Black and White layout for Louise's blog challenge

So louise @ http://bigyellowdogblog.blogspot.com/ is having a little comp on her blog. She had a warm up challenge where by we were asked to create a layout using ONLY black and white. I like how it turned out so fresh. Thank you for the challenge Louise.

Most of the materials I have used came from a http://www.scrapbookoutletnz.co.nz kit. Peect for this challenge. Usually I don't use kits for challenges but I didn't have any other only b&w papers! My only disappointment with this layout is that there is a gorgeous tinkering ink patterned paper hiding behind all the stuff I added! I couldn't stop stincking and doodling and then I realised I had hidden ,most of this gorgeous paper. Gonna have to get me some more of that I think!

A great weekend!

Tobyn got on stage for both his dances on Saturday! I was so chuffed to see him out in his black shirt for the Michael Jackson dance! And he did a pretty good job. He did forget a couple of things in this dance, but given he had missed the change for 2 days I can forgive him. I am proud of him for getting out there!!!
Sunday we went to Church for the first time in weeks. We are organising the kids Christmas service and thought it high time to get there and let them know it is all coming together. The kids are excited and hopefully it will be as good as they are anticipating!
Sunday afternoon was spent tidying and scrapbooking. Yay I finally got some more scrapbooking done! And both layouts are for challenges.

This layout is for the Scrapbook Essentials fortnightly sketch competition. It is the first 6x12 layout I have done. Having done the Disney photo I have decided that Disney 06 will be all 6x12. I found it quite hard and I stuck to the sketch. I like how the photos really stand out.



The other layout I will put in a separate post.

Art and culture in the Gregory house

A busy weekend here for us! Tobyn has had a very busy week with dance rehearsals and I have had a busy week as taxi driver! Last night was the telling moment for the work he has put in. As you may be able to tell from the previous post, Tobyn isn't too keen on having people watch him. He used to be fine but from around the age of 7 he has not liked it at all. So I wasn't sure how he would go in the dance show. But he shone! He got out there and danced his heart out and did everything really well. Unfortunately he did miss one dance because he didn't get changed fast enough, but we have that sorted for today, so I should get to see him in both his dances. Now I just hope that we can convince him that it would be a good idea to carry on dacncing in some way. I know it waon't be The Jazz Elemeatary 1 class, but maybe boys club or hip hop? It is awesome at his studio that they encourage the boys so well. Dean, the owner and 1 of 3 male teachers is so good with the boys. Tobyn has a natural talent but not the passion yet. Maybe in a few years time he will realise what a gift he has? My Mum let me stop dancing when I was 5 and I wish she had pushed me to continue. Mum, I know you did what was right at the time so don't take this as me thinking you were wrong. But I guess that is partly why I don't want Tobyn to give up yet, he might regret it in the future.

Today was pet and craft day. Steve spent all morning cooking 200 sausages, deffinately did his part and got to know some other parents a little better which is great. Tobyn, Isaac and I got to enjoy a pancake breakfast, courtesy of the some of the teachers.
Last night and this morning Tobyn work on his vegetable creation. He hoped he could get first this year after placing 2nd last year. This year he did more of it himself, he chose all the veges and put it all together. The only guidance and help we gave him was with tthe creation he was going to do. He wanted to make a village with grape people. We thought this would be too much hard work with the dance show as well. So he made a dragon, scales and all! And he WON. He is so proud. Tobyn also took his cat Apollo for the pet parade. They got asked about there cat and how they looked after it etc and Tobyn won best presented cat. And Apollo got a lovely silver and blue ribbon. So nioce to be able to add more certificates to the wall of acievement in our house!





I think Isaac is going to have an outdoor career. He was totally in his element among the lambs and calves!





Righto, gotta go wash the floor that Steve spilt milo powder all over and get ready for the show this afternoon, Ciao for now.

A cute Tobynism

A conversation last night with Tobyn as we arrived at the dance rehearsal went something like this:

T: is this where we are practising?
M: Yes
T: where are we? Are we at the theatre?
M: Yes
T: Cool, I love dancing on stage.....
M: Oh really?
T: Yep, as long as there isn't anyone watching.

Excited and Exhausted!

