Spring shivers, and the Fiasco of the Week!

It is with cold fingers that I type that there has been a return to frosty mornings, dark skies, and icy rain in Auckland recently. In fact, so far, spring has been more like winter than, er, winter.
In spite of that, we’ve managed to make the best of it.
Last weekend, Missy and I braved the elements to walk up the hill and into central Auckland for the annual Blessing Of The Animals.
Held in a gorgeous old church, St Mattthew’s In The City, the event raises funds and awareness of the work of the SPCA (New Zealand’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
It’s a cliché, but all creatures great and small converged on the cathedral – dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, mice, rats, donkeys and even a bull!
We were warmly welcomed, and the presence of the animals gave the service a festive feel.
I’ve never had my butt sniffed at church before, but there’s a first time for everything! And Missy fell in love with a fluffy Samoyed, who kept howling along with the hymns. By the time we left, Miss 6 had a blotchy red face and streaming eyes and noses, thanks to an allergy to the friendly pup – but she still couldn’t resist bringing home a fist of his fur. (Which I later vacuumed up, accidentally on purpose. Shhh! Don’t tell!)
Then this weekend, we went to the Diwali Festival, the annual Festival of the Lights. The Auckland Viaduct was like a little slice of India with colourful stalls, delicious food and drinks, and loads of entertainment.
The kids had a few days at vacation care each week, while I caught up on work, but we also had lots of fun swimming, rollerskating and rock climbing. (Well the kids did the last two. Husband banned me from anything too physical, due to my predilection for falling over and breaking and/or dislocating things).
I can’t post photos, because I’m waiting for a new thingamajig to put in the wotsit on the computer, but I’ll upload them as soon as I can.
Meanwhile, in a return to the Wine of the Week, let me present Fiasco Wine’s Gee-Whizz Gewurztraminer 2008.
I was lucky enough to win a bottle recently, and wasted no time cracking it open. (My infamous Fall Up The Stairs which ended up in wedding and engagement rings being cut off was judged ‘The Fiasco Of The Week’ in a recent competition. Glad my clumsiness was good for something!)
The company describes their wine better than I ever could:
“Our Gee-Whizz was harvested with soft hands, then gently squeezed like a lover, and fermented slowly to retain the intense Fiasco flavour. We’ve had a ball getting it from vine to bottle and now it’s your turn to enjoy our wine, the one that can only be pronounced after a few glasses!”
It was delicious, cool, light and tasting just slightly of ginger, flowers and lemon. Cheers!

When the boy's away....

Confession time: We did something very naughty recently. We went out to dinner while C. was away at school camp!
I blame Husband, who came home saying that he wanted to take his Two Best Girls out to dinner. (Well, at least we are up there...)
And so, we trekked up the hill to Ponsonby and tried a cute little Italian restaurant called Gusto.
The service was friendly and efficient, and they were particularly lovely to Miss 6.
And as we are used to in New Zealand, there was no kids menu (prompting a pout from H.), but the chef was more than happy to prepare a bowl of her favourite, spaghetti bolognaise, just for her.
She pronounced it (and don't tell him): Better Than Daddy's!
High praise indeed.
With just one child (meaning no arguing or fighting) dinner was actually peaceful and relaxing. Almost like date night.
Or perhaps that was the wine...


Husband's pasta. His only criticism was that there was not more of it!











Vegie pizza for me...












You don't get better praise than this. Small child tucking into real food!











For the first time ever, Miss 6 chose to sit next to Dadda instead of me! (Sob - it's all downhill from here)










Mr 8 arrives back at school, unaware of the betrayal that has taken place..











Seriously, he was fine, but thirsty and starving, because apparently they don't feed kids at camp in New Zealand. (Joke: Totally not true! Apparently the meals were even better than mine ...yes, I know, that wouldn't be hard!)










After a few days in the wilds, he was desperate for 'technology'.
And don't worry, he's been for several meals out since then!

This post's a bit fruity ...

