Pipi Hunting

Every year for the past four years or so, our family has been going to Peka Peka to hunt for pipi. In the first year about 14 of us made the trip, just family from all over that had gathered for Christmas, it was the funnest! Sadly, just under half of that made it this year.

We left the trip a little late in the season. We were reminded of our family members who have since jumped the ditch or are up north living their lives as normal. Still we tried to have fun as it was Asher's first trip where she could go in the water and have a splash around. So glad her uncle Rick was there to keep her head above water. They had an absolute blast!

At this point, we'd been at the beach for about an hour, we'd eaten our "sandy-wiches" (lots of sand filled eats) and made our way into the water (well all except myself, the designated photographer.)

Total pipi count 1 hour into trip = 0.

I think he had fun too. Mum even turned to me and quietly mentioned how he'll make such a good father. I totally agreed.


After a little time splashing in the waves, Ash decided it was time for a walk with mum and nan.

Total pipi count 1 1/2 hours into trip = still 0.

Unfortunately, work commitments held Eden back at home but thankfully my bestest mate Ree was able to come along and join in the fun. Here, Rick and Ree are trying out their best poses for this months cover of Sports Illustrated, Peka Peka style.

Total pipi count 1 3/4 hours into trip = an uninspiring 0.


Finally, I decide to dig my heels in and go find the little shell covered morsels we had traveled so far to find. I think the most we found collectively was like 3 pipi, a whole bunch of empty shells (as you do when you're at the beach) and a handful of those cockle things which even though we dont eat them, we still collected to make the stash look like more than it really was.


Our tiny bucket looked sad this year. Not only was our pipi hunting troop down in numbers but the pipi beds were completely covered by the high tide we failed to anticipate (helpful tip #1, check the tides before you go on pipi hunting expeditions.)

This years trip was so different from the others. We missed our family, our picnic got blasted by a sandstorm, our pipi hunting went out the window, and the approaching high tide about chased us off the beach. Our car got stuck in the sand thanks to my not heeding warnings given by Ree to move the car (helpful tip #2 when the water starts to move up the beach, it means the tide is coming IN and you NEED to move your car FAST!)

Actually, if I'm honest, each trip we make to Peka Peka is unique. We create memories every time, whether it be that one time we ate garlic prawns cooked on the camp stove or that Eden lost his wedding band in the big blue unforgiving ocean, or that Asher splashed around in her uncles arms. Each time is different but we'll probably keep making our way to this beach to keep what has turned into a tradition, going.

Total pipi count at end of hunt = 3 (but I already mentioned that)

the goodness

The goodness is when something really good, like warm fuzzy good, happens to you. Like when you get up in the morning and the dishes you left in the sink the night before have been done. Or when you manage to get both the kids down for a nap at the same time or you get snail mail from a friend. No one writes anymore, its just quicker to email! But yes, I love the goodness.

Today was filled with goodness. I woke up this morning, and not only were the dishes done but the lounge was tidy. Its NEVER tidy when we go to bed, cleaning up at the end of the night is usually the last thing we feel like doing so it becomes a first thing in the morning job. All before 9am, that's two pieces of goodness.

A friend from ages ago came over today with her two kids, around the same ages as mine. We laughed the entire visit at the silliest things, mainly at how our lunch kept getting interrupted because we had to rescue one of our kids from a punch in the face or their hair being pulled. I suppose we were silly to think we could have a proper meal while the kids were bouncing off the walls. After a while we just gave up lunch and joined in the fun. More goodness!

After they left, I got a call from Eden. I love it when he calls, its never about anything important other than to see what I'm doing. It's nice to know he thinks of us while hes at work. Even MORE goodness.

It's all about the goodness and Eden isn't even home from work yet. Next on the agenda, create something delish for dinner to keep the cycle of goodness going...

fun baby games!

Here's a fun game to play with a 4 week old...oh wait! That's how old my son is! Although I'd love to take credit for making this one up, I actually got it off a website I've been going to since I was pregnant with Asher. Of all the baby/pregnancy websites online, this is the one I found myself going back to...

Tube talk. Seems pretty obvious what you do, when baby is wide awake and alert grab a cardboard tube, put it to his ear and talk to him. A good way to begin is to tell him you're going to share a secret, then use the tube to tell it. Do the same for both ears and watch his expressions. Oh and have fun!

Sorry to have posted a borrowed pic from the website, but Dallin and I have yet to try this one out. I cant wait to play it with him though, simple as the game seems, it's always cool to learn new things to do with bubbies. Oh the fun!

Its raining!

What a nice night its been. Hubby and I have had quite a relaxing evening sittin and chattin about everything and anything. Little Ash is having a sleep over at nans and little D. is snoozing away with his arms stretched out over his little head, so we've had three hours of uninterrupted time to joke and laugh, reminisce about the past and think about the future. Lovely.

