WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ ETC PART 7 !!

[frikonastick]

Come oooonnnnnn MNHQ, where's our medal

[WhatSheSaid]

Ha, I hadn't even noticed the typo. I doubt tinned rhubarb is a faux pas, NZ hardly has high society rules does it? Bit more laid back than that :). Crumble is v easy and fits with the "warm winter food" theme on this gorgeous sunny day

Frik did you ever find a supply of your special sensitive deodorant stuff? Or a replacement?

[xMinerva]

Just a quickie as off to work (again) in a minute.

Happy Mother's Day to you all. Hope you all have a lovely day, enjoy the weather.

We had Beef Stew & Dumplings on Friday, was lovely and warming. Apple pie and custard for dessert. Mmmmmm.

[Sibble]

Yes happy mothers day all too. I was feeling slightly jadded this morning as well but I'm a light weight - half a bottle of wine and had to get up for paracetamol in the night and felt jadded this morning so have spent the past 4 hours gardening. Feel heaps better now but dh has just gone to the bakery to get pies all round for lunch! Boys are also cooking dinner tonight - more pie - actually beef in beer with a pie lid , ds1 made a chocolate cake last night for dessert which we'll have tonight we well.

What a great day.

My easy dessert - chocolate brownie or cake with raspberry coulis and optional cream or ice cream. All can be done in advance unless you want the brownie warm. I remember once a friend being horrified that they were invited to another friends for dinner and they served......cheese and biscuits for dessert - up until that point in time that was my staple offering for dessert! I am not a dessert person - have had to learn to do one or two! Thankfully I'd only done pot luck dinners with her!

[vvviola]

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Brunch in bed and lots of random homemade cards from DD1 here. Was very cute.

Roast pork for us tonight. I'll be doing it myself but I actually don't mind so much - if DH manages to control the crazies I quite enjoy pottering about in the kitchen.

I'd go with crumble for dessert too (I actually might make one, now that it has been mentioned!). We found last year that feijoa and apple make a lovely tasting crumble.

I'll be up all night finishing an assignment I think I just couldn't (still can't!) get my head around it and it's due for tomorrow. I've done about 1200 of the 2000 words, but suspect I'll have to rewrite most of it as it doesn't actually make sense.

Oh and thanks a million for that planmyplay link - it's fantastic!

[Sibble]

Oh and I did get presents - gardening gloves (used this morning) and a rowing machine and cross trainer off trade me! I am a fair weather fitness person and work has been interfering with getting to classes but now I'll be as fit as!

[WhatSheSaid]

I got a DVD player, we haven't had one since last year when dd2 broke it by jamming bits of Playmobil in it.

Also a card from dd1, breakfast in bed and dh is currently cooking roast chicken and all the trimmings for tea.

Dd1's class have a blog and their teachers put up a video today of all of them saying stuff to the mums. Very very cute.

[vvviola]

Despite having a nasty cold, DD2 went to bed (early) last night, was asleep by 7:30... and slept right through til 6!!

Obviously once doesn't make a pattern, but... hurray!

I needed it too, with my assignment & a bad night for her on Sunday night I only ended up with 1.5hrs sleep on Sunday night.

[frikonastick]

Whatshesaid, yes thanks I am using the sanex roll on my mom sent from the UK. I still have tenderness and a bit of discomfort, but it's better than the others. Am hoping my sensitivity will get less as time goes on.

Had a lovely lovely weekend, climbed mt mounganui on sat and on Sunday just lazed about with DH and DD, then yesterday went fishing on the kayak and needed up rescuing a petrel that had broken its wing.

It has been such beautiful weather the last four days, it's beautiful again today :-)

Glad to hear you got a proper nights sleep vvv, sibble if I knew you were in the market for a cross trainer you could have had ours! Lol. AB hope your lunch went well :-)

[Sibble]

frik I am always in the market for a gym gadget that I can keep in the garage so every time I get in and out of the car I think 'oh cr*p I must do some exercise' lol. I now need to manouver in and out of the garage around the crosstrainer, rowing machine, swiss ball, skipping rope and weights etc... while every morning when I get dressed the pilates and zumba dvds glare at me from the top shelf in the walk in wardrobe - inside I am a gym bunny

[Sibble]

oh and the yoga mat is in the boot of the car in case the mood takes me at any stage but mostly gets moved around the car while I transport boys, friends and shopping

[giantpenguinmonster]

We seem to have been invaded by tiny cockroaches. They are everywhere. Yesterday I found one that had crawled into a picture frame and died. Sigh. We have robocans but I'm a bit crap about refilling them cos they are so expensive.

