20 December - Home Sweet Home

We’re baack. Apologies for it taking me so long to write my final installment but I think I have only gotten over the jet lag/time difference in the last few days. Its funny isn’t it how when you first go on holiday the adventure seems to stretch on forever and then before you know it you’re home again wondering if it actually happened! To say it wasn’t fabulous would be a lie as would saying it wasn’t hard work but sitting here now looking back on it all the hard bits seem to have dissolved into funny little anecdotes while the good times loom large. The boys did fantastically well on the never ending journey home the reward for which being they got to see David Beckham at Auckland airport. Who? Is pretty much what the boys said when told of the superstar’s arrival - oh well I now have a very grainy shot of Becks to add to the photo album.

I think the whole getting back to reality has been softened by the fact that we have moved into a new albeit temporary rented home. It’s next door to Mum and Dads in Oxford with lots of room for the boys to run round and we have had Sky put in for those wet days, of which they are plentiful at the mo. I am raising my eyes heaven ward and saying a silent thank you for Playhouse Disney. Josh is still muttering about wanting to learn Spanish which would be quite something but we will see. Dan is chuffed to be home and amongst his faithful friends, Thomas, Douglas, Bill, Ben and Annie and Clarabell his faithful friends. Paul has eased back into the whole work thing and is pleased he can have a couple more days off next week for Christmas. Speaking of which MERRY CHRISTMAS x

I forgot to mention Josh´s little gem when we were on the bus to Santa Lucia, Mum, he announced in his usual foghorn voice, I know something really big that you´d like to be sitting on! Paul and I cracked up and were once again grateful for the lack of English spoken in Uruguay. What he was actually talking about was a house and I think he meant I´d get a good view from the rooftop. Colonia was so so soooo beautiful and I was sad to leave but Paul and I will be back one day just the two of us to fine dine our way round the city. Carmelo was a laid back little town with the Rio de Plato river being its main attraction. The temperature hit 37 degrees which resulted in an impromptu swim in the river. Josh in his undies, Paul in his shorts, Dan in his nap and me fully clothed. I have never been so relieved to jump into water in my life. One night there and then the ferry to Buenos Aires which was a much more enjoyable crossing than the initial one over to Uruguay as much more to see. We are enjoying the city much more this time round as we knew what to expect and things are familiar. The boys are in a childrens play area in a pretty ritzy mall called Gallerias Pacificas complete with fresco paintings on the ceilings. I dont have much money so got to go. Wish us luck for our 13 hour flight home. Buenos Aires to Santiago to Auckland to Christchurh AAAAGH!

We have a new number one low on our list of destinations...Santa Lucia or as the tourism webpage for Uruguay described it, the Romantic Circuit. We didn´t get off to a good start crammed on a local bus in stinking hot weather for nearly two hours. Upon arriving we lugged our gear and the boys for what felt like miles before finding one of only three hotels on the edge of town. We felt like alien visitors and as we puffed through town it began to dawn that perhaps there was a reason the locals didn´t see many overseas tourists. We booked into the only open hotel that once upon a time would have been grand but now was a shadow of its former self. Dumping the bags we dragged ourselves around the streets in search of these crumbling romantic ruins and when we found them failed to see any romance in them at all. Decaying and crumbling would more aptly describe them. We did have the best value icecreams of the trip that afternoon and a couple of cold beers perked Paul and I up. The boys really enjoyed eating their tortas frittas, fried potato bread, on the grass along with all the other locals escaping the heat later that night and it is quite a sight to see the locals riding round bare back. We decided one night was definitely enough and in the morning woke up to discover we were under seige from bugs, 1000´s of them had congregated in our door way. We hot footed it pretty quickly up to the bus stop and got out of there. I suppose it is good to escape all the lovely tourist destinations and get a glimpse at the real Uruguay but having said that it was a relief to arrive back into the gorgeous town of Colonia again. Today we have come to see Real de San Carlos home to a bull ring over 100 years old and will spend the rest of the day meandering around Colonia.Our trip is rapidly coming to an end. Tomorrow we catch the bus to Carmello which is a riverside town an hour or so down the coast for one night. From there we catch the ferry into Tigre, Argentina for another night and then its back to Buenos Aires for our last two nights. Ciao M x

Hola, some very exciting news... we have a brand new nephew called Kaleb Matthew. He was born on 20 November weighing in at 8.11oz and both him and Rachel are thriving. Cant wait to meet him at Christmas.

Its our last day in Piriapolis so we are headed for the beach. Its time to move on and tomorrow we catch the bus to Montevideo (not stopping there) and onto Cannelones. We are travelling a bit blind now as our lonley planet book doesn´t cover Cannelones but I found a place on the net called Santa Lucia which is nearby that looks lovely. Only 9 days travel left! Love M.

Cabo Polonio was one of those places that makes you feel as though you have arrived at the ends of the earth. It´s a fishing village inhabited by 500 locals and a couple of handfuls of tourists. Jutting out on a peninsula it can only be reached by sea or by four wheel drive truck. Our landlady Corina sorted us out with directions otherwise I don´t think we would have got there. We caught a local bus to the town of Pan de Azucar and then had to double back on foot as we had expected to pull into what transpired to be a non existent bus station hence we missed our stop and found ourselves plonked on the edge of town. The next drama was locating a place to buy our tickets for the coach but,eventually we got ourselves sorted and climbed on the coach that would take us to the drop off point for Cabo Polonio. We watched Uruguay´s eastern scenery whiz past from our cramped vantage points with the boys on our laps (kids are free on the buses so long as they sit on your knee). Gentle undulating hills of soft green gave way to fields of waving grass and yellow wild flowers. In the late afternoon sun it glowed. Eventually the bus pulled over to the side of the road and the driver shouted "Cabo Polonio". There the adventure really began with a bright yellow open backed dune truck waiting to take us to the village. Futile negotiations in English and Spanish were entered into for a ticket until an American girl intervened and wrangled us a return passage. Eventually the truck the boys christened the banana truck rattled and shook and took off over the sand dunes. The boys didn´t stop laughing from the moment we were off and every bump that tossed us around saw them giggling hysterically. Once we reached the beach I saw in the distance what I thought was a ship wreck but as the truck edged closer I saw that it was a mammal, a sea elephant to be precise and I can honestly say I have never seen anything so big (sorry Paul). The village sitting out on its vantage point was a sight to behold and I couldn´t wait to get there. When we did were dropped off in a sandy square and left to our own devices. A fishing village come hippy colony would best describe the place and the smell of horsepoo mingled with cannabis wafted through the air. There was a small and colourful market whose keepers were seemingly uncaring as to whether they made a sale or not as they laughed and joked in the sun. After asking directions to the hostel we headed up a dusty road that ended with a pink hotel literally on the sea. We could step off the veranda and paddle in rock pools while the Atlantic crashed in a few metres away. Once again our lack of Spanish was a problem but I challenge anyone to take me and Paul on at a game of charades at the end of this trip! Eventually we wound up with a lovely room, complete with shuttered windows opening out to the sea sadly it only had one bed but we weren´t spoilt for choice and besides our hostess had mimed back at us that she would give us a mattress to lay on the floor. Bedding sorted we went exploring and got our bearings. To say it was fabulous is an understatement - it was like nowhere we have ever been before. Women were doing their washing by hand over stone basins outside tiny rickety cottages, a quarter of which have no electricity. Horses and hens roamed free range and colourful fishing vessels dotted the shoreline. Behind the lighthouse were mounds of rocks, home to the local sea lion colony and the boys had a great time making huts out of the crevices in the rocks while we watched the sea lions via for top dog. The locals had knocked up a brightly painted pirate ship complete with fish netting and a plank and the boys whiled away hours fighting over who was actually captain of the ship. Actually seems to be the current catchphrase and it made us smile hearing Dan say "Josh actually I am the captain and its my boat". We ate on the hostels veranda with the sea washing in and out beside us. We found our tiny restaurant that served the best and cheapest pizza we have eaten on this entire trip. That night Paul and sat outside our window with a bottle of wine and marvelled at the billions of stars in the sky then crashed out (albeit fitfully due to our cramped sleeping arrangements)listening to the waves wash in and out. For those who have ever travelled on the New Zealand dollar you will no this would normally be an unaffordable luxury but the room and breakfast cost us US$35.00. Though its inaccessability is its appeal I have to say getting back to Piriapoulis was a mission. The dune truck was crowded to maximum capacity and when the bus came through on the main road at break neck speed we were taken in the opposite direction of where we were headed to the next town so as to purchase our tickets. In the end we were glad of the diversion because we were allocated seats whereas passengers climbing aboard later on were out of luck as it was standing room only. It took forever as the bus stopped and started,weaving in and out of every small town it could find on the way. We were hustled off at one of these towns and barked instructions at about getting another bus to Pan de Azucar from here. By this time we were hungry, tired and cranky and very pleased when the bus showed up within a few minutes. From Pan de Azucar, as seems to happen in South America, the bus back to Piriapoulis magically pulled up within fifteen minutes and by 8.20pm we were back at the bungalow. Today is a do nothing beach day! xox

We have really settled into life in Piriapolis right down to taking our empty beer bottles back down to the local supermarket and recyclying them in exchange for money off our purchases. The bungalow is so dinky and at night we sit outside with a cold beer and bag of chips (oh yes I will have to do some serious exercising when we get home but as I have already said in Uruguay all shapes and sizes let it hang out on the beach and my bum is probably middle of the range size wise so bring on the chips!) The boys amaze us letting their imaginations run wild and there is a lot to be said for getting away from your day to day home comforts. Paul and I reckon Piriapolis is a mix of Portugal and France but at this time of year even lovlier because the beaches only have a handful of people on them despite the gorgeous weather. We have extended our time here and are still leaving for Cabo Polonia on Sunday but come back to our bungalow on Tuesday for another five nights. Yesterday we went to Punta del Este where the rich and famous holiday and although the beach was gorgeous it was just like any other resort round the world so we were happy to hop on the bus and come back to our little slice of paradise. I think I mentioned the beaches are virtually empty this time of year which is a good thing because the other day aside from one of those disgusting couples that cant leave each other alone in public (I have to order Paul to hold my hand from time to time when we are out and about as he is usually charging ahead on a mission)we had it to ourselves. We were just about to yell at the couple to GET A ROOM when Josh charged at me with a handful of wet sand. I took off all of a wobble only to trip and face plant spectacularly on the sand. The little sod still chucked the sand at me while Paul hissed at me to tidy myself up. One boob had deigned to fall out of my bikini top! Not my proudest moment but thankfully Mrs Loved up was to busy gazing at Mr Loved Up´s speedos to notice.

