I have a sick girl, sweet Josie has a temperature of 102 today and just isn't feeling well at all. I didn't realize she was sick until later in the morning. I should have known when she didn't eat any breakfast, but things were too chaotic with Dugald being gone and me trying to get everyone up and dressed and googling maps to find out where Meg's soccer game was to be played. And Meggie spilled her milk all over the table. And the dog and cat needed to be fed. And the dishwasher needed to be unloaded so I could get the breakfast dishes in seeing as we have a mouse and all. Have I mentioned there is at least one mouse, and probably a family of mice, living in our kitchen somewhere? This despite the cat and our valiant efforts to vacuum, empty the trash and take out the compost every night. So, poor Jo got shuffled along and we went to the game, dog and all.
Oh yeah, another missed sickness clue, when I was trying to herd everyone to the car I found Jo huddled in her room by the heat vent. She was cold, but that didn't register with me right then, I just told her to get in the car. Not my best mothering story.
So, we got to the game and little Jo told me she didn't feel well and I finally looked straight at her, just her, and noticed she was in fact quite flushed. And shivering. I felt her head and knew that she had a temperature and then I felt awful and wished we hadn't come to the game. I'm not the best sports-fan mom anyway, I like to pawn soccer games on to Dugald when I can, because it's just too much to try and watch three small children AND catch my player's eye every time she looks to make sure I'm watching. But, with Dugald gone I felt it my duty to the team to get us there. Once I realized I had a good excuse to leave I would have used it, because honestly poor Josie was so uncomfortable, but every player on Meg's team was on the field and there were no substitutes and I couldn't bring myself to disappoint Meggie and the rest of the team by pulling her out to go home. And, since I'm not at all the games, I don't know any of the other parents well-enough yet to entrust my child to them for a ride home (or to even be so bold as to ask ). So we stayed.
I have to hand it to Josie, she was a trooper. The grass was so wet we couldn't sit down and unlike America nobody brings lawn chairs and umbrellas to sit under, and I think I sold mine in my Texas garage sale anyway, so Josie just shivered on one side of me while Rico sat on the other. Katie and Ellie went exploring and it wasn't five minutes before Katie came to me covered, head to toe covered, in mud. She'd slipped. What a mess.
The upside is I did get to know one of the other parents. He sidled over to me and introduced himself right before lighting a cigarette and exhaling in my face. He wanted to talk American politics, my favorite. I jest, I jest. I have to say it was kind of him to come meet me and talk, I'll just say we have very different perspectives on a lot of things. Not that he knows that because of course I just smiled and nodded and gently reminded him that I did come from Texas, just like GW. So, you know, be a little respectful. 'Kay?
We came home and Meggie and Katie were immediately sent to the shower and all their clothing was put in the washing machine because good grief they were filthy. Then I let them all watch a movie - Josie snuggled with her hot water bottle under her blankie and quilt from Grandma on the couch. It wasn't the Saturday I expected, but there is something so precious about a sick child, and it moves my heart to see her suffering and it makes me want to spoil her rotten. So I filled her glass with Sprite and practically hand-fed her bits of oranges, apples and crackers while she watched the movie. I had an hour and half of bliss - quiet children!
The rest of the day has been pretty much like that. Usually I would have cabin-fever because they'd be climbing the walls but I had a supply of movies on hand to counteract that. Instead I had a long, uninterrupted time on the computer, read some for my Mercy Ships presentation, almost fell asleep myself, finished cleaning the kitchen, put out the laundry and organized dinner. All in quiet. Amazing.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tempted
Today I've been web-surfing on some of my favorite U.S. websites. It's incredibly tempting, despite the fact that we don't need any clothes, because they are ALL having their summer sales. However I am still culling closets (we have two for all six of us) to try and get rid of stuff so that we can actually find what we need amidst all the clutter. But I do so love a bargain, and the prices are sooooooo lowwwwww. That is if I don't factor in shipping.
Oh yeah, and Meggie will definitely need stuff, she's growing!
