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!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
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
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, July 11, 2008
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!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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.
Friday, July 4, 2008
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!
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!
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