Jurassic festivities

Although we have always thrown birthday parties for the children, they have involved parents, booze and barbeques so end up being more of a family shindig.  Yesterday lad turned 5.  We went for the full blown childfest.  A dinosaur themed party complete with games, face painting, pinata, party food and no parents.  My mum made three fantastic dinosaur outfits.  Lad and twin1 refused to wear theirs.

It was such a joy to watch the children rush madly around, cheering and chasing each other, blowing bubbles and laughing.  They were all so pleased to be together and hugged themselves in delight at the sweets and cakes on offer.  They threw themselves into each game, some with a more developed sense of competition than others but all in good spirits, keen to get as much enjoyment from the festivities as possible.  Glorious.

Goodness knows what kind of chemical reactions went on inside lad's body between the spurts of adrenaline and globs of refined sugar but he slept badly after his party.  Sobbing, wandering round the house and asking to watch TV at 2am he eventually drifted into a restorative sleep.  This morning the three of them are slightly hungover.  I am feeling pretty deflated too.  My parents leave to go back home to the UK tomorrow.

No hole too big or too small to emit stuff

The twins both have florid patches of weeping pox all over their perfect little bodies.  Twin1 was in our bed crying and and scratching all night.  The husband slept in twin1's bunk to tend to the equally itchy twin2.  Twin1 insisted on cuddling up close to me which meant poking and jabbing my bad arm to the state where it feels like a shredded flutter of palid, useless flesh held together by its hyper sensitive coating.

My parents have taken them out for a walk, tucked up in their pushchair so I can get some work done.  If my parents weren't a) here and b) as generous as they are, I'm sure my fingernails would be the only things keeping me attached to the crumbling cliff by now.  Since my return from the UK 3 weeks ago the children have lost liquid from orifices and pores in a steady stream of matter not suitable for print.  Their absence from kindy and the mess this stream produces would have sent me over the edge but ma and pa have hosted sleepovers, provided countless park and beach trips for the children and helped keep my house in some kind of order.  Grateful isn't the word.

This weekend lad turns 5.  I had a quick scan down the invitees to see who I need to call and tell of the girls' pox but all the children coming either have chicken pox at the moment or are recovering from it.  Perfect.  Let the games commence.

Dorothy hit the nail on the head

Oh my goodness there's nothing quite like being home.  When I got back to NZ a friend said she thought every mother and father should have the opportunity to do just as I did so you can remember what makes you laugh and cry as opposed to a reflection of your partner and childrens' attitudes and emotions.

It's also one of the first occasions I have come back to much worse weather in NZ than in the UK.  It was rather nice though to slumber in my own pit listening to the storm raging outside with my little family all under one roof.  My parents and the husband did a magnificent job of herding our little tribe in my absence.  I'm very lucky to have a family who are happy to rally round so I can spend a week drinking wine, eating food, attending the wedding of the lovely Mrs Nancy Phillips (nee Westcombe) and laughing my bloody arse off for 10 days.

The cavalry has arrived

My parents are here.  Hurrah! Immediately the house is calmer as the adult to child ratio has swung to the more comfortable side.  No sooner do my parents arrive however than I pack my bags and jump on a plane.  On Thursday I'm flying to England to go to my best mate's wedding.  The fun-ometer just never stops going up, does it folks?

International Oyster Card

I am going to start playing the lottery.  There are only 4 million people in New Zealand so my chances of winning are much greater than when I used to play at home.  My aim is to win enough money to secure unlimited travel between the UK and NZ for my family.  I would like a kind of Oyster Card situation so I just wander into Auckland airport, bleep my card through the gates and hop on the plane as and when I please.  Business class would be rather nice but I don't really mind.  I miss trains, shopping in Boots, pubs, the trees, front doors of terraced houses and plugs with 3 prongs.

My parents fly out here at the end of August but I have started nagging my mum to see if she can slip in a quick visit before then too.  I am playing on the parental guilt thing as I know how powerful it is when my children use it on me.

Toodle pip

My parents left on Wednesday. During the 3 years we have lived here this was their fourth visit. This was easily the hardest goodbye. As we become more established in New Zealand I realise the possibility of us moving back to the UK fades and their visits become more and more bittersweet. I enjoy their company intensely whilst being stingingly aware of its fleeting nature. During the last two weeks of my parents' trip here I started to get anxious. The goodbye loomed and I dreaded the cold, grey smoke which I knew would hiss into my chest and expand it with loneliness.

Wednesday morning and we kissed and cuddled at the airport. Teary and sad I didn't watch their plane depart as I normally would but turned and walked out.

My loving parents are generous enough to come over often and visit us in our home where I live with my healthy husband and children. Getting blue and upset because I miss them seems like navel gazing self indulgence when you consider what so many others are facing in Christchurch and Japan as they try and cope with the new face of their lives and future.

With that in mind I have opted for a smile every time I think of my ma and pa and feeling lucky for all our time we have together. Because they live so far away, when they come to stay we never while away our time with the daily communication of chores and time passers but instead really relish our time together. We have done nothing more adventurous than build sandcastles, swim in the pool, eat ice cream and read stories, all within a 2km radius but it has been glorious.

lovely pic taken by Quinn O'Connell Photography

And the winner is....baked beans

We had a late night having dinner with friends last night so my 3 littlies are all hungover this morning. I have just put them to bed for a snooze which leaves me with a good hour or so to myself. I can barely get my thoughts in any kind of order as I try and decide how to spend this golden little bubble of silence and solitude. What I should really be doing is hanging the washing out and tidying up. The winner was baked beans on toast and writing my blog.

The husband and littlies have 2 weeks off from work and kindy. It has been bliss. Spending time together just the five of us has been great for our family spirit and happiness. There are few greater pleasures than being in the company of people you love. By the end of the holiday they'll probably have driven me nuts and I will look forward to packing them all off back to daily routines but for the moment it's all peace and love in our house.

Come January, my chums and family at home are always keen to ditch their winter threads and poke their white limbs towards the sun on the beach. We have a glittering array of guests lined up over the next couple of months with the fairy atop the tree being my parents. They arrive on the 20th Jan and I can't stop thinking about it.