Not much else is happening around these parts. Dugald left this morning for Aukland and won't be back until tomorrow night (Sat). It's a bit of a bummer because I so love the weekends and having him home with us. He'll be back on Sunday and leave again on Monday, back Tuesday night. Crazy. We will get to be together Sunday though and some friends have invited us over for afternoon tea, so we all have that to look forward to. The girls and I are going to have a "Girls Night In" tonight - we're going to get take-aways, deep condition our hair, paint our nails and watch a girly movie. I may even let one of them sleep in my bed, depends. . .
We've had to cancel our upcoming trip to Napier due to Dugald's work, I have to say I'm still adjusting to him not being self-employed and being at someone else's beck and call. But, that said, I do think he likes so much what he is doing and working with other people that it tips the scales this way. Despite cancelled vacations. Actually not cancelled, postponed. We are still going to Palmerston North on Thursday for me to give the talk on Mercy Ships, and we'll get a nice day with his parents, so that's something to look forward to! I do hope I get a few minutes on my own before Thursday to actually prepare what I want to say, it's so much better than when I wing it!
Rob was on Bloomberg in London this week. I missed the live telecast (could have watched it on the internet but I was picking up the girls from Musical Stars). I hear he was good (from his parents and his brother, but I believe them). Dugald said he talked about falling house prices in the U.S. and how it's probably going to continue. I said to Dugald that we should have Rob let us know when he thinks the market has hit rock bottom (we're absolutely not good at real estate, terrible in fact, but I have loved where I've lived) so then we can buy a house there and just rent it out until we move back. That's of course assuming we have some money, and assuming we don't end up buying here, which we really don't think we can do anyway but it's hard to find a rental that allows dogs, and I have to say I now know why.
Hope all is well in your world! Here is a link if you want to see a couple of minutes of Rob's interview:
http://www.bloomberg.com/avp/avp.htm?clipSRC=mms://media2.bloomberg.com/cache/vgH6jCxs68co.asf
Oh yeah, and Meggie will definitely need stuff, she's growing!
Not much else is happening around these parts. Dugald left this morning for Aukland and won't be back until tomorrow night (Sat). It's a bit of a bummer because I so love the weekends and having him home with us. He'll be back on Sunday and leave again on Monday, back Tuesday night. Crazy. We will get to be together Sunday though and some friends have invited us over for afternoon tea, so we all have that to look forward to. The girls and I are going to have a "Girls Night In" tonight - we're going to get take-aways, deep condition our hair, paint our nails and watch a girly movie. I may even let one of them sleep in my bed, depends. . .
We've had to cancel our upcoming trip to Napier due to Dugald's work, I have to say I'm still adjusting to him not being self-employed and being at someone else's beck and call. But, that said, I do think he likes so much what he is doing and working with other people that it tips the scales this way. Despite cancelled vacations. Actually not cancelled, postponed. We are still going to Palmerston North on Thursday for me to give the talk on Mercy Ships, and we'll get a nice day with his parents, so that's something to look forward to! I do hope I get a few minutes on my own before Thursday to actually prepare what I want to say, it's so much better than when I wing it!
Rob was on Bloomberg in London this week. I missed the live telecast (could have watched it on the internet but I was picking up the girls from Musical Stars). I hear he was good (from his parents and his brother, but I believe them). Dugald said he talked about falling house prices in the U.S. and how it's probably going to continue. I said to Dugald that we should have Rob let us know when he thinks the market has hit rock bottom (we're absolutely not good at real estate, terrible in fact, but I have loved where I've lived) so then we can buy a house there and just rent it out until we move back. That's of course assuming we have some money, and assuming we don't end up buying here, which we really don't think we can do anyway but it's hard to find a rental that allows dogs, and I have to say I now know why.
Hope all is well in your world! Here is a link if you want to see a couple of minutes of Rob's interview:
http://www.bloomberg.com/avp/avp.htm?clipSRC=mms://media2.bloomberg.com/cache/vgH6jCxs68co.asf
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Meet my husband. . .
