Rain, rain, rain, cold, cold, snow sleet, hail blah..... it's been a really cold wintry week this week so we've been trying to entertain the boys indoors for days and its not easy! Clever Daddy got some toys from the local toy library earlier in the week which was a big hit, it was a set of plastic food, cutlery, plates an oven and picnic set and has been a huge hit. I've had more fake tea parties and plastic food this week than I care to imagine. The boys have also been playing going to the shops and love taking one of mummy's bags to buy the shopping. Now before you think they're spending far too much time with their mother, I can also tell you that I've built a million garages and tunnels with blocks, driven toy cars around the house and built cubby houses under the table so it's not all tea parties and cooking!

Adrian has been busy working on the 10CC concert this week which he really enjoyed (he also really enjoyed the drinks afterwards and didn't get home till 4:00am - it's not easy getting up at 6:00am with two lively boys on a hangover and 2 hours sleep.....mummy wasn't best pleased either). Saturday morning was pretty quiet starting with a bus trip into town with the boys. We stopped to have morning tea in Cuba St next to some very brave Morris dancers who were giving it their best in the pouring rain and freezing cold, we sat outside and watched them drinking our hot coffee and the boys were shouting "me old bamboo" to them (those of you who have seen Chitty Bang Bang will know what that means...).

Saturday afternoon was still really cold so Adrian made a cubby house and obstacle course in the hallway to try to keep the boys from going crazy. That night we went to a party at the boy's friend Ben's parents house as they were celebrating a year in NZ (strangely enough Adrian didn't drink!). Sunday morning we collected Ben from his parents and took him and the boys out for the morning. The boys were so excited having Ben in his car seat in the middle of them and kept up a chorus of "Jack loves Ben" and "Tom loves Ben" in the back as we headed to "Junglerama" a big indoor adventure playground. It was great fun but a lot of people looked at us pityingly thinking we had triplets ...scary thought. We all had a little sleep that afternoon and then headed to Uncle Chris and Aunty Sue's house for afternoon tea and onto some shopping.

Well Adrian's making yummy curry for dinner so that's it from us.

PS. Because of the weather I have been knitting in the evenings and made the boys some scarves which they love - one does looks suspiciously like an English scarf though......(pic below)

It's been a week of wintry storms one minute and beautiful sunny winter days the next so the whole family has been coughing and spluttering with winter colds and constantly wiping little boys noses (that includes Adrian's) and keeping warm by the fire.

Adrian has had a really busy week working on the Opera "the Magic Flute" which he's been loving as it's "proper theatre". I had a big AGM at work this week which meant I had to go to work one evening and the next day when I said to the boys that we would pick up Dadday from work Tom asked me if "mummy going to work?", I told him I wasn't and he said very seriously to Jack "Sometimes mummy goes to work, Daddy goes to work and comes home for dinner". The boys have settled well into their big boy beds now and we are loving getting woken up with big cuddles in the morning instead of getting out of bed to get boys out of their cots. We had a quiet week with a visit to the boys friend Aneas on Thursday which the boys loved. They were all copying each other which was very cute and doing big pretend laughs but I don't know what was so funny.

Saturday morning Adrian took the boys for his weekend outing leaving mummy happily reading the paper in a cafe and shopping. We met up at the indoor playground after the rain started and ran into the boys friend Ben (it's getting weird and I'm sure they plan it somehow!). That afternoon was cold and horrible but to combat the boredom we braved the weather and headed to Macara beach rugged up with so many clothes on the boys looked like little mushrooms. After a little walk and a splash in the waves with our gumboots on we had a picnic in the back of the car to keep out of the wind complete with a flask of hot tea for mummy and daddy. The boys loved it, especially when a friendly dog decided to join us. As a special treat we had fish and chips on the way home cos it's just goes so well with a cold day at the beach.

Sunday morning was spent doing bits around the house and had visitors in the afternoon and a big roast dinner yum.

(Pic below - the boys first school (creche) photo. This is the only one with both boys sitting down in it! )

Our boys are so grown up.....

