Pinch me. I must be dreaming.

The weather forecast for the next TEN days is SUNNY with only light winds. I'm sure it'll change, but it's been a long time since we've had day after day of a bright yellow sun forecasted. And I think it's safe to say that everyone in Wellington is smiling.

Yesterday we had 24 hours of constant rain. It was unrelenting. About 160mm fell.

We didn't step foot outside. And I'm pretty sure Quincy was within an inch of me all day long, asking questions. It was unrelenting.

The sunshine, 17C day today was a welcome relief, for sure. It was time for summer clothes and an ice cream in the village. And my sidekick agreed.

Let me backtrack a bit...When I told the boy he could choose an ice cream at the dairy, he replied, "I'd prefer a chocolate car." You see, he absolutely loves these beautifully wrapped mini gourmet ($1.40) chocolate cars and tries to smooth talk one out of us whenever possible. I warned him that I'd be getting an ice cream, which would take a lot longer to eat than a gone-in-two-bites car. But he didn't waver. He chose a silver one. And I chose a triple chocolate Trumpet.

In the time it took me to unwrap my ice cream, his car had vanished. And this is what happened next...

Once his treat was finished he looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said, "Actually, I'd prefer an ice cream, Mama."

How could I not share?

a sweet view

This was my view (and constant source of entertainment) as I got ready to go to a local school play...

Note: Other than my usual adjustment of levels, brightness, and contrast, this is (almost) straight out of camera. Jeremy didn't believe me and thought I'd Photoshopped the effect of the foggy mirror.

We're getting the job done.

Quincy said that a lot this weekend. The garage is clean. Well, mostly. And so is the craft room. Again, mostly. All the random tools scattered around the house are now tucked away in the closet. There is no longer a kite, a cane, and a xylophone on top of the fridge. And to top it off, the Christmas lights are down.

Even though this was a "sorting, putting stuff in its rightful place, and trying to find places for things without a home" kind of weekend, we still managed to squeeze in some fun. Baking pancakes together. Making farm animals and then cooking up a huge feast with playdough. Bubbles in the rain. Enjoying some arty time in the craft room (once the floor became visible, that is). And some digital scrapping time too.

You sure can get a lot done if you stay in your pajamas all weekend.

snippets of a sunday.

Papa: Quincy, tomorrow morning I'll make pancakes or waffles. You choose.
Quincy: Ummmmmm, pancakes. Pancakes sound good. We don't have waffle spray. Waffle spray. (thinking a moment and recalling that Jeremy ran out to get some last time he made waffles) Actually, waffles sound good.

Quincy: They're good. They're really really good. I love waffles. I love Papa. And Papa loves me.

Quincy: I just need to drive for a liiiiittle bit.

Wearing a hat and sunglasses just like Papa and waiting in the car while Jeremy gets chips to enjoy during our walk. Slightly counter productive, don't ya think?

Quincy pedaled for our entire dog walk. It was so fun. A new door has definitely been opened.

Quincy: The dogs are fast and I'm prrrretty fast too.

Pausing for tricycle ice cream. There were plenty of ingredients on the beach for the five dollar (gasp!) ice creams. Jeremy's flavor: anchovy. (You did this as a kid, right? Jeremy thought I was a bit odd.)

Another stop. This time at the playground, where Jeremy gave Q lessons to improve his pumping.

Me: Quincy, you are not the boss of the playground.
Quincy: The biggest chimp of the troop is the boss of the playground.

He always has the last word.

interesting observations from an ordinary snapshot

On the surface there is nothing great about this photo. It's pretty mundane really. In fact, it nearly got culled.

However, a closer look made me realize that this little snapshot holds plenty of sentimental worth.

Notice:

1. The undies. They are one of Q's favorites. More importantly, though, those undies stayed dry all the way until his nap at 2pm. What an accomplishment! One that was worth a mini Reeses in my book. When I gave it to him, he just laughed and laughed. Sweetness.
2. The slippers. It should be the height of summer. We should be enjoying lazy days at the pool, barefeet, picnics on the beach, ice creams in the scorching sun, dog walks followed by swims in the sea, and a brand new sprinkler that still sits in its box. Instead it's a cold, wet, and windy day, like a lot of the days of late, and we are spending it in our nest, playing trains on the uper-cool track Jeremy and Quincy built last night. We are home bodies and find plenty to keep ourselves amused, but still we would appreciate more than the odd sunny day here and there. Our so-called summer this year is a bit of a downer.
3. The chewed-up post. This was courtesy of a very desperate Berkley two Christmases ago when we had Priya and Joe and the girls over for dinner. The girls were a bit scared, so we locked them in the playroom. The dogs, not the girls. We'd never done that before and I guess Berkley didn't appreciate it.
4. The train turntable. This was part of my parents' Christmas gift to Quincy. Let's just say that he's a big fan.