Dugald took the personality test too. . . meet my hubby:
You Are An ENTP |
 The Visionary You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression. You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything. Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off. You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments. In love, you see everything as a grand adventure. You enjoy taking risks for love. And if things don't work out, you're usually not too much worse for the wear! You would make a great entrepreneur, marketing executive, or actor. At work, you need a lot of freedom to pursue your own path and vision. How you see yourself: Analytical, creative, and peaceful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Detached, wishy-washy, and superficial |
Personality Change
It's seems I've had a personality change in the past few years, at least a little bit! The Myers-Briggs personality test is well-known and I've taken it several times over the course of my life. I've always been INFP, which I think means Introverted/Intuitive/Feeling/Perception. Well, a friend had this test on her blog, so for fun I decided to take it, and now I am INFJ. I went back and changed a few answers that I could have gone either way on and the results stayed the same, so this, apparently, is me:
If you want to take the test for yourself click the question above or go to http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourpersonalitytypequiz/
I'd love to hear what you come up with! I think for the most part my description is accurate, though it's definately wrong when it talks about my infinite patience!
Talk to me people. . .
You Are An INFJ |
 The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable |
If you want to take the test for yourself click the question above or go to http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourpersonalitytypequiz/
I'd love to hear what you come up with! I think for the most part my description is accurate, though it's definately wrong when it talks about my infinite patience!
Talk to me people. . .
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Just playing around
I began blogging when we moved to New Zealand as a means to keep in touch with family and friends. I've also decided it might be a good thing to print out at the end of each year and just stick in the back of our family scrapbook. Now that I've discovered a bit of the blogosphere (not sure I'm spelling that right) I've enjoyed reading the blogs of others and establishing a sort of virtual community where I can find inspiration, encouragement, fellowship, shared interests or just get in a good laugh when I need it. As I've explored I've noticed that my blog's template, which is just the basic layout I use, is kind of generic. I've been playing around with ways to make it a bit more personal, thus the ever changing picture at the top. The current photo was taken on one of my morning walks, and I haven't actually posted it before because it doesn't even come close to capturing the beauty of sunrise over the harbour - partly because of the amateur photographer, partly because I was a bit late that day, and partly because it was overcast.
Just wanted to let you know why things may look different here from day to day. . . I'm just playing around and trying to learn how to do all this fancy stuff.
Just wanted to let you know why things may look different here from day to day. . . I'm just playing around and trying to learn how to do all this fancy stuff.
Monday, June 23, 2008
We're still here...
I haven't blogged for a few days because I just haven't had a coherent thought or any great family activity to post photos from. . . so I just thought I'd share some random recent occurrences.
1. We "registered" with the local medical clinic. In New Zealand the entire family goes to the same clinic to see a doctor. Since we've recently had three birthdays and I am used to taking the girls to the doctor every year I decided to go on in and get registered. I also am finally equipped with their shot records, very important documents I forgot to leave Texas with so thanks Lori for getting them for me. And, what tipped me over the edge and made me finally go down there, was the fact that Ellie was complaining that it hurt everytime she went potty. I know enough to know that her lack of a fever meant she was probably fine, but decided to go anyway despite the fact that I'd almost rather get a root canal by myself than take all four girls to the doctor's office. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly we were able to get an appointment, and once we got there with how quickly we were seen - we waited about two minutes! We saw Dr. Coffee, I'm not sure if that's how you spell it but it is how you say it, a very quiet man, about my age, and from Ireland. He was very kind and gave Ellie a quick exam and then sent us on our way with a cup for a urine sample and told me to drop it back by sometime later that afternoon. All that for a total cost of $14! Oh, and he also said none of the girls needed shots this year. And, as expected, Ellie is just fine.
Now I REALLY loved our doctors in Texas, I really did, they were all our good friends, but the medical system was never my favorite. We'd get the craziest bills in the mail and we never did know what they were for or whether our insurance should have paid it or we should have or whatever. We were also paying close to $1000 month in insurance just for me and the girls (until we switched to a Health Savings Account months before we left) - and aside from my thyroid being taken out several years ago we are all healthy! I haven't been here long enough, nor do I know enough about socialized medicine, but I have to say I just had a really good experience. The downside, or one of the downsides, is that our taxes are crazy high to pay for all of this. Also I believe there is a bit of a crisis here in the medical profession as far as keeping good doctors around, for various reasons. I'm just trying to look at the bright side, especially since leaving our friends and trusted medical advisors in Texas was a bit fear-provoking for me. So far, so good.