Anyone else got this problem?

[WhatSheSaid]

Noooo, no little cockroaches here. I've actually switched the Robocan off now - I only have it on in summer for flies, ants etc. We don't seem to get many bugs in winter. Caught three mice one night though!

[frikonastick]

Check on the tiny cockroaches.

Speak to me of robocan

[giantpenguinmonster]

You get them in the supermarket or mitre10 and they release a small amount of insect spray every 30 mins or so. Most kiwi's seem to have them. I'm not a fan of air fresheners but the adverts say they are the equivalent of a 10 second spray of bug killer or something. But they only last about a month and the refills are about $10-12.

[BBQWidow]

We get our place sprayed as I found those Robocan things left awful marks on the paintwork...plus the sporadic noise turned me into that Catherine Tate character who jumps at everything.

[frikonastick]

Hmm, maybe getting sprayed would be better.

While getting DD ready for school this morning, I say to DH, so, what's the plan of action, meaning, who is making DDs lunch box me or him. But before he can answer, DD says in a sort of considering way, well he needs to find a job really. We were like then

[vvviola]

So far we've only needed the robocan in the garage. Our biggest issue outside of there has been ants in the kitchen. Yuk.

May I be excused a brief moment of first world/generally healthy children problems. Am feeling a bit sorry for myself. DD2 has a nasty cold, and developed a temperature at creche today. Had to go get her and she won't be able to go back tomorrow (24 hour rule for temperatures and in fairness she'll probably still be miserable so she'll be better off at home). Usually no problem at all, but tomorrow is my birthday and DH had taken the day off so he could take me for lunch & a movie. Which obviously now won't be happening. So I'm having a little toddler tantrum because it's not fair It'll only last a moment & then I'll be back to feeling sorry for the poor little mite. (Like I said first world/healthy children problem )

[giantpenguinmonster]

I'm hoping a house washing will help with the bugs. Found 5 of the little sods on the back of our door this morning!

That sucks about your day off Vvv. Child free time is so precious it's no surprising you are pissed off. Happy birthday for tomorrow. Hope you and DH can still do something nice.

[Sibble]

yes happy birthday for tomorrow and there is nothing wrong with feeling sorry for yourself when your birthday treat has been scuppered! Hope you get spoilt anyway!

[frikonastick]

Happy birthday vvvv!! Hope you have a lovely day inspire of illnesses xxx

[frikonastick]

In spite! In spite of illnesses........Jeeze.

[giantpenguinmonster]

I've had a rather distressing morning. One of the new mum's at DD's swimming class hit her daughter today. In anger cos the little girl was crying with fear. Luckily I didn't see it. (was FBing a pal about how mean the mum was being to the little girl!) But everyone looked horrified and the teacher sent people to see what was going on as the parents had taken her out of the pool to the change rooms. I wonder if they will be reported. I feel really sorry for the girl. She was just scared but had improved so much since last week.

[frikonastick]

that's really awful penguins. I hate seeing adults being mean to kids, just awful. And if that's how she feels comfortable behaving in public just imagine what she's like at home

[vvviola]

Oh, that sounds awful penguin. Poor thing.

DH has been making best of situation for my birthday - there has been a cake made, I got lovely presents (ipad mini & rice cooker... I now know the reason for all the overtime this month!), and we had lunch out (slightly chaotic with DD2, but nice all the same).

And then I got an email to say I'm not even being interviewed for the job I applied for I really thought I was in with a chance, so I'm pretty gutted not to even get called for interview

Fish & chips for dinner tonight as I try to avoid cooking on my birthday

[giantpenguinmonster]

I think the most distressing thing about this morning was the context. I think we can all relate to losing our tempers with our kids- although I've never hit DD and it's much rarer than I expected it to be. But this little girl was just scared and doing her best. I just can't imagine losing my temper with a 3 year old for being afraid. The dad was Chinese and the mum may have been Filipino or Malaysian so we didn't understand what they were saying to her. Poor little thing.

Glad the birthday is going well and sorry to hear about the interview Vvv. Some jobs just get stupid numbers of applicants and often have internal candidates. I've often rung up to ask for some feedback on my application even if I didn't get interviewed- it can be very illuminating. But I always wait a few days so I can handle it better.