Aue tau kuri e.

Let's try to write in Maori. Key word - try.


He korero tenei e pa ana ki nga mahi o tetahi whaea e noho ana ki te whare ki te awhi ki ana tamariki, ko Asher raua ko Dallin.

I tetahi ra, ka oho a Asher a ka pirangi ia ki te kai i te parakuihi. Ahakoa te tiori o tana tamahine, ka moe tonu a Dallin. A muri i te parakuihi ka haere a Asher ki tana ruma moe ki te tini ki ana kakahu.

OK. That's all I've got. Oh...em...goodness!

Not that I don't have a story to tell, I do. For every word I struggle to find in Maori, a Tagalog replacement comes out. For a few words, I didn't even notice. Frustrating! For example instead of writing patai which means question or to ask a question I wrote hingi which means ask in Tagalog. Hingi isn't even the right ask so even more frustrating!

In conclusion, I am sad that I went from a proficient speaker of te reo to practically useless.

Thanks Maori language week for bringing new meaning of the word effortless to me.

Huh?

Ash and I like to play that game where I ask her what sound a certain animal makes and she makes the sound - you know the one...

Me: What sound does a doggy make?

Ash: Woof woof!

Me: Yes! Good girl!
What sound does a sheep make?

Ash: Baaaa!

Me: Yes!
What about a cow

Ash: Mooooo!

Me: Yay! Good girl!
And what sound does a bird make?

Ash: Fly fly!

Me: Huh?? (and then I click - "flying" is the sound they make - DUH!)

Hahaha!

Two Front Teeth, Frilly Dresses, Days off Work and Birthday Money

Dallins two front teeth have popped up over the past week or so. I felt for the poor boy since its bad enough coping with getting one let alone two. Atleast noone can say I havnt suffered along with him since sometimes he thinks its a good idea to have a good hard bite while Im breastfeeding him. Ouchies for sure! I used to moan when his gums would get a good grip, now add two little rough edged teeth to it and you've got one screaming mum and a cheeky smiley faced monkey, hahaha. Im sure he knows that biting me hurts because as soon as I dig my finger in there to break free, he's got a huge smile on his face, nnnnnaughty boy! And ontop of his teeth he's got the flu, double boo. The upside is that he doesnt grizzle his way through the whole thing, that would be stinkies.

As for miss Ash bash, she's another one with the flu. She doesnt like wearing layers of clothes as it is so its been a struggle trying to keep her warm. Yes our Ash likes summer dresses she can twirl around in, a real girly girl. Of course I'm the one who gets into trouble whenever my own mother comes around and catches her parading around in a frilly dress like a fairy princess, as if I havnt tried all morning to keep her snuggled up in winter woolies. Kids will be kids, they dont feel the cold and just want to play and have fun.

Of course my dear husband didnt want to miss out on the indoor fun so he went ahead and got himself the flu so he could spend some time at home. I appreciate that our sniffles and sneezes have given us the chance be at home together to hug the fire and sit around like old people in a retirement home (minus the tapioca pud and bingo hahaha).

All this being stuck at home has given me time to think of what I might spend my bday riches on. Clothes? Perhaps. A new and decent haircut? Its about time for another one, but we'll see how I feel. At the risk of sounding desperately housewife-ish, something new for the kitchen???? Dont need to (thanks bro for the slow cooker). I know, something edible for the kids in my Sunday school class? Nah. Its funny coz I know I've spent time thinking of what I would buy if I had money to spare, and now I havnt a clue. I'll probably spend it on the kids. I always feel better when I've added to their wardrobes things they can grow in to. Yes. Thats what it will go towards, if we ever make it outta here alive!!! Da-dummmmmmmmm!

sicky 28th birthday

Today I turned 28. I have a sore throat and a bit of a headache, pretty stink. It was cooooldies all day and I was not feeling it at all. But I couldnt go to bed without bloggin a little sumthin about my "happy birthday" as Ash puts it. I suppose if I wasnt so sicky sick, I would have enjoyed the gifts I was given by my favorite people. Thankfully, I didnt have to get outta my jim jams til I was ready to go out and run errands as my wonderful friend came and dropped off a gift for me and offered to take my girl to kindy, allowing my son and I to go back to bed and keep warm for an extra hour. Bliss!

Took my gran out so she could get stuff done and came back to my mums to sprawl out infront of the awesome fireplace. Right when I was about to doze off, I had to go back out into the cold to go get my husband from the train station, brrrrrr! We go get dinner for the whanau, then I find my spot again by the fire. Yuss! Since our whole little family is coughy and headachy, we decided to camp at mums since it was already warm. SO here I am. In bed, next to the fire, my son and I. Waaaaarmies!

And now Im tired. Sleep time for me.

A few of Asher's kindy firsts.

First walk through the kindy gate.

First painting.

First play-dough pie.

First play-dough pie in the oven.

Of course she had fun doing other things, but we'll keep those pics just for us.
The best part for me was having Ed at home with our son so I could share this day with her one on one. Absolutely wonderful!

She's off tomorrow!

By "she" I mean my little girl. By "off" I mean going somewhere important and special. By "tomorrow" I mean, well you should know what I mean. SO where is my little girl going tomorrow? To kindy. That's right, my little girl is growing up. And what a bitter sweet feeling it is to say the least.

Tonight marks my last night as a mother of two little ones who stay at home, with me, at home, during the day. Tomorrow I become the mother of two little ones, one of which is a big kindy girl, the other - the one Im no doubt going to smother until its his turn to do the same. Sigh and sob and laugh and cry all in the same breath.

So from tomorrow, I'll be packing a little school bag with an extra change of clothes every day of the week. I'll be sending her off with a little lunch box and a little drink bottle and other little things on the kindy essentials list.

I guess I never thought this day would come. I suppose spending all this time with Ash and her not having too many commitments during the day was just so much fun that I figured we would just keep it that way. I have enjoyed our time playing and doing mother daughter things, so much so that I know I will miss it a lot.

Ash has taught me a lot, mostly how to have fun and laugh and enjoy the little things in life. But kids grow up and need to branch out, its only fair that I let her spread her little wings so she can learn to fly on her own. Sigh and sob again.

Lehi's Journey

Ash is really into her new book at the moment. She carries it around everywhere. She even knows some of the characters by name.

I started out wanting one for myself then found myself on-selling for the illustrator (an acquaintance of mine) and have consequently sold 6 out of 9 in one day. Not a bad effort...although, the book really does sell itself.

Good stuff!