2. I taught Sunday School for the first time in our church here and it didn't go quite as I had planned. My sweet friend Julia, mother of two boys, told me that I am too used to being around girls. I had planned a nice little interactive discussion of the story of Zaccheaus to follow-up the video we watched as a part of a series. I had barely started speaking when one of the boys raised his hand, and I was impressed that he raised his hand, and shouted at the same time "Can we just play games now?". Oh yes, I also might mention that the class was twice the size it normally is due to a vote in the congregation that day that people felt quite strongly about. I realized the children were not going to go with my original plan so I rushed through and went right to the games I had planned - which, sadly, were not games that involved running around and using up tons of excess energy. I did a game where I passed around a bowl of Smarties (like m&ms) and told everyone to take some. When they all had the ones they wanted I told them that for every Smartie they had in their hand they had to tell us all something about themselves. It started off fine, but then we got to a boy I don't know and he said, quite seriously, "I hate my father". Nice. We moved right along and got to another boy who is fairly new to our church and a bit of an outcast and I was worried as to whether he'd participate at all, we've actually had to physically bar him from leaving before, he marches to the beat of his own drummer you might say. Anyway, he did play much to my surprise, only he said he had a green cat, to which the other kids (mostly the boys I have to say) shouted, "Liar, you don't have a green cat!"
3. Rain, rain go away come again another day. It's raining again today. Ick.
4. We're almost done with our school year that we began last August! Moving has a way of setting you back a few months. Anyway, to celebrate we're going to have a weekend away. I am speaking to a group of women from Margaret's church on the 3rd of July about Mercy Ships, so we will all drive there as a family and spend one night with them. Then on Friday we are planning to drive to Napier, a city I've been wanting to see and never have on previous trips. It's called New Zealand's Art Deco city. Here's a little trivia from Wikipedia for your further education:
On 3 February 1931, Napier was levelled by an earthquake. The collapses and ensuing fires killed 258 people. The town centre was destroyed and rebuilt in the popular Art Deco style of the time. Some 40 km² of today's Napier was undersea before the earthquake raised it. [3]
Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s , most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognized as architecturally unique, and from the 1990s onwards had been protected and restored. Napier and South Beach (Miami) are considered by many Art Deco enthusiasts the two best preserved Art Deco towns, Miami Beach being mainly in the later Streamline Moderne Art Deco style. As of 2007, Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated. [4]
I don't think we'll tell Meggie about the earthquake, she worries more than I do! The area is also a great wine-growing region so we'll look forward to that too, and there are fun things for the children as well, but really we are just going to have a quiet weekend together as a family and regroup so we can start right in to our next school year when we get back.
That's all our news! We love to hear from you so email us when you can.
1. We "registered" with the local medical clinic. In New Zealand the entire family goes to the same clinic to see a doctor. Since we've recently had three birthdays and I am used to taking the girls to the doctor every year I decided to go on in and get registered. I also am finally equipped with their shot records, very important documents I forgot to leave Texas with so thanks Lori for getting them for me. And, what tipped me over the edge and made me finally go down there, was the fact that Ellie was complaining that it hurt everytime she went potty. I know enough to know that her lack of a fever meant she was probably fine, but decided to go anyway despite the fact that I'd almost rather get a root canal by myself than take all four girls to the doctor's office. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly we were able to get an appointment, and once we got there with how quickly we were seen - we waited about two minutes! We saw Dr. Coffee, I'm not sure if that's how you spell it but it is how you say it, a very quiet man, about my age, and from Ireland. He was very kind and gave Ellie a quick exam and then sent us on our way with a cup for a urine sample and told me to drop it back by sometime later that afternoon. All that for a total cost of $14! Oh, and he also said none of the girls needed shots this year. And, as expected, Ellie is just fine.
