Pox beach

Aidan has chicken pox! It has come fourteen days after Isabelle's mysterious spotty episode, so it seems to confirm that that's what she had too. Poor little boy has a real dose of it - spots everywhere, lots of itchiness and a restless night last night. During the day he is quite happy, it's mainly when he gets tired that he gets cranky and itchier. Perhaps it was lucky in the end that we didn't go to the Christmas Night dinner, as he may have been infectious.

Despite the pox, we returned to Oriental Bay this morning. There was hardly any wind and hardly any people. Wellington can get like this over the holiday period - almost no-one in the shops or on the roads. The fountain was on and there was the usual assortment of interesting vehicles to watch (you can just see the Interislander disappearing behind the hill in the photo). It was a lovely trip out for all.

Before we went to the beach, we fed our friend's cat, which we have been doing for a couple of days. We feed her once a day (as arranged), despite the cat being fed more often than that when the family is home. The cat is always there waiting at the door for us, looking slightly outraged (as only a cat can!) as if to say "Where have you been! I've been waiting for ages!".

We also traveled for the first time today on the newly opened part of the inner city bypass. There's only a small portion of "new" road, but it looks like it will be a very handy route for us.

Here's hoping that Aidan will be settled tonight.

Nappies

After yesterday's efforts, here is my newborn nappy stash on top of our new chest of drawers, all ready to go.

We have (left to right):

• Three kissaluvs fitteds, with one napnaps cover
• Microfibre inserts
• Happy Heinies
• Fuzzibunz
• Rosie's AIOs.

Freecycle

Well the Salvation Army came but they didn't want our beds - too old! So, we hired a trailer and loaded it up with our gear, put all our recycling in the boot and headed off to the tip's recycling centre. (We had heaps of recycling to get rid of due to a combination of missing the last collection, Christmas and our general clean up).

When we arrived at the centre we were approached almost straight away by a man who said he would take what was on the trailer. It soon became apparent that no, he didn't work there, he just liked the look of our stuff! But in the true spirit of freecycling, this was not a problem for us at all. He seemed really stoked with his two single beds, two rugs, coffee table and armchair, which were all loaded into his trailer as his kids looked on. I'm glad they seem to be going to a good home, as everything still had a lot of use left in it.

Meanwhile, our new chest of drawers had been delivered earlier this morning. I have gone through all the baby gear and divided it into colour-based washing loads, which I'll attempt to get through over the next few weeks.

More baby preparations

We have been doing more baby preparations over the last couple of days. The main theme has been creating space - both clearing out things we no longer use (or just don't have room for), and creating new places to store the extra things we do need. So, today we started cleaning out the back room. Tomorrow a new chest of drawers arrives for all the new baby paraphernalia, and the Salvation Army truck comes to collect our two old single beds (and maybe, if we can convince them, an old chair from up in the garage!). An old chest of drawers currently resident in the back room gets demoted to garage storage duty. Two new storage bins were bought with Christmas vouchers so that clothes hanging up in the back room can be stored safely in the garage, and the hanger was dismantled and stored. Rocky's nappies are in the machine ready to be pre-washed overnight.

We still don't have a bassinette, but we have started looking at new cars. We looked at a Ford Taurus last week - well priced, but I would like something a little tidier.

Tomorrow the cleanout will continue. Looks like another good washing day, so that in itself should keep me busy!

Christmas Night

Well here I am on Christmas Night, having a cup of peppermint tea before I go off to bed. I am fairly exhausted, although really I have no excuse to be as I have had a fairly relaxing day. The children are (finally!) in bed. Even with no sleep at all today, they held out (despite my best efforts) until about 20 minutes ago. Isabelle just suddenly asked to go to bed, and Aidan asked for his cot. Out like lights in less than five minutes! (Just for some context, this is after a couple of hours of me lying on the couch groaning "aren't you tired?", lots of jumping around, feeding and watching all of Aidan's new Maisie dvd to help them wind down. I almost fell asleep myself while the telly was on, but was wrenched back into wakefulness by an Aidan body slam).