Kiwis are a quirky lot.


TradeMe is the NZ version of ebay. So far, we've bought a second-hand buggy for the Little Princess, a new bed, and a few other bits and pieces off TradeMe.


But here's something for the person who has everything - a Kiwi-shaped Feijoa!

Here's the sale pitch:

"The ultimate in traditional, natural and non-manufactured KIWIANA! This exceptional and unusual wee feijoa is perfection personified shaped as our own dear little KIWI icon. The adorable little "bird" fell from it's tree in our own back garden on Saturday 25th April - ANZAC Day. The most bizarre, natural phenomenon I've seen personally, especially since all the other feijoas off our tree have been large and regular shaped. But it quick and preserve it for posterity."

And best of all? At the time of blogging, it was going for NZ$12.50. A steal!



Or, the perfect gift for Mother's Day, apparently, is a lovely gift-wrapped box of Weta poo!

The seller trills: "Here are only a FEW reasons YOU should buy this item:

-Perfect gift for Mother's Day! (I bet Mum hasn't got one of these!)

-Totally original! (You don't see Paris Hilton carrying one of these in her bag!)

-Great little treat for miniature plants such as Bonsei Trees (little poo for little plant)

-A rarity! (When was the last time you saw a native weta poo at auction?)

-Take 'would-be insults' as a compliment... Person: "Your gift is a piece if SH*T!"You:"Thanks buddy!"

-Legitimate turd (I witnessed the journey from weta body to dining room table)-100% Biodegradable.-Comes in FREE pink gift box!"

Thankfully, the seller didn't post a photo of the actual poo.
And at last check, this, erm, unique gift, was going at the unbeatable price of NZ$11.50.

Maybe perfume and bath gel isn't such a bad option after all!

Flu, Fire and Rain

The Little Dude finally went back to school today, after nearly a week off school thanks to flu. We've both been miserable together, with red noses, hacking cough, and aching bodies, heads and faces. Though overall the kids have been healthier since we moved here, Husband and I certainly seem to be coming down with more bugs more often. And when we do get sick - any of us - it certainly hits us hard.

Hence, we're making an effort to be healthier: getting plenty of exercise, eating well, and drinking less alcohol. (Yep, even wine. Haven't you noticed there have been no Wines of the Week lately?)

However, yesterday at the supermarket, my love for a bargain found me purchasing a bottle of Montana Pinot Gris, which came with a free keyring. And since Husband had just been been awarded with a pretty important and hard-to-get qualification for work, there was cause to celebrate. (He's so clever!)

The wine, blended from Gisborne and Hawke's Bay vineyards, was aromatic and delightfully pineappley (is that a word?) It was accompanied by K's famous Japanese Curry and steamed rice. Perfect.

Best of all, Husband chose to toast his achievement with a NZ beer, so there was more for me!

In other news, we're constantly being caught out by Auckland's impulsive weather!

For example, as we left for work and school this morning, the sky was clear and blue. By the time we reached school, a few minutes away, it was raining. "Just a sun shower" said K hopefully. By the time we reached K's work, another five minutes on, the skies burst! Rain hammered down, traffic became chaotic, the skies turned dark, and there was flash-flooding all over the roads. It was horrid!

Just two hours later, the skies cleared. Now we're having a sunny summer-like day, without a cloud in the sky. By this evening it will probably be hot and humid, and the kids will be pestering me for a swim!

As I type this blog, sirens are going off and we're surrounded by fire engines and fire fighters. The building at the front of our complex houses several companies, as well as a gourmet kitchen which runs regular cooking classes. Apparently, someone left the stove on overnight and the place caught fire.

The building was evacuated, with the workers all hanging around on the lawn outside our townhouse while they waited for the all-clear.

What's really funny is that I was completely oblivious until the plumber arrived to fix our broken loo (that's another story!), and brought me up to speed on the drama unfolding just outside our door. Looks like I'm so used to sirens going off in the city, that I tune them out.

