It's Christmas time...Kiwi Style

Christmas in New Zealand, the first few times I experienced it I wasn't too sure about it. I'm used to it now, sun and BBQ instead of the USA type Christmas and it doesn't bother me too much. In fact I kind of like it. I hated snow except on Christmas Eve and morning. Cold and nasty and who the heck likes to shovel the sidewalk?

What really gets me though is how hard it is to find New Zealand Christmas stuff. I mean one would expect to find it rather easy to find Christmas cards in a summery style. WRONG! If you hit the local "Walmart" style chain the Warehouse you will not find anything. Oh wait, I take that back last year I did find some but not so far this year. You can find New Zealand Christmas cards in the bookshops and that is usually where I go but even there most things are in the northern hemisphere winter and snow motif.

I just don't get it. You won't find a lick of snow in December and everyone is running around in shorts, swimsuits and thongs. So why does New Zealand continue to support the wintery Christmas theme?

Christmas Kiwi style tends to be filled with lots of paradoxes. One moment we are running around in shorts and Tee shirts, trying to do our Christmas shopping and the next we run into Santa, in a thick red suit sweating his ass off in an air conditioned mall. Go figure!

and the baby is......

A BABY!! What you thought I would really post it? Seriously, couldn't tell baby had it's legs crossed and was not giving any information away. In fact we need to go back in 2 weeks for another scan as baby just didn't want to cooperate in any shape or form and it was hard for them to do the heart measurements and stuff they really wanted to do. Guess this means that Baby Gill #3 is just as bull-headed as the others. Lucky me!

Scan day tomorrow

Tomorrow morning 9:40am we will have the baby's ultrasound scan. I don't know what the deal is with this baby but everyone seems to just be dying to know the sex. We didn't find out with Madelynn or Aidan and for some reason everyone "NEEDS" to know for this one. You would think they are all going to die if they don't find out before the birth. Why is that?

All Brendon's family and our friends just can't seem to contain themselves. Brendon's mom most of all. They are all pretty much demanding we find out so "they" can be prepared. What do they have to be prepared for? Are they going to be buying diapers and getting up with the baby in the middle of the night?

By the way they are acting it's as if we owe it to them to tell. Geez, Some people's children!

No wire hangers, ever! Just Call me Mommy Dearest?

I was reading Christi's blog this morning and I cannot get it out of my head. I do think it's so special that her girl is happy with the return of the long, lost Bonita. I began to think back to when Nikki's son lost his beloved "dog dog" in Auckland.

They lost him in the mall and even went back the next day to find it. (A 2 hour trip via car each way) They spent I don't know how much money on replacement dogs hoping that would make him happy. In the end they finally found a replacement on the net that they had shipped from the USA. Plus the original did manage to get back to them, a miracle if you ask me because someone found it in K-mart and mailed it to her. How nice is that?

I remember thinking to myself after the adventures of dog dog, that I must be terrible because I wouldn't have drove back to Auckland just for a stuffed animal. Maybe it's because my little guys aren't attached to anything. Madelynn chooses what she wants to sleep with each night and it changes depending on her mood. Aidan has taken to a blanket but he only wants it in his crib and I don't take it out of there.

I read about Bonita and I wonder to myself again "Am I a mean mom?" I just wouldn't search high and low for one to replace. It just would never cross my mind. I guess I'm wondering to myself too, are we not teaching our kids about "loss"?

Christi, when you read this and I know you will :-) I'm just mostly wondering if I'm lacking as a parent because I wouldn't have done what you and Nikki have done. I'm not trying to offend, just sort out what's in my head.

Bloody cell phones!

Don't get me wrong I do like them, they are a fantastic invention and I cannot believe how far technology has come in the past years since I was first introduced to them when I was working in radio. Remember those brick phones? Today's phones fit in the palm of your hand amazing!

Why do they piss me off? Because people think they are more important than actually focusing on driving a car. I'm more peeved off at the drivers than the phones but if we didn't have them maybe we'd have less accidents on the roads.

Today on my way into Hamilton to visit the doctor (FYI, I'm sick again this time a sinus infection oh my stars does it hurt!) I was just trying to go the speed limit and I came upon 3 cars that I had to pass. What were they all doing? They were ALL talking on their bloody cell phone! That just really gets up my nose. This was just along the main highway to get to Hamilton. When I did get into Hamilton at about 3:10 it was the beginning of rush hour traffic so streets were getting really busy and I passed 2 more idiots doing the same thing.

On the way back to Morrinsville I passed a fellow who had pulled over on the side of the road and I glanced to notice he was talking on his cell phone. He must be the only person in the Waikato region to have a brain.

She's a BIG girl now

We got a copy of her 1st class photo today. She looks so darn cute, just so pleased with herself. She loves going to preschool. They call it kindergarten here "kindy" for short and that just seems so strange. I just can't wrap my laughing gear around that one. Kindergarten is for 5 year olds in my mind and then primary school at age 6. Guess it's also too many years of mom working at the preschool and kindgergarten back home. I worry about the kids education here. It's not free to send them and I've been lucky enough to watch Caitlin go though all the levels from age 5 so I can't say I'm that impressed. She starts high school in February, damn Brendon's getting old! LOL

I'm happy to say that Brendon does feel the same way about the education system. He feels the school system here is severely lacking. So the sooner we can get back to the USA the better as we want a much better education for them.

18 weeks and counting

Not long to go and we will have the ultrasound. Do we find out what he baby's sex is this time? Hmm...I think we might. I got rid of most of Madelynn's baby clothes only keeping the few favorites as I was pretty sure we weren't having anymore after Aidan came along. So I think we need to know whether to hit Trademe and the yard sales for girls clothes or just be happy with Aidan's lot.

The morning sickness has mostly gone away but if it appears it comes with a vengence! Yesterday was horrible. I could hardly stand up and I was puking my guts out. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get Madelynn to preschool. I'm much better today it's almost like I wasn't sick at all.

Other than that not much happening around here. Just trying to keep up with day to day things. Chasing Aidan and trying to keep Madelynn from being to bored...that is a challenge in itself!