There are seven hills surrounding Piriapolis and we climbed one the other day for some fantastic views over the town and its surrounding beaches. Once at the top we collapsed for a bit before exploring around the little white chapel perched nearby. It was swamped by a school party and I now know what it is like to be a celebrity. There I was hot and sweaty with my little off white legs poking out of my shorts doing my usual, shouting at the boys, when I noticed the kids were staring raptly at me. Their teacher introduced himself and said he was their English teacher and that the children were fascinated by me because they had never heard English spoken by a New Zealander before. Hence I had my fifteen minutes of fame holding court while my audience listened to me prattle on. I think Paul was a bit put out but hey it makes up for the time in Tunisia when, being a blonde, he got treated like Brad Pitt while I spent the fortnight feeling like one of Brad´s stalkers.

The only downside of Piriapolis or rather Uruguay in general is that we have had real problems getting money out. Our cashflow cards have been getting rejected as unrecognizable and we feel like we have spent far to much time going from bank to bank since we have been here. In the end we had to use our last resort, visa cards but it was a nice feeling to be able to go and have an icecream again.

Lots of love to you all xox Michelle.

Pirapolis is heavenly. Blue skies and blue sea with a soft sandy beach. Our bungalow is dinky with everything we need and it is so nice not to have to charge off in the morning for breakfast. Self catering all the way. The boys are loving it as are we. We are here until Sunday and then off to the wilds of Cabo Polonia. Waiting with bated breath for an email announcing the safe arrival of baby Kaleb, Rachel and Matt xox

The hotel´s got free internet hence I am back. We caught the bus to some of the northern beaches as planned and plonked our bums down on some rocks while the boys had a good time playing in the sand and water. Dan made us laugh as the Uruguayans seem to have little in the way of body inhibitions and he collapsed in a heap of giggles at the sight of a lady in her g-string. He pointed over and said,`look she´s showing her bum.´ The beach though nicer than where we went yesterday still had a lot of rubbish around. We hung out in the sun for a couple of hours then came back to our room to blob as the weather had zapped us. I forgot to mention that while lying in bed last night I kept hearing the clip clopping of horse and carts going past which was nice, I felt like we´d gone back in time. Montevideo is a mix of old and new but is so jumbled together that the city feels like one big sprawl. We did enjoy the market. It was full of dimly lit eateries and the smell of grilling meat.We ordered our selection of traditiona bbq´d meats and only ate half of the dish because although we like to think we will give most things a go when travelling we had to draw the line at what looked liked arteries or rolled neatly up and tied with string. An annoying thing we have struck is that rolls and bread sticks get placed on the table along with a salad which we assumed was complimentary as we didn´t order it. It wasn´t and neither is the service both of which get added to the bill at the end. Oh well we are looking forward to some good old self-catering starting from tomorrow. We will be staying in the bungalows Margaritenas a couple of blocks back from Pirapoulis´s beach. Will have to invest in a couple of bucket and spades for the boys. Better go and face the nightly ritual of trying to settle our two monsters - bye for now M

Paul and I have decided that we are definitely going to go back to Colonia and spend our time listening to music and drinking loads of red wine in one of the many gorgeous cafes with NO KIDS one day. It really was a stunning little town. As for Montevideo well so far it is grim. We dropped our bags at our hotel and explored the downtown area which lead down to the waterfront. The water was murky and the surrounding buildings were very much like behind the scenes Eastern Europe with oppresive concrete towers and grafitti - Run down. We found a childrens park and were shocked by the amount of broken glass around. I watched two young girls go skipping through to the swings in bare feet in horror. What I think is really sad is that for the kids that live in those imposing concrete towers that is their garden, an expanse of green covered in cigarette buts and glass with couple of rusty swings and seesaws thrown in for good measure. Paul says I should have save judgment until we have visited the northern beaches this morning as this is a more affluent area and this afternoon we are going to a huge market that got a good write up. I think Paul is hoping for another parillo as the meat dishes are supposed to be quite reasonable. Looking forward to getting to Pirapoulis tomorrow and laying our bags down for a whole week. x

We weren´t brave enough to broach our hostess in San Antonia about staying another night after the tile incident so instead we spent a last lovely day wandering the cobbled streets. We found a chocolate shop and the boys eyes just about popped out of their heads when they saw the counter full of gorgeous homemade chocs. Of course we bought some. We were having a wee break in a cafe later that day and as we sipped our cafe con leches (flat whites - see I am getting good at this whole Spanish thing)the boys ranted on about their favourite subject - poo. I noticed one of the patrons smirking. We have gotten used to 99% of Argentina´s population not knowing what the boys are on about, thank goodness and so it was a shock when this chap came over and said hi in a broad Aussie accent. He was from Southport which is not far from Pam and Bob´s place in Labrador, Gold Coast. It was nice to talk to a fellow Antipodean and get another perspective on South America. We stocked up on salami, crackers and cheese, wine and beer from the supermarket for our last evening which was very enjoyable. The boys of course found the one and only paving stone that had come loose. I didn´t need to speak Spanish to know what mine hostess was thinking as the boys lifted it up for a nosey at what was underneath! Naturally having decided to leave the next day the boys didn´t get up until the respectable hour of 8am and I wished we had been brave enough to book another night but we already had our bus tickets booked for Buenos Aires. I was feeling dubious about this part of the trip as being in a sleepy little town like San Antonia was so stress free and Buenos Aires is home to a debateable 10 to 14 million people. The bus rocked in to the city´s main bus station past blocks of shanty homes and one sight that will stay with me was that of an extended family clustered around a table laden with food. It was like a scene from the Darling Buds of May except behind them their house was in a virtual state of collapse. Our hotel was situated in the centro district with a courtyard right outside our room which meant that once the boys were asleep we could sneak out for a bottle of red instead of being holed up in our room for the best part of the night. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and while it was busy it wasn´t chaotic. We decided to splash out for dinner that night and visited La Estancia an established parillo for dinner. Amazingly we got through the entire meal without drama because the boys were so in awe of their surroundings and were in awe of the meat being cooked over hot coals. The next morning when we stepped out of our hotel in search of breakfast we were assaulted by the heat, the centro district also being the business district was swarming with people. The traffic which by the way is a law unto itself sped chaotically around the street and all this was set to a non stop cacaphony of horns, shouting and music. While it was a little overwhelming it was also exciting.We decided to do a city tour. Buenos Aires is, like we have been told, very European very Parisian with it´s tall and elegant buildings. Our tour took us to the Plaza de Mayo. Surrounded by the Casa Roda (pink house)the official presidential offices, an imposing cathedral and the Cabildo, originally town council buildings but now a museum. The Plaza is the favourite demonstrating spot for activists the most touching of which are the Madres de Plaza de Mayo or Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. They come every Thursday to march around the small obelisk monument asking for government accountability for the disappearances of their children in the dirty war. I remember watching snippets on Foreign Correspondent when I was a kid about the Dirty War where 30,000 people disappeared between 1976 and 1983. Hard to believe when you visit the country now that something like that could have happened but I suppose you could say the same of Northern Ireland or the former Yugoslav. Next stop was La Boca football stadium for the obligatory photo of where Marradonna started his career. La Boca itself is a poor area originally settled by Italians who worked on the docks and used the left over paint from prettying up barges to splash on their homes. Thus La Boca´s claim to fame is it´s bright, multi coloured tin houses. A small section of La Boca has been recreated as it was in its hey day and though it is extremely touristy with tango dancers, bars, restaraunts and markets it is also extremely well done and lots of fun to walk around. It was sobering to get back on the bus and drive through the real La Boca to see how its residents really live.I said to Paul it must be hard for them wathing bus loads of tourists arrive day after day while they live 10 to a room. The bus dropped us outside a huge mall called the Galerias Pacifico which had a wonderful play area and food court - what more could the Vernal family ask for at the end of a hot day. The next day we walked to Recoleta Cemetry and along the way the boys announced they were hungry. We were passing through the posh suburb of Palermo at the time and I spied a cosy little bakery from which some gorgeous smells were emanating. The boys decided on a bread roll to share and I handed over a twenty peso note to the sweet old dear behind the counter. I thought she looked at me oddly when she gave me my change but didn´t think anything of it until we got a bit down the road and Paul announced that the boys had better enjoy the roll because it had cost $7.50 NZ. Now we may have been in a posh area but nevertheless that is a ridiculous price to pay and realizing I had been short changed I marched back into the bakery. After much gesticulating from me while Paul held a twenty peso note up to the window the lady finally handed me a 10 peso note. I was jubiliant until later that day when we tried to pass it to a taxi driver and he told us it was a forgery! I couldn´t believe it and will no longer trust sweet old ladies on this trip. Recoleta Cemetry was incredible. An enclosed area of avenue upon winding avenue of crypts adorned with angels and crosses and other heavenly depictions in which you could easily wander and loose yourself. The boys thought it was marvelous and Josh was trying to grasp the whole concept of being buried. They stomped from tomb to tomb inspecting the contents before announcing whether or not they were in order. The highlight for me was finding Eva Duarte Peron´s (Evita´s) resting place. We blobbed in a nearby park after that then hit the main Art museum as I felt we should see a Monet while we had the chance. As it happened the highlight was a photographic display that was on. The boys to be fair behaved relatively well and didn´t set off any alarms or bring the security guards running. To make it up to them we spent the obligatory time in the McDonalds play area. Paul and I sat discussing what we had seen later that night over our grown ups drink and decided that Buenos Aires is definitely a city of contrasts between the have and have nots. While it is fascinating it is also hard work so we were pleased to board the boat to Urugauy the next morning. Destination Colonia, 50km from Buenos Aires over water. It was so so so hot trudging from the ferry building to our hotel which by the way is very cute with lots of brick and timber work. I insisted on buying a dress to wear as my legs are covered in mosi bites and the alternative to shorts was my jeans. We set off to get some money out and by the time we had visited the fourth bank and had our card rejected we began to get nervous. After wandering up and down the main street countless times we eventually hit upon an obliging cashflow and went for a much needed cold drink and something to eat. Eating is something Paul and I have been quite proficient at on this trip and I do not want to go near a set of scales. For lunch we had a delicious steak sandwich (the boys had their fave ponchos or a hot dog) then a scoop of icecream followed by a beer later then another scoop of icecream then salami cheese and crackers and red wine once more. I am a weight watchers nightmare but since the dress I bought is loosefitting I dont care! Colonia was a visual treat last night. Its historic centre is stunning with crumbling cottages covered in bourganvillea in varying shades of red, orange, pink and purple. We wound our way down to the sea front and watched the most colourful sunset I think I have ever seen. Later that night as we wandered back to our hotel we watched a crowd of locals dancing around the streets to the music of kettle drums. I said to Paul, now this is what makes all the tough times so worth while when you´re travelling. Well that was a massive spiel and I have left Paul with the boys in the plaza so I had better go and rescue him. Tomorrow we catch the bus to Montevideo but today we are just going to stroll round and enjoy Colonia. Lots of Love Michelle xox.