Maybe I'm turning into a true Aucklander?

Note: It did turn out to be humid and warm that night. Talk about Four Seasons In One Day ...

Happy little campers

This week, Missy’s class enjoyed a Camp Day. It was kind of 'The Camp You Have Without Having A Camp'.
Basically, they did all the fun stuff involved with camping, without the trauma of parents and teachers having to stay overnight.
The teachers put out a call for parent volunteers, and I was happy (kind of) to lend a hand.
Though I love my kids, spending time with other peoples’ offspring has never been a strong point. But gradually, the rugrats and their desire to have me join in on events like these, have converted me. I love that working part-time gives me the opportunity of getting involved, and learning more about their teachers and friends. Who would’ve thought it? Maybe I’m finally turning into a real Grown-Up Mumma?
Tents were erected, marshmallows were toasted, and a variety of feel-good outdoor activities enjoyed – parachute games, swimming, potato and spoon races, and a treasure hunt. With a sausage sizzle for lunch, and a movie and ice-block in the afternoon, the Grade Two kids were certainly happy little campers.
That evening? Missy slept well, and I did too, after a few medicinal wines. (Well, I had the wine. Miss H. had milk!)
I love our Auckland school. There are a huge variety of schools in NZ, and we were lucky to find one which is warm and caring, a lot like the school they went to back home.
In NZ, every child apparently has the right to attend a school close to where they live. The idea being that they can walk there if they want to, make loads of friends in the same neighbourhood, and feel more a part of the community.
And I love the idea too, except that it can be stressy for parents, because you can only send kids to certain schools if you live in the right 'zone'.
For example, when we moved here, we had to find a place to live which we could afford, which was convenient to work, but also was near a good school. And now, because the property we're renting is going on the market soon, we are faced with having to move again before the end of the year. And there is no way I want to uproot my kids again and take them to yet another school!
Clearly, we will be moving heaven and earth not to move … at least not far away.
Here are some of the things I love about our Kiwi school:
- Our kids get to drink filtered cold water throughout the day. (Unlike the crappy first state school my eldest attended in Brisbane, where the cranky teacher wouldn’t let them drink in 36 degrees celcius temperatures! That was one of the reasons we turned to a small private school in Brisbane…)
- The kids get to call teachers by their first names – even the principal. They get lots of hugs too! - There is no tuck shop. Kids can order healthy Subway sandwiches if parents haven’t had time to prepare a packed lunch, and it’s delivered later in the day. There are no cookies, pies, sausage rolls, home-made cakes, supposedly-healthy ice-blocks or the like. My kids get Subway at school once a week if they are lucky. And the system totally ends the pestering-for-money for treats at school drop-off in the mornings.
- Exercise is a priority. The kids exercise at school every day – swimming three times a week for H, twice a week for C. First thing each morning, there is Jump Jam (like aerobics to the latest hits) for H; C. does a more grown-up workout including stretches and running.
- Kids are not just allowed, but encouraged to climb trees! The playgrounds are challenging, fun, and for this Mum, slightly scary. (Would you believe they still have monkey bars? Really high monkey bars?) And once they hit grade 5, the kids learn to ride unicycles!
- All the teachers have laptops, and parents can communicate with them by email during the day. I just got an email from C’s teacher, telling him to get well soon and hopefully she’ll see him on Monday. (He came down with flu this morning).
- There’s a healthy attitude to food. Though foods like chocolates and lollies are banned, there are still fundraising days about once a term where they can buy a treat, like ice-blocks, home-baked goodies, or in the case of Missy’s camp day, toasted marshmallows and a sausage sizzle.
- The Maori culture is incorporated into daily school life and is part of the curriculum, in a way that indigenous culture is not celebrated back home. I love listening to our kids singing and speaking Maori, and that they can help me when I'm stuck with difficult pronunciations.
Sometimes I feel it's tough on the kids, having to learn two lots of vowel sounds and words, but then I guess it's no different to learning any other language at school either!
- Our school has kids (and teachers) from more than 20 different countries on the roll, so C. and H. are learning a healthy respect for and appreciation of other cultures, before official lessons even begin.
- They don't wear a uniform. Now usually, I'm all for uniforms. But in our case, it saved us a load of money when we arrived here, (having just shelled out big time back in Brisbane), and it also means the kids get plenty of wear out of their clothes.
The kids wanted me to share a few photos with you ...