I am very excited about many things this week:

• The fact that the part for the washing machine has finally arrived and I can remove the towels from behind the machine. It has been 2 weeks since we found we had a leak! The washing has been backing up so I am over the moon about that.


• Today there is some blue sky! Yes you heard it here first. So along with the washing machine part and the blue sky guess what is my main aim today? Yep, washing, washing and more washing!


• Tobyn's dance performance. Every year they put on an amazing show and I look forward to it so much that I always over book tickets LOL. Hopefully my sister can replace Steve on Friday night because we need someone at home to get Isaac to bed. A 7pm show start is not good for a little boy that needs Daddy to put him to bed, can't get a baby sitter to do it. And when I booked the tickets I didn't think about the time it was starting!


• My nephew got 3rd= in their schools cluster speech comp. Now what is it about the Rowe grandchildren? My siblings and I were not good at speeches and yet our kids are doing great! Tobyn won for his year earlier this year and now Sheridan has placed 3rd in the cluster schools. Go Sheridan, Aunty is very proud of you!!!


• The thing I am the most excited about and left until last.........I am being published! Now as most of my visitors are scrap bookers I will have to let you down gently......not being published for scrap booking.......being published for photography! We have very good friends that are journalists. They are Isaac's godparents and live in the States. Tim was deputy editor of the listener a couple of years ago and Ele deputy editor of Next. They went on a bog OE. Ele being American wanted to take Tim 'home'. It took a while for them to find jobs in the industry and they spent some time working in a bookstore to live. They are both now busy with jobs ans study and the big benefit for us is that one of the jobs Tim is doing is helping edit and set up a new online Travel magazine. He asked a few weeks ago for photos in certain categories but I didn't think we had any to suit. Yesterday I received an e-mail from them wishing Isaac a happy birthday. I returned the e-mail with an update in Isaac and an invite to visit my blog. Tim replied soon after with a request for travel photos for the postcard section of the mag, they are short. So Steve spent a good hour or so last night sending through a pile of photos and they want one! I am over the moon. One of my photos is going to be published in an online travel mag WOOHOO!!! When I know more details and when the mag is being published I will link it on here.

And yes I am also exhausted! My baby who is now a big boy and sleeping in a big boy bed is keeping me awake. Not because he is awake, because I am worried he is going to fall out, or come trough at some ungodly hour so I think I have one ear open for him all night. I hope this will pass soon!

I will leave you with one of the photos that was sent through to Tim, not the one being published obviously. But I don't like posts without photos and since Steve re sized these last night I might as well use one.

Isaac and I in the Milford Sound back in February.

Scrapbook Essentials Blinkie

I am doing quite a few short random posts. Just a bit of fun LOL. Neen, one of the Dt members on SE has been playing with blinkies and Meg challenged us to put it on our blogs. So here it is. My only wish is that I knew how to link it so you can click on it and it would take you to the website, but alas I am not that computer literate!

Edited to add, I have got it all sorted I now have a blinkie in my sidebar that if you click on it, it will take you to Scrapbook Essentials. Thanks to Neen for the link and the blinkie!

Visit my sister!

My sister has finally started a blog. I imagine she will only use it for her challenge layouts but then you never know she might become hooked like me LOL.

www.theoccasionalblogger-antionette.blogspot.com

She has her take on The Music in Me challenge up at the moment.

Today my baby turned 2

It is now officially October 22nd American time. In about 4 hours time Isaac was actually born. It is kind of weird to have to adjust the time differnece, but in my mind I do, every second counts LOL.

So my baby boy is growing up. Some things Isaac can do at 2:

Blow candles out.
Blow party blowers
Sing "Happy Birthday To You"
Open presents almost by himself
Sleep in a big boy bed (we didn't take the sides off the cot a couple of weeks ago, but DID today and he LOVES it!)
Stay at Grandad and Grandmas and stay asleep all night. And Grandma said it was just about the easiest baby sitting they have ever done.
Jump with 2 feet off the ground.
"Run, fast" saying it while running fast!
Turn the TV on and off.
Give wonderful cuggles and kisses!
Dance while wiggling his whole body. Looks so cute with his shoulder wiggles!

And many, many more.

Here is the birthday boy with his main present. Doesn't Dad look great in the back ground in his dressing gown and shoes LOL.