Brendon is out at his Auntie's house having Christmas tea. We were all to go, but time had got on and I was fairly exhausted, so we decided that it would be soup and bread for the rest of us and an early night (hahaha!).

As for the day itself...

Started later than usual, which was nice. Aidan had trouble getting to sleep last night. I think he was waiting to see the reindeer (even though we had explained that Father Christmas never comes while children are awake!). We opened presents together. Aidan was absolutely delighted in his Thomas the Tank Engine, which Father Christmas had ably delivered. For a while he wasn't interested in anything else! Isabelle took quiet satisfaction in her gifts, not saying too much but hoarding them away in her room to be looked at in detail, alone and unmolested by small boys. Grandad Riches arrived around 7.30. The children were thrilled with his well-chosen gifts. After a traditional breakfast (ham and tomatoes - no ham for me...) and farewelling Grandad, we started preparations for lunch. Brendon did the lion's share of the work (main course) while I fluffed around with dessert, cake cutting, table setting, bread making, used wrapping paper collection and the like. Uncle Shayne and Nana Pam arrived for lunch. We had first course, then presents, then dessert, then coffees.

The afternoon sped by in many ways. I like a relaxed Christmas dinner, and we were able to take our time and let each course get partly digested before attempting the next round. Absolutely delicious chicken (teamed well with our french-style bread) and home-made Christmas pudding (courtesy of Nana Pam) were my food-related highlights.

As for presents - well, we have all done very well I think. Every present seems to have its own little something about it. Some will give quiet satisfaction in their use over a long time (like my metric measuring cups - finally, metric!). Others will give fast yet fleeting delight (chocolate.....). And each is a lovely reminder of the person who gave it.

Christmas Eve

Haven't been to blogger land for a few days now due to a mixture of tiredness and busy-ness. It's now Christmas Eve. The children are tucking into some freshly made shortbread, making crumbs on the floor that Brendon swept and mopped thoroughly only a few hours ago. Soon, we will put out some beer and shortbread for Father Christmas, leave a bucket of water for the reindeer on the deck, and read The Night Before Christmas. A red and a green jelly are cooling on the bench. My new napkins are still waiting to be ironed - safety concerns mean that this needs to be done after the children are in bed. Quite seriously, I can't remember the last time I ironed. Maybe it was a business shirt when I was still working???

Apart from the napkins, the last job will be wrapping the children's presents. Everything is sitting there waiting. Aidan's present from Isabelle has already been done (we took the opportunity earlier today when Brendon and Aidan went out to buy some cornflour, which was required for the shortbread making).

Over the last few days we have made Christmas crackers, Christmas streamers and found out Rocky's probable day of birth. We have picked up the ham and some Christmas mince pies, done the last Christmas shop at the (busy) supermarket and looked in vain for some raspberries at a reasonable price. We went out to Upper Hutt for Uncle Shayne's birthday party, and put out some beers for our rubbish and recycling collectors.

Christmas dinner is here tomorrow, with six of us sitting down to a roast chicken and ham meal. We have visitors for breakfast and morning tea, then go off to Silverstream in the evening.

Having finished their shortbread, the children are "ballet" dancing to music from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Can't resist joining them, third trimester pregnant or not, so now I'll exclaim as I waddle out of sight:

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Secrets

Today I took the children shopping to buy a Christmas present for Brendon. (I asked Isabelle what she wanted to get him first - she said "Undies and a singlet". We went for her second choice, which I think she is very happy with).

Afterwards we went to the local vet and the children chose a little present each for Houdini. Aidan chose a Father Christmas on a string with a bell. Isabelle chose some tasty treats.

When we got home, we hid Daddy's presents in one of my drawers. We talked about our secret and how it was important not to tell Daddy what we had got him before he unwrapped the gifts.

As soon as Brendon arrived home, Aidan ran to the door and (after his customary greeting of "poo bum poo bum") said "Chocolate! And...chocolate! In Mummy's drawers!". He then eagerly led Brendon towards the hallway door so he could show him where the presents were. (Luckily Brendon was on to him and he didn't raid the secret stash!).

(Aidan did the same thing when I stowed my gift to Brendon up on my wardrobe shelf. He led Daddy to it at the earliest opportunity, pointed upwards and said "secret!", smiling broadly).