Goodmorning, well here I am sitting in a funky little cafe with Spanish rock music playing in San Antonia de Abrec. What a gorgeous little town this. Every street is a painting with overhanging trees, pink and white Spanish style flat topped buildings and cobbled pavements. It´s so peaceful here or at least it was until we rocked up to the dusty little bus station yesterday afternoon. Paul is presently sitting on a bench in the central plaza while the boys run around the gardens and band stand. Our accommodation is lovely. It´s an adobe coloured villa with a large garden out the back complete with hammocks and swing seats. We sat out there in the late evening sun last night eating salami, crackers, cheese and chippies with a beer while the boys ran round like nutters. Bliss! On the downside our room is smallish and right next to the owners. The floors are tiled and the boys woke up at 6.30am this morning and even though by our standard their noise levels were quite tame they were amplified by the tiles and we got a knock on the door. We took them into the lounge and popped the tele on until breakfast was ready. Strong coffee, soft flaky croissants, homemade apricot jam and buttery rolls. We stuffed ourselves silly. Paul took the boys outside into the garden while I went back to our room to tidy up and make beds. He returned about 15 minutes with a beligerant Josh and Daniel who had been smashing tiles down the back of the garden and gotten a big telling off from the owner of the hostal. Paul had turned his back for half a second. I feel we spend a lot of time at the moment saying BOYS! Stop it. We are looking forward to getting into some self contained bungalows we have booked in Urguay so they can make as much noise as they want. We really want to kick back here for a couple more nights so I think we may have to grovel to the owner of the hostal re the tiles as the only alternative accommodation are pricey hotels. As for Rosario, we so enjoyed having french doors and a balcony. It was lovely to look out over the plaza at night. Okay so it wasn´t quite like Room with A View but close enough for us. The city itself was relatively affluent and very much a working city. There was an impressive monument near the river housing the crypt of Argentina´s flag designer. We wandered down to the river to watch people fishing but then Paul pointed in horror to raw sewerage floating down stream nearby this was a split second before glancing over to find the boys poking at something nasty with sticks AAAGH! On that note I shall love you and leave you with the knowledge that we shant be eating fish for awhile xox

Well where to begin..I´ll start with our busride into Santa Fe. It went well and we even had a stilted conversation with a young lad from Rafaela and his niece, Martine. Pulling into the outer suburbs of Santa Fe we were once again struck with the poverty. Tin shacks erected next to piles of rubbish, it´s sad to see. What I have noticed though is that the Argentines take great pride in their appearance and even in those living conditions they are relatively smartly turned out. I think travelling with the boys is a real curiousity to them but they are always helpful and courteous. It was dinner time by the time we got ourselves sorted and we decided to go local. I had gnocchi or nocqui with a bolognese sauce which was yummy, the boys shared with me while Paul had a hamburger. His face was a picture when he pulled a piece of brillo pad out of it. Santa Fe had some lovely churches and government buildings (for people who don´t actually go to church we have been inside an awful lot of them). We spent a cruisy morning exploring and then it all went to custard. Tired kids, a claustrophic hotel room and tickets booked for an overnight bus trip to Restencia the next night all added up to a mammoth headache. Our plan was to spend a few days in Restencia then push on to Posadas before hitting Igazu Falls. We are not the worlds most organised travellers and it wasn´t until late yesterday afternoon that the words MALARIA jumped out of the Lonley Planet book at me. It is apparently prevalent in Posadas and found around the whole region surrounding Igazu. The travel doctor we visited gave us all yellow fever vaccines but didn´t really say much about malaria. I don´t think there is much the boys could have taken medication wise anyway and the only thing we could do is cover them up from head to toe, easier said than done in tropical heat. Anyway the seed of doubt had been planted and we decided not to risk it. It´s a bummer but it just wouldn´t be fair on the boys if we or they got sick. Paul and I reckon we´ll be back - minus the kids one day so the falls will have to wait until then. It´s a long long way to go overland too so it was relief when the bus company refunded our tickets today and we had a gentle 2 and a half hour ride into Rosario. We´ll have a look round tomorrow and then we leave early the following morning for San Antonia(can´t wait sounds so cool, a proper Gaucho town. The bus station in Rosario was miles from our trusty lonley planet´s listed accommodation and I think we deserve a medal for catching a local bus with two under fives, two strollers, two backpacks and two daypacks! The first hotel we checked out was seedy city and I have a feeling it was one of Argentina´s hora hotels (room by the hour need I say more). Obviously we didn´t take it and now we are ensconsed in La Paz Hotel with a room with french doors and a balcony YAY! Things are looking up.

We needed Alta Gracia after the afternoon we had yesterday. The heavens opened up on us as we headed home from the food market. Water was shin deep in places as it rushed down the gutters and we were all totally soaked through by the time we got back to our hotel. Hence we spent a quiet afternoon with Paul and I lounging in our quarters while the boys watched Spanish cartoons in theirs. The food market was graphic with rows of whole pigs hanging outside butchers next to cafes where people were eating and drinking coffee as though it were perfectly normal to sit so close to a dead pig. Josh was morbidly fascinated though unimpressed when he was told that pigs are where we get bacon from. Our son may turn vegan. Anyway as I said we holed up in our hotel room until later that afternoon when the rain eventually went off and we ventured out for much needed fresh air and pizza. Today we woke to blue skies and magically the bus appeared at the station just as we wanted to catch it (this happened on our other excursion to El Volcan. It took about 40 minutes to arrive at Alta Gracia and when we did me and my camera went beserk snapping the Jesuit cathedral and picture perfect horse and carriage waiting outside it. Little girls were running around in their white communion dresses and a row of colourful market stalls completed the picture. The boys couldn´t wait to feed the ducks and geese at the nearby lake and luckily we had stashed left over croissant and rolls from brekky. I squeezed in my first spot of retail therapy by purchasing a small but colourful woven wall hanging. I have to go small because it is a mission carrying round what we already have let alone buying any of the gorgeous ceramics or ponchas. We bargained with the boys that they could have a play on the rocks by the lake if they were good boys when we carried on to visit Che Guevara´s house. They obliged and after a steep hike we arrived at Casa de Che´s. Paul and I took it in turns to wander round and look at all the photographic memorabilia while the boys played by a drain pipe. They were pretending to make long distance calls down it to their Nanas, very cute. I have seen that famous beret wearing photo of Che Guevara so many times that it was great to find out more about him and what he stood for. We caught the bus back without any drama and guess where we are heading for tea...Maccers!! x

Ps back from McDonalds and yet another healthy meal. Dan was a hit with some local girls who kept trying to get him to say hello in his accent to them. On the way there we passed by a market and managed to buy the Mama Mia DVD to watch one night when we are sick of reading our books. We also picked up another Dora the Explorer for the boys to watch on the bus to Santa Fe tomorrow. 5 and a half hours - a doddle.

The journey further inland to Cordoba went well. The buses are so comfortable and we have been lucky to date having most of the back to ourselves which means the boys can shriek and carry on without too much disturbance to our fellow passengers. The scenery was much greener with flat grassy farmlands stretching as far as we could
see on either side of the road. Cordoba is really hot and really fabulous - I love it. I said to Paul it feels like a compact and much more accessible version of Rome. All the sights are walking distance and yesterday we oohed and aahed over Jesuit buildings and magnificent Cathedrals. The detail in the workmanship is amazing, they really dont build em like that anymore. Negotiating the broken tiled or cobbled pavements is a mission with the two strollers but we are getting used to it as are the boys. Speaking of whom they love Cordoba because of the MCDonalds with the awesome playground. Paul and I are quite fond of it too as the boys played happily in it for 2 hours yesterday. Needless to say we will be visiting it again today. We are off to an indoor food market for lunch apparently it has everything from shell fish to whole pigs. Tomorrow we are going to catch a bus to Alta Gracia the small town where Che Guevara spent his teen years near here. x

Today has been lovely.We caught a local bus to El Volcan. Lonley Planet recommended it as a small village near the hills with rock pools cascading through the middle of it. We bought a picnic along and the boys had a great time splashing in the water while we actually got to kick back in the sun for an hour. Off to Cordoba tomorrow which will be another epic journey but I know we will look back and laugh at all those fractitious moments once we are home! Tea time bye for now x

The bus journey to Mendoza through the Andes Mountains was 8 hours long but the scenery was so spectacular that it felt like half the time. The boys were real troopers with Dan managing a little snooze and Josh being Mr Helpful himself insisting on carrying his own Bob the Builder backpack. It was strange going overland through a border and the Chilean / Argentine border was a bit surreal consisting of a big warehouse full of customs officials in the middle of the mountains. The whole process was a little intimidating because not speaking the lingo we weren´t sure what was going on but we just followed our fellow passengers lead. Well over an hour later after passport and luggage checks we were all herded back on the bus. An hour was quite quick as our Santiago tour guide told us that if we were to travel on a Friday or a public holiday it can take up to 8 hours to get through the border. It was another four hours to Mendoza and the first thing that hit us getting off the bus was the heat and how busy the place way. It was Saturday afternoon and the streets were teeming with people. Our hotel was average with the bonus being the boys room was separate to ours so it was kind of like being in a very small apartment. Gave us all a little breather from each other. That night the city was alive with music and people either out strolling, sitting outside cafes drinking beer or eating icecreams. The latter two being mine and Paul´s favourite. Sunday morning in Mendoza was like stepping out into a beautiful ghost town after th hub bub of the previous night all the locals were lying in. We have never seen a city with so many trees it was really beautiful. We spent a lot of time around the Plaza Independencia watching the street life which the boys charged round. We also visited this bizzare little aquarium which was a bigger hit with the boys than seaworld with it´s giant turtle and albino frogs. We desperately needed to do some laundry and buy some nappies but apart from food and wine bars everywhere was shut. Hence we improvised with a folded up towel for Dan that night instead of a nappy. He though he was quite cool and waddled around looking like a baby sumo. The next morning we headed off for the laundromats and looked a sight walking the streets with Josh pushing a stroller loaded with a huge bag of laundry. After dropping the washing off we visited Parque General San Martin which had a fabulous rose garden, lake and view of the mountains. The boys wound up having an unexpected swim in a massive puddle. They were having so much fun we left them to it even though we only had a change of tops with us. Dan had to go back to the hotel in his nappy and Josh had to sit in his stroller with Dan´s sheet draped over his lap. Good job English is not widely spoken or all the Mendozians would have heard on the way back to hotel was "Josh would you leave it alone!" I was sad to leave Mendoza but we had done our dash and sampled the wine if not the wineries so today we boarded the bus to San Luis. Four hours inland through scrubby desert with the odd small village dotted along the way.Paul and I were both struck by how poor parts of the country are much more so than we expected and pulling into San Luis with its crumbling buildings, graffiti and broken pavements wasn´t great but we are learning that you need to give places a chance. Once we´d off loaded our bags we wandered into the Plaza de Pringles which is postcard pretty. The boys were in their element running around singing songs and a Spanish Barney even came over and said hello to them. After a pretty basic dinner we went for icecream and then wandered through an evening market. We both felt a bit brighter by the time we got back to the hotel. Well I had better go and check on my boys I left Paul with them watching a DVD xox