Isaac and his friend Finley



Isaac loved getting Iggle Piggle from Tobyns friend. Tobyn also gave hime Makka Pakka. Steve was not happy about Iggle Piggle, he says it will give him nightmares LOL!!!



Fee, what do you think of the theme? The theme was Elmo. I had great plans of cutting out the shape of Elmos face and icing it. But...I failed to get the right food clouring on Friday. A little bit difficult to make Elmo without the black! So I came up with the brilliant idea of just icing the cake red and putting a printout of Elmo on top. I plan on making a mask out of the print out later. The main thing is that Isaac loved it!



Before today Isaac didn't know how to blow. It didn't take him long to learn and he then wanted us to keep lighting the candles so he could blow them out.



And the new found skill of blowing came in handy for the party blowers.



It was disappointing that of the 5 children invited only 1 turned up! Vivi's Mum is 7 months pregnant and at least she called to say she didn't feel up to it plus the girls had yucky noses. As for the others I didn't even get phone calls. I know I was keeping it small and told them it was just a quiet party and it would be cool if they could come. But no courtesy call? What is the world coming to?

But we had a ton of fun without them. Finleys sisters were there and 2 of Tobyns friends. And Isaac had a ball!!! His 3 big cousins came for dinner and he was spoilt with more In the Night Garden things and a Goofy soft toy. I think he was pretty happy!

I will leave the rest of the weekend for another post. And I want to tell you all about his time in the Neo Natal unit but that can wait as well. Enjoy these wonderful photos of my adorable 2 year old. (Mum I will try and print some off for you ;)

This week 2 years ago.

WARNING THIS POST WILL BE LONG!!!