Ah well, it is best not to have secrets in the family I guess!

Father Christmas

Today we went to Kirks to see Father Christmas. No queue, just straight in! Isabelle was right into it, giving Father Christmas a high five, sitting on his knee and telling him she wanted an Emily for Christmas (one of the Thomas the Tank Engine characters). Aidan was less forthcoming. Initially, he hung back with Daddy and then sat beside Father Christmas when invited. He nodded when asked if he wanted anything, then murmured "A Thomas". (This despite my schooling him that, actually, he really might want a Gordon. But no, a Thomas is what he seems to want - he even pointed this out to me from the catalogue when we got home).
We got a photo - Isabelle looked beautiful, smiling angelically for the camera. Aidan had his grumpy face on! I was pleased to see that Kirks have finally got rid of the old instant photo camera and have gone digital - we got a much better quality photo and the chance to delete ones that don't turn out so well.

So, the photo has gone up on the television cabinet along with the others. They are a very funny reminder of Christmases past.

2002 - A very confused looking four-month old Isabelle sits on Father Christmas's knee at Kirks.
2003 - No photo. I resold my photo voucher to the next person in the queue. Sixteen-month old Isabelle was screaming at the mere thought of being placed on this strange man's knee.
2004 - Johnsonville mall this time. Three-month old Aidan looks slightly outraged. Isabelle eyes the camera suspiciously while clinging to me (the only way she was going anywhere near FC was if I sat on his knee and she sat on me).
2005 - Back to Kirks. Isabelle looks resigned, staring into the middle distance. Aidan has his grumpy face on.

And now in 2006, Isabelle is finally having fun!

In the meantime, Father Christmas's helper might be going back to the toyshop to investigate a Thomas while Gordon has a wee holiday....

Christmas tree

Today we drove to Makara to get our Christmas tree. We managed to find a suitable one that we could squish into the boot of our car. The photos show the final result, and Brendon putting the angel on the top of the tree.

The children enjoyed the decorating process (and running around with the lengths of tinsel). I've also now put our Christmas cards on our official Christmas card string (which runs above our couch) rather than putting them on top of our television cabinet. We seem to be getting a couple each day now, which is very exciting! The last of our lot should be sent out tomorrow.

On the pox front - I don't think Isabelle has had chicken pox, on the grounds that the spots are barely itchy now and are receding rather than blistering or crusting over. I suspect insect bites plus mysterious viral rash is the most likely option.

And an update to "Project Clean Room" - tonight Isabelle earnt her second reward (which means she has kept her room clean for over a week). Very promising! Given its (eventual) success, I'm considering a sticker chart for myself - maybe rewards for sweeping the floor and cleaning the bathroom would be a good start!

The Pox...or not.

Yesterday I took Isabelle to the doctor. She had a large number of "insect bites". As chicken pox seems to be doing the rounds here at the moment, we thought it needed to be checked out.

The doctor said "Looks like insect bites. Or it could be chicken pox". Not very enlightening really! Although he said that she did not need to be kept away from other children, I thought it best to skip Playcentre yesterday and today. This really is a pity, as today was the last day of term and the last day ever at Playcentre for one of Isabelle's friends. And then there's the Christmas party tomorrow, which we will also miss.

Anyway, the doctor recommended we get some anti-itch cream, and the pharmacist recommended an anti-itch bath (which both children love, as it is not only bubbly, but turns the water bright yellow). Anti-itch cream was duly applied yesterday. I haven't bothered putting it on her today as the spots seem less inflamed and (most importantly) she hasn't asked for any, and has hardly been itching. So, she either has chicken pox, insect bites, mysterious (viral?) rash...or a combination of two or three of these! If it is the big bad pox, it must be a very slight case. Time may tell, or more likely, we will never know.

