Oh Oh Oh

As in "Oh... my aching belly" ;)

Well, Christmas 2008 has been and gone but has left it's mark! Too much food (as usual) and a lot of wrapping paper in the rubbish! This was Ezra's first Christmas that he could enjoy. We listed some Christmas traditions we would like to do every year with the kids, which included:

• Putting up stockings in front of the fireplace for the kid(s). Accomplished
• Visiting local light displays as a family. Walked around the beautifully lit homes on Woodburn Drive
• Doing an act of service for someone in need. Donation to the local foodbank.
• Eggs Benedict for breakfast on Christmas morning. Done, and yummy!
• Christmas story on Christmas morning. The quickfire kids version read from Ezra's read-a-long CD / booklet.
• Family photo to send out via email. Done.

So we knocked off the bottom three items: had our breakfast, read the Christmas story and took our family photo:

We then opened the presents and called Brisbane while hooking up over a webcam which was great - especially for Oma who would be missing her Aussie grandkids :) We might have to add that to the traditions too ;)

This year we were to spend time primarily with Nance's family so we had lunch at Julian and Robyn's house in Pukerua Bay with their kids Tessa and Samuel. Also attending was Gretchen, Robyn's Mum; Martyn, Vicki, Jacob, Samantha, Ebony and Grace; John, Vicki's ex-husband; us and Oma. Unfortunately Ross couldn't join us as he missed a step while in the ceiling and ended up in hospital to patch up his ankle and recoup from a bump on the head! It was a beautiful sunny day and we spent most of it out by the pool.

Lunch was awesome... Beef, ham, chicken, scallops, salads and veges and freshly baked bread. Dessert was lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, brandy snaps and pavlova. Then some more gift giving and some crazy people went for a walk up a hill!

On the way home we called in at my sister Michelle's house to see my family who were still in Wellington (Frank and his family were in Palmie; and Nanny was in Putaruru.) We had more dessert and belted out a few songs on SingStar and then it was home for some R&R.

Another Christmas day done and dusted. Hope you all had as good a time as we did.

Merry Christmas to all!

Five days, two parties and one TV

Well, my five day weekend is over. I called Samsung on Wednesday and they logged a job for the faulty TV to be picked up and replaced. Unfortunately they couldn't advise when this would be happening so:

Thursday
We relaxed at home and had a lazy day. Late in the afternoon a freight guy turned up but only to pick up the faulty TV :( So Nance and I got ready for our dinner and movie night out. Uncle Frank and Aunty Naomi looked after Ezra - and he even stayed the whole night with his cuzzies! He loves being up there. Nance and I went to Lone Star (big plate, big feed :) and then to Sky City Cinemas in the Hutt to watch Quantum of Solace.

Friday
The freight guy turned up again with the new TV so Dad had a great time getting it all set up (again). That afternoon Mum, Dad and Nanny did some window shopping (Dad making mental notes on LCD brackets, cables, etc.) Ezra had some fun at the park and then we spent some time out the backyard running around.

Saturday
Dad raced over to Porirua and picked up some cables, trunking, stud finder and an Omnimount bracket for the TV. Then we were off to the first of our two Christmas parties for kids: with BP at Staglands. After negotiating the winding Akatarawa road we arrived and were given a bag of feed (for the animals!) There were bouncy castles set up and a hall where the food was served and Santa handed out presents. Ezra is almost obsessed with stones and stops to pick one up every few steps and then throws it at either a tree, or into the grass - but his favourite is into water. So he spent most of his time there making as big a splash as possible :) BP got him a John Deere talking tractor toy which he loves to work on.
After a long nap in the car and some recuperation time at home we then went on to the TelstraClear kids party at Chipmunks. First stop for Ezra of course was the ball-pit. There was a clown making balloon animals, a fairy painting the kids faces and a small petting zoo outside. With so many kids there running around Ezra was a bit overwhelmed but he also dared to do a few more things. It was a long, enjoyable day but very tiring for all.

Sunday
Church at Tawa this week. Ezra is keen to get into Nursery as quick as possible ;) His mate in there is Sam and they have a great time. I got a few things done while Mum and Boy had an afternoon nap. General Priesthood meeting that night in town was good. Tawa ward turned up en masse and, as per Bishop's wish, we all sat together. Jordyn Teautama spoke well and was not nervous or sweating which is impressive for a 15yr old in front of so many people.