It all started about 18 years ago. Steve and I met through our young adults group. I had been going to the Church since I was 15 he came in his 2nd year of Uni. My first memory of him was not a positive one. We were at a family night and we were divided into teams and then we had to do a play. My memory of Steve was this crazy curly haired young guy in freezer works gumboots, that was his costume for the play. You can safely say at that time I wasn't attracted to him.
We got to know each other better over the next year or so and became good friends. I started to become 'interested' I told a friend who told him and we went on a couple of dates. But that was as far as it went at that time, he did the "I just want to be friends" speech. Broke my heart at the time. I have vivid memories of listening to "The Proclaimers" and "Enya" into the wee hours of the morning, and writing soppy poetry etc.
Over the next couple of years I dated a couple of other guys and 'got over him'. But we were still really good friends. We had the same group of friends and did things together practically every weekend.
I was 22 and still at home and desperately wanting to go flatting. I told Steve and he said well I want to buy a house and get flat mates in. I thought this was a great idea and within a few months he had bought a house and I became his sole flat mate. At that time I had just started dating another guy from our young adults group and this ended in tears after a few weeks. Well Steve was there to console me and I said to him "damn Techies you all break my heart" I had dated 2 and been very keen on another Massey Technology student. He laughed.
Over the next couple of weeks he started showing signs that he wanted more than flatmates. I said to my friends I can't go there, I am flatting with him it just wouldn't be right. But now 14 years of marriage later you can see we did get together.
When we got married we made a decision that we would like to start a family after 5 years of marriage and when I was 30. I was about to do my nursing training and I wanted to get some experience after I had finished.
When I finished my training Steve got offered a secondment to Reading, England. We jumped at the chance, Steve is English and all his family excluding imediate family are over there. At the same time we decided that we would start 'trying' to get pg. I went off the pill and things didn't go back to normal. Initially we thought surely it couldn't happen that quickly and for us it didn't. Before going to England we spent 3 months in Saudi Arabia. We had no support and no medical care. We had to wait until we got to England to seek help. When we got to England the Dr wasn't prepared to do anything because we hadn't been trying for 12 months. But I wasn't having a normal cycle and I just knew there was something not right. Eventually the Dr agreed to send me to a specialist. The specialist asked for my history and before doing any tests said I had polycystic ovarian syndrome. HUH, what the? I went on to have awful, embarrassing ultra sounds and it was confirmed I did indeed have PCOS! Fortuantely there was some pretty good drugs to help me and within 3 months we were pregnant with Tobyn. We were ecstatic!!!
Fast forward. Tobyn was 1 and we decided he was such an easy baby and we had had such a hard time getting pg with him that it was time to start trying again. This time it was not that easy! I used the same medication but it didn't work. I had many blood tests and ultra sounds. I also had an op that actually worked and I got pg but miscarried at about 10 weeks. After that nothing would work. Tobyn was 5 and we decided it was time to look into adoption. We did the course and put together our profile. It was very exciting, all of us, including Tobyn were looking forward to the future. Then things changed again.
There was a job Steve was interested in in America. One of his colleagues was lined up for it but didn't want to do it. Steve approached his boss about it but they were not considering him because they knew we were looking into adoption. But we were keen!!! We knew that we could possibly get help there that we couldn't here. We also knew that it was an awesome opportunity and we would get some wonderful experiences from the 18 months. So eventually they agreed that he was the right guy for the job.
We moved to the States just after Tobyn turned 6. Soon after we arrived there I saw a Dr who quadrupled my medication within a few weeks. He also put me onto a specialist and things were rolling. I was going to the gym and losing weight and we were having an awesome time. It was hard being away from family and friends and Tobyn did find it hard to settle in but it was all good.
While we were there Steve's Grandma died and we got to go to England for the funeral. It was perfect timing for Tobyn, he got to see Grandad and Grandma again and then go back 'home' he then settled into American life really well.
As far as the treatment was going for me, there was a plan. If I hadn't had a period by a certain date then we were trying another medication. Over that time frame Steve was going back to NZ on a business trip and his parents were visiting for 3 weeks. So I figured there was no way it would happen then. Well wouldn't you know it???!!!
The pregnancy was not an easy one right from the get go. At 6 weeks I had a small bleed and Steve and I thought this is it and had a good cry. I was sent for a scan and all was fine, WHEW. OK lets get to 12 weeks. But at 10 weeks while I was at the gym I had a large bleed. Again, sure that it was over. Yet again a scan showed things were fine. I had done alot of reading about PCOS and pregnancy and requested a blood test to check my progesterone and sure enough it was very low so I was put on progesterone supplements. Everything continued pretty smoothly. Though I had been put on low activity. No gym, no vacuuming, I had to be a couch potato. This was good for my crafts but not good for my self esteem. I had been really enjoying the gym!!!
My BP started rising and needed to be monitored closely. I was refered to a perinatologist, a VERY special pregnancy doctor. A scan with the perinatologist showed that the baby only had a 2 strand umbilical cord. Quite uncommon and not a lot known about it really. But some of the concerns are heart problems, kidney problems, and some genetic problems. GREAT something else to worry about! I did a search on the net and found out a bit, but basically I decided it was a slim chance there was something wrong. But until the baby was born I did worry a little. My biggest fear was fragile X, a genetic developmental problem in our family. My sister has a son with it and as adorable as he is he is hard work.
Fast forward to Oct 17th 2005. 3o weeks pregnant. I was going for a scan and Tobyn and Steve were coming too. This was Tobyns first look at the baby and we were all very excited. I was taken to have my BP checked and it was very high. I had to wait for a few minutes and they took it again. The boys were getting a little concerned. Eventually I went back out to see them and we were all taken through for the scan. It was quite exciting and Tobyn loved it. But things were to change quite dramatically. The Dr said I had to be admitted. My BP was dangerously high and she didn't think we would see the night through without delivering the baby. But the hope was that I would be able to have the 2 shots of steroids to develop the babies lungs. We needed 24 hours for that to work, preferably 48 hours. Fortunately for the baby we got that 48 hours. Things stabilised and the hope was that we could get to at least 36 weeks. I was settling in for being in hospital for another 4-6 weeks. My friends had brought in books, crafts, treats, crosswords and fruit. I had the computer and the hospital had wireless internet so I was able to do some on line shopping.
Oct 21st I had another scan and they were pretty happy that the baby was growing and the amniotic fluid was OK. Carry on!
The night of Oct 21st things went down hill fast. I thought I was constipated and asked for something. They gave me some prune juice, which fortunately I didn't drink. Early on the 22nd the nurses were quite concerned and called the on call Dr. He decided to send me down to labour and delivery. I was petrified, I was alone and had no idea of what was going on. As it turned out my organs were starting to shut down. I wanted to ring Steve and the nurse said she would tell him when he came in. Well it was 6am and he wasn't coming in until 9ish. Finally they allowed me to ring him and he came immediately. Fortunately Tobyn had been staying at a friends that night and she just kept him until Steve called her again.
I was so lucky to have some wonderful Drs on board. The on call Dr wanted me to labour, my perinatologist said no way this is an emergency, thank goodness for her!!! I was taken through to theatre and we didn't know if Steve would be able to be there. The anaesthesiologist took one look at my belly and the bruising on it and said "this is pitiquing (sp?), we have to do a general!" This meant Steve wasn't able to come in.
So baby was born and I took a while to come through from the anaesthetic. Steve was very concerned. Eventually he was able to see me and I was not well. I actually kept going down hill. My red blood cells were dropping and they thought I might need a blood transfusion. Fortunately I didn't! Steve and Tobyn got to see Isaac and were so excited. But he was tiny, he weighed only 2lb. But the good news was he was healthy, no genetic problems and his lungs were strong.
I was still on Magnesium Sulphate for the high blood pressure. What an awful medication!!! I had very vivid nightmares, blurred vision and generally felt awful. I thought I was going to die! I was so sick and Isaac doing so well that they brought Isaac to see me which is extremely unusual. I had such blurry vision that I couldn't get a good look at him. I didn't get to hold him for 5 days. Steve filled me in 3 times a day with how Isaac was doing. He had wonderful nurses and Drs and he was very strong and doing extrememly well!
I am so thankful for the care I got while so sick. I am so thankful for the care Isaac got for the 9 weeks he was in hospital.
We are so fortunate to have our 2 boys, we thought we might not have any of our own natural children. We are truly thankful!!!
I will save Isaacs time in the neonatal unit for another post, this post is long enough already!!!