So, in lieu of Playcentre, we took the bus to Oriental Parade for a morning at the beach. It was lovely and sunny here this morning, with only a slight wind. At the mention of going to the beach, Aidan enthusiastically asked "Jump off a hill of sand?". Unfortunately, I had to say that no, the beach we were to visit was not like the last one we were at in Christchurch with sand dunes. Oriental Parade has an urban beach, which has its own advantages. For a start, the bus takes us right to the sand's edge. An interesting array of vehicles are available for small children to watch, from planes from the nearby airport, through rescue helicopters taking off and landing from their base on the waterfront, to ferries, boats, and a variety of trucks.

We arrived just before 10.00. The beach was freshly groomed, with a few people just beginning to arrive. The exception to this was a man at the water's edge, surrounded by what looked like clothing carefully trying on a white boiler suit (complete with hood). My first thought was to check for a sign that said "Warning! Beach is contaminated!". My next was that maybe this was a piece of performance art. The sadder truth was revealed as it became apparent that he had either raided the nearest charity bin, or that he was in fact surrounded by all his worldly goods and was getting dressed after a night dossing down on the beach.

About fifteen minutes later, a City Council employee wandered over to him for a bit of a chat. I thought that maybe we were in for a piece of performance art after all, as, after a few minutes conversation, the man raised his arms towards the city and cried "God bless America! It's a Park Ranger!". However, it all ended peacefully, as (after further conversation) they shook hands and the "Park Ranger" carried on his way. No doubt he realised that this particular beach inhabitant was doing no harm and at least was packing up his plastic bags, beer bottles and clothes, and would move elsewhere in due course.

Meanwhile, the children paddled, dug, tried to make sandcastles out of unco-operative sand and ran up and down the beach. More people arrived, mainly parents with pre-schoolers. One lone man sunbathed, while two men splashed out into the water for a fast swim in the very cool sea. The photo shows Isabelle and Aidan just as we arrived (with boiler suit man off to the right!).

We took the 11.00 bus back, which gave us just enough time at the beach before the fighting started, and before Aidan realised that he really could run faster than his 32 week pregnant mother on dry sand.

We passed Playcentre on the bus just as the session ended. Rivulets of water ran down the Playcentre driveway - proof that today's session was probably very wet (and very messy), as could be expected on a sunny last day of term. I am sorry to have missed it, but I think the decision to stay away was the right one. It's going to be almost two months before term one 2007 starts. Even then it won't quite be the same - Rocky will be here so everything would have changed.

Like many things, sometimes you never really know when the "last time" will be.

More Christmas preparations

The work Christmas party went well. The children ate lots, Isabelle enjoyed the magician (while Aidan played down the back with Daddy) and both were very happy with their presents from Father Christmas. The next visit from Father Christmas will be at the Playcentre party on Saturday.

The Christmas cards are almost complete. Brendon is working away at his part - signing - right now. Isabelle carefully affixed all the stamps this morning, and both children have added their marks to most of the cards.

Not much more to do Christmas-wise really - the main mission will be to get our tree this weekend (where from, and how to transport it back to our house are the key issues still to be decided).

Well, I never say that!

Children's thoughts and words are inevitably shaped by their environment - for better or worse!

Today Isabelle and Aidan were playing a duet on the piano, each singing a different song.

Aidan: (to a tune similar to the Alphabet Song) "H I J K bloody! H I J K crap! H I J K poo bum!"

Isabelle: (to a tune approximating Oh Christmas Tree) "Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree. We are going to chop you down. And put you up inside."

Isabelle's song was of course influenced by the recent family Christmas tree collection mission in Christchurch. As for Aidan's song.....well, that's more reminiscent of the conversation I overheard as the children tussled on the bed this morning.

Isabelle: "Blimmin' boy!"
Aidan: "Blimmin' girl!"
Isabelle: "Blimmin' boy!"
Aidan: "Blimmin' girl!"

And so on.

On a different note, we drove to Kilbirnie today and Aidan must have recognised the route. He asked:
- Going to the airport?
- No, we're not going to the airport.
- Soon?
- No, not soon.
- Later?
- No, not later.
- 'Noon?
- No, not this afternoon.
- 'Morrow?
- No, we're not going to the airport tomorrow. We won't be going to the airport for a long time.

Tomorrow we are off to Brendon's work Christmas party in the afternoon. The children are looking forward to seeing Father Christmas again.