Ready for school...





The leafy grounds





One of the many murals around school created by the children themselves












C's classroom has the latest in state-of-the-art furniture for kids. The ergonomic chairs are flexible and help support their growing bones.

They keep their books and pens in this file which lifts out when they need them

H. was so excited I could help out at Camp Day! Here, she's eating a sausage sanger for lunch.

Tents for Camp Day

Toasted marshmallow squashed between two biscuits. Missy declared it delicious!


Potato and spoon race - an interesting take on the traditional egg and spoon.

Another month, another birthday ....

It’s been a busy few weeks, so I’ve been a bit slack about blogging.
With husband away, and school in full swing, non-work-related computer time has been a bit of a scarce commodity.
Thankfully, K. arrived homely safely on Sunday, after the kids and I had spent a fun day at the Auckland Museum. I’ll blog about that later because in the meantime …
The Little Princess turned 6 yesterday!
The morning started with presents, including some which had travelled all the way from Australia – thanks everyone.
After breakfast of sausages, beans and toast – Missy Moo loves sausages – it was time for school.
She skipped along happily, while I trailed behind, loaded down as I was with a huge pink lolly cake, just as requested, to share with her class.
In the afternoon, a special friend from school came home with her for afternoon birthday tea and a play. There was cupcake decorating, a tea party, and plenty of playing with dollies and ponies – much to C’s disgust (though he quite enjoyed the cupcakes!)
One of our family traditions is for the birthday girl or boy to choose what they would like to have for dinner. Last month, the Little Dude wanted fish and chips – and we had them, fresh off the boat, at the Auckland Fish Market. My choice, last year, was a very memorable meal at Murder Burger, a Ponsonby icon.
H. has more expensive tastes though (hmm, wonder who she takes after?), and chose a "grown-up" restaurant on the Viaduct. The food and view were wonderful – we watched the sun slowly setting over the ocean – but the kids were bored in minutes as they waited for their meals. K. and I found ourselves counting to 10 on more than one occasion as they squabbled, squirmed, and slurped their drinks.
But we all enjoyed our dinner – braised lamb shanks for K., tiger prawn and scallop fettucine for me, terahiki fish goujons and chips for C, and a ham and pineapple pizza – minus the ham – for Missy.
It was back to reality today though, with school again, and a Back To School Bash tonight for the whole family. Apparently, it’s something the school does every year to give parents, teachers, and kids the chance to meet and greet informally.
There will be a fundraising BBQ, bar (!), and sports and swimming for the kids.
Hmm, something tells me we may need the bar after all that!
Only kidding. The teachers are wonderful and the parents we've met are lovely too. Should be fun - as long as it doesn't rain!

Unwrapping presents ..."Look, it's real money Mumma!"

A DS game!

The cake. Doesn't look too pink here, but trust me, it was!

Making cupcakes. Better than baking brownies I guess!

C. made a Clown Cupcake

The proof is in the eating ...

(Mind you, that looks painful!)

Waitangi weekend

It's official - I'm no longer GPS-dependant!
While I still need our trusty sat-nav system to tell me how to get to anywhere new, I am proud to report that I can now find my way to the post office, shops, airport, and our favourite shopping centre without using the GPS.

And on Friday, a public holiday for Waitangi Day here in New Zealand, I took the kids over the bridge to Takapuna for lunch and the beach ... again without needing to be told how to get there.

How awesome is that? (Hey, it's only taken 5 1/2 months!)

Waitangi Day marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, and like Australia's national day, is often celebrated on the beach.