The first 2 photos show just how small he was and how much he has grown. The teddy was given to him by Tobyn and has a recordable thing inside. Tobyn had recorded "I love you young Isaac" It still plays and just this afternoon Isaac has been going around the house holding the teddy and saying "I love you young Isaac" too cute!!!


He looks a bit like a deer in the headlights here LOL.


Look how grown up he is, putting teddy on the horse for a ride. His imagination is taking off right now. He is really into playing tea parties and pretending to use medical stuff.




I know I had this photo on here a few days ago, but here he is my BIG boy.



Whew, that took a while but I wanted to get this down. I haven't written this down anywhere else so while it is still pretty clear in my mind here it all is.

NZ Dare #32

My sister came around today we planned on doing some scrapbooking. She is working on the latest music in me challenge "Time after Time" I want to do that one but have NO inspiration for that one yet. So I planned on doing the No 8 wired NZ Dare. The challenge is to scrap a mood. I just flicked through my albums and came across this photo of Tobyn in Disneyland. Tobyn doesn't often show much emotion but as you can see in this photo he LOVED the thrill. I am pretty happy with this layout...but...I don't like the journalling block down the right hand side. When I showed Tobyn the layout he said "it's OK" "just OK" I said, "what don't you like about it?" "I don't like the photo. It doesn't look like a real smile" I replied explaining how it shows how much fun he was having and no it isn't a real smile, it is real EXCITEMENT! I love it. He was OK about it then LOL.



I didn't need to egg sit in the end. They have a Motel in the classroom where the eggs go during class time. I went into school to help with literacy today and they were writing a diary for their eggs. It was so funny hearing the antics the eggs got up to last night. One egg visited her friend next door but her friend had fallen and cracked and needed to be replaced and one got squashed by the dog. So far Tobyn's is surviving. His egg now has a PlayStation 3 and a plasma TV. He has just been making bags of cereal for it. It is great how it has captured their imaginations.

The Egg Family and the frogman

I have heard of kids having eggs to look after before and I looked forward to the day my kids did it. And here it is. Tobyns class have to look after an egg each for a week. They are all pretty excited which is funny given that there are only 4 girls in his class! Mind you there have already been 5 deaths in 1 day LOL. Tobyn has called his egg Toby. He has made a house for it. The house has a comfy bed, a chair, a bookcase with miniature books and some pokemon cards. Tomorrow I have to egg sit. I hope Grandma Egg does a good job, LOL.





Isaac wearing his new goggles in the bath. He needs to get used to them for swimming and I think it won't take long!



Today I was thrilled to find out that my friend Adele has paid her deposit for scrap camp next April. I know it is ages away but I am so excited, this will be my first major scrapbooking outing! Woohoo.