So what am I doing up blogging at 12am you ask? Well, I close my eyes for a brief moment and Ed says "ah, good night mummy," just like Asher would if she were here and proceeds to make his way down the hall to the main PC. I jump up and reply "where are you going?" to let him know Im not asleep. "Im off to use the internet," he says which then has me asking was there a cricket game on today? "ok then," I tell him and ask "will you pass me the laptop?" I figure since Im not in a sleeping mood just yet I might as well jump on the net for a tick before I doze off and join sonny boy in sleepy land.

So here I am. Loving the sound of the rain on the roof. I realize just quietly that it hasnt rained in a while, strange for a Wellington summer to have kept us dry this whole time. Actually it rained early this morning, thats right I remember it now and that I woke up a little confused. "Did I sleep through spring?" I wondered. Then I came to and realized we're still in January and we're gonna be late for church (which for us now starts at 9am) if we dont get up real quick!

It ended up being quite a good day at church. A well prepared teacher in sunday school and relief society makes all the difference. I am enjoying our lessons at the moment. Apart from being well prepared, theyre thought provoking and always leave me wanting to learn more. You know a lesson has gone well if you come away having learned something new and for me, having a desire to study the scriptures a little more each time.

Its always nice having a conversation with Ed about the lessons too, or anything centred on the gospel for that matter. He has such a huge vault of knowledge in that head of his, I really admire how much he has stored up in terms of things gospel. I always know I can turn to him if theres something I want to know. If he doesnt know, then he steers me in the right direction. Love it!

Aw, I just love life right now! Love my little family. Love having time outs and one on one time with Ed. Love it when its just the four of us cuddled up on the couch. Love packing the kids up into the car and going to church. Love chocolate brownies (had one for dessert tonight) and the reason I started this post in particular, I love when it rains on hot nights in the summer! Love it!

bed rest is a doozy!

Ive just had a visit from my LMC. "Kylie," she says as she examines my tummy, "no more walking around for the next few days." And that was that. Sentenced to the confines of my super-king posturepedic. Jealous? Dont be.

Usually the thought of layin up in bed chillaxin all day sounds like heaven. You know, curlin' up with a good book, taking the phone off the hook, shuttin' the blinds and assuming your coziest position. Sounds like a dream, especially when you have an energetic two year old turning your house upside down most days! Today, Im laid up in bed, but its nothing like the scene I've just described.

The two year old is at grandma's so no probs there, but I can't curl up b/c I have to lie flat on my back...I'll get to that soon. There arent any good books around (ok thats my own fault, note to self- get more good books) and I cant take the phone off the hook because Im expecting an important phonecall from my LMC. I dont really want to shut the blinds because I want to get some fresh air in the room or else I'll die of over heating, and the coziest position right now is anything other than flat on my back, which is where I have to stay!

Dont get me wrong, I dont encourage moaning about the stink stuff as its a trait I find hugely annoying in others. Instead I thought Id use this time to reflect upon things I usually take for granted when Im my fully functioning self. But before that, understanding how I got to be here might make things clearer, then again, it makes the moaning about it that much sillier, coz really, I should be thankful. Nevertheless, this is how I got here...

Ok, so its been three weeks and two days since I had our baby boy Dallin. He was born by caesarean (for an actual reason, not coz Im a fraidy cat), which as you can imagine was far less painful than a normal labour and birth. Recovering from it so far has actually been really good. I knew before I had Dallin that it would be up to me just how fast Id heal and that it would mean taking things slowly and "keeping things clean," (and by "things" I mean my wound silly.)

Thankfully Dallin was born during Edens holiday period, so he's been home to take over a bit while I rest. Honestly, what a blessing! So, to cut a long story short (baby is doing great by the way, almost 5 kgs now!) three weeks have gone by and my LMC says I need to take things even slower! One of my stitches popped (gross I know, soz) so now Im in bed, flat on my back, its hot outside and I want to go for a walk and enjoy the day while the sun is still out. Um, not gonna happen. And yeah, thats the how.

Now to that list of little things usually taken for granted:

1. Walking. Yep, plain old walking. Continuous one foot in front of the other kinda walking. Ok, so of course I can still walk and get up and get around, but seriously, no walking for a little bit = I'll get better faster and be able to cope better when Eden goes back to work next week. I guess when I put it that way its not so bad. Still, freedom to walk at whenever times, definitly gets taken for granted.

2. Picking up Asher. No heavy lifting (heavy meaning anything weighing more than the baby) means no picking up Asher. Baby = 4.8 kgs. Asher = 12 kgs. It's sad not being able to pick up your own child when they stretch up their little arms towards you. Just sad.

3. Being able to vacuum. I cant stand when the vacuuming isnt done properly! I dont mean properly as in "my way," what I mean is nothing gets left behind, lift up the rugs, go behind the door, underneath the couch cushions, properly. Ok so maybe I do mean my way. But honestly, you dont realise how much stress your abs are put under until they have to recover from major surgery. I vacuumed once, and now Im in bed. Sigh.

4. Being able to drive. Cant drive anywhere for at least another 2 weeks. Stink!

And the list goes on. No gym, no running, no bunjy jumping, no swimming, no bombing into the "no swimming" pool, no doing anything that involves the use of tummy muscles. Ok so its just a list of things I cant do while Im recovering, but things I definitly take for granted being able to do.