Monday
Dad up early and off to Harvey Norman again. Picked up some more cables and a different Omnimount bracket. Got home and (while working around Nance, Ezra, Malia and Sam) got all my tools out and started making holes in the wall :) I put the full motion bracket on first but was put off by it being a bit overkill (and it stuck out a good 9" from the wall). So at 11pm I switched it with the other bracket and, even though there is only a tilt feature, I am much happier with it. 4m Pudney premium component cable connected to the DVD Recorder running in progressive mode makes for a stunning picture! And running the laptop through it at such a high resolution is awesome too. Stereo - stereo cable sends the sound through so we can watch stuff on the laptop now - should be really good for General Conference and the like.

So it was a good five days and I got a lot done which would have been very difficult otherwise: time with Ezra, dinner and a movie with Nance, and a new toy in the house :)

It's so (relatively) hot!!

(Haha. The blog title is just for Aunty Elaine's sake ;)

Family: Well, a flying visit by Nance's sister Elaine was the highlight of our week. Ezra loved being with her - and really warmed up when he got a Little People Airplane as a pressie! The weather was great too - I lost count of how many ice-creams we had over the course of 4 days! We hope she had a good relaxing time. Being with family is what the holiday season is all about for me :)

Work: The five weeks leave that I have taken this year is not enough according to TelstraClear - so I have been forced to take another 14 days before January 9th. So, with our 16th wedding anniversary coming up, I have taken a five-day weekend starting tomorrow. Then the three days before Christmas, the three days before New Years and the whole week after. It will be a good break and I'm sure work will survive without me ;) I was planning to take three weeks in February so I could do some work on our house (painting, repairing hinges on windows, destroying lawns...) but that would leave me with zero leave. Although, I do get two weeks paternity leave in May for free... Nice! The challenge is to get stuff done over the Christmas break - and to keep the weight under the max for any ladders I may have to climb!

Toy: Our other new child arrived two weeks ago (Samsung Series 5 32" LCD TV) and was working great. But I guess it figured out it would be a distant 4th behind Ezra, Baby and Nance so it went Hulk on me. I have packed it up again and am awaiting a swapout. A cruel blow as I had it all set up and was enjoying it immensely... now if I can only convince Nance to get a 1080p capable piece of equipment to really show it off!! Wish me luck!

Double the..?

I forgot to mention that at Ezra's party we announced some more miraculous news: we are so happy to have Ezra in our lives - but now we will have to share that love with someone else.

Ezra will have a brother or sister join him in May 2009.

We have been keeping it quiet of course as we like to make sure things are really going to happen. It just brings a whole new dynamic to our lives - but one we are grateful for. So, take your pick:

Double the fun? Double the work? Double trouble? hehe.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ezra

A terrifically tiring day but it was great. Mum baked/cooked up a storm and the results were fantastic. The highlight was his cake: themed after his favourite movie at the moment (as evidenced in the pic.) Dad did his bit by browning the meat on the BBQ ;)

All our family and friends were there and made it a special day for him. The fireworks in the evening went well too - no damage to the house or property :)

'twas the night before...

It will be Ezra's 2nd birthday tomorrow. Mum & Dad have taken the day/night off and invited family and friends over for a wee celebration. <:o)

Mum has been busy!! Baked lots of cupcakes and a sponge for the birthday cake. There's plenty of snack food for the kids party at 3:30 - and then BBQ sausages and salads for the adults from 5pm. We even bought some fireworks for later on in the evening. It's hard to believe he has survived two years with us... he is such a good boy. Definitely worth the wait.

I said to him last night "What would Dad be doing if you weren't here?" - probably watching movies or playing games and getting fatter and lazier... :( So when he went to sleep I thought I would do something worthwhile: and I logged on to the new familysearch website and had a go. It's a great site, and brings all the records into one big community. A real eye-opener!