Memories

What a busy weekend we have had. We got a skip bin on Friday because we had a few big things we needed to get rid of. It is amazing how motivated it got us to do a while lot of other things around the house as well.

This old beat up cupboard was left by the owner in Steve's 1st house. It has seen us move 4 times. We had great intentions of painting it many times but as it lived in the garage it was never a priority. Then it became the height chart for Tobyn. Disappointingly Steve found bora in it a couple of weeks back so it had to go. But I had to take a photo and transfer the measurements onto a piece of card so we can transfer it onto a more long lasting height chart. Steve and Tobyn had fun bashing it about to fit it in the bin. It was absolutely riddled with bora, quite amazing it was still standing!



Tobyn had a pre season cricket morning and loved it! Being a pretty unsporty kid it is great to have him enjoying a summer and winter sport! Saturday noght he was going to stay at his friends house. Ethan phoned earlier than planned and said Tobyn could come over any time. I had said he had to tidy his room before he could go, and it took 3 inspections before it was to my satisfaction, tough Mummy!

So Saturday afternoon and evening and all day Sunday it was just Steve, Isaac and I. We couldn't believe how much more we could get done without him there LOL.

Isaac wanted to 'help' Daddy out in the garden and he enjoyed going down the hill and falling on his bottom. He would walk backwards, deliberately fall down and say ouch and then laugh and do it all over again.

I spent alot of time in the garage sorting out boxes that came out of the old cupboard. One box that was on top of the cupboard had quilting material, polystyrine shapes some with sequins in and other craft things. The cat had made this his box. He had chewed the top and started to chew the polystyrine balls, grrr. I then moved onto the computer cupboard and front bedroom. The plan was to make the front room my scrap space/guest bedroom. But I had to move some things first. Steve had told me that the old computer tabel that was in the front room would fit into the cupboard. So I spent a couple of hours clearing a book case and computer desk only to find out that the desk would not fit in the cupboard *argh* So change of plans. We still bought the old dining table into the front room, moved the single bed into Isaacs room, put the computer desk back into that room, moved Tobyns boxes of imaginext into his wardrobe, moved his old storage containers in to the front bedroom wardrobe and now I have to sort everything out so I can actually scrap in there. It will be great once I have it all organised. We need to decide what we are going to do with the computer desk because we have a sofa bed coming for that front room.

Look at my boy. He looks so grown up! I took this photo on Sunday and I love it, apart from the windblown hair.



It is so hard to believe that this time 2 years ago I was being hospitalised in the hope that we could get to 36 weeks before having to deliver the baby. In a couple of days I will blog more about the whole ordeal but this is a week of remembering fro me. We re so lucky that Isaac is healthy and that I am alive it was not an easy time. But look at what we have to show for it, a gorgeous, spunky, healthy boy!

And on the note of big boys, he slept in a big boy bed for part of last night!!! Stave went into him in the middle of the night (normally my job, bless him) but he needed to got the the loo so he put Isaac down on the single bed. When he went back in to put him in the cot Isaac was having none of it, he wanted to stay in the big bed. Steve put some pillows on the floor and we hoped he wouldn't fall out. When he woke this morning and I went in to him he was sitting in the middle of the bed, a HUGE grin on his face and pointing at all the animals ion the duvet cover, too cute! Steve has a job after work....taking the cot down and making it into the bed. My baby is growing up, 2nd birthday looming next Monday.

A new day!

Thanks for the comments regarding the last post. I truly appreciate your thoughts, ideas and support! I feel more able to think positively today. Every now and then it all comes out. I don't feel this way all the time but when you go through an incident like Isaacs test it brings it out stronger. With a clearer head I can now reason through the events yesterday. I am sure that some of the tests they did yesterday were beyond most 2 year olds ability. What we don't know is how much of an effect his prematurity will have on his long term development, so I over think things.

I found out today that Tobyn has some new kids in his cricket team and they are also year 4 like him, so that is wonderful!

Our weekend looks like it will be spent tidying and clearing away rubbish. We have got in a skip bin. Hopefully the boys will enjoy filling it with tree branches.