So there you have it, some photos deserve a second look. Think before you hit delete.

PS-Just in case there is any doubt that the train layout is uber-cool, here is proof...

hello spring

We welcome you with open arms, and to you, winter, I say good riddance. We are ready for fewer layers, bare feet, and good health.

today you...

• Read the Dougal the Digger book that the neighbors kindly brought over last night several times before breakfast.
• Ate WeetBix with banana for breakfast.
• Read lots and lots of books in the basement, including a book about mammals, Why do Cats have Whiskers? and naturally more Dougal the Digger.
• Whined periodically to make sure your Mama doesn't forget that you're two.
• Took a few deep breaths, upon Mama's request.
• Fit random toys together like a puzzle on an old tennis racket...the racket doubles as a leaf blower and a helicopter.

• Ate baked beans, the cream cheese off of a bagel, and macadamia nuts for lunch.
• Put on your gumboots (mostly) by yourself for the first time, on the wrong feet.
• Transformed via the gumboots into Dougal’s driver.

• Enjoyed an after-lunch bath and wanted to wear the gumboots in the bath but settled for putting them back on immediately after.
• Held the shower nozzle and became “fighter (fire) fighter Dougal driver.”
• Didn't want to get dried off.
• Hung out in your robe in your room,

• while stalling before naptime,

• but you were definitely ready for one.

• Read Dougal the Digger three more times and begged unsuccessfully for one more book before your nap.
• Took a three-and-a-half hour nap.
• Looked forward to “Papa coming home soon” and once he arrived, you screamed "Papa" over and over in the sweetest, highest-pitched voice.
• Ate beans and rice for dinner.
• Had a little tantrum after dinner that involved throwing a basket of magnetic letters.
• Opened up a surprise package from your far away friend, Eliot, first saying, "Eliot come home soon. LOVE it." And then in your best authoritarian voice, "COME HERE Eliot."
  

• Read five digger-themed books with Papa at bedtime.
• Talked about the owl and possum that you insist are in the trees outside your window after dark, saying unconvincingly , “Owl flew away. Possum ran away.”
• And finally, went off to dreamland, soundly for 12 hours.

he's in there by choice. i swear.

He's just mixin' up storytime. He has to be closed in. He reads one book while Jeremy or I read another, of his choosing. He is, however, flexible about whether or not the dogs join him in their home.

Oh and Jeremy isn't trying to be a trendsetter, he's just doing his best to stay warm.

In other news...

Over the (very cold) holiday weekend, the fuse that powers half our house blew. It's a rare fuse, the kind that can only be purchased at a not-open-on-the-weekend specialty store.

Our garage door only closes some of the time.

And the ABS system in the car we've had for three months is freaking out. Warning lights flashing, making the occasional crunching noise, and even nearly leaving me stranded in an intersection yesterday. Yah, we should probably get that checked out!

And so as not to leave on a sour note, a random memory from a grocery shopping trip a few weeks back... As Q and I were getting out of the car, the employee who was gathering carts went way out of his way to bring me a cart. To my car. And he proceeded to help with the straps so that I could get Q in easier.

Life is good, even when it's kinda bad.

jekyll & hyde

This kid is bugging me, and I only feel mildly guilty for saying that.

(photos taken in a span of a couple minutes)

All the tender moments today were overshadowed by the whiny ones.

In his defense, he does have the first of his two-year molars just barely poking through. But still, chill out boy!

Did you notice his skinny jeans? I tried to put on comfy pants, but, no, he wanted to wear "big papa jeans".

Today was the Queen's birthday, so Jeremy was home. I'm not sure how many times Q said with bright eyes and a smile, "the whole family's here" while tapping our legs.

OK, so I guess he's still a sweetheart.

Maybe I'm the one that needs to chill out! And that is just what I did...I went shopping. Alone.

My aged winter wardrobe is in need of a little spruce up. I made a good start today.

Jeremy, if you're reading, you'll surely choke on the word "start". But don't even get me started on your whisky collection. :)

for ten years

Me: I'm going to go take a shower.
Q: Tinty stay with papa...for ten years.