We had a much better night last night. We put the boys to bed at 10.00pm and they slept through til 8.00am. We think it will work much better for them to go to bed later and get up round 8ish because breakfast isn´t usually available until then anyway. Everywhere is so lively of an evening, there´s always throngs of people and music blaring and it is nice to be out and about in it. We found a great little eaterie last night that did pizza and pasta on the cheap. Dan and Josh seem to be eating more here than they do at home. Today has been super busy with a long walk to the main station this morning to buy tickets for the bus into Argentina´s Mendoza tomorrow morning. I will be a bit sad to leave Chile as despite fractitious moments with the boys (to be expected) it has been great and the people are so courteous and friendly plus it is an 8 hour bus ride! After sorting our tickets we caught a local bus to Vin del Mar which is much more resorty. Nice to feel the sand between our toes and everywhere else cos Dan thought it was hillarious to chuck it at us. I feel like we have walked miles and miles today and can just about face going down the big hill to the main drag one more time but only if Paul springs for the cable car back up.

Last night was officially horrific. We got the boys off to sleep finally at 8.00pm then Paul and I enjoyed a few wines and some time minus the little people. We were in bed early ourselves and in a deep snooze until Josh woke with a wail wanting the loo which was of course at the end of the long hall. By the time I got back with him Dan had woken up and it was all on. PARTY TIME at 12am according to the boys who were literally jumping on the beds and yahooing. This went on for hours culminating in our neighbours banging on the wall. At this point we were tearing our hair out and the only thing we could do was bundle the boys up and throw our track pants on to take them out for a moonlight walk. So there we were pushing the strollers around in the middle of the night begging the boys to go to sleep. Evntually around 4am they dropped off and we didn´t get up until 11am this morning. The guest house owners kindly gave us a late breakfast and much needed coffee. Tonights plan of action is to have a really late dinner and try putting them to bed around 11pm. Hopefully if we get up at a normal time tomorrow they will start getting over the time difference. Fingers crossed. Valparaiso (correct spelling)is fantastic. It is a literal maze of vivid old houses on cobbled streets that sprawl up the hillsides. Wr ventured on the Ascensors which are like a wooden box you sit in, a cable then pulls them up the hillsides. The boys thought this was great fun. I have just apologised for their noise levels to the girl at the computer next to me as she was the poor thing in the room next to ours last night. She is probably thinking like we were last night ie: what the hell are they doing travelling with a couple of kids! I forgot to mention our city tour of Santiago. I have a feeling we paid too much for it as that and the airport transfers were the only things I prebooked from NZ. We did enjoy it though. Santiago is a real mix of the old and new. It has a fading elegance with the grand old buildings next to concrete office blocks. Stray docile dogs are everywhere and you just get used to them after awhile. There are lots of parks and art features everywhere. We were taken up a hill for an amazing view over all of the city and with the Andes in the background it was pretty spectacular. The Pre Columbian Musueum was interesting even if we did have to whizz past everything for the boys sake. A highlight was a Mummy two thousand years older than its Egyptian counterparts. The Chileans are very helpful and courteous and they love the boys (dont know why cos Dan scowls at anyone who says Hola or hello to him as those who know him will be able to picture).Apart from last nights debacle I think the boys are taking things in their stride and they did think it was pretty neat to be out in the dark last night!

We are feeling very intrepid today having made our own way on foot with packs and kids in strollers to the Metro which we rode to the Bus Station. We caught a bus to Vallapairaso which I have probably spelt wrong but have to type quick while Paul is reading the boys some books. It was a comfy two hour bus trip and upon disembarking we were greeted by a huddle of touts wanting to recommend accomodation. I had booked a room for us out of the Lonley Planet but before we knew it we were being swept away to see a cheap room by one of the touts. Half way there we decided to go with our original booking and caught a taxi. Glad we did because the house the tout was taking us to was miles out of the tourist centre which was why it was cheap. Our guest house is gorgeous as is Vallapairaso. Our room has heavy wooden timber boards and is huge with four beds in it and a sea view. There is a shared bathroom but it is clean and we get breakfast. Oh yes speaking of breakfast I dont know what was going on at that last place because this morning we all got rolls and only one piece of cheese between us. The boys have been grotty today as they were bopping around our room last night until 10.00pm and were up at 8.00am. It is now 5.30pm and we have bathed them so should be winding down for sleep now. As I said the floors in our room are wooden so I hope they settle down tonight because it sounds like a herd of wilderbeast are running around up there when you sit downstairs. The little we have seen this afternoon of the city looks fabulous. Cobbled winding lanes with brightly painted houses all tumbling down the hillside on top of each other. The wrought iron work and attention to detail on the buildings is wonderful. Cant wait to explore more tomorrow. Paul has a bottle of sav cooling in the fridge with our name on it for when the boys go off to sleep. Bye for now xox

Well here we are in Santiago it seems very surreal. We survived the flight without major mishap (if you don´t count the manic look and sharp tongue Paul always gets from lack of sleep) only for Danny to throw up in the queue for passport control. Luckily the officials didn´t hold it against us and we were allowed entry. We were so pleased we had booked airport transfers as when we stepped into arrivals we were bombarded with taxis drivers all wanting our business. I must admit once in the car on our way to the hotel I pondered the wisdom of this trip as we drove past shanty town slums. It was a grey day and first impressions were quite shocking as it was very third world.Our hotel is basic but clean and central. It also has the squeakiest double bed ever so no chance of any action or the whole hotel not to mention the boys would no about it. We were all tucked up by 8.00pm and apart from a few nocturnal wakings we pretty much crashed til 8.00am. Breakfast is served at the hotel or so we thought. We trooped down famished this morning only to look like right plonkers as breakfast consisted of coffee and some cheese and a roll each for the boys. Paul and I sat there for ages waiting for the Chilean version of bacon and eggs before we reaslized none would be forthcoming. After breakfast we ventured out and things looked much better in the sunshine after a good sleep. We discovered the Santiago of tour books, gorgeous architecture and leafy boulevards. We also discovered Starbucks and felt much better after a large latte. English is not widely spoken so it is going to be interesting. Off on a half day city tour shortly and then it will be another early night. xox

11/10/2008 DONT CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA

Flashback 3 years to driving down the motorway towards Auckland after attending my sister’s wedding in Tauranga. We were in a hired People Mover with Paul at the wheel, Mum, Dad, a five months gone heifer (me preggers with Dan) and a screaming Josh. He had the runs and was not a happy camper. Mum turned to me and said, “And you think you’re going to Argentina?” At that particular moment in time I must admit to thinking that I’d never leave Christchurch again let alone venture onto Evita’s home turf. Well guess what? We’re off and I have spent the last week warbling out Don’t Cry for Me Argentina each time I have gotten behind the wheel much to the boys delight.

Come Monday afternoon we wing our way out of Christchurch Airport via Auckland and then it is the dreaded long haul to Santiago. The flight is around 11 hours and I am relying on sweets and Magna-doodles to get us through it. Thanks to some advice from well travelled family friends, the Blighs, I have booked airport transfers and a hotel for our arrival as well as a half day city tour the following day. That’s as far as it goes though because for the rest of the trip we will be winging it. If the boys are enjoying themselves we will stay longer and if not move on. I am excited but at the same time apprehensive and under absolutely no illusion about the next 7 weeks being a holiday. Paul likes to describe it as a tour of duty and I am so very grateful that Argentina is a famous wine making country. Thank goodness for our Lonely Planet Guide Book because our Spanish is limited to the little gleaned from watching Dora Explorer episode. Hola!

Sadly I will miss the birth of my sis’s baby boy in November, not that I would have been at the foot of the bed anyway but it will be strange not being in the same country when my nephew Kaleb arrives. Rachel I will be thinking of you and raising a glass of red wine to you while crossing my legs in sympathy.

There is no chance of my power walking or jogging while in a foreign country (not that there was much chance of the latter anyway) so I plan on packing my Winsor Pilates DVD which I can play on our portable DVD player. From what I have read steak is the main fodder in that part of the world and the servings are enormous so if my Pilates doesn’t do the trick I shall do as Demi Moore has done (I read this headline in a supermarket queue last week and decided to adopt the phrase as my own) 'embrace my new curves'.

Now for those I haven’t told my slow living fantasy is going to realized on our return – no I have not been having fantasies about Paul as an old man - we have decided to stay in Oxford. The plan is to rent for a year to see how we settle in and how Paul finds the commute. While he's driving up and down the Tram Road I will be growing herbs, cooking slow foods in my crock-pot and allowing the red wine to breath – oh and looking after my children too of course - mind you Mum and Dad will only be five minutes away... Remind me to put my makeup on and get out of my trackies girls!

It has been lovely being back at Mum and Dads and with it only being for 11 days Mum has been more than happy to do our cooking, washing ironing etc. It’s fab though I think I might be out of luck when we set up base camp permanently. We have managed to catch up with friends and family and I finally got to give my friend Emily’s new baby boy, Charlie a big cuddle he is absolutely gorgeous.

Anyway I think I have exhausted all my news and I must dash. Copious amounts of body hair to remove with my epilator before our hols! And on that note I shall love you and leave you.

27 September 2008

Well our house-sitting stint has nearly come to an end and with just under one week left on the Gold Coast I thought it was time to reflect on the highs and lows of life in sunny Queensland. It has been such a great opportunity to experience living in this part of Australia. Of course having a smart townhouse only one block back from the broad water to stay in and a car waiting for us in the garage, not to mention a fully stocked freezer has gone a long way to making it a fantastic experience! Thanks Pam and Bob.
Initially I think the thing that worried me most about upping sticks for 3 months was not having my usual support network of preschool, friends and family for the boys. It has been so great though, once we got over the initial hiccups of settling in, having all this wonderful time with them. Not just for me but for Paul too especially with Josh starting school next year. Having said that Rosalie's baby-sitting services have been much appreciated! I am no longer number one playmate because Josh and Dan have got each other and it has been an eyeopener as to how little children actually need to be happy; their Mum, Dad and a bucket n spade. Oh and the ABC for Kids channel helps too. Today I sat them both up at the bench with a bowl each and helped them make a double batch of chocolate chippies. Oh and did I mention I am a dab hand at whipping up play dough. I know, I know Mrs Mummy of the Year but we have had to make our own fun and it has been fun.