Sunny what a wonderful sight to see you here!!! The boys enjoyed their M&M's and I have enjoyed listening to Chris! Thank you so much! A parcel will be on it's way soon. I am making something which is taking longer than I had hoped;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

worrywart

Do we ever stop worrying about our kids?

I am always worrying! I want my kids to be happy and successful. But what does that mean? Tobyn is really small and I am always worrying that he gets picked on, that he can't do what other kids his age can do and that he passes just under the radar and doesn't get noticed for his achievements. At his school they get certificates in assemblies, Tobyn hasn't got a certificate since the 2nd term LAST year. He isn't a bad kid, he doesn't do naughty things but he also doesn't do fantastically. He is very smart but he only does just enough to get by. I don't know how to incourage him to work harder. He isn't physical AT ALL, but he does try hard, yet he gets treated like a 6 year old. He is playing cricket over the summer and has been put in the youngest team with the 5, 6 and 7 year olds......he is 9! I worry that this will only make him think it is OK to be immature. How will he learn to behave his age if he keeps getting treated like he is youn ger than he actually is/

This now brings me to Isaac. Isaac was 2 months prem and weighed only 998gms. He is monitored by the paediatrician and the developmental therapist. We also get the PAFT (parents as first teachers) teacher in every month. Yesterday he had his 2 year old check with his PAFT teacher. She is really impresed with him, she thinks he is very highly intelligent (though can you tell that at such an early age?) anyway, he passed the 2 year old mile stones with flying colours on her chart. His language is that of a 3 year old, his physical ability is well developed and his cognitive skills match for a 2 year old. Makes a Mum feel good and very proud. Then today I took him for his 2 year old developmental check......I came away feeling unsure of his development. He was very shy, did the quiet talking, rocking his feet onto the side of his shoes (which I have not seen him do before0 and wasn't very focused. He started off with the tests really well. He built a tower of 8 blocks when they only expect them to do 6, he put a series of small cylindrical blocks into there holes in very quick time and it seemed to go down hill. She wanted him to point at objects in a book, he would look at the object but not point. She had a baby doll without any clothes on and wanted him to comb the babies hair, he didn't want anything to do with the naked baby, kept pushing it away. She had a puzzle with a circle, square and triangle, he got the circle in no problem, but couldn't put the others in the right hole. But he did really well with matching colours. She started with 3 colours to match to 3 coloured circles, no problem, then she had 5 colours and he had to match them. He started off by putting the red no the black and then got all the others right, when it came to the black circle he knew to move the red one and put the black one in the right place. He di very well physically, great walking and running, climbing and kicking. I am not qualified to know what the outcome is but I am worried...I WANT to know NOW. She showed some concern that he wasn't concentrating very well. He had his own agenda at times. But I guess he isn't quite 2. He could still need his age adjusting, I know there is research that says that can be up to 5. He didn't do some things there that he can do at home. I hope we get the results soon so I can stop being a WORRYWART!!!

I love my boys so much and just want the best for them. I see so much potential and I want others to see that as well. There young lives go by so fast and I hope that we are guiding them in the right direction.

Finally some photos

I promised some photos from our week at the lake house. Yes it is Taupo, but not the town, a different part of the lake. Nice to be a bit away from the crowds!

I could not believe that I didn't get any photos of Tobyn in the Kayak :( This one shows Isaac trying to escape. He loved being in the Kayak but didn't like getting his bum wet, so funny.



Here Isaac is with Thomas, Isaac ADORES him! When Isaac saw the boys had lay their towels on the ground he thought they should be sleeping. So here he is sleeping with Thomas.

Tobyn helped me cook spaghetti and meatballs one night. Here he is browning them. Isaac wanted to get up as well and he got the stool and pushed it over to the bench. I let him up just so I could get the photo, LOL.

Isaac loves putting shoes on at the moment. It is a sign to him that he can go outside. Here he has Grandads shoes on and is longingly waiting at the door.

I was inspired to write the following memory from Trina's blog, thanks Trina for getting me to think about writing it.

When we were travelling home from Taupo we had 2 cars so Tobyn went with Steve and Isaac was with me. Isaac didn't like Tobyn being in the other car, it was almost as if he was missing a limb. He sat very quietly with quite a glum look on his face. When we stopped and he could see his buddy he was happy, but as soon as we had to get back on the road again he was back to his glum self. We stopped in Bulls for dinner and Tobyn decided he would come in the car with me. Isaac couldn't have been happier and chatted away to Tobyn as if he hadn't seen him for weeks and weeks. Their relationship is so special I hope it always stays that way with the large age difference! I love watching their relationship grow, it makes my heart melt.