Things will return to normal eventually. But still. And it definitly goes without saying, at least I have Dallin. I'll save my brag session about him for another day. In no way was this post meant to imply that I wish I didnt have him. Id do it all over again if I had to. Rather, being here in bed all day, as in ALL day, did help me realise that there are certainly little things in life we all take for granted.

So, the next time someone asks you to drive them some place, or you cant be bothered getting up to switch the channel coz you cant find the remote, spare a thought for your old pal Kyz. It's like that old comedian Joe E. Lewis once said, "you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." My thoughts exactly! Get up people! Coz bed rest is a doozy!

No More Chocolate For Breakfast

Well, I'm no longer pregnant, so there goes my excuse for having chocolate first thing in the morning. Besides, chocolate for breakfast just doesnt have the same appeal it used to. And so I've decided it was time to get rid of the old title and bring in something new. It is the beginning of a new year after all. Now the tricky part, finding time among nappy changing, meal making and picking up toys to even keep this thing going.

How to become a millionaire.

Get to know and obtain at least one dollar from exactly one million people.

Names.

"Seriously. Dont take me too seriously." Me.

What's in a name? Are our names so significant that our parents hope we will live up to their meanings? Or do we get given names of others because of the kind of people they were? Do we borrow names from others because they sound cool when you say them? Or do we like the origin of the name, the fact that it sounds exotic or fresh? Or do we get given a name because of sentimental reasons where it serves to remind our parents of a certain situation, a place, a person, or an event? Or do we just end up fitting the meaning because we've found out for ourselves what the books say our names mean, and then try to fulfill them? Or do we do the opposite? I have decided that after all is said and done, my name has the deepest most spiritual meaning of all.

Lets examine for a moment the meaning of Kylie. I have heard of several meanings for my name, one of which I don't care to share, its just too embarrassing. But the one definition I don't mind however is the widely accepted Australian definition that a Kylie is a boomerang, a wooden instrument that has one side flat and the other convex and when thrown will always return to its initial point from where it came. If we considered that we somehow end up fitting the definition of our names, does this mean then that I am a person who's both boring (in other words "flat") and fun (in other words "convex" or "out there") at the same time? Or does it allude to my physique? (I sure hope not.) Or does it mean I'm complicated? Or does it mean I'm indecisive? Who knows?

Eden and I have had great joy in naming our two children. We picked names that held sentimental reasons to us both. Our daughter, Asher Lee, takes her name from the bible and from my mother. The sentimental value lies in an experience I had while serving my mission. To cut a long story short, I had chance to make friends with a missionary who revealed to me he was of the tribe of Asher. He was someone who helped me through a difficult time of my life, someone I looked up to. I knew when he told me he was of the tribe of Asher that I would use it to name of my first child, whether boy or girl. According to the bible dictionary, Asher means happy. Asher is such as happy child, it couldn't be more fitting! Is it a coincidence that she lives up to the meaning of her name? Or is it just that we look for certain characteristics that align with the meaning/s of the name itself and we are satisfied?

Our son, Dallin Maniapoto, takes his name from an apostle and from his father. Even in his infancy Dallin seems to show signs of seriousness and concern in his face which are characteristics owned by his name-sake. It is also note worthy to mention that I met this apostle while (again) on my mission. I know it seems now that I my own sentiments have dominated in the naming of our kids, but its just as well we can have more (just to be fair to Eden.)

And what of my DH Eden? Let's ignore for now the fact that Eden is mostly a girls name and focus on the fact that there is no way we can disconnect "Eden" from that garden where Adam and Eve once roamed. I assure you that DH neither looks nor acts like an area overgrown with vines and shrubbery. When we think of the garden of Eden, we think of innocence, serpents, fruit, cheribum, flaming swords, trees, innocence and fruit! I'd like to think my husband is innocent and not much of a fruit cake, although he is sweet and has angel like qualities. I am the first to admit that when we started dating, introducing him as Eden took a little getting used to. After a while, my tall dark and handsome beau began to me to suit his name more than any other Eden I'd ever met. He had successfully made a feminine name masculine and I was proud of it!

So! What's in a name? Perhaps nothing, or perhaps everything! Maybe I myself am an exact human version of a boomerang. I've been to many places in my life, some so wonderful I don't know why I ever left, like the temple or the Philippines! It seems however that no matter where I go, I always seem to return home. I'm the kind of girl who could never leave home. Home is where the heart is, that kind of thing. Then again, perhaps we are all boomerangs, thrust down to earth to have our experiences, only to return to the place where it all began (see answers to life questions) Either way, I feel I live up to my name. I'm just glad it has such a definition that can be interpreted to have a deeper spiritual meaning. What does your name say about you? Probably more than you realize...

my short cuts

Welcome to a list of words that might need explaining. Thanks to Ange for inspiring this idea.

Bobo - not to be confused with the tagalog meaning which is stupid, "bobo" is Ashers way of communicating she would like a bottle of milk.
DH - denotes ones Dear Husband and is widely used by online "review and message post-ers"(for a whole list of other such internet abbreviations and acronyms, see list)