The Return

We are now back in Wellington. Brendon and the children are on the deck enjoying the last of the afternoon sun. The trip home was relatively uneventful. This time, Aidan was sitting next to Brendon (with the aisle seat blocked off by the ground staff). I was in front of him alongside Isabelle. With the exception of a couple of "I want Mamas!", he was very well behaved and effectively distracted by the in-flight lollies and biscuits, and a Barney magazine. He was a bit grumpy on the way home though, asking where Grandad was as we turned to land in Wellington, and pouting as we drove into our driveway saying "I want Grandma's house". He is very happy now though, having had an afternoon sleep and an iced finger bun with his lunch. He also enjoyed seeing Nana Pam at the airport, who had very kindly picked us up in our car.

Both Brendon and I feel very rested. I was very lucky to be able to have a decent break over the last week, with the aid of the washing fairy, the housework fairy and plentiful loving adults (and cousins) around to spend time with the children. It is really nice to go into the last period before Christmas having had a holiday (and having done all my Christchurch-related Christmas shopping already).

Tomorrow it is back to Playcentre, the housework and the washing mountain. Despite the combined efforts of the Christchurch washing fairy, extra loads before we left and a load currently drying in the sun, dirty clothes are spilling out from the washing basket already. However, I suspect some of the clothes are not that dirty at all, as most seem to be Isabelle's. We had some success with our "Project Clean Room" sticker chart just before we left. I reminded her today that if her room was tidy tonight, she qualified for her first reward of chocolate. This reminder was swiftly followed by an unpacking frenzy. It is entirely rational to unpack most of your bag into the washing basket, thus avoiding the need to put it away and gaining your reward simultaneously.

A Ladies' Handbook

I was looking in my parents' bookshelves for a particular volume that I thought would be of interest to Isabelle. There is an interesting collection of old books here, which get more interesting as time passes. I remember the titles as I scan the shelves - ah yes, there it goes - Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do - just along the shelf from 101 Things a Girl Can Do. Biggles next to A Complete Course for Ground Engineers' Licences.

In the end, I needed help to find it, but I eventually located what I was looking for: Ladies' Handbook of Home Treatment. First published in 1939, this 1949 edition was purchased in 1950 for sixty shillings. It features a wonderful "Manikin of the Female Figure" at the front. Pictured is a naked woman's torso at the end of her pregnancy in profile, (sheet modestly draped to the front). Fold her back and her internal parts are revealed - first the muscles and skeleton, then the internal organs. Fold back the pelvic bones and the full-term uterus is revealed. Fold this back and you see a foetus in the foetal sac. Next is the inner wall of the full-term uterus, then the uterus in early pregnancy with a little embryo inside. Higher up, folding back the ribcage gives you the lungs, then the heart. As expected, Isabelle was very interested (layering schema anyone?). Also as predicted, both her and Aidan had a particular interest in the little baby nestled inside the woman.

It would be very easy to poke fun at a volume like this. Of course, it did give me a giggle here and there:

"During cold weather the feet should always be warmly clothed, but especially so during menstruation...It is a simple matter to exchange wet shoes for dry ones, but it is not so easy a matter to cure the serious inflammation ofthe womb which may result from a neglect of this precaution during the menstrual period".

At other times it was simply alarming:

"Articles needed in giving a vaginal douche....2. Five or six feet of rubber tubing".

Five or six FEET?! But, bearing in mind the times, it would have provided a wealth of factual information and description that was most probably simply not as readily available as it is today. Most of the information is concerned with women's and children's health and includes detailed drawings, some in colour. It exhorts factual discussion of delicate personal matters between mothers and daughters and open sharing of important medical information about our bodies.

The discussion of diseases made me think. Living in the 21st century and enjoying the benefits of modern medicine, it is easy to forget just how devastating many of the common childhood diseases could be:

"Diphtheria is doubtless one of the most dreaded of the contagious diseases of childhood...even now it still causes many deaths amongst young children....Whooping-cough is a highly infectious and really dangerous disease....".

The discussions of cancer of the cervix, uterus and breast imply that the diseases were often diagnosed too late to do much about.