Definite Highs:

1. The brightness of the colours. The purples, reds, pinks, yellows and oranges of the flowers are so sharply in focus and it is infinitely cheering to wake up to a cloudless, blue sky.
2. Being so close to the water. It is a motivator and even though I can no longer be called marathon woman (the jogging is dead in the water), hardly a day has gone by I haven't gotten a walk in along the broad water. Speaking of which that brings me to point number 3.
3. Turning heads as I trot down the broad water. I don't care if they did turn slowly because they belonged to pension pushing Lotharios. It was still nice to be eyed up even if I do suspect the reason for this was my newly increased bust size (we wont mention the corresponding butt and tum size). My jiggling assets go down a treat in the land of the boob job.
The amazing variety of bird life.
Our beach BBQ dinners.
The fantastic fenced in, sun-shaded kids parks.
Simple picnics.
Catching up with friends and family has been fab.
Discovering the Gold Coast's hinterland.
Harbourtown!
Oh and Daisy when she is being good which unfortunately is not much at the moment as we have had to put her on a bit of a crash diet before her Mum and Dad get back. It's made her a bit cranky.

Definite Lows:

Number one on my list has to be Gold Coast bus drivers. Until you have attempted seating two kids while trying to fold up a stroller and hold onto your bags all while the bus takes off at breakneck speed you just won't be able to relate.
The podgy toy snatcher from playgroup who whenever she spies my boys having fun stampedes over and ruins the game. I wont mention the feeding frenzy she goes into when anything sugary is put out at morning tea time. (I know our Dan has his moments too but hey he's mine and he's very cute).
Mosquitoes – we are all covered in bites.
The abundance of bogan hoons thinking they are auditioning for the upcoming Indy and I thought Christchurch was bad.
Daisy when she is howling round the house in the small hours.

Despite the fact the many highs outweigh the lows I am still looking forward to heading home next week even if it is only for 11 days. I can't wait to see Mum and Dad and the boys are just itching to get on the Jetstar plane and to go 'home on the range' as Dan calls his grandparents house. As for Paul well he will be reunited with his babies at 29 Peverel Street. The other night on the tele Getaway was on and they announced their 'Country of the Year'. It was New Zealand and sitting there watching all the amazing things there are to see and do in our country despite the crap weather made us appreciate Godzone that much more. See you soon.

16 September 08

At no point during the five hour and twenty minute flight from Brisbane to Perth did I think we were about to be handed four parachutes and asked to get off our Virgin Blue flight - the boys coped admirably. Especially taking into account the 75 minute shuttle bus ride up to Brisbane Airport followed by two and half hours hanging around the actual airport. Flying into the night was a goer because they managed to sleep for some of the trip which was an unexpected but always hoped for bonus. Paul and I milked the peace by pigging out on overpriced cheese, crackers and wine. On our return trip I think it is safe to say we were one of those family's we used to see sitting on a plane before we had kids of our own. We'd heave a sigh of relief when we weren't seated next to them. Say no more.

In between, Perth rocked. Paul and I both agree we could easily live there if it wasn't so isolated (I physically felt like I was thousands of miles from anywhere) we had a pool and a couple of mill in the bank. That way Paul wouldn't have to work and could spend his days floating in the said pool when the summer temps climb into the forties. While not tropical while we were there we did have clear weather which suited me fine. The last time I was in extreme heat was in Luxor, Egypt. I'd spent the morning posing round temples ordering Paul to take my picture. I was aiming for the etheral look with my hair long and loose but unfortunately my flowing locks could have done with being covered by a hat because by early afternoon I was flat out with sun stroke. The only bonus of which being the complimentary trots that ensued enabling the loss of those extra holiday pounds. No such luck this time round and Paul wears a disturbed look on his face whenever he produces yet another weight watchers product from the pantry.

We had the use of Paul's sister Jan's cosy Echo for the duration which was wonderful as Perth is really spread out and it made a big difference to our being able to get around with the boys. I met Jan's hubby Greg for the first time. He was a great host and such a funny fellow. Paul and I were relieved that the temperatures were sedate when we heard it said that Greg has been known to wear Speedos or as Jan eloquently put it, 'Budgie Smugglers' when it gets hot. As for Jan well she was just the hostess with the mostess. Snacks and drinks for the boys were ready and waiting every time we left the house. I only hope I can get them both over our way one day to return the favour. Our fifteen year old nephew Adrian graciously gave up his bedroom and we were amazed at how articulate he is for his age. While we were there, Adrian who works at Red Rooster or as the Glendinning family fondly call it Red Rooter, received a letter of congratulations from a customer on his excellent service. I hope he gets it framed. Three year old James shared his room with Josh and Dan and despite constant fisticuffs the terrible threesome rubbed along pretty well. It helped that James has a really cool collection of Thomas toys on Dan's part. As for James and Josh they really were double trouble. Jan and I busted them biffing lemons over the fence at the girl next door neighbours one afternoon. I must admit it bought back memories of my own grapefruit wars with the neighbours as a kid but I wasn't telling Josh I had been there and done that.

Paul's old boozing buddy Dean has been living in Perth for well over ten years now and these days he can be found living it up in the expensive seaside suburb of Hillarys with his wife Di. They have a beautiful home which is like something straight out of Better Home and Gardens speaking of which I knew Dean had mellowed when I heard him ask Di whether Better Homes and Gardens was going to be on the tele that night. It was a Friday afternoon and this came from the lad who used to literally bounce around the Fat Ladies Arms Bar sloshing his beer everywhere as he danced manically to 'I get no doubt'! Before screeching “More Beer!” Still Dean and Paul did manage to push the boat out and sit up until 4.00am one morning which saw them both looking very sad the next day. In the meantime Di and I had a deep and meaningful over a bottle of red then watched Death at a Funeral which if you haven't seen I can highly recommend, it is hilarious. Needless to say we were both fast asleep by a sensible 11.00pm. I so love being the self righteous one the next day!

Freemantle was fantastic and if it weren't for the fact I have preschoolers I could see myself sipping a wine or a latte in one of the many gorgeous old stone cafes. The coastline being the Indian Ocean was every bit as exotic as it sounds. We got the ferry over to Rottnest Island which was a hit with the boys but what was really fun was hiring bikes with kids carriers on the back to cruise round on for an hour. I nearly cycled over a thick black snake and I don't know who got more of a fright me, Daniel on the back wondering why Mum's legs flew off the pedals and flailed in the air or the snake. When I described it to Jan she reckoned it was poisonous so there you go our holiday had drama too! The island is surrounded by turquoise and green lagoons whilst little animals called Quoccas, a mini me mix of kangaroo and possum, frolic around. The boys of course got up close and personal with more than one Quocca and thought it was pretty cool. Back on the mainland Cottesloe Beach with its old bathing pavilion provided a perfect photo opp and Kings park's display of wildflowers and view over the CBD was up there too. The Margaret River region south of Perth was a definite highlight. It was so beautiful with shaded tree lined lanes. On either side of the road ocher soil led out to fields where hundreds of white lilies were growing wild. The area is interspersed with one spectacular winery after another. We found one with a children's playground and that was us. It was gorgeous to sit in the warm sun with a chilled glass of Sav and our beef pepper pot pies while the boys played. Dean and Di recommended we stay at the Yellingup camping ground while we were down that way as the cabins overlooked the sea. We booked in for two nights and my first word on pulling up outside our cabin was 'Wow!”. The view was truly stunning and Paul and I sat and shared one of those moments you know you'll never forget when the sun set over the sea.

Father's Day became Daniel's early birthday and we spent it at the zoo with the whole gang in tow. My wonderful sister-in-law made Dan a yummy chocolate cake with Thomas the Tank Engine on the top and you should have seen his face when he saw it – it lit up and Jan reckons that made it worth the effort. He got very spoiled with lots of Thomas related toys though Dean and Di gave him a hot rod that plays Rock Around the Clock. I told Paul to ring Dean at 5am one morning and hold the toy up to the phone as a thank you.

And that my friends brings us back to the Gold Coast where Paul has enough work to tide us over if I manage to stop hopping on the bus to Harbour Town. The weather is definitely warming up and I have even donned a pair of shorts today and am seriously thinking about a paddle. Bye for now x

PS. Daisy is fine.

28 August 08

Remember the wonderful Crocodile Hunter? Well my sons are following in the Australian icon's footsteps except it's not crocs and snakes etc that they are fearlessly tussling with its Ibis's. An Ibis being an incredibly unattractive and scabby bird found anywhere there might be the slightest chance of picnic leftovers. The boys were a sight to behold stampeding after the Ibis's as they defended their dinner last night. I might see if I can audition them for Bindi the Jungle Girl but that will have to wait until we get back from Perth. We are being picked up by shuttle bus to take us up to Brisbane Airport at 1.30pm and Paul's Aunty Helen is going to look after the house and of course the cat for the 11 days we are away. We will sleep easy knowing Daisy is ok and waking someone else up with the birds. Bye for now.

25 August 08

My thought for the day...al fresco peeing:
Is it just my son who specializes in the art of relieving himself outdoors? Today I had to surreptitously lower him over the beach wall and onto the stones below so he could down trou. Does he do his business subtly? Nope the bigger the arc the better. Given that it is illegal to urinate in public I live in fear of a tap on the shoulder from an unsympathetic Mr Plod who doesn't understand that when Josh has to go he has to go. x

21 August 08

Yesterday we saw a whale and her calf, a snake that would have got Steve Irwin excited and 1000's of bats swooping out across empty fields as dusk set in. I know I am showing my age by harking back to the 80's but honestly the song 'Great Southern Land' by Icehouse sprang to mind. I think the reason I have to draw on songs of old for descriptive purposes is that since having the boys the only music I have really listened to is either ABBA, the Nursery Rhymes CD I won from Little Treasures Magazine or the Gymbaroo disc that Emily burned for me. The reason for this being that when it is quiet in our house I am just so grateful for the peace. Now that we have established I am a bit of a saddo in the muso department I am going to change the subject and rave about Byron Bay. Paul took the day off (he had put in two 6 hours days on Mon and Tues poor love so he deserved a break) and we headed down the Pacific Highway to the famous beach. My knowledge of Byron Bay stretched to it being a surf beach where there has been the odd great white attack over the years and that it is a backpackers and hippy haven. I wasn't prepared for how beautiful it was going to be. I said to Paul, "I could live here." I wavered a bit on purchasing my slice paradise when we stumbled across a python. That and the fact we don't have a couple of mil lying round. There we were huddled in a small group looking aghast at this gianormous snake sunning itself brazenly on the beach boardwalk when a barefoot young lad wandered past and told us it was only a carpet snake. It didn't take away from the drama of the moment for me because no matter what it was it was still big and ugly. Having exhausted the delights of the Byron Bay play area we headed up to the lighthouse where the views over Cape Byron were truly magnificent. I kept saying to Paul, "This is so beautiful!" while waving my camera around. He got a bit shitty when I tried to take a photo of him and Josh climbing the steps up to the lighthouse. I dont know if he was worried about the camera angle on his backside or concerned with keeping his first born on the stairs rather than over the edge. He still bought me a double scoop of overpriced icecream though and soon not only was I full with icecream I was full with the delights of mother nature as we spied a whale with her calf in the surf below us. We decided to head inland on our way home via the timewarp town of Nimbin and all I can say about Nimbin is, "Wow far out - freaky man." With it's psychadelic shop frontages and smell of all things green drifting down the street not to mention it's paranoid long haired inhabitants it was kind of cool man. Dusk was setting as we wound our way home in time to witness the shadowy shapes of the bats sweeping across the sky. Australia is growing on me.