This was the week of haircuts in the Gregory house. Tobyn and I were desperate for cuts and I was desperate for a colour. I knew it had been a while but Gemma, my hairdresser told me I hadn't been in since June 16th, WOAH, that was before we went to Oz!!! No wonder I had so much grey. So I went yesterday. I was really looking forward to having some relaxing time in the hairdressers chair without any children. When I got hold of my sister to look after Isaac she said she had just booked herself in for a haircut too, so I had to take Isaac with me for part of it until she was able to come and get him. Isaac was so good, I think because he was so overwhelmed by the noise etc. When Annie arrived he was more than ready to leave! Then I was able to totally relax and enjoy the rest of my time there. I always love having my hair done because it always looks so good after, the only time every 8 weeks. When Isaac saw me he he didn't want to look at me! He really doesn't like change. I said something about Aunty at one point and he said 'No, not Aunty' funny boy.

So today the boys got their hair cut. I have been cutting Isaac's hair and making a hash of it. I thought it was time to get Gemma to tidy it up. Tobyn was first and good as always and then came Isaac's turn. He was really great. Gemma did it as fast as possible and now my baby looks like a big boy.

When we got home I wanted to take some photos. For once Tobyn was actually co-operative and I got some nice shots.







Til next time, ttfn

The Lakehouse

I'mmmmm baaack! From some lovely time away! Warning, this post could be long and without any photos. The camera is out in the car and it is pouring with rain so the photos will have to wait for another time.

The boys and I had a lovely 8 days at the lakehouse. We are so fortunate that Steves parents bought this house back in May. This is our 2nd time visiting and boy do we appreciate it. We all went up on the Saturday and we took Tobyns friend Thomas with us. It was great for Tobyn to have his friend there for a few days. On the Saturday afternoon they enjoyed rambling on the golf course and exploring the house and surrounds. On Sunday they got up early with Steve and went down to the lake before breakfast. Before lunch it started raining and we thought kayaking on the lake was going to be out but by about 2.30pm it was fine and calm enough so we took the kayak down to the lake. ALL the boys had a go, including Isaac though he didn't like getting his bum wet and wanted to stand up and rock the boat. They can't wait to go back in the summer and jump off the front of the kayak into the 'warm' lake!

Steve had to go back for work on the Monday. Thomas' parents picked up after lunch on Monday and T, I and I were on our own. I got to read, do crosswords, watch a DVD, play games, and visit all 3 playgrounds in the area. The weather wasn't all that good for outdoor activities but we had a great time anyway. Cooking was great. I had to be REALLY organised because to drive to the town was a hassle. We had no takeaways for 9 days, how fantastic. Lots of fruit and veges and I feel so good for that! Steve returned on Thursday evening, it was nice to have some more adult company! Steves's parents arrived on Saturday and the boys were thrilled to see them. We can see so many memories being made at this wonderful place. Sunday we drove back slowly stopping at Turangi, Waiouru and Bulls. We had 2 cars so we needed to get out, stretch legs and 'wake' up.

I arrived home to some wonderful parcels. 2 of my favourite things in the world....2 pizza boxes full of scrapbooking goodies and a spot prize from the SE comp and a large box full of Malaleuca cleaning products. It was a hard decision which to attack first, the cleaning stuff won out. We have decided to go clean and green. I have already done some washing, dishes and cleaned bathrooms and benchtops and I am sold on the stuff. It does a great job and smells DELICIOUS! It is full of natural oils like tea tree, lavender and lemon, and many others! Being all natural I am hoping it will clear up Steves eczema and help with Tobyn's allergies.

Isaac had his 1st lesson in the Jellyfish swimming class today and he LOVES it. He is such a fish, he wants to go off on his own but he can't touch the bottom yet. He is by far the youngest yet the only one that can swim on his back with the only support being my hand under his head. I hope this continues, especially knowing the time we will be having at the lake.

OK I am now off to check out other blogs, please forgive me if I don't get to make a comment for a couple of days, lots to catch up on!

Check back tomorrow for photos.