When in Rome (or Auckland), and all that, so we decided to do the same. Thankfully, it was cooller on the beach than at home, thanks to sea breezes and massive trees along the seafront.

Yes, it's been hot here in Auckland - okay not by Queensland standards, but pretty stifling, particularly as our townhouse has no ceiling fans, let alone an air-conditioner.
To escape the heat, on Saturday we went to our favourite shopping centre, St Luke's, to see Hotel For Dogs. Didn't the kids laugh?! And I confess - I'm obviously still a bit Tired and Emotional because I ended up crying in the movie - twice. The kids laughed even harder at that, and C. gleefully annouced to the whole cinema "Hey everyone, my Mum's crying!"
Later we joined some friends at One Tree Hill for a late afternoon picnic.
One Tree Hill is one of Auckland's 48 volcanic peaks, and offers a huge expanse of green parkland and shady trees to picnic under.

The kids loved seeing the cows and sheep grazing nearby, and spent a couple of happy hours climbing trees, throwing balls around, and climbing the hill before rolling back down again.

It was a gorgeous way to spend an afternoon and I can't wait to take K. there.

With Husband away, I didn't attempt the famous Sunday Roast on the weekend, however the kids have been unusually complementary about my cooking this time ... mainly simple meals like bangers and mash, chicken kiev and vegies, and macaroni cheese (meals that even I can't mess up - much!)

Parenting is still tough when K. is away, but maybe there is hope for me yet!

H. on Takapuna Beach, with Rangitoto Island (another volcano) in the background.

My little monkey man

A "fairy home" in the tree

The kids thought this looked like an elephant. Hmm, any other thoughts?

Back to school

Sunday dawned, and with it a return to sole parenting as Husband took flight for work.
While he flew into a cyclone zone, our house quickly turned into one too.
You see, the Little Dude has taken on the mantle of being Man Of The House while Daddy is away very seriously.
So in addition to the usual household detritus of toys, colouring books, paints and discarded food wrappers littering our home, there have been nails and screws and bits of wood as C. put together not one, but two bookshelves for me
Awesome! Now if only I could get him to tidy his room…
In other news, the kids finally went back to school today. Yes, it’s been a long summer holiday, and while we’ve had fun, I think we’re all ready to get back into the routine of school again.
And unlike so many of our Aussie friends, who have apparently spent the past few weeks up to their elbows in contact and name tags, our relaxed Kiwi school staff have told us not to worry about it until this week, when we can pick up everything we need in a tidy little box. No contact or coverings required. Genius!
Their first day back started with a Powhiri, a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony for all the new students, teachers and parents. Many of the women wore colorful skirts or sarongs, and we all took our shoes off for the duration of the ceremony. Afterwards, parents, teachers and school officials greeted each other with a hongi - the rubbing of noses or a Maori kiss.
When it was time for me to go, there were a few tears from the Little Princess, who desperately wanted to come too. But one of her teachers took her by the hand and when I looked back to check, she was skipping alongside her.
Personally, I’ve had the hardest week I think since we moved here. I don’t know if it’s that the excitement of birthdays, Christmas, New Year, and our holiday in Oz has worn off, or a combination of all of them, but I’ve felt a bit flat. Of course, it doesn’t help that husband is away for a few weeks, and my arthritis has obligingly flared up.

It's times like these that the negatives of moving overseas really hits home. With our closest family across the ditch in Australia, together with a network of friends and neighbours, there's really no one I can call on if I need a break, especially when K. is away.

Luckily, we have a long weekend coming up with Waitangi Day on Friday, and Kyle’s boss’s family have asked the kids and I over to their place for fish and chips on Saturday. The rug rats are also twisting my arm to take them to the museum or the movies - or both! Hmm, that will depend if they sleep in their own beds tonight!

Anyway, hopefully I'll soon have booted the blues and be back to normal (well as normal as I'm going to get anyway!)

Can't talk, building. Missy lends a hand.