18 August 08

Goodmorning, well I started the morning seriously motivated and went for a run down the beach front. I am over all the skinny blonde women they all look the same anyway and I figure it does the general Gold Coast community good to see what a real woman's bum looks like when she goes for a jog! Josh's words of wisdom this morning were, "Mummy I am angry about something." "What's that then?" I replied as he came out of the bathroom. "I am angry because my poose is green." He answered looking very concerned about the situation.I assured him it was probably down to the green iced donut he had the other day and he ran off happily. Meanwhile Daniel was strutting around in a pair of heavy duty flanel underpants. I have decided to bite the bullet and start toilet training. Judging by the fact he peed his pants approximately 15 minutes after donning them I think it is going to be a slow process. Oh well at least the weather's good to get all that extra washing dry. Paul's back at work this morning after having all of last week off mind you with a 9am start you could hardly say he is hard at it. He has nearly finished his 1000 piece jigsaw thank goodness! It was beginning to cause marital disharmony because every time I finished doing martyr bit ie emptying the dishwasher or hanging out the washing he was too busy doing his jigsaw to notice. Jigsaw aside we had a really fun week last week. Thursday saw us up and at it and on the road to Brisbane by 7.30am. We were off to the EKKA, Brisbanes huge A&P Show. As arranged we met our old friend Kath from our Ireland days along with her new hubby, Mike and their wee boy Luke. Do you know what I love about good friends? The fact that it doesn't matter if it has been 6 months or five years since you last saw each other when you meet up again it's like you saw each other yesterday. The highlight of the EKKA was the showbags. Showbags being massively discounted goodybags. I bought my own personal shipment of knockoff perfume while the boys thought Christmas had come early with M&M goody bags. Needless to say we paid for all that sugar consumption on the way home with Daniel screaming all the way down the freeway that he wanted to go to McDonalds. On Saturday another good pal from our Ireland days came down from Brisbane with her partner, Monique and their two boys for a picnic on the beach. Twas lovely to catch up. Last night I heated up one of Pam and Bob's frozen $4.95 ham & pineapply Pizza Hut pizzas, wrapped it in a towel and we headed down to the lagoon for tea. Once the boys had eaten their oh so healthy dinner they charged round like loonies while Paul and I kicked back with a glass of red each and listened to music courtesy of a drug and alcohol free event being held nearby, funny how all the party goers looked pissed! Anyway it was one of those perfect family moments where you look at your kids and your hubby and think all is great in the world. We all need one of those every now and then to keep us going!

12 August 2008

I never saw myself as a greenpeace kind of a gal but after what I witnessed today I am ready to part my hair in the middle, forego my razor and throw away my makeup. Stereotypical of me I know but hey it's my blog and I am still buzzing from our visit to Seaworld. How we came to visit Seaworld today is kind of a long story but last week when we were at Movieworld Paul,in true Vernal style, signed us up for an Accor seminar in return for free theme park tickets. I'm sure you know there is nothing for nothing in this world and on Saturday morning we sat through two, nearly three hours of hard sell at the Sofitel Hotel while the boys were entertained in the Kids Room. Our salesman, John was gushing as he got us fantasizing about spending the rest of our lives staying in five star resorts on our annual hols for a fraction of the normal cost. He wasn't gushing when we weren't keen to hand over the $21,000 required to realize this fantasy - in fact he was quite short. Still we scored a couple of coffees and some biccies as well as our Seaworld passes while we were there plus the boys were entertained all morning so it wasn't all bad. Paul finished his painting job for Margaret yesterday and yes, he is in right there with another job lined up next week. Hence we decided to use our passes today. Good pick, Seaworld was busy but not overly so and we spent the whole day there. The boys were bug eyed looking at everything and in typical Josh style we were given approximately 2 seconds to look at each sea creature before being herded on to the next one. The mono rail was a huge hit with Daniel who is definitely heading for a career in the Railways. A highlight for me was the Dugong. What the **** is a Dugong you may well ask? I too had no idea when I stepped inside the aquarium to see a Dugong called Pig. Actually now that I think about it I still don't really know much about Pig thanks to Josh and his 2 second rule. A cross between a whale, a walrus and a seal,he was big, white and loves seagrass and that's about the limit of my knowledge. Nevertheless it was amazing to watch how graceful this huge creature was. What pushed me over the edge and saw me wanting to join the Greenies though was the Dolphin display. All I can say is WOW! I actually wrote a segment in my book that sees my heroin having an up close and personal episode swimming with dolphins. Not having done it myself it was all imagination with a bit of help from my friend Bron thrown in. It is now on my list of must do's. Now this little tale will make you smile,it made me laugh outloud. In need of a loo my Paul disappeared only to return a few minutes later red-faced. It seems he saw a sign depicting clasped hands which he took as someone washing their hands and barged on in. Now thankfully he is not an over eager lad and he hadn't already unzipped when he popped up in the Prayer Room.

We finished the day off with a fish n chip basket down on the beach. Oh life's tough!

9 August 2008

Oh how I remember the days of getting up after 9.00am on Saturday only to make coffee and toast to take back to bed. Thanks to Daisy the cat who prowls round the house howling at odd hours, the boys woke up at 4.45am this morning. Of course I screeched at them that it was the middle of the night and to go back to sleep but I knew it was a lost cause when they stampeded into our room and switched on all the lights. Daisy's nocturnal activities are down to the fact that cats are not allowed outside between 6.00pm and 6.00am here. As ridiculous as this sounds the reason for their curfew is because birdlife is protected on the Gold Coast and under cover of darkness is when cats like to go hunting. Hence Daisy takes her frustration at having to be home by 6 out on us. Sleep deprivation aside we had a pretty exciting week with a visit from cousin Alison whom I had never met. Alison is 25 and having a blast tripping around Australia on her big O.E. A complete chatterbox it was lovely to spend time with her. She only had a day here and she decided she wanted to do something really cool so that the boys associated the name Alison with fun. She shouted us to Dreamworld. Josh, Alison and I went on the log flume ride and I just had to buy the photo even though it is all a money making gimmick. Paul reckons he never knew my mouth was so big - I was screaming that loud. Poor Danny was too small to go on so Paul consoled him by taking him for a ride on the miniature train. We dropped Alison at Coolangatta Airport later that afternoon with promises to try and meet up again before she heads back to the UK. Friday morning is playgroup. Daniel was in disgrace after putting on a shocker of a toy snatching performance. Not content with having upset three quarters of the play group he proceeded to do more of the same over at the park. We had to leave before a local mother's group lynched us. He was worn out after all the fun at Dreamworld the day before, that's my excuse for his behaviour and I am sticking to it. With his 5.45am start this morning I have a feeling we should stick pretty close to the Vernal Family base camp today.

4 August 08

Well my jogging career is over before it even began. Is this due to injury you ask? Ah no it's basically due to a lack of motivation. Paul however has gone from one extreme to another. Not only is he jogging regularly but he rushed over to Westfield in Helensvale to score a half price AB machine at the K-mart there last Thursday. I am hoping he is not having some sort of mid-life crisis that culminates in him jogging off with a busty, bleached blonde who actually enjoys running. Though, having just glanced over my shoulder to where he is presently lying on the couch with an empty bowl of custard and icecream I think I shall stop worrying and serenade him with "I love you just the way you are" instead.
Our weekend was relatively quiet with a fry up at Paul's Aunty Rosalie's cafe at the Southport Yaucht Club for breakfast on Sunday followed up by a visit to Currumbin Beach. The boys were fascinated by a statue of a sunbathing lady. I decided enough was enough when I caught Josh copping a feel of her boobies. Today Paul went off to work while I wandered down the beach front with the boys, stopping off at the different parks along the way. Though the weather here is gorgeous and we feel right at home staying at Pam and Bob's I cant see us ever calling the Gold Coast home. The sight of ten or twelve total bogans or, as my friend Kath would put it, socio economically disadvantaged people holding a booze up near the children's playground reinforced this feeling. I think it has done me good to spend some time away from home if only to realize that nowhere is an Avalon and that it is up to me and Paul to do our best where our boys are concerned. Enough of my profound life revelations and back to Aunty Rosalie - she offered to babysit for us tomorrow night. YEEHA! So Paul and I are going to go out for dinner. He told me we are not fine dining though as he wants a decent feed. Romance is not dead and on that note I shall put the dishwasher on and head up to bed.

29 July 08

Today I was fully able to relate to a song that used to get alot of airplay on the university radio station, BFM during my alternative years in Auckland. I can't remember what it was called but it was all about McDonald's hallowed golden arched M.

Our morning started off serenely enough with the children plonked in front of the ABC channel but knowing they couldn't watch tele all day I decided it would be fun to go to Harbour Town. Considering Harbour Town is a discount shopping outlet the boys didn't exactly jump for joy at the prospect until I threw in unlimited playtime at the really cool McDonald's there. Thanks to the really really cool helicopter in the kids area I managed to sip a flat white in it's entirety and read a magazine from cover to cover for the first time ever uninterrupted. Then I noticed a little boy about to bash my boys and by the looks of things my boys weren't shy in going two against one. My cue to haul them out and hit the shops. Now shopping with the Vernal boys always involves lollies. Basically I have to buy a bag of them and then I have the time it takes Josh, Dan and Paul if he's with us, to scoff them in which to do my shopping. A bit of conundrum really because if I buy a big bag I then have hypo monsters to deal with but if I buy a little bag I get five minutes retail therapy. Seeing as we had to catch the bus home I opted for a small bag. Despite this I managed to get what I wanted and we headed out for the bus stop. After an age a yellow bus pulled up and hauling the boys on board I asked the driver if he went near Ahern Street in Labrador to which he replied, "Shruffr." Now seeing as my children were already seated and I had by this time folded the pram down I took this to be a yes. In hindsight I think what he actually said was, "Surfers." After the scenic tour of the Gold Coast we eventually wound up down by Australia Fair. A wee walk from home but not a problem on my own. Hard yakka however with Dan sitting on Josh's knee in the stroller and muggins pushing them. At last I spied the golden arched M that signalled we were nearly home and such was my joy I veered in and bought the boys an icecream. Tomorrow will be a Maccers free day!

