Harry-Potter-ish.

But still, my own office at last.

So jealous of trip south Frik. I did dolphins too whatshesaid in Kaiks many moons ago and it blew me away. Would look to have time to amble round there again.

So can I ask littlestkiwi, Frik and VViola and was - you mothers of girls- AIBU? Or is this just a girl thing?

Just skyed DB who, with DSIL are neurotic about mess. DN1 is 17m (girl) and she was having breakfast. Unusually DS4 had woken so I got him up to see his cousin as they are 3 weeks apart. I gave him (another) banana. So DN gets put in high chair with body armour bib. I sit DS4 down on sofa next to me in jammies and hand him banana out of skin. He noshes and mashed it into sofa - usual shit- I reach for wipes. Meanwhile DN is fed (she does not once reach for spoon?!) three bowl of cereal. Not a dribble. My dad (our dad) is with DB and just keeps saying 'she's very different to the boys' and DB saying 'see - it doesn't have to be so messy'. I am now feeling inadequate. DS4 stopped letting me feed him at about 13 months. He ate his own yoghurt in his nappy this am and I just wiped him down (tummy, thighs) afterwards. Am I a failure?

Lolly - if you'd asked me this 2 years ago, I'd have said girls are definitely much tidier. DD1 was a really neat eater, was more worried about the speed the food went in than wanting to do it herself most of the time. (That all changed mind you!)

DD2 is a whirlwind. Her favourite comment at breakfast is "boo" (which means: stop messing about and give me the bowl Mum). She hates bibs, feeds herself by the fistful rather than by spoon and usually needs a bath straight after dinner. There are days I thank my lucky stars she can't have yogurt when I think about the potential mess

She does, oddly get worked up afterwards over dirty hands, but certainly not during the eating process.

So definitely, not a failure by a long shot

I think 90% of my DDs behavior at that age had stuff all to do with anything I did or didn't do. Seriously. My DD was /is a horrific eater and we could never persuade her to touch food at all, let alone get messy. So I am sure my child looked perfectly turned out at mealtimes but that had nothing to do with my parenting skills and entirely to do with DDs own personal little peculiarity.

I had a friend who's first child she did sleep training with, I think it's a famous method or something, Gerald something? Or someone one? Anyway, it worked a treat and she was like, I am an AWESOME parent. Then she had another child and did the same thing. Did it work? Like hell it did. And it then dawned on her, that her mad parenting skills actually weren't so awesome at all, and really it was all down to the kid you get!

So don't at ALL feel inadequate.