(Side note on the fireworks: Hopefully all goes well i.e. no one gets maimed. Not too fussed if the house burns down - as we have been looking for an excuse to replace the ugly ceiling panels, replace doors and hardware, and Dad wants to update the bathroom... Plus we'll have an excuse not to paint or do any repairs ;)

A great start to November

Today was another great day in the capital of NZ. Church was quiet as only Dad got there today - Mum and Ezra were having a coughing competition all night so they stayed home. We were all tired today - so we all had a mid-afternoon nap. (Note: Dad's lack of zzz's was self-inflicted as the All Blacks were playing the Wallabies in Hong Kong late; and then Burnout 3 yearned for some attention ;)

We had our good friends the Pomares come over for pizza, dessert and a movie last night. We've been friends for almost 15 years now - and there doesn't look like there is going to be any letting up. In 1993 Craig and I were called as home teaching companions - and we actually got out and did some visiting which created a spiritual and social bond. I remember 'flat-sitting' their place in Mandalay Tce. when they went away for a weekend. I got out Terminator 2 on VHS (recorded in stereo!) and watched it down in the disco-room which had coloured light bulbs and a mirrored wall: haha! Then there was the time when I watched the Superbowl on the mighty 25" at Dominion Park St. I've even taken the Playstation over and played Point Blank with dual GunCom light-guns. There have been countless movies together, dinner parties, games evenings, babysittings... We are close with Lauren and Hayden; and Ezra loves to talk about Uncle Craig and Auntie Cherie - and the cat (Sparkles) - haha. If either of us ever needs anything then we know we can always call on each other. It's a great friendship.

And we have even served in callings together: Craig and I on the Tawa Ward Young Men's presidency, Tawa Bishopric and the Wellington Stake High Council together. Nance and Cherie have served on a Tawa Ward Young Women's presidency, Relief Society presidency and the Primary presidency together.

Long may our friendship and service last!

Pass the parcel

Great news: Nance finished the last of her assignments last Wednesday (15th October) so that is a big weight off. On that same day it was Ezra's first morning visit to Playcentre. He enjoyed it of course - but something sinister was about to strike the Manu family.

During the early hours of the next morning Nance was feeling very sick and was vomiting most of the morning. I went to work but got a txt asking me to come home to look after her - by getting Ezra out of her hair. That night she stopped vomiting and we were quick to blame Subway (dinner on Wed night). But then on Friday evening we noticed Ezra wasn't eating. Then, just as the rugby started - and we had Jack and Amber visiting - he started vomiting. It was then that we realised Nance had picked up a stomach bug (perhaps a norovirus?) at Playcentre - and it was making it's way through our family. Nance was horrified as she had visited Katie and Troy that afternoon so a phonecall was made to give her fair warning :( Dad stayed up with Ezra through most of the night (ice cream container at the ready) and Mum came through in the early morning to take over. Ezra bounced back pretty quick - so the challenge of keeping it from hitting Dad was on! I made it for 2 days - but my habit of eating what Ezra doesn't eat/finish was my downfall and last night I too succumbed - although I have only had the runs; no vomiting: which I guess is a mild form of it? So I had the day off work today and have been trying to get warm in bed. Caught up on some TV that was on the DVD Recorder, and watched a DVD. Nance also took the night off as I would've been useless trying to look after Mr. Boy.

"Beautiful day... of peace and rest"

It was a beautiful day in Wellington today. We had church at Hataitai as a Stake to view the Sunday a.m. session of General Conference. Attendance was not that great but perhaps people were doing what we did in the afternoon - watched a session over the Internet. We spent the afternoon with the Pomares and watched Sunday p.m. session. There is a new media player on the lds.org website which does a great job. The picture was spectacular on Craig's 42" plasma and 7-channel stereo really added to the occasion. Thanks Pomares!

Our Holiday - the Wellington to Brisbane leg

We flew out of Wellington on Saturday 17 May. There was a slight delay as the plane arrived late and when we were seated it was Mum and Ezra, Dad - and a pregnant woman in the same row! Yikes! But the flight attendants soon offered us our own row near the back of the plane - or one of the roomier seats by the exit for the expectant Mum. We encouraged her to take the seat and get the extra length so that all worked out nicely. Ezra was great on the plane - he slept for the last 75 minutes until we approached Brisbane which was experiencing thunderstorms. We had to circle for a while and then when the pilots got the green light they descended rather quickly - which woke Ezra and he started crying with sore ears. Mum and Dad tried to give him a bottle or something to chew on but he was too upset by then. It only lasted a few minutes (seemed longer) and we were finally on the tarmac. While the electrical storm was around local airport rules prohibited ground staff to approach the planes so we sat there for a while. Ezra had great fun watching the planes land and pointing at the other planes lined up. We finally disembarked and used a borrowed fold-up baby stroller which was brilliant (thanks Sharla and Jack!) Our lollies and biscuits made it through Customs (yay) and we passed through the glass doors to see the Haynes' cheery and welcoming faces!

And what did we pick up for dinner on our way home: Red Rooster of course!!