Of interest also were the current fashions and knowledge of infant care. Four hourly feeding was recommended - but eight-nine months was the age given for weaning (although the volume notes that contemporary experts were recommending that this be started earlier). Breast feeding is promoted. Interesting recipes for artificial milks (should this be required) are provided. A link is made between extended breast feeding and breast cancer prevention (although the tone of the book strongly implies that women at this time no longer breastfed for the 1-3 years period mentioned in the text).

Some things never change though. Number one on the list of necessary qualifications for a child's nurse is that she must be in good health - and in particular be free of tuberculosis or syphilis. Quite right! ;-)

Christmas picnic

Today we attended the annual Vintage Car Club Christmas picnic at Cutler park. What a day! Not only did we have a family picnic with all but one of the immediate family present (being grandparents, great-grandparent, aunties, uncles and cousins), but we had:
- vintage car ride there and back AND
- vintage truck ride AND
- vintage fire engine ride (with siren) AND
- train ride AND
- races AND
- a playground AND
- Father Christmas AND
- presents AND
- lollies AND
- balloons AND
- clowns AND
- icecreams!

What more could a young child want!

The children were not keen to take part in the races at first. We watched the foot races - after watching older children compete, Aidan decided that yes, he would participate in the twos- and-under race. However, his confidence left him as the starter yelled "go" and he ended up in tears. Daddy and Mummy carried him to the finish, where he quickly forgot his woes as he received his participation prize of a balloon and another packet of lollies. Isabelle and her five-year-old cousin had already decided not to do their foot race, but chose to compete in the sack race. I thought that this would be interesting to watch as (to my knowledge) Isabelle has never seen a sack race, let alone been in one. She competed in the same field as her cousin, which I think was the 5-6 year olds (not quite her age-group, but more fun and more secure to compete alongside a family member). She did really well, only falling once and crossing the line with a big smile on her face!

The cousins also took part in the three-legged race. Again, they did really well, making it to the end and only falling once that I saw. The race was won by another cousin (almost 10), who teamed up with a friend.

Grandma and Grandad competed in the grandparents' egg toss (eliminated when an underarm throw went askew) and the grandparents' egg-and-spoon race (not placed).

Two very tired children are now in their beds, fast asleep. One tired mother will be following them very shortly!

Flight of the Floyds

Yesterday we flew from Wellington to Christchurch for our pre-Christmas holiday. The flight was unfortunately a bit difficult. First, Isabelle was upset that she wasn't sitting next to me (our seats were arranged two-by-two). The very kind woman in the aisle seat next to me offered to swap for the far less desirable middle seat in the row behind that Isabelle was occupying. Once the swap was made, we settled down for the flight.

The flight is a short one, and by the time we had read the in-flight magazine, downed our cup of water and eaten our biscuit it was time for the plane to descend. This was when the trouble started! Aidan decided that on no account was he going to sit down with a seat belt on. Unfortunately, this was one of life's non-negotiables. So, for the next 10-15 minutes he screamed, twisted, wrestled and poured every ounce of two-year-old strength into wriggling out of the belt. In the end I had to hold him in a full-body hug (as much as I could over the armrest with a big preggy puku), calmly insisting that he had to wear his belt, while trying to distract him from pulling out handfuls of my hair in protest by using the sights outside.

"Look, horses! Sheep! Grass!"
"NO HORSE! NO SHEEP! NO GRASS!" (Pull hair, scream, wriggle)
"Ooo, little houses!"
"NO HOUSES" (Enraged shriek. Kick kick kick.)
(Getting more desperate)
"Look, a prison! I can see 1, 2, 3, 4, 60-bed units! Oooo, a medium security wing!"
"NO MEDIUM 'CURITY WING".

The flight attendants were very nice and two came to check if there was a problem they could assist with. One offered to bring biscuits, which I accepted. Aidan batted his away. Isabelle opened hers and it flew out of the bag onto the floor and rolled out of her reach. Now tears threatened on my other side. I gave her Aidan's - he was past caring.

I (and no doubt everyone else on board) was very pleased to finally land. Aidan was almost asleep as we taxied to a halt.

Sometimes it's hard to be two!