And below, the finished product (As you can see it was hot work - shirt came off)

A healthy breakfast for the big Grade 2 girl - though: 'It's not as good as Dadda's' she pronounced mournfully.

"Mum, do I really have to stay?"

Impressions of Auckland

Ready for school in their new T-shirts

So we’ve been here two months already, and everyone is asking what living in NZ is really like.

We’re still feeling our way really, but so far, so good.

Funnily enough, I had assumed that living in New Zealand would be very similar to life in Australia. And in some ways that’s true. We speak the same language, for example, and a lot of the foods are similar (in NZ, Kiwi Kids Are Weet Bix Kids)!

But so far I've found the culture and surroundings – have more in common with England than Australia. There are American influences too – for example, it appears that Halloween is celebrated here fairly widely, if the barrage of advertising and television programming is anything to go by.
School life is much the same...

I love the fact that there is water aplenty, and unlike drought-ravaged Brisbane, we can now enjoy guilt-free baths (well, at least until we get the electricity bill! We have an old-fashioned hot water system here, not a solar one!)

To my horror, wine is generally more expensive than at home, particularly cleanskins and boxes. But I’ve found the supermarkets often have fabulous specials that make it possible to drink nicer wine more often. The other day I stocked up on a couple of Jacobs Creek wines for NZ$6.99. I don’t think I’ve ever paid so little for Jacobs Creek wines at home!

Beer is slightly cheaper too. Kyle picked up a six-pack of Corona the other day for NZ$10.99.

Medical and pharmaceutical costs have been the real surprise. Our first doctors visits cost NZ$85, and a follow-up was $75. Many medical services that are bulk-billed at home, like x-rays and routine bloodwork, can cost hundreds here. And prescriptions and over the counter medicines are frightfully expensive. For example, kiddie panadol is more than twice the price. A simple 50-pack of paracetamol was on sale for NZ$9.99 yesterday (I used to pay AUS$2.99 at epharmacy for 100). And a ventolin was NZ$20 (I could get two for AUS$13 at home). Apparently costs come down once you’ve been with the same doctor for three months. But I hate to think how pensioners and people on low incomes survive. They literally can't afford to get sick!

The kids have really embraced the lifestyle and are happily making friends, which was one of our biggest concerns. But they still miss their friends and family back home, and often tell me to take a photo to put on the web so their loved ones can see what they've been up to.

They love getting phone calls and emails, so imagine their surprise yesterday when a parcel arrived from Grandma and Pa-pa.

They were so thrilled they insisted on wearing their new shirts to school today!

Home-wise, we’ve settled in well. Strangely, after all that downsizing and sorting out prior to our move, I wish we’d brought a few more things over. For example, all the lunchboxes came – but none of my pantry Tupperware. You know, usefull stuff like containers to store flour and sugar and cereal in. I don’t know how that happened!

And I wish we’d brought more photos and pictures, particularly for the kids’ rooms. We only brought a few thinking we wouldn’t be able to put them up in a rental home, but there are loads of hooks and the walls are looking bare. We're hoping to slowly start adorning them with bits and pieces of Kiwi art which we'll collect on our travels.

So far, apart from family and friends, it's the little things I miss about home:
Sunrise (I know, but I liked to catch-up with the world in the background while we got ready for school and work, and the Kiwi version is horrid);
The Courier Mail and Sunday Mail (I can read them online, but it's not the same as leaving sections scattered throughout the house to annoy my husband!);
Our pets (Even though we still think we made the right decision by not subjecting them to a move, I miss them desperately. Particularly Daisy! I would give anything to give her a big cuddle and hear her snoring at my feet.)
The river and parklands behind our house (though we now have a cool park nearby, and the harbour is within walking distance)
Our barbecue and outdoor setting (but hopefully we will get a replacement here soon).
Aussie TV - Our free-to-air telly programming back home is far more entertaining than we're getting here. Mind you, I guess that just gives me more time to blog!

My Wine Of The Week

mmm....chardonnay ...