Guess how long elephant babies stay with their mamas. Yup, ten years.

And then in a weekend mad rush to get the most out of our Entertainment Book which expires tomorrow, it was off to Wholly Bagel for lunch and to buy one dozen, and get one free.

We were not deterred by the swells that threatened to eat us, nor by the come-from-nowhere hail.

While at Wholly Bagel, Q played so nicely with a 4-year-old boy named Charlie. He was such a gentle, clever, and well-mannered boy. His parents were American. He reminded me so much of my nephew Thomas, in looks and demeanor. Imagining how much Q would love to play with his cousins made my heart ache a little.

replenishing our vitamin D stores

lingering wild weather

Nothing new for windy Wellington as winter approaches, but we've had a week of dreadful weather (taking a much-appreciated break on Q's birthday though.) Some crazy storms. Non-stop rain. Wicked southerlies. And seriously cold. According to the Dominion Post, "It was a particularly foul, miserable, and revolting weekend." Couldn't have said it better myself. "Revolting" is particularly appropriate.

And because I like numbers, here is how this past weekend measured up...

13.9 metres: maximum swell in Cook Strait
148 kilometres/hour: strongest wind gust
8 degrees Celsius: lowest temperature (Not a big deal, unless you don't have central heating or an insulated home!)
50 millimetres: rainfall in a 24-hour period

I'm so glad we were able to hibernate all weekend. In fact, we've only left the house twice in the last week. Heavenly for the homebody in me, but we've all been recovering from one thing or another, and I'm more than ready to chuck these in the bin...

As you can imagine, the clothesline hasn't seen much activity all week. (The clothes don't dry too fast on the indoor rack in this cold, damp weather, let me tell you!)

I managed to catch a 2-minute glimpse of the sun. Not quite enough to satisfy the RDI of vitamin D, I suspect.

Definitely a perfect day for soup. We made a big pot of Tomato Barley Soup this morning. I love when dinner is ready long before we even eat lunch. Such a carefree feeling the rest of the day.

And now Q is sleeping and I'm going to carry on scrapbooking. I need to finish a layout I foolishly started at 11 last night. Thanks to the lingering wild weather and the hibernation, I'm on a bit of a roll after a two-month break.

Maybe someday I might tackle those first birthday pics!

a new week. a new month. a new season.

Starting autumn with...

1. hot weather & blue skies,
2. a runny nose,
3. new shoes,
4. a trip to the library,
   
5. a stop at the playground,
   
6. and preparations for Stefanie's arrival!

fleas

After six-and-a-half years of living with dogs, we had our first run in with fleas today. Yuk. Admittedly it's my fault. I had gotten a bit lax with flea and worm treatment lately. After a trip to the pet store, treating and combing the dogs, countless loads of laundry, sprinkling baking soda and salt on the carpets, and vaccuming until our very old vaccum could no longer cope, it seems to only be a mild case. If there is such a thing. I only saw two live fleas on Kai but both dogs had flea dander on them. Still, why this week?

This is what a desperate, pleading, and pitiful flea-infested Beagle looks like...

Not a chance, boy.

(Note: When I saw him like this, I told him to wait and ran upstairs and across the house to grab my camera. I cracked up when I returned because I don't even think he blinked while I was away. Good boy, but still, not a chance.)

waffles

Making the waffles is a bit tricky.

Waiting for the waffles is seriously hard.

But eating the waffles is a cinch.

simple pleasures.

filling a big yellow digger with rocks and shells on the beach. together. dogs and all. (well, the dogs weren't actually doing any filling. the whole lack of poseable thumbs issue. but they were busy chewing sticks. and stealing every stick quincy picked up. and making him cry.)

rainy saturday

A lazy start to a rainy day...

with lots of time for "lego".

A few hours of trimming, inking, and punching on Project365 with Jeremy actually relaxing while reading nearby...

When Q found the basket of punched circles with letters on them, he shouted, "money!" Reminded me of his cousin Michael's first sentence almost 14 years ago, "I found money!"

An indoor fish 'n chips picnic (with a some peas and watermelon for color)...

We dug out an old Disney collection from J's childhood. Q had to go get his Missy Mouse before we read some (rather strange) stories. The moral of one was that if you're not good at something, you should never do it again!

In case you're wondering, Berkley doesn't share Q's cot. They are just happy to see each other in the morning, so I thought I'd put him in there. Neither was in a hurry to get out.