This weekend saw the end of the boy’s baby cots and into their very own "Big Boy Beds". Saturday morning Uncle Chris and Daddy took away the cots and put up the big beds ready for the boys nap that afternoon. It was huge excitement (far too exciting to sleep), a lot of jumping from bed to bed, making an unmaking of the new quilts, they even swapped beds a number of times before finally settling down. Tom was pretty good and snuggled down to sleep but Jack decided he wasn't that sure about actually sleeping in the bed and got up so many times that he would have tried the patience of Jo Frost. After an hour or so he finally got the point and went to sleep. That night we didn't have any problems and Sunday was a bit of a breeze so fingers crossed we've managed a pretty smooth transition.

Sunday started with the bonus of two little feet running down the hallway into mum and dads room and two little heads popping around the morning with a "wake up mummy, wake up daddy" and lots of cuddles. It was a lovely day so we headed to the park in the morning in the wagon, managed some gardening and spent the afternoon at the boy's friend Ben's house - funny how other children’s toys are so much more exciting than your own, even when they are the same ones... Tom was busy telling everyone he was having "Toads" for dinner (actually "Toad in the hole") so I'm sure they must think I'm some kind of witch! Tonight has arrived with massive storms over the country including most of the lower south island snowed in so we'll be rugging up tomorrow.

Adrian was watching Jack tonight in the bath with a lego man trying to get his legs to bend to sit down. He wriggled it and wriggled it saying "sit down", "sit down" wriggle again "sit down" finally he stood him on the edge of the bath, smiled and said "stand up".

(Pic left boys always thinking of new things to do in the wagon! )

OK, get a cuppa to read this one as it's a bit of a novel!! We've had the most wonderful long weekend here.

Friday night Uncle Chris and Aunty Sue came to stay before our early morning start to the airport to fly off to the deep, deep south of NZ for my Grandmother’s 90th birthday. The boys were very excited that morning and were jumping up and down shouting "Airplane, airplane", we managed to keep them well entertained on the flight and they behaved remarkably well. We hired a huge car to take us and all our gear then headed south, we hoped the boys would sleep all the way there but unfortunately they thought otherwise! We arrived in Papatowai just after lunch to my Uncle Karl and Aunty Val's bach (or crib if you're from Southland!) and as as it was all a big surprise for my Grandmother that we were coming, we even made her cry (and that's never been seen before!). We had a brilliant party for my grandmother with all the family there including my Uncle Peter, Aunty Sandy and their daughter Tange and Grand-daughter TJ, my cousins Colin and Fiona with her new partner Tim and their baby bump. The boys loved all the excitement and attention and we all tucked into the fabulous spread done by the Aunts and Uncles and it was a brilliant.

Papatowai has to be one of the most beautiful spots in NZ with huge white beaches and rugged coastline. We all walked down to the beach with the boys and it really did take your breath away. It is the middle of winter so was completely deserted except for us and although we couldn't manage a swim it didn't stop us and the boys coming back to the house dripping wet and freezing cold.

That night we all huddled around the fire eating lovely home-made soups and casseroles and drank far, far too much wine and beer. We had a wonderful catch up and a lot of laughs and general talking of nonsense. After everyone piled into beds at midnight Jack decided to keep the houseful awake but we managed a few hours sleep before waking up to freezing rain and hail. The Uncles and Tim cooked a big fry up breakfast for those who could manage it and Adrian even bravely tried Paua for the first time (it's a big black shellfish which tastes very strong but lovely, the boys tucked right into it without hesitating). During a break in the weather, the Wellingtonian's then headed off to look at the Purakaunui Waterfall, it was only a short walk into the bush and looked so perfect it could have been a film set. After getting back and having lunch my grandmother (or "Nanny Nora" as the boys have named her) and her friend headed off for the drive back home to Milton (an hour away) and the cousins headed off up the coast, but those of us who stayed had another lovely night of eating, drinking wine by the fire and solving the problems of the world it was brilliant.

The next morning was cold but sunny and we all wanted to stay for a week but said a sad farewell to the family still there and headed off to see my Grandfather in hospital nearby. It was lovely to see him and his huge smile and sparkling eyes, we think he knew who we were even if it was fleetingly. We then headed back into Milton to see my Grandmother for a final cuppa before heading back up to Dunedin. We had a nice walk around Dunedin and some lunch and as it had snowed overnight the boys played in the snow for the first time while mummy hopelessly tried to keep them dry and out of the puddles before getting on another flight home. We were all exhausted by this stage and it was a quite flight back, takeaways then we all fell into bed by 9 o'clock last night....

Thanks to all the family, especially Karl and Val for a absolutely magic weekend XXXXXXXXXX