Now I REALLY loved our doctors in Texas, I really did, they were all our good friends, but the medical system was never my favorite. We'd get the craziest bills in the mail and we never did know what they were for or whether our insurance should have paid it or we should have or whatever. We were also paying close to $1000 month in insurance just for me and the girls (until we switched to a Health Savings Account months before we left) - and aside from my thyroid being taken out several years ago we are all healthy! I haven't been here long enough, nor do I know enough about socialized medicine, but I have to say I just had a really good experience. The downside, or one of the downsides, is that our taxes are crazy high to pay for all of this. Also I believe there is a bit of a crisis here in the medical profession as far as keeping good doctors around, for various reasons. I'm just trying to look at the bright side, especially since leaving our friends and trusted medical advisors in Texas was a bit fear-provoking for me. So far, so good.
2. I taught Sunday School for the first time in our church here and it didn't go quite as I had planned. My sweet friend Julia, mother of two boys, told me that I am too used to being around girls. I had planned a nice little interactive discussion of the story of Zaccheaus to follow-up the video we watched as a part of a series. I had barely started speaking when one of the boys raised his hand, and I was impressed that he raised his hand, and shouted at the same time "Can we just play games now?". Oh yes, I also might mention that the class was twice the size it normally is due to a vote in the congregation that day that people felt quite strongly about. I realized the children were not going to go with my original plan so I rushed through and went right to the games I had planned - which, sadly, were not games that involved running around and using up tons of excess energy. I did a game where I passed around a bowl of Smarties (like m&ms) and told everyone to take some. When they all had the ones they wanted I told them that for every Smartie they had in their hand they had to tell us all something about themselves. It started off fine, but then we got to a boy I don't know and he said, quite seriously, "I hate my father". Nice. We moved right along and got to another boy who is fairly new to our church and a bit of an outcast and I was worried as to whether he'd participate at all, we've actually had to physically bar him from leaving before, he marches to the beat of his own drummer you might say. Anyway, he did play much to my surprise, only he said he had a green cat, to which the other kids (mostly the boys I have to say) shouted, "Liar, you don't have a green cat!"
3. Rain, rain go away come again another day. It's raining again today. Ick.
4. We're almost done with our school year that we began last August! Moving has a way of setting you back a few months. Anyway, to celebrate we're going to have a weekend away. I am speaking to a group of women from Margaret's church on the 3rd of July about Mercy Ships, so we will all drive there as a family and spend one night with them. Then on Friday we are planning to drive to Napier, a city I've been wanting to see and never have on previous trips. It's called New Zealand's Art Deco city. Here's a little trivia from Wikipedia for your further education:
On 3 February 1931, Napier was levelled by an earthquake. The collapses and ensuing fires killed 258 people. The town centre was destroyed and rebuilt in the popular Art Deco style of the time. Some 40 km² of today's Napier was undersea before the earthquake raised it. [3]
Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s , most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognized as architecturally unique, and from the 1990s onwards had been protected and restored. Napier and South Beach (Miami) are considered by many Art Deco enthusiasts the two best preserved Art Deco towns, Miami Beach being mainly in the later Streamline Moderne Art Deco style. As of 2007, Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated. [4]
I don't think we'll tell Meggie about the earthquake, she worries more than I do! The area is also a great wine-growing region so we'll look forward to that too, and there are fun things for the children as well, but really we are just going to have a quiet weekend together as a family and regroup so we can start right in to our next school year when we get back.
That's all our news! We love to hear from you so email us when you can.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
It wasn't Father's Day
Just thought I should post a brief explanation as to why I wasn't blogging this weekend about what a fantastic daddy Dugald is - and he is amazing. It's because it wasn't Father's Day here, so we didn't celebrate him in a special way, especially since it was Katie's birthday. Apparently the Kiwis celebrate Father's Day on the first Sunday in September. So, please don't think I forgot my dear husband, who is truly a father to be admired, you will be hearing about him in September!
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