27 July 08

Right-ho it's official it pees down on the Gold Coast too - and it did for the best part of last week. The bonus for me and the boys being that Paul was rained off so we got yet more quality family time and when we weren't timing Josh out in the garage we were cruising round Runaway Bay Mall. We also visited the library where I managed to pass myself off as Pam Vernal in order to get a travel book on Argentina out. With the lack of Coronation Street to fill my evenings I shall put my time to good use and instead of having that third glass of red I will plan our trip. Hopefully this will be a safer way to spend my time than debating with my husband as to where we are going to live next year. I sensed uncertainity where Paul was concerned when it came to my slow living in Oxford fantasy. Mainly because while me and the boys would be living the good life he would be commuting in and out of Christchurch. He also felt that he needs to be near his babies for the next few years (the houses on Peverel Street). Booze makes me nostalgic for the Academy Cinema and my trips their with Emily, for a civilised drink on a sofa under the fairy lights of His Lordship's Lane or a diet blow out at the Lonestar. Hence we are now thinking Prebbleton. Approximately twenty minutes from the city centre there is green belt to give the illusion of rural life and a high deci rating primary school. Those that know the deci rating we were under when we lived at Middleton Road will know how important a high rating is to me. Remember all those extra plunket visits I got? We toyed briefly with Australia or at least I did but with my lily white legs I would probably get asked to leave come summer. Asides from being too far from Mum and Dad and our friends it is very American here. In fact I saw my first Pam Anderson double in Surfers yesterday. Oh man (as our Dan currently loves saying) she had one mammoth set of mammories. Of course another major factor is that there is no Corrie. I do enjoy curling up in front of a warm fire in winter with a milo and my hourly fix of my one and only soap addiction. Ok the boys are in danger of getting an almighty scratch off the cat any minute so I had better sign off and get them to bed. x

22 July 2008

With a stomach like a beach ball and my monthly due anytime today, not surprisingly, was not one of my better days. To sum it up in one sentence I now know there is a reason four year olds go to morning kindy 5 times a week. Paul went off to work around 8.20am and as his car drove out the gates the children ran past me, still clad in their pj's they were shrieking at the top of their lungs as they tried to catch the poor cat. That's when it hit me that it was just me and them...

Paul has picked up work for a friend of his Mum's called Margaret. She lives in a retirement village and the plan is that once all the other ladies residing there see what he can do they'll all be clamouring for him to swing his brush their way. Paul thinks the lady across the road is looking particularly keen so fingers crossed. The beauty of this work being that Paul's his own boss and today he was home by 12.30pm. In the interim, once I managed to get the boys dressed I plonked Dan on Josh's lap in the stroller (apparently Josh did not have his walking legs on today) and set off to check out a playroup Pam had located for me. It was actually a wee bit unnerving making my way alone through the busy unfamiliar streets with two towy pre-schoolers but we made it.

The boys were the oldest of a handful of kids that had been going to this playgroup since they were a few weeks old. The Mum's were welcoming though and told me that Thursday and Friday's groups had older children enrolled. Meantime Josh managed to snap a flag off a toy trolley while Daniel was sitting on the floor whining, "It's mine." to an uninterested tot.

I hope Thursday's visit is more successful. For Josh's part I am sure he misses his pre-school. I do feel guilty about pulling him out for the rest of this year but then we go for one of our BBQ's down by the beach and the guilt abates.

A more successful day was had on Sunday. Our visit to Currumbin Wildlife Park will go down in history and not just because I actually packed a picnic lunch but because it was our first family day out with not one single paddy. The boys had a ball checking out the womabats, kangaroos and koalas. Daniel was particularly taken with the koala's (our nickname for him because he is so cuddly and clingy). He made us laugh when we sat down for some morning tea. I jumped up with a shriek when I turned round and found an emu eying my muesli bar. Daniel piped up with, "Don't worry Mummy it's only a pelican." And how's this for a small world- I bumped straight into an old friend from Christchruch, Maria. I haven't seen her in years and there she was on the Gold Coast for a week's holiday with her little boy.

And on that note my friends tomorrow is another day.

18 July 08

As I type this we are not long back from a morning on the beach and the boys are running around in the nudie rudie. By boys I mean Josh and Dan not Paul of course, he is fully clothed and doing a jigsaw puzzle. The jigsaw started out as something for him and Josh to sit and do together of an evening but it seems to have turned into something of an obsession on Paul's part. Still I am not complaining because I would far rather he eyeballed his 1000 piece puzzle than came down with that most dreadful of afflictions that so many men suffer from;- pervitis. Really the Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise should be renamed Pervers Paradise. They breed em differently over here. For every average, neon white, skinned mummy like myself there are six tall, tanned twenty somethings. Not that I begrudge these babes their bodies that dont know the meaning of wobble, well alright I do - but hey at least I am doing something about my own wobble. Pilates and jogging. I am not alone either, Paul has decided he is fed up with his one and only Ab and we have been taking it in turns to go out for a morning run. Only round the suburban block mind as the unwritten rule seems to be that you need to be body buffed in order to run down the beach boardwalk. If you're female then the dress code is tight leggings, a singlet and a cap with your swishy pony tail pulled through. Keep watching this space... by the end of our time here Paul and I plan to do a victory run down the waterfront. I promise Paul wont be wearing lycra though.

As for our children, well they have been challenging to say the least and Paul after spending all day every day with them for the last week and a half is adament that he is off for the snip in the not to distant future. I think screaming and shouting is how Joshua adjusts to change and as for Dan well I don't really have an excuse he screams regardless! Having said that though they love their mornings on the beach and we love creeping in to look at them when they are sound asleep worn out from all that fresh air.

12 July 08

Thanks Jetstar! We arrived safe and sound on Tuesday evening at Coolangatta Airport. Bob was there to pick us up but thankfully not to witness Josh's oscar winning performance titled "Angry Child" over by the x-ray machines. His show involved trying to climb inside the x-ray machine only to get a telling off from a customs officer. This did not go down well with our Josh who is a firm believer in equal rights for kids. He proceeded to tell me off at the top of his lungs. While Bob might of missed his Grandson in action 80% of our fellow Jetstar passengers did not and I can tell you there was no applause as I dragged him out kicking and screaming into Arrivals. As for Danny, he was relatively tame by comparison though why he felt the need to announce that his Dad had a willy as we came into land is beyond me. Anyway plane trips aside (god knows how we are going to do 11 and a half hours to Chile) we are here and the boys actually stayed in bed until 6.00am this morning. Fantastic after three days of horrifically early starts while their wee body clocks adjust. Pam and Bob's house is wonderfully kid friendly as well as comfortable. Everything we could possibly need is here right down to cartons of juice in the boot of the car for when we are out adventuring. The boys are loving the cat, Daisy too and she provides hours of home entertainment for them. As for BBQ's on the beach and running around in the sunshine well they think that is pretty good too!

7 July 08

It is raining and absolutely freezing in Oxford today. I shant moan though because it is our last day here and despite the crap weather I shall feel sad leaving this little town behind. In Saturday's Press there was an article in the Mainlander section about the slow living movement which began in Italy. Oxford got a mention and I have to say that the article summed up exactly how I have felt living in the country - that we have had time to enjoy all the simple things in life. I am not sure that Paul has the jist of slow food though because he made me book our first meal out together in three months for 6.00pm on Saturday night. This was so as not to interfere with the ruggers at 7.30pm. He then chomped into his lamb shanks smugly assuring me that we had plenty of time to enjoy our fine dining experience in Oxford's divine Cafe 51. For my part; slow living aside you know you are in a small town when you glance across a candlelit restaurant and spy the nurse who gave you your last smear. Still she didn't recognize my face...funny that.

5 July 08

Mum and Dad arrived home safe and sound from their jet-setting last Wednesday. I am still trying to get my head around the image of my Mum and Dad on a desert safari in Dubai but they lived to tell the tale and loved it. They were wrapped to be home for the first five minutes because Paul has painted the kitchen and laundry for them while they have been away (made up for the itemized list of breakages I gave them). However with an icing sugar snow cover over the Oxford foothills and after having just spent a fun week frolicking in the sun with Paul’s folks on the Gold Coast Mum now is constantly muttering about moving over there.
Enough about them though, with only four days left until we head for sunnier shores Paul and I had to drive into town to tidy a few ends up at our Solicitors. We decided to milk Mum and Dad having been off duty for the past 3 months and asked them to watch the boys for the afternoon. I pleaded my case, “How can we possibly pay attention to all the vital documentation we will be signing if we arrive at the lawyers looking like the Brady Bunch?” As it happened despite not having the children as an excuse for lack of concentration I nearly signed our lives away anyway. I was too busy reminiscing about my past life spent poncing around town as a legal secretary to give Aaron, our ever patient solicitor and my old workmate a chance to explain to me exactly what it was I was signing.
Do you remember what I said about having morphed into Tracksuit Pant woman since we’ve been in Oxford? Well I decided a trip into town was a good excuse to get out of said track pants and into a skirt for the first time in six months. I had had enough of Paul calling me mountain woman and I wanted to be hot wife for the afternoon. Who cares that I had to stand in front of him and ask, “Did you notice I am wearing a skirt?” I felt great. There was a definite sway in my hips as I marched into Kearney & Co the scene of my last paid employment. Trinny and Suze are so right when they go on about making a bit of an effort because I felt fantastic. So what if I couldn’t find a pair of tights and had to wear my black long johns stuffed into my boots under my skirt? I think it’s high time I dropped the, “Well I am in the country now so who cares?” or the, “You’ve got to be practical when you have little ones.” excuses. Just last Friday I went to an end of term pre-school party for Josh and Dan and spied a Mum decked out in a black wrap dress and high heeled boots. Did I think she looked over the top? No I thought she looked terrific…Bitch. Having said that though I am not quite ready to relinquish my trackies entirely and I shall be taking them to the Gold Coast. Well I am going to need them aren’t I? You know for all that jogging along the waterfront that I am going to do or more to the point the lounging around with a glass of vino once the boys are in bed!

18 June 08 to 23 June

It’s so hard to believe that we have been ‘out country’ for nearly five months. However in just under 3 weeks we will be packing up once more and jet starring our way over to Australia’s Gold Coast. Paul’s parents who have been living there for the last few years decided they’d like to trip around the US for 3 months but before they could go ahead and book they needed to organize a house-sitter/cat-sitter/water-dragon-sitter. The latter being an overgrown lizard that took up residence in the garden but apparently is partial to popping inside now and again. According to my mum-in-law Pam its head resembles a snake when it peeps out from under the couch – yippee can’t wait to meet it! Anyway who better to nominate for this job than their nomadic son and family. Of course I can think of far worse places to reside over our winter than a stylish and comfortable town house on the Gold Coast even if it does come with a lizard and it was perfect timing what with Mum and Dad arriving home from their big O.E. at the start of July. We get to have a catch up with them and then get out from under their feet. Speaking of which…
The relationship between a mother and daughter is special and one that is best maintained under, separate house titles because within a couple of days of moving back home Mum and I’s catchphrase quickly became, “You haven’t changed have you?” Having said that though, there is a lot to be said for having your every meal prepared for you and I think we all bumbled our way through those initial 10 weeks commendably. That’s despite some pretty fractious moments like say when Joshua threw a cushion at the table while we were having dinner and smashed his Granddad’s wine glass. Or, when Daniel woke repeatedly in the night, demanding a sandwich at the top of his lungs. Then there was Joshua’s sudden penchant for doing his number two’s in the garden. Oh and it was just the teensiest bit embarrassing when Daniel would point at his Nana and Granddad and shriek, “You not coming!” Every time we left the house. Of course in hindsight, when the children stopped behaving like they were in the starring roles of Little Angels or the Super Nanny, we realized just how unsettling the move had been for them. They did however settle in and were very excited the day two lop eared bunnies came to stay.
Percy a big grey bunny and James a little brown bunny moved into the newly purchased Bunny Mansion shortly after Easter. Yip my boys are Thomas the Tank Engine fans – in fact Daniel is border-line obsessed demanding I push play on his Thomas video whenever we step foot inside the house. Why bunnies though? Well, and I know this will sound silly but they were to make up for my sons lack of chocolate over the holiday period. The reason for their chocolate rationing was because my sister, Rachel and her husband Matt, aka ‘The Sugar Police’, came down to stay over Easter with their daughter Brooklyn. It wouldn’t have been fair to overload our two boys with giant chocolate eggs while Brooklyn received an egg no bigger than a real hen’s output. So we compromised and they got a medium sized chocolate rabbit each. Luckily Brooklyn at nearly two years of age was less perturbed by the size difference in sweet treats than I was but I am digressing. Initially I was hoping to organize for a pair of bunnies to magically appear on Easter Sunday but my organizational skills are not what they were since having children and it was in fact a week or so later that I came to hear of two lop eared bunnies living nearby that we could have.
Percy and James thrived initially. Their happy frolicking interspersed with daily visits from Joshua and Daniel. Unfortunately with the bunnies being fully grown and of an unknown age they weren’t the friendliest of rabbits and it was a somewhat one-sided love affair but my boys seemed to accept this. We spent many a happy afternoon gathering dandelions for our bunnies in a nearby field and I have to admit to feeling a little like ‘Mother of the Year’ as the tele went off and the wellies went on.
Then, one morning Josh ventured out to the hutch to say hello only to coming running back inside a moment later. Clearly distressed, he frantically relayed the information that James was bleeding. Upon investigating it became apparent that Percy had been telling James who was boss and gathering up the injured Percy I raced him off to the vet for emergency ear surgery.
Percy came through his operation and the surgeon informed me that as it was mating season and as we had two bucks we would either need to separate our rabbits or get them seen to (my words not his). At $90.00 a rabbit it was a tough call but we opted for the latter as we felt it would be cruel to separate them- something my girlfriend who lives on a dairy farm found hilarious. Now, being a busy rural clinic I doubt seeing to a couple of frustrated rabbits was the vet’s number one priority and so it was that we couldn’t get an appointment for a few weeks.
Upon James’s arrival home Percy would not give him a minute’s peace. Overhearing me call him a bully Joshua announced in a matter of fact manner that we’d just have to sell him on Trade-Me. This seems to be his current answer to most problems (he told me he was going to sell me online for $20.00 the other day after I’d told him off for something or other) and I told him it wasn’t an option. Instead we arranged for Percy to be fostered back at his original home until the date of surgery.
Two days later poor wee James was dead.
I had dropped the boys off at pre-school and was enjoying the sunshine as I hung out my washing. Glancing over at the hutch I saw something that made my blood run cold… it was James and he wasn’t moving. Mustering up the courage to go and check for signs of life I’d already decided that mouth to mouth resuscitation was out of the question but there were none
My hubby arrived home early bearing a shovel and a box of chocolate ice-creams to soften the blow. With no concept of death Joshua’s first words upon seeing James were, “Oh well Mum at least I will be able to pick him up whenever I want now and he won’t runaway.”
“Er I don’t think so son.” I replied wrapping James in a cloth and carrying him over to the freshly dug out hole. Holding hands with my boys I said a little prayer explaining to them that while James’s body was in the ground his soul had gone up to heaven. As they frowned up at the heavens in puzzlement and the inevitable barrage of questions followed I found myself wishing they attended Sunday school.
At last we wandered in from the cold and that’s when it suddenly seemed to hit Joshua. He sat cuddled up on my knee sobbing solidly for half an hour. Eventually the lure of a chocolate ice-cream became too much and in that wonderful way of children he decided he was all cried out and hungry.
So we were down to one rabbit. Were being the operative word because last Monday morning Josh ventured out to feed the by now forgiven Percy only to scream out. “Mum a dog’s got Percy!” I raced outside to see a big mongrel sitting in the hutch with a disemboweled Percy lying nearby. Not knowing whether the dog was dangerous or not and not being able to see how it had gotten into the hutch in the first place as the lid was still firmly shut, I hustled Josh back inside. The dog control man appeared half an hour after my frantic phone call and closing the van doors on the apparently friendly dog informed me that rabbits are to dogs what chocolate is to me.
That’s not the point though is it? The dog should not have been on our property. My two hates in this life are people in four wheel drives who, for some reason, are unable to drive at the speed limit and feel an innate need to drive up fellow motorists (in normal sized cars) backsides - I can’t help but hope the hike in petrol hurts. The other is people who do not keep their dogs properly fenced. I told the dog control man, who very kindly helped me to pop Percy into a bag to await burial, that if the dog’s owners were located they could bloody well come round and apologize to my children. We are still waiting.
Josh however has coped admirably with Percy’s demise. It helped that he had a much anticipated trip to the local Fire Station with his pre-school class later that same afternoon and he now tells me he wants something really scary next time - like a lion or something. Hmm I am known to be a soft touch but we will have to see about that one. As for Daniel well, to be honest so long as he gets to watch the aforementioned Thomas the Tank Engine video at least four times a day not much phases our Doodlebug.
As for life in a small country town, despite the bunny debacle, for a girl that grew up in Auckland and has lived in Christchurch for the last 15 years, it has been a revelation.
Mum and Dad’s house sits prettily on its half an acre as though it has always been there and as I am typing this I have a vista of pure Cantabrian splendor. Rolling green hills, snow covered Alps and bright blue sky. Okay so it is actually pissing down today but on a good day it truly is special and I feel as though we have discovered a place where our boys can be children for longer. Where they have taken back a little bit of that freedom they’d lost living in the city. They are not quite free range however as they attend the Oxford Early Learning Centre twice a week. This offers all of us a respite from each other and the lovely staff there have made the boys very welcome despite Daniel’s initial determination to hate pre-school. The sense of community spirit in Oxford is wonderful and I am slowly getting used to walking down the street and being greeted, not by friends, but by strangers without feeling that they must have an ulterior motive. I have not got used to glancing in my car’s mirror as I head down the Oxford Road and catching a glimpse of the spectacular Southern Alps though.
How very Little House on the Prairie I sound but I bet you Laura Ingles never had a bad perm. Perhaps like Laura I should have tried plaits instead of a perm. Being Mrs. Impatient I couldn’t hold off for an appointment in town at my regular salon and if I had, Melissa my hairdresser would have tried to talk me out of getting it done. But oh no not I; I had to hot-foot it into the nearby town of Rangiora where getting an appointment was no problem at all. I wanted the Drew Barrymore in the movie ‘Music and Lyrics’ look – I got ‘Sean the Sheep’ Channel 2, TVNZ. Despite the perm having mostly dropped out it has unfortunately been immortalized on my recently updated Passport. I made the mistake of showing the photo to Paul on the understanding that he would say no more about it. A stupid move because he just can’t help himself and has been calling me Mountain Woman ever since (in reference to hill-billy, inbred people). He only shut up when I told him I would get another photo done and reapply for my Passport.
I know this all sounds rather ‘all about me’ but I don’t know if Paul warrants a mention after the Mountain Woman remarks. I will say though that he too has come round to the benefits of living in a country town (or more likely the benefit of not having a mortgage to pay). He thoroughly enjoys his Sunday morning Farmers Market breakfast and even dragged us down there in the rain the other week. He was really gutted when it snowed and the market wasn’t on. To be fair he is working away after hours in the kitchen getting it all painted for Mum and Dad’s imminent return and he hasn’t moaned about the commuting in and out of Christchurch. Like me, I think he can picture us on the veranda of a low maintenance, bargain priced, four, bed-roomed brick house on a quarter acre section sipping a glass of merlot as we look at the stars. Of course the kids feature in the fantasy because they get the benefit of being able to walk everywhere and of living near their idol, Colin Bush the Builder. Colin has done some work around Mum and Dad’s house and the boys enjoy getting their little seats and eyeballing him as he works. The deck extension he put on is referred to as ‘Colin’s deck”. I think it is probably a good thing that the boys own Granddad will be home soon. I am hoping he won’t be offended when he takes them out for a walk though and they both squeal in delight as they pass by the real estate board depicting a man who God wasn’t overly kind to when doling out looks. The boys point at the poster and shriek, “There’s Granddad!” The man looks nothing like their Granddad but they think they are absolutely hilarious. The driveway where this sign sits leads down to a house with a subdivided section for sale. I happened to have a brief nosy around this section when I was driving Paul demented looking at Oxford properties a month or so ago. Anyway and I shouldn’t be so surprised because Oxford is small it turns out that this is the house the bunny slayer escaped from. A very apologetic lady called around on Saturday and we both realized we had already met. She asked what she could do to make it up to us and I said she could sell us her section for $10,000.00 but she wasn’t too keen on that idea. However she did apologize profusely to Josh and drop us around a wild meat hamper thus